damselcorsets.com

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Yay for Wedding Dress Training!



Holy Love! My days of sewing wedding dresses and all of the training in that field finallly paid off in a very direct way. See this corset? yeah, I didn't do a dang bit of embroidery on it. I purchased this lovely bag of appliques (well, that's really a fancy word for patches. You know, like the little grunge patches that the hot topic crowd ironed onto their back-packs....at least in my day, they did. Yeah, class of '04!) from the greatest source from trim in all the land ( www.cheeptrims.com If you guys EVER need some swanky ribbon or lace, buy it here! Granted, you DO have to have a minimum order of $65, but I promise, it's not hard to get to that point! I've gotten lovely and lush wide lace for 3 cents a yard!). Buying patches/appliques is great and all, but figuring out what to actually do with them poses more of a problem. I think I'm really stuck in a creative rut lately, and I can't figure out how to make my corsets even cooler. I lay awake at night (hmm..no, actually most nights, the second my head hits the pillow, I'm out.), struggling with this demon of a "writer's block" and wondering what I can do next. Anyway, back to the appliques. This little zip-loc back of appliques got spilled all over in one of my drawers so it literally turned into Michelle vs. "Finding the applique in the Needle-Stack" because that stupid drawer was full of needles, cast-off buttons, and really odd little trinkets that I confiscated from my mother's sewing room. I finally gathered up all of the rebels and took them to their base (the ironing board) and decided that I would iron them onto something, even if it meant I looked like an over-creative 13-year old wearing blue jeans encrusted with the carnage of an exploded garden. Then, I had this bright light click on in my head! "Ah, I'll just make Tyler cut out some totally white bodices (that way I wouldn't have to try to match the reds or the greens of the vines) and I would just strategically place the appliques on the corsets just like I did to many wedding dresses when I was sewing the wedding dress bodices for Gowns by Pamela (OOOh. www.gownsbypamela.com) Anyway, here is my wedding dress applique-placing talents, for all to see.
In the meanwhile, back to that writer's block thing-I've had this idea kicking around for a looong time....what if I held a contest where people designed their own corsets and submitted them to me, and the winner would get their corset made for them for free, plus I would do a line of exclusive corsets from that pattern and sell them for a limited time! My only issue is that I don't know jack about legalities of things like that....would I have to make up some contract that's as confusing and garbled as our health care bill, and then make someone sign their pattern idea to me??? If so, that's too much work, and the idea sucked anyway. Let me know.
Michelle

21 comments:

  1. First, that appliqued corset/bodice is totally the child of win and awesome.

    Second, please, please, hold the contest. I'm already thinking about crazy corset ideas in my head. It would hella cool to see what everyone came up with!

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  2. I am LOVING all the new things I am seeing on etsy lately! And I love the idea of holding a contest. I'd love to see what other people are coming up with but don't have the sewing talent that you do.

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  3. Your contest is a great idea! I think other companies do this all the time. If the contest rules state up front that part of the deal with submitting the design includes allowing you to produce that design in the future and contestants return a signed piece of paper agreeing to those terms, you should not have any legal problems. You might want to check with a copyright lawyer or someone who works for another fashion design firm that has run a contest like this just to be sure. Good luck!

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  4. The appliques look lovely!

    The contest idea is most certainly NOT stupid! It probably would be a good idea to have some sort of legal stuff... I'd just hate to see you wind up having to deal with someone later trying to claim that they were entitled to some of the profits from your work or something. :/ Please don't give up on the idea though!

    I'm sure that your family or we your fans could help sort out some good wording so that you wouldn't have to stress over it too much (ie. I just did a quick 'design contest rules' search and already found one that has the same sort of ideas - http://www.bonnaroo.com/bonnaroo-design-contest-rules-2009.aspx ) As Virginia said, it could be actually be the contest rules 'by entering you agree to bla bla bla', rather than something more formal that you'd have to worry about mailing to them to sign or whatnot. Anyways, I love the idea and hope you go with it!

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  5. YAAAA!!! :D

    I think that would be AWESOME!!! XD
    I love your new corsets by the way!! Especially the ones with laces up the back and built in bussels!! :D
    Beautiful Michelle!! Keep rockin it!!

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  6. A contest?! Where the public gets to design a corset of their very own?! Sounds SWEET! The new applique idea was that of a genuis. DitD 4-EVR!

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  7. Brilliant Idea! I would love to enter such a contest!

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  8. I'm not an intellectual property lawyer, nor do I play one on TV, but I would think you'd be able to get a good read on what sort of rules/legalese you'd have to put in place by doing a bit of Google diving -- and it sounds like tons of fun!

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  9. DUDE. I would so enter a contest like that.

    Aaaaand I totally had to go fetch a bucket for all the drool when I saw that beautiful corset.

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  10. OH my word! That corset is gorgeous!!! GREAT job!

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  11. PLEASE do a contest!
    I doodle all day and it would be really fun to see what everyone comes up with!

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  12. I love the idea of a contest and also have another idea/request. if you have some gold cog/clockwork appliques, try putting them on a plain brown corset for a steampunk look!

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  13. I love the contest idea. Don't know that any of us can compete with your masterpieces, but it would be interesting to see what the wee folk come up with!

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  14. Very glad you're thinking corsets and weddings! I'll be getting married in a few years (we're planning for 2012) and I desperately want one of your corsets for my dress.

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  15. OMG beautiful corset!!

    Yes, have that contest! I would so enter it!!

    I'm having a pirate wedding in a few months and I'm trying to find someone to make my dress/new corset... if I can get the money for it. XD

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  16. That is a brilliantly beautiful corset. the moment i saw it i imagined a beautiful christmas gown with the corset as the centre piece. argh i wanted to draw it. <3

    i love your corsets and have been oogling them since my friend showed me your site. she commissioned you to make her wedding corset which looked lovely <3

    one day i hope to own one of your corsets. *_*

    As for your contest.. that is a brilliant idea and i would be sorely tempted to enter, even though I think that my ideas for corsets are rather bland. it would be awesome to see what your fans come up with and then to see the living piece <3

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  17. CONTEST! CONTEST! CONTEST! CONTEST!

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  18. I love the idea - your corsets are amazing and I'd love to try my hand at adding my touch to one.

    I am totally saving up money to get at least one of your beautiful corsets and wish you made it out to a renfest my way *sigh*.

    I was wondering if you'd ever thought of doing conventions as well as renassance festivals? There are several that I can see you fitting in well at [Blizzcon, Dragoncon, Origins, Gencon, etc]

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  19. That corset is absolutely stunning. Seriously...there are no words.

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