Sewing Circle Canceled

I just received word from on high that sewing circle tonight has been canceled...

Schlitterbahn!

So, I don't think E and I have recovered from Ric Rac quite yet. (Yes there will be pictures, someday) I can't tell you how incredibly hot it was sitting outside all day on Saturday. A hearty thanks goes out to all who attended! And an even heartier thanks to our vendors who braved the open air!

I don't know about anyone else but my brain seemed to melt on Saturday, the only thing it can think about is our trip to Schlitterbahn tomorrow. Lazy River, you and I have a date tomorrow. A really long, wave filled date.

Anyone else hitting the water parks this summer?

Naptime

Whew, this weekend was a blur! Ric Rac was fun (although HOT) and now all I want to do is take a nice long nap in this bedroom. Preferably with a view of the ocean outside of that window.

Ric Rac Roundup 2011

It's the moment we've all been waiting for! The Ric Rac Roundup is tomorrow! It is also bon bon's 5th anniversary tomorrow and to celebrate we are giving the first 30 customers in the shop free cupcakes.

Hope to see you bright & early!

Violet top

I love the post over on Colette about adding pintucks to the new Violet pattern. They look so sweet, don't they?

Here is the original Violet top. It's new this summer has anyone made it yet? We have the patterns, I just haven't gotten a chance to sit down with it.

Selvedge Autumn Fair

The Selvedge Autumn fair has been announced for September 17th! Although we have plans to leave London that day, I might put them off for a couple of hours. If the fair is anything like the magazine it will be gorgeous! By the way, have you seen the new issue? We have it at the store..it's amazing. As always.

Decoylab

Did you see the great article on Decoylab in Sunday's KC Star? We are so happy to have Maiko in the Ric Rac Roundup, and doesn't her stuff look perfect in our store??

Q&A | Maiko Kuzunishi became cuckoo for clock design by accident

Maiko Kuzunishi of Kansas City is the owner and designer behind Decoylab. Her clocks are sold through online boutiques around the world; she has distributors in Australia and South Korea. On Saturday, Decoylab clocks (ranging from $18 to $120), other housewares and brooches will be sold at Ric Rac Roundup craft fair in Westport.

JOB DESCRIPTION: Owner of Decoylab, a graphic and housewares design business, www.decoylab.com

What’s your personal design style?

Midcentury modern with French country thrown in. Those don’t always go together, but I can’t help it.

Your clocks are sold around the world. How did you become cuckoo for clock design?

By accident. I’d quit my day job because I wanted to do something creative for myself. I illustrated a bunch of calendars, using a gocco machine (a cross between silk-screen and rubber stamping) and put them on Etsy.com. One of the illustrations was a cuckoo clock, and I thought it’d be interesting as a real clock. So I made a clock kit and put it on Etsy, too. The clock kits kept selling, the calendars didn’t.

How have your clock designs evolved?

I assemble the clocks, and I keep making them more durable. They’re laser cut. Mostly bamboo. There are animals (owls, fawns, hedgehogs) and decorative clocks (flowers, stars, squares). Everything is made to order, so there’s no waste. I want to see how far I can go with the clock. I have 30 designs so far. It’s all fun.

What other housewares do you design?

Tea towels. I wanted some color because the clocks are mostly wood hued. I designed the fabrics and printed them using spoonflower.com. (Among the patterns are bicycles and a 2012 calendar). Also, laser-cut felt coasters. I designed them for Ric Rac Roundup this month (see box for details).

What are your favorite magazines and design blogs?

I love Everyday Food. I get great ideas from it. And I like the site www.ffffound.com (an image-sharing website).

Tell us about your home.

It’s a 1954 ranch in a neighborhood off Ward Parkway. It has irregular-sized doors and other nonstandard details.

What’s your favorite room?

Probably the kitchen. My husband and I redid it with blue cabinetry and white countertops.

You’re from Japan. What brought you to Kansas City?

My dad got a job here when I was 12. My family moved back to Japan, but I stayed here. I went to the Kansas City Art Institute. That’s how I met my husband. He’s an elementary school art teacher.

Did you design anything for your 3-year-old daughter Leela’s room?

A pink banner with her name on it and printed artwork.

What’s your next house project?

Finding a new house on the Kansas side. We want a place where my husband can play the guitar, where Leela can play and I can have a bigger studio.

Anything new you’d like to design in that bigger studio?

Furniture for personal use. Lamps for customers with laser cutting and maybe combining with fabric with my designs on it. There are a whole lot of possibilities to make something unique and fun.

RIC RAC ROUNDUP
What: A craft fair with 23 local artists and designers including Decoylab

When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 23

Where: Parking lot at 304 Westport Road

Details: Bon Bon Atelier, 816-756-0855, or RicRacRoundup.com

| Stacy Downs, sdowns@kcstar.com

Liberty Frilly Pinny class.

Hey! Anyone going to be in London on either September 18th or 25th? If so you better sign up for the Liberty of London Frilly Pinny class ASAP! This will be the first in a special series of classes at Liberty and I'm sure they will fill up quickly.

Sadly, I will be in England on the 18th, but on a whole other different side of the country, and we are leaving on the 23rd. Just missed it!

news!

Did you happen to see me talking about Ric Rac on Saturday? Good thing it was a short segment, it was very nervewracking!

Giant floating stage

J sent me this image, isn't it amazing?
A giant floating stage set up for Keith Warner's production of Umberto Giordano's opera Andrea Chénier, which will open to the public in July at Lake Constance, Austria

Daisy Janie bag

Look at this great bag our friend Jennifer made out of Daisy Janie! She used the Shades of Grey pinstripe & river rock. She paired it with some fun red linen. And hiding on the inside is a slew of secret pockets. One for sunglasses, one for reading glasses, a cell phone pouch, a place for pens, a small wallet and even a zippy pocket for lipstick. Great job Jennifer!

Ric Rac Roundup 2011

Ric Rac Roundup is almost here! Are you coming??

Patio makeover

4 steps to Patio love.

First: Hop over to Design*sponge and watch this backyard makeover video.

Second: Drool over their backyard, get busy with ideas for your own.

Third: Wander over to Greenware Design to get some succulents in original ceramic bowls for your own backyard.

Fourth: Put said pots outside and enjoy!

Vintage Craft Workshop

Did I mention that we have this book in the store? It is delightful. It will make your day to come look at it (and take it home with you!)

Beach huts

I love this image from the Festival of Britain. It's the seaside brought to the city! Colorful artist painted beach huts are out for all to see along with what is apparently the world's longest strip of bunting...I can't tell you how pleased I am that someone thought to make the world's longest strip of bunting. Also, I would really like a beach hut. Wouldn't that be lovely?

Thanks to Selvedge to spreading the word about the bunting. That made my day!

Stylin' at 70

A little more from Refinery 29 today. I love this slideshow of Stylin' 70 year olds! See more stylin' ladies at the awesome blog Advanced Style!

Shoe Spree!

I saw this on Refinery 29. Hey Missouri lady, way to represent!

A Woman From Missouri Spent $10,000 On One Louboutin Shopping Spree

By Connie Wang

Ranging from $600 to well over $1,000, Louboutins aren't cheap thrills, though one woman from Missouri really got her shop on and dropped $10,000 in one very exciting visit to ChristianLouboutin.com. This was the most spent on the website at once, which does ship internationally—so, it's nice to know that when up against princesses from Hong Kong and oil baronesses from Dubai, a gal from Missouri still bests them all. America! (Glamour)

Heather Ross Workshop

How heavenly would it be to get out of town in January to the gorgeous Palm Springs for a workshop with Heather Ross? E, don't you think this would be a great store expense? Can we go Pleeeaaase??

Here's the info: Join Heather Ross and special guests for a midwinter weekend of sewing in sunny Palm Springs at the marvelous Ace Hotel. All sewing levels welcome! Come on your own or with friends or family. You bring ideas, questions, projects, and fabric, we provide the machines, instruction, demonstrations, a beautiful space for working and relaxing, great food, and lots of like-minded creative people. Leave with improved skills, new friends, and lots of inspiration.

Guest teachers and presenters to be announced.

Past workshops have included Denyse Schmidt, Liesl

Gibson, Anna Maria Horner, Lotta Jansdotter, Jay

McCarroll, Kelly Wilkinson, and Melanie Falick

Portland Garment Factory

This is brilliant. This is what KC needs. This is the Portland Garment Factory. I stumbled across it while I was looking at work.place, a fascinating blog show people's work spaces. The Portland Garment Factory is a business that does everything a designer needs to get their idea's into production. Pattern drafting, size grading, samples and ultimately production..they do it all.

The Factory was started because the owner, Britt Howard saw local fashion designers struggling with getting their lines made. By offering these services PGF is really allowing independent designers the access to really make their business successful. Awesome!

Image from work.place, go visit to see more!

Lula Mag

Dear E, the new Lula is out. Christmas in July perhaps?

Oh, the excitement of a new issue!

Lady Grey coat

Tomorrow we start our fall Capsule Wardrobe class. This session we will focus on the Colette Lady Grey coat and some other outerwear accessories. Yes, we start tomorrow, even though the thought of putting on a winter coat in this heat kind of makes me nauseous. Anyway, there are spaces left in the class if anyone is interested. Be warned though, it's an advanced coat so some apparel sewing experience is necessary!

If you are interested email me at betsy@bonbonatelier.com

Vlisco!

We are dipping are toe into the African Textiles water with these three new Vlisco fabrics. $27/yd, especially amazing to see in person.

More books

I was so excited by the David Weidman book yesterday that I forgot to tell you what else we received from Gingko...

This is a really amazing book. It has a whole slew of artists that work in different mediums. It is one of those books that you can look at for hours. I've put a few examples of the work inside here for you.

We also have new totally adorable journals. Who doesn't love a happy journal like this?

And you've probably seen this book making it's way through the internet. It is such an interesting book (especially to someone in retail) the sad thing is that many of these stores have gone out of business even since the book was published.