Wow. This month has blown by so quickly! And I'm relieved that it has. No other month has been like this in the history of Elegy - it has been a demand on not only my creative energy, but my time and sanity as well.
I can't really show you anything today, but just know that in the past few weeks I've created some of the most extravagant work of my career thus far. I have two photo shoots this week - and both are for OTT styles that are completely opposite. Tonight in fact, I just got finished putting several hours into my mother's victorian-inspired wedding gown for next weekend!
My schedule and creative energy are almost totally spoken for until the end of June. This weekend I have a photo shoot with a goddess of photography and a gorgeous model, next weekend is the wedding, the weekend after I'm traveling to Georgia for Frill, and then a photo shoot all the way over in England a few weeks after that (unfortunately it's a lot cheaper for my garments to travel there than for me, so I won't be going haha).
On a side note, I've also hooked up with a few super talented illustrators! Illustration is not my strongest suit (unless it comes to illustrating clothes, and then I've got you beat ^_~), so I decided to reach out a bit to my fans to collaborate with a fellow creative.
I'm so full of excitement for what's to come, so keep a lookout for lovely original illustrations & Elegy~
♡MissChubi
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Hooray for Lighting!
At last! I finally have decent lights and a backdrop for photos - so long, dark corner of my studio! I've been seriously interested in getting good lighting for several months now, but I didn't have space for it in my old apartment. Now that I have a full basement, that couldn't be used for an excuse any longer and I finally made the purchase!
The lighting kit I finally settled on was THIS. I ordered the kit last Thursday (May 2nd), and received it... the very next day! Haha. I decided to sign up for the Amazon Prime one month trial thing in order to get free shipping because I didn't feel like paying an extra $25 extra to get it in 3 days. So in conclusion - shipping was excellent!
I was a bit worried, because the reviews were all over the place - people were raving that it was super awesome, and other were raving about how everything was broken and/or missing when they received it. Unfortunately, reviews were like that on just about all of the lighting kits I was looking at, so I decided to take the gamble and just go for it. Luckily, I hit the jackpot!
I decided to set up everything in my basement since there's a lot of space down there and it's pretty cool.
^ Carrying case!
^ Everything was packaged nicely. However, nothing was labeled and the instructions for putting it all together were pretty vague =__=
^And the contraption that attaches to the bulb and umbrella to the stand.
^ Another view of the lovely dent. So I took matters into my own hands, literally. I un-dented it. With a combination of tools from my boyfriend's tool box in the basement, including a wrench, pliers, and other things I don't know the names of, I eventually bent it back into place.
^ Well, sort of. It fits, and that's all that matters! I just know that these two poles are attached for life - it took quite an effort getting them together and I don't want to have to go through that again.
I was a bit worried, because the reviews were all over the place - people were raving that it was super awesome, and other were raving about how everything was broken and/or missing when they received it. Unfortunately, reviews were like that on just about all of the lighting kits I was looking at, so I decided to take the gamble and just go for it. Luckily, I hit the jackpot!
I decided to set up everything in my basement since there's a lot of space down there and it's pretty cool.
^ This is what I received. The box was a little banged up, but that's to be expected when it's rushed from the other side of the country overnight, heh.
^ Carrying case!
^ Everything was packaged nicely. However, nothing was labeled and the instructions for putting it all together were pretty vague =__=
^ I found the light stands!
^And the contraption that attaches to the bulb and umbrella to the stand.
^ Then... I found the lightbulbs O____O
Definitely NOT what I was expecting, but they look super awesome - like ray guns or something, so I approve, lol.
Definitely NOT what I was expecting, but they look super awesome - like ray guns or something, so I approve, lol.
^ Pew-pew-pew!
^ And they fit just fine, so I'm not complaining!
^ It's coming together and I'm starting to feel like a "professional" :3
^Aaand.. we have light! O_O
^ Next, onto assembling the backdrop stand, where the fun really begins.
^ The poles all slide into each other, and lock into place. There's 4 in total, and one of them had a bent end :( I was feeling pretty crappy and contemplated contacted the seller and doing some sort of exchange, but I didn't want to wait any longer for my lighting!
^ Another view of the lovely dent. So I took matters into my own hands, literally. I un-dented it. With a combination of tools from my boyfriend's tool box in the basement, including a wrench, pliers, and other things I don't know the names of, I eventually bent it back into place.
^ Well, sort of. It fits, and that's all that matters! I just know that these two poles are attached for life - it took quite an effort getting them together and I don't want to have to go through that again.
^ And the final set up!
Overall, I'm pretty happy with my lighting kit. Yes, there was a bit of trouble with the pole, but that's a lot better than receiving completely broken equipment like a lot of other people. And the lights are quite an upgrade from the dim corner of my studio that I've been using for oh, way too long~
♡MissChubi
♡MissChubi
Monday, May 7, 2012
My First Meet-Up!
I know, I know - it's hard to believe, but I've never been to a Lolita meet-up! Saturday was the first, and I had a total blast, I cannot wait for the next one!
I meant to record more, but I was super nervous and totally forgot about doing that. Luckily I didn't forget to take pictures though!
My coord for the day! Ugh, it was super bright so I look like a glowing, washed out Magical Girl here :3
Salopette: Elegy's Lollipop Parade in Petal
Blouse: Elegy's Lillian Cutsew in Marshmallow
Purse: Bodyline
Shoes: Bodyline
Socks: Sockdreams.com
The meet-up took place at this local tea house - it's so lovely ♡
The group! Er.. at least most of us. There was a handful who went to the Obama rally, got stuck in traffic and arrived hours later :(
My boyfriend, getting ready for food!
The boyfriend's food.
And.. finished! :3
Group shot!
I think this was supposed to be a "silly" group shot, lol. Anyways, I love how the scooter became a part of our group :3
So that was pretty much it - the day was super fun and I loved being able to meet all these people I talk with online in person. It was such awesome. I cannot wait for the next one!
♡Miss Chubi
♡Miss Chubi
Friday, May 4, 2012
Published!
A few months ago I received an email from the very talented Nicole, from Nicolophobia Photography. She loved my work and wanted to collaborate on a shoot! She already had a lovely model picked out, and she sent me photos of a beautiful abandoned environment, so I got straight to work. The photos reminded me of something ghostly, so I decided on designing a Shiro Lolita dress for it.
^From sketch to realization~
It all happened very quickly - within a week I had made and sent out the dress - that weekend photos were taken, and I was sent this as a preview from the shoot:
I was told that there was a probability of the shoot getting published, and was ecstatic! I've never been published before (except for like Honor Roll from elementary school, haha) and I would never have guessed that this collaboration would lead to that.
Alas, earlier this week it finally came to realization:
Alas, earlier this week it finally came to realization:
Monday, April 16, 2012
Re-Inspired!
So about that blog post I wrote a few weeks ago... at this point I don't think I'll be deleting it. The response I got to it was overwhelming, and made me realize that yes, things can be hard and there will be challenges and struggles, but that I shouldn't simply give up because things aren't going well at that particular moment. When I'm in that mode of thinking, it's really hard to see the bright side and to believe that what I'm making has any value.
On that point, I've decided to stop being mopey and depressed when things are going slow. Instead of wallowing around feeling sorry for myself and being a complete waste of space (as is my usual response), I'll instead... make something. I'm determined to be inspired by my feelings of sadness and make something new. I've actually already had a head start on this. At the end of last week I began working on some new things for my (almost non-existent) kadona/boy-style wear. I'm not going to get into the details at the moment, but I'm very excited with what I've come up with!
When I first started up my Etsy shop, my personal goal was to add a new item each week. Well that lasted a handful of weeks until I got busy with orders, and then proceeded to fully forget about it. I've also realized that I've managed to meet and follow through with each and every goal I set for myself, in my New Year's Resolutions blog post, except for the upgrading my home-machine to tank (which I can't really afford/help at the moment, so maybe by the end of the year?) and the fashion show participation/selling of wares in person will be taking place in June! That being said, I've decided to go ahead and reinstate my aforementioned goal of adding new items to the shop. I'm aiming to add new things at the beginning of every month - it's not going to be a like a mini-line or anything, just a handful of garments/items that I feel deserve a spot in the shop. I feel like it's been quite a while since I've designed anything new, so I'm excited to get back to that. I'm also planning to finally invest in some decent lighting and a backdrop to at last bring my photos up to decent quality! I've been saying this for... years(?) now, and I'm hoping to actually follow through with this before the end of the month.
One more thing before I go. I wanted to thank all my fans for your complete and total support. You all are a huge reason why I get to do what I love doing, and I couldn't be more grateful for you. Your words of encouragement really slapped me out of my sour mood and got my head back on straight. I don't know what I'd do with out you all - thank you~
♡
Miss Chubi
On that point, I've decided to stop being mopey and depressed when things are going slow. Instead of wallowing around feeling sorry for myself and being a complete waste of space (as is my usual response), I'll instead... make something. I'm determined to be inspired by my feelings of sadness and make something new. I've actually already had a head start on this. At the end of last week I began working on some new things for my (almost non-existent) kadona/boy-style wear. I'm not going to get into the details at the moment, but I'm very excited with what I've come up with!
When I first started up my Etsy shop, my personal goal was to add a new item each week. Well that lasted a handful of weeks until I got busy with orders, and then proceeded to fully forget about it. I've also realized that I've managed to meet and follow through with each and every goal I set for myself, in my New Year's Resolutions blog post, except for the upgrading my home-machine to tank (which I can't really afford/help at the moment, so maybe by the end of the year?) and the fashion show participation/selling of wares in person will be taking place in June! That being said, I've decided to go ahead and reinstate my aforementioned goal of adding new items to the shop. I'm aiming to add new things at the beginning of every month - it's not going to be a like a mini-line or anything, just a handful of garments/items that I feel deserve a spot in the shop. I feel like it's been quite a while since I've designed anything new, so I'm excited to get back to that. I'm also planning to finally invest in some decent lighting and a backdrop to at last bring my photos up to decent quality! I've been saying this for... years(?) now, and I'm hoping to actually follow through with this before the end of the month.
One more thing before I go. I wanted to thank all my fans for your complete and total support. You all are a huge reason why I get to do what I love doing, and I couldn't be more grateful for you. Your words of encouragement really slapped me out of my sour mood and got my head back on straight. I don't know what I'd do with out you all - thank you~
♡
Miss Chubi
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