SoHo Exchange

All the hard work comes down to less than 10 minutes on the runway! The lack of sleep, the tweaking of designs as you are creating them. It is all such a rush.

It comes down to the final moments. Photo by Tony Nelson

It is when the flash bulbs go off, the crowd is applauding, one realizes – FASHION IS WHERE IT IS AT!

Every Girl Needs a TuTu! Photo by Tony Nelson

Don’t forget to come hear Amy Michielle speak at Design 7: 7 Stories, 7 Minutes, Thursday April 15th 7 p.m. @ the Weisman Art Museum.

Thursday, April 15, 6:30 p.m., Weisman Art Museum
Reception with presenters follows program

$25 General Admission, Free to CDes students. Registration required.

What can be shared in just seven minutes?

Listen in as seven professionals from the fields of architecture, apparel, graphic and interior design, housing, landscape architecture, and retail share thought-provoking, inspiring, and sometimes curious tales from the trenches.

Presenters:

* John Cuningham, Founder of Cuningham Group Architecture
* Chuck Hermes, Chief Experience Officer for Clockwork Active Media Systems
* Anita Barnett FIIDA, Principal with Perkins+Will
* Damon Farber, President of Damon Farber Associates/Landscape Architects
* Wayne Laberda, clothing designer with Target Corp
* Amy Michielle Freeman , owner of SoHo Exchange, Inc.
* Bill Mague, Artspace Portfolio Director

Presented by the College of Design Student and Alumni Board

7 years ago today, SoHo Exchange came to life in Minneapolis, MN. On that first day, Amy Michielle went to the MN Film Board’s Town Hall meeting. She met some producer’s of a feature film, titled Strange As Angels. 4 weeks later she was in pre-production for that film as the Costume Designer/Wardrobe Stylist. Check out her credit on www.IMDB.com. Thanks to everyone for their support over the last 7 years! Here’s to many more.

SoHo Exchange mentioned on Vita.mn’s calendar events for Commingle IV. VIP is sold out, but you can still purchase general admission tickets at www.VitalCulture.com

We are in full sewing swing in our studio. There is tulle everywhere! Vinyl everywhere! Pretty soon we are whipping out the fur. Now we will have pics…but it might be after the show. AMF received a new camera for Christmas…started taking great pics of the journey…and well…it seems quite complicated in figuring out the software for uploading, while trying to complete the line…so alas, great readers of SoHo Exchange News…you must wait for the visuals…think of it as a recap. But we can tell you JP DeLaire and St. Paul Peterson provided great, funky music for SoHo Exchange. Thanks guys!

Good News! Tickets are on sale for Commingle IV! www.VitalCulture.com. But here is an opportunity to win 2 complimentary GA tickets. You must act quickly. The drawing is 1/15/10 at noon. So please email amf@SoHoExchange.biz if you would like more details.

Also, if you are interested in volunteering for the show as a dresser, please email wonevang@yahoo.com

Stay Looking Cute!

Happy New Year! We are busy preparing for Commingle IV. Have you done your part? Purchase your tickets today @ www.VitalCulture.com. Tickets are going fast.

Wishing you and your family a happy, holiday season. The SoHo Exchange blog will return January 5, 2010. Be safe and stay looking cute!

Things are really heating up in preparation of the upcoming collection. This week’s big project was finalizing the models for the upcoming show. We are happy to announce one of our favorite models we have ever worked with, Meghan G., will be walking during the Commingle show and modeling SoHo Exchange designs. Here is a look at one of her previous appearances on the runway modeling SoHo Exchange.

Photo Credit: Zao Photography

The saga continues with sewing. One gown is complete and gorgeous; however it will not be unveiled until the Commingle show January 27, 2010. Tickets go on sale next week.

The jacket, shown in previous entries is not finished. There were some fit problems and it was not rushed to completion. The photos of the other entries for the contest, were professionally styled and photographed, so the decision was made to wait until next year after our Lookbook is complete and our brand would be represented up to the standards of the rest of the competition.

As part of our continued effort to make clothes that every woman can wear. We would like to include one full-figured look in our runway show. If you know a full-sized model with a 38″ bust (hip is negotiable) please email us at soho@sohoexchange.biz.

So I woke up in a panic this morning, remembering that I hadn’t written this week’s installation. I usually begin writing it Sunday, but if you followed the posts on Twitter…the last 48 hours were really busy and crazy.

Last week I mentioned the pant leg of the recycled jeans were not large enough for the pattern piece. Well, I come from the school of thought “If there is a will – there is a way!” I finagled the pattern piece, and cut it in a way that the compromised portion would be in the seam allowance.

The jacket as it looks now…

It's Coming Along

As the jacket is evolving, there are some things I will do a little differently next time. For instance, I will take the time to dye the denim or give it some type of treatment, to give it a less “patchwork” look, but I still like how the shading in the denim plays with the modeling of the vinyl.

Oh well, you live and learn!

The good news is, I have a dress 95% completed (you will have to wait to view it with the completed collection), this jacket will be done by Friday and the contest I want to submit these items to, has granted an extension for submissions. WooHoo!

Talk to you next week or get the day-by-day saga, on twitter.com/SoHoExchange.

It has been a busy week at SoHo Exchange. Beginning with not using the billboard shown in part one. Welcome to the world of creativity. After reviewing the sketch for the two items included in the blog, that billboard was just not going to work. So here is a picture of the newest billboard.

So Many to Choose From!

Often patterns are made simultaneously while selecting the vinyl. You will be spared the tedious details of pattern-making. Let’s just say there is lots of physics involved. We will be highlighting 2 looks, one a formal gown and the other a jacket accompanied with either a skirt or pants…stay tuned…it hasn’t been decided yet. Also, part of the not being locked into a path and letting the creativity evolve.

After selecting the vinyl, the pattern is cut. One of the challenges with using such a big section of textile, it is filled with a lot of wrinkles making it necessary to trim up the pattern to make it more accurate after the initial cutting.

Takes a Steady Hand...

Working with recycled billboards takes a lot of elbow grease. The signs are filthy! So after the pattern is cut the pieces are washed (scrubbed actually) and hung to dry. Once it is dry, we transfer the markings from the pattern on the textiles so that we know how to put the puzzle together.

It Dries Pretty Quickly

In conjunction with vinyl billboards we use recycled denim, leather, fur, silk, yada, yada! For the jacket, it will also be entered into a contest that has specific guidelines on materials that may be used. One of the acceptable textiles is denim…so I found some old men’s jeans. I usually do a 1-piece set-in sleeve…but as part of the evolution of this garment and the ever changing design…it has a 2-piece raglan sleeve (think of a sleeve on a jersey). Problem! The back piece of the sleeve was not fitting on the leg of jeans. Grrrr! In the next life, planning will be more a part of our makeup!

If you would like to see a daily (sometimes moment-by-moment) account of this venture, please find us on twitter.com/SoHoExchange.