Keep Calm and Get Your Shit Together. A Small Guide on Working Under Pressure.

Warning: This post contains pictures of what my room looks like when I'm in the middle of working on a stage production. Those of you who are friends of tidy workspaces or have a weak stomach should not continue reading. Then again, you probably saw the thumbnail already. And also, these pictures are quite big and you're probably not reading my blog on your mobile. You might as well continue.

Right. That's my table. Combined with the floor I have abut 20 m² of desktop to ruin.

I have thought about sharing this with you. I wasn't quite sure whether I should, because actually I'm a little bit ashamed. If I had had the time tot invite friends over, I probably wouldn't have. But then I thought I can't be the only one to be like this and maybe someone will be glad about some tips I found out to be quite helpful.

Whether you're a professional in the creative field, a student or a possionated hobby seamstress whose friend asked her to make her a wedding dress, meeting a deadline and not going crazy can be hard sometimes. Especially if you have very limited time or super much work today. And probably also there's a cat to take care of, a flatmate that wants you to clean the kitchen, an extra job or univesity classes that will need your time as well.

1. Keep your work space tidied up. At least somewhat. The pictures state that I'm not the one to tell anyone about this. And I'll admit I'm really bad at it. It's still a good tip though and I'm working really hard on dropping my chaotic habbits. Putting stuff away after you've finished a step might seem time consuming, because you'll need it again tomorrow, but the piles of material will add up and then you'll need this one special tool and won't be able to find it. You will spend hours searching for it. Or you'll forget something at home when you're going to the rehearsal or the fitting or whatever because it was hidden under the clothes you wore yesterday, which you dropped one the floor because you were to tired to put them in the laundry right away. Chaos is nothing someone can master. It is just a stupid habit. Change it before it's too late.

2. Make lists. Nothing is as helpful as lists. To do lists, material lists, shopping lists, accessoires lists, address lists, measurement lists. Lists are your friends. Keep them at hand and updated anytime. Check them regularly and especially before a rehearsal. Nothing can happen if your lists are good.

3. Take pictures. You might have a photographic memory, but not even that is as good as actual photos. Take them whenever something reaches the next level. This will not only motivate you because you can see your own progress but it will also help you discover what to improve. If you change something and don't like the result, you can look at the pictures you took before to go back or find something in between or something cmpletely different. Also, if you feel like it, you can show your work to others and ask for their opinion. 

4. Take some time off. Even if that deadline is getting closer, it won't help your creativity or your psyche to lock yourself in your room for the next week and stick to your work all the time. Go outside. Have a coffee with an old friend. Go to the cinema. If the weather is nice, take a blanket to the park and enjoy a sunbath. Then go back to work.

...and that's my bed. Sleeping is overestimated anyway.

5. Stay Healthy. During the last four weeks I lost about four kilo. In other words: Most of my clothes don't fit me anymore. Skirts with an elastic band still work, as well as a pair of trousers that was too small before. Yesterday I went to do some sport, just to realise I accidentally forgot to eat all day. Being stressed out can seriously fuck up your eating habits. I often overeat and feel super tired afterwards. Funnily, I feel super productive and fit when I eat close to nothing. Find a way to remember yourself to eat. And if you do, try not to eat junkfood. It might be a timesafer, but it's not really healthy to eat fast food for a month. And don't forget to drink lots and lots of water. While this is important in all life situations, it is even more important when you drink lots of coffee and maybe even smoke some more than usual.

6. Be pretty. This might sound vain, but I always feel good when I look good. So take that extra 15 minutes in the morning to pick out some nice clothes to wear, get some make-up on and do one of these super bohemian easy hairstyles everyone expects from you because you're so artsy and stuff. Then leave the house with your head held high. Not in an old jumper and you're most comfortable pair of jeans (except that combo looks super cute on you).

I hope this helped someone out there. No that I have freetime and a social life again, I'll probably head to the park and do some open air crafting. Cheerio!

An Outfit Of Mine #001

Hello there. I'm in the middle of a really extensive theatre production at the moment, being busy all day watching the rehearsals and buying stuff and altering it and sewing completely new costumes as well. My favourite so far is a 3.5 m long coat made of red velvet. I'm such a decadent badass.
And even though I'm pretty busy I took one of the first warm spring days as an occasion to take a picture of myself wearing some clothes I own - as the internet demands. Seriously though, I wanted to do this for quite some time, and here I finally go. I'm actually a little bit excited right now.

Shoes: Converese / Leggins, Jumper: H&M / Black Jersey dress: Only / Fake Leather Jacket: Newyorker
The pearls collar was a gift, the hairband is actually a wristlet (by Bijou Brigitte)

So how do you like it? I dig the combination of flowers and pearls and then spikes and bones.

Btw, my shopping policy has been a success so far. I only had to get something from H&M, and not even for me personal, but for a course at uni. I'll tell you about that one later.

Cheerio!

The Fisherman's Daughter

I have been sewing again! Actually this is from last fall, but I didn't have time to take pictures until now! The pattern is by Burda. It's a blouson to wear in summer or inside, since it has no lining, but I might try it again using fake leather and adding lining. The print was made using the linoleum print method and I carved the pattern all by myself. I didn't think something that detailed would be possible in linoleum. But I'm really happy with the result.

The dress is second hand and was only shortened by me. I like it because it really has this rare maritime feeling that doesn't make you look like a freaking tourist.

Upcycling

Like a lot of other people in the western hemisphere I have the luxury problem of owning too many clothes. Of course this doesn't seem to be a problem at all, after years of commercials telling me that cou can never have too many, that consumerism and being fashionable go hand in hand. And even if you like to dress differently from most people, you will still be a hunter and collector of all things different from what the common brands are selling at the moment.

What exactly does owning too much make a problem? Well, first of all, it consumes a lot of space. I don't have a walk-in wardrobe, I have a chest of drawers and a clothes rack. So about 50% of the clothes I own are in my basement permanently. They have no purpose at all, are never worn and just waiting down there to be rediscovered by me.

The second problem obviously is buying them in the first play, supporting an industry that takes only the cheapest materials and exploits people, making clothes so cheap we can afford to buy a complete new wardrobe every few months. And I'm no angel here. I have been supporting these companies all my life, ever since I started to buy clothes on my own. I enjoy walking through an H&M store and finding a pair of jeans for only 20 €. Even though my conscience is telling me not to buy it, I often end up ignoring it and getting the item anyway.

A couple of month ago I wanted to get rid of some of my stuff, so I took a couple of old shirts and other stuff I hadn't been wearing for ages so I could throw it away or give it to charity. But then I realised that there would be a much nicer way, that would provide me with new clothes and stopping me from buying new clothes: Upcycling.

Now, what does upcycling mean? It is basically a special form of recycling, meaning that you turn something old into a new product, which's value is higher than that of the original product. It has been around for quite a while now. I remember there was a store in Hamburg a few years ago where one could bring old, unwanted clothes and have the material used for something new. 

So why this post? Because 2013 is gonna be my upcycling year. I pledged to myself that I would not buy new clothing, just second hand and then upcycle it. And that I would finally get rid of all the clothes I do not wear or upcycle them. And I will tell you how it works out for me. I haven't been to H&M and the like for 3 months now. And I didn't miss it at all.

Bookmarks

I made these bookmarks as a present for a friend of mine and I wanted to share them with you because they are such a dead simple diy project. Seriously, anyone can do it! You just take some nice ribbon (velvet, in this case), tuck the ends, sew over them and include a paper clip at one end. And then decorate them however you want (I did some secquin stitching for the first one and pinned a brooch to the other). Of course, for some extra glamour, you can use fance paper clips from scrapbooking supplies.