What a thrill to have a new batch of Tees ready to go for Aletheia Junkyard!! We have some really great offerings this time around – imagine Harleys, Hellenists, peeping toms, Team Business, and of course lots of good colorblocking. Look for them on our website this coming weekend and at Art-A-Whirl on May 16th (more details to follow, bring your sense of humor). If all goes well, they will be artfully paired with a unisex legging for a complete look that’s completely innocent.
Some new offerings for Aletheia Soft Goods are also on the way. They wait in bundles for a caring hand to come along and sew them up.
Yes! We have labels and it’s very exciting. These little guys may not mean much to your munchkin, but for Aletheia Design + Sewing Service, they are essential. Fun Fact About Clothing Labels: it’s illegal not to have them. Our labels contain all the information you need to make a good purchase – the size, where it was made, what it is made of, and how to take care of it – so you know it will fit your child and your lifestyle. Later, they remind the laundry maid (is that you?) that gentle care is best, and help to extend the new life we give to these materials. You can also find a web address on the underside of the woven labels, in case you’ve forgotten where to get more and more great styles for Little Baby.
We were glad to work with a local partner, Allen at Midwest Labels, to have these made. In previous label-making experiences, it was a nail-biting process of submitting an image and waiting to see how it was interpreted at a loom in a state far away. This time, Allen was careful to confirm every detail so that we knew exactly what to expect when the labels came. All in all, we like it! His hot-stamp printed label is so classic, it feels almost vintage.
Esther has instinctively accessorized the “Nan” dress with some stunning beads – looking fresh and springy in these lovely 60 degrees.
cabinning with kiddos
Winters are very long in Minnesota. As tough and weathered as we Minnesotans seem to be, there is a moment – okay, weeks at a time – every winter when my whole being wants to escape the cold and gray, and go cook in the Florida sun.
Well, I’ve learned that Florida not meant to be, and the only way to silence the call of the tropics is to run the other way. Which way is that? North, of course, just about as far North as a traveler can go before she finds herself beyond civilization, or worse, in Canada (note to Canadians: I like Canada, but I probably left my passport at home and don’t wish to be eternally separated from home and kin). When perplexed, dismayed, overstimulated, or out of touch, Minnesotans go North, find a cabin to occupy, and see stars, animal tracks, and isolated communities.
Something about Northern MN feels like the end of the world: There is the Great Lake, which, with a little imagination, creates a visceral sense of the end of human reach. There are towns with only one road going in or out (Babbitt), towns that are disputably the coldest in the continental USA (Embarrass), towns that consist only of a bar and snowmobile gas pump (Junction), and towns that have completely disappeared off the map, leaving behind a solitary onion-domed church as the sole reminder of a failed farming community (Bramble). Then, of course, there are the expansive regions that are NOT towns: the BWCA, Superior National Forest, and scenic routes that seem to go on and on while you watch your gas meter dip a little further beyond empty.
We spent some time exploring Grand Marais, Ely, Grand Rapids, and eventually my hometown of Brainerd, which seemed awfully cosmopolitan in comparison to the wild north.
Kids grow so fast, and our size offerings are growing with them. For those of you waiting patiently for our S/S 2015 childrenswear collections while your little ones get relentlessly bigger, TAKE HEART! Introducing a 3T size for both Aletheia Junkyard and Aletheia Soft Goods, in addition to our 6MO, 12MO, and 2T sizes. Now in paper pattern form, very soon to be stitched in reclaimed cottons and found in Baby’s very select and discriminating wardrobe (a three-year-old is still “Baby,” right?).
So pleased to share a glimpse into the increasingly well-lit micro-studio! We installed some long awaited track lighting this week, and the question is, as always, why did this not happen sooner?
stage zero
Also, a reminder of how far the space has come since November 2013. In case there are any doubters, this is the exact same shot, taken only 16 months ago.
It’s the dead of winter and there is nothing better to do when it’s 5 below than make larger and smaller sizes out of your master patterns. We start with a size 12 MO, then work down to a 6 MO, then up to a 2T and 3T. On repurposed paper, of course.
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Grading is an intimidating endeavor to start, but once you get the hang of the movements it becomes more of a waiting game than an intense challenge. It’s almost an out-of-body experience, as I watch myself finish the job from above, repeating minute adjustments, wondering why it’s taking so long.
Oh well, much better to be slow and sure, because nothing is more important in the development process than fit. A shopper who buys a garment because of great design or great fabric will have to put it on a body sometime. If the garment has a poor fit, it won’t be worn, and then the clothing label loses out on a repeat customer and a good reputation. So, Happy Grading; no pressure or anything.
It’s a Bow Tie World.
At least once a week, we turn our love and attention to Mill City Fineries, a growing force in the high-standards menswear market. These folks crank out a vast array of limited-run bow ties, neck ties, and pocket squares; essentials for the “modern gentlemen,” made of top quality fabrics and stitched in Minnesota by top quality hands.
Those top quality hands, in this case, are down in the aletheia Workshop. And it’s a pleasure.
Mill City Fineries is in good company; it seems that the local – meticulous – menswear segment is on the rise. If you want proof, visit the Askov Finlayson, Leatherworks MN, or William Rogue stores. Or watch this. Believe it! US made – and even MN made – is becoming a real value, and we are cheering it on.
Check the MCF shop for their forthcoming spring line, and think of us.
Down in the bowels of the aletheia workshop, we are most accustomed to dainty work. Volume is normal – once we produced 150 houndstooth bowties in the span of 8 days – but most of our projects fit nicely on the somewhat limited workspaces of an efficient shop (let’s say efficient and not cramped, if only to keep the worker happy). This week, instead of baby Tees or pocket squares, we’ve tackled an unusual order for a kitchens design firm in Colorado: large, padded, partitioned tote bags for cabinet doors. This project has included lots of repetition (there are 20 of bags, each with two partitions) and a bit of sewing from inside the bag. Use your imagination for that.
Also in latest news, aletheia design + sewing service now has the ability to TEXT. Welcome to 2001!!
Most experienced sewers will tell you never to work in bridal – not because the sewing is awful, which it sometimes is, but because brides are crazed maniacs. Also, if you forget to wash your hands or prick your finger and bleed, it’s all over.
I’m happy to say that every bride I’ve worked with so far has been a doll. Thanks, ladies, I know how hard it is.
This week I’m sewing rosettes for J. Many years to you and your R!
Contract Apparel Sewing in MN - Low minimum cut and sew 