...I Could Express The Inner Me!

Just came back from a great weekend away.  Barb and I haven't been away from the business for months so we thought it would be a great time to go see our friend Suzee and her dog Daisy. And while we were at it, we were going to see a new friend that we made at a show in Stone Mountain, GA.

For a long time, I have been trying to decide how I should look on the outside so that it represents how I feel on the inside.  I am an artist.  I create things.  I get dirty doing it.  I make a mess.  All of these things contribute to what I decide to wear when I work.  About 10 years ago, we had a logo designed by an artist we had met in Frenchtown, Val Sivilli (www.civilianbasics.com).  We then had her put the logo on t-shirts and we wore them EVERYWHERE.  People soon knew who we were as soon as they saw the logo.  Great bit of advertising that was. I wore those t-shirts with shorts in the summer and yoga pants in the winter for years.  They were serviceable and didn't show the dirt (and comfy too!).

When I started making jewelry, the logo shirts just weren't right for showing off the new work, so I started wearing plain t-shirts.  Really?  Not very artistic, but I was just stuck for what else to wear that would show off the jewelry and hide the dirt!  Enter Wendy Wehmeyer of Schuylkill Haven, PA.  The answer to all of my wardrobe dreams.

Wendy is the brains and talent behind Rough and Tumble Vintage (LIKE her on Facebook).  Wendy takes vintage clothing and does a special tie dye technique on them.  We are not talking your '70's rubber band, glow in the dark star burst pattern.  She uses very earthy colors and instead of starting with a solid color piece of clothing, she uses all vintage finds which can start out as florals, stripes or plaids.  This under-layer adds a whole new dimension to the tie dye.  From a distance, the finished pieces look like they are made from batiks (which is a whole different process using a wax resist to create the patterns).  Here is an example of a batik taken from http://www.connectingthreads.com
 

 
Here is an example of Wendy's tie dye:

As soon as I saw Wendy's booth at the show in Stone Mountain, I knew I had found the answer to my style dilemma (I know you thought it was dilemna, but that its a topic for a whole other post).  I have been drawn in to Wendy's magical world where plaids and polka dots actually do go together!  Wendy has become my muse as she speaks to my inner artist (they also hide the studio dirt!).  So here's to you Wendy, my muse, my inspiration, my friend.


Check out Wendy's website www.roughandtumblevintage.com.   

And here I thought I would never find  my inner self.  Thank you Wendy!