I have germs...

...crazy, gooey germs waffling all throughout my poor immune system, having a ridiculous and unwanted party. Who are responsible for my lack of posting (or doing really anything productive, for that matter) in the past few days.

Though I'm hoping to get my Fall line in { my shop } over the weekend!

However, I am a pretty lucky girl; 
there is a good-looking & thoughtful mister who said he'd bring me soup tomorrow after work :)

{ all images courtesy of pinterest . typography and layout by moi }

FALL FASHION REPORT

After working in the Fashion Industry in Los Angeles, I've been slightly obsessed with fashion; so I always like putting together little moodboards for my jewelry lines. However, this Fall I wanted to do something a little special, and put together a larger trend report and share it with you all just for fun and inspiration.

Taken straight from watching the runways of NYFW, lots of scouring, and questions to some "insider" friends I may have, I bring you:

And I could think of no more perfect song for the badass, glam-chic lady of Fall:

It's Coming...

{ design & typography (c) erin mcmanness 2011 }

a r g y l e  s w e a t e r s

h o t  a p p l e  c i d e r

c a r v i n g  p u m p k i n s

k n e e - h i g h  b o o t s

s m e l l  o f  l e a v e s

f o o t b a l l  p a r t i e s

t e a  &  c o f f e e  c a k e

h a l l o w e e n  c o s t u m e s

c o r n  m a z e s

p u m p k i n  s p i c e  b r e a d

c o l d  n o s e s

Exciting things & creativity

Today has been a lovely, productive day. Good, exciting things are coming! But I can't talk about them yet. Which, if you know me, makes for incredible discipline. Dohhhhh.

{ From my sketchbook }

What I CAN talk about is that I am currently putting together a lovely Autumn2011 Trend Report (and perhaps a moodboard) for inspiration for my upcoming Fall Line of jewelry, grabbed from the runways of NYFW. Ralph Lauren's FW2011 collection had me gasping, it's gorgeous. Keep your eyes peeled in the next few days ;)

In the meantime, one of my blogging friends, jdavissquared, linked up this pretty rad video:

29 Ways to Stay Creative

29 WAYS TO STAY CREATIVE from TO-FU on Vimeo.


My sketchbook is usually glued to my hip (and I write down weird random phrases and quotes and stuff in it - people who look at it probably have pretty big WTF moments, especially when I include commentary on what I've drawn; such as, "What is this - I don't even!" It's good to be honest with yourself. Right? Right.)

Luckily I have a few good friends who are musicians and have introduced me to a whole summer full of new music. Some of my favourite stuff being Hall & Oates, and Pink Floyd (yes, I was an incredible loser and didn't listen to them before this summer), as well as some amazing La Roux dubstep.

I also drink lots of coffee. So much, in fact, that "Coffee Drinker Extraordinaire" even made it into my Intro Sidebar ;)

How do you stay creative?

(Happy Hump Day, friends - let's finish this week with a bang!)

Self honesty

{ "Ribs Out" Graphite Work by Martine Johanna }

Maybe I need to believe that it's okay
to make things imperfect
to be vulnerable to people
to be completely strange
to tap into my experiences
to fuck up.

Sometimes the best things you can find...

...are completely forgotten old photographs.

My mom was cleaning out her bedroom the other day and stumbled upon loads of forgotten photos, ranging from when I was pretty small, up to about a year ago (now I'm 25). I'm usually always wrapped up in some project or another, but it was nice to just pour my coffee and sit at my mom's kitchen table and laugh through a few stacks at how awkward I was (and wonder why no one told me how ridiculous I looked!)

So without further ado, I give you a small but nostalgic selection, complete with editorial...

Found any good photos lately? 
Sometimes the best thing we can do is laugh at ourselves ;)

{ Fonts Avain and Postage Stamps from dafont.com }

Just a small thought...

Have no fear of perfection; you'll never reach it.
Salvador Dali.

For all you fellow creatives, who pour everything they have into what they make, and always strive to improve, advance, and attain. 

Let us take joy in our humanity, find the beauty in our flaws, and keep it real.

 

{ photo credit to pinterest }

Self Portrait Sneak Peek

 
I usually don't post things up in this kind of early stage

mostly because half of my vision for the piece isn't even there, but tonight was a good work night; one of the most productive in awhile.

As I mentioned in my last post, I am working to gain more scholarship funds to be able to attend school; I will hopefully be using the piece as part of my collection for my portfolio.

Graphite & watercolour on strathmore paper.

Enjoy mi amici ;)

{ art (c) erin mcmanness 2011 }

Taking a step back.

 { photo credit to pinterest.com }

What's on your list?

So, there's no timid way of saying this... 
I have decided for a number of financial reasons to defer my entrance into Grad School until after the New Year. I should be entering in the beginning of January. I wanted to be able to save some more money and revamp my scholarship opportunities so that I would be able to fully focus on my studies, instead of being so worried about finances that it would be a distraction and I wouldn't be able to do my best work (that's why I'm there, right?).

I honestly feel very at peace about the decision, even though it was one that has kept me awake many nights. But as I'm still in an uncertain financial spot as it is, any thoughts or prayers for steady work would be loved and appreciated.

Fashion Shoot / Why I've Been Away

Well, let's start with my cup of coffee on this cloudy Sunday... I've been away awhile, hopping from here to there... it's been fun, but it's also been a little weird without a good old blog update. Get ready for lots of pictures in this one ;)

A lot has been happening in my life.
It's funny how you can feel like you go through periods in your life where nothing at all changes and you're bored stiff of your lifestyle, and suddenly - BAM. And you're thrown into huge changes, which are great and exciting, but also a little nerve-wracking and confusing. I've been getting ready to go to Grad School down in Atlanta, at the Savannah College of Art & Design. Part of my absence here was due to flying down with my mom to check out the school and do some apartment shopping. We only had a few days, and we didn't actually end up settling on a place... so at this point I may be living out of a cardboard box, haha... (no, really.)


I also had the pleasure and privilege of styling a Fashion Film Shoot a few weeks ago.
My lovely friend and model, Sarah Hawkins, has the honour of being named one of the 8 New Faces for Bergdorf Goodman's 5F campaign, and asked me to come style a short film she was collaborating on outside of Philadelphia. Of course, I jumped right in my little car and headed up with my pieces. Not only did I have an amazing time styling her and helping with the filming, I got to take a bunch of awesome behind-the-scenes shots to share with you all!

The film is still in production, but I'll post it here as soon as it's released!
{ all photos in this post (c) erin mcmanness 2011 }

My friend Sarah was dressed in NINO Brand's new Spring Collection, that hasn't even been released on the website yet - but you get a sneak peek here! My favourite piece was the full-length skirt, in ocean-gray and champagne silk.

We all met at ZUZU Gallery, right outside of Philadelphia on a lovely, sunny Saturday. ZUZU was such a gorgeous space - with great light, a chic vibe, and tons of handmade jewelry from local artists (so of course I was instantly a fan). I took a bunch of my pieces to match with the luxurious, draping pieces from NINO. (Pictured above is my Royal Parisian Necklace)

Filmmaker Edan Cohen shot simply breathtaking footage of Sarah in various outfits from NINO, styled with my own pieces - we had a lot of fun checking out some of his shots! The light in the studio was perfect, and some of the preview shots we saw were really ethereal and beautiful. The film is going to be great; I'll be sure to embed it here when it's released ;)

It was really cool to have the opportunity to take some shots of the filming, since I'm used to only having my jewelry pieces and myself as a model! Sarah and I collaborated on many of the outfit and jewelry pairings - in the second outfit, Sarah wore a duotone dress in a neutral palette, and we added in a pop of hot pink with my Hot Pink Bloom Ring.

One of the coolest parts of the shoot was collaborating with artist Denise Fikes. She does incredible paintings of women in bright, bold colours. Edan filmed as Denise busted out gorgeous, organic line drawings of Sarah in various outfits. As a fellow illustrator, it was an awesome opportunity to see someone so skilled at work. Denise was a professor of art for a number of years, and I'm probably going to adopt her philosophy of always painting in heels while at school, haha!


All in all, it was an awesome day filled with some really creative, collaborative people. I can't wait to see the video and share it with you all!

Also, did I mention that I scored some cherry red wedges for only $17? 
Yes ma'am. ;) Have a great day, everyone!