Quick Update

Things have been busy for me lately. I recently received my Certificate of Formation for my LLC and I am officially in business! It's been very fun and also very challenging to begin to understand how to be the maker and also the BOSS. I've always been an artist and a maker but the frontier of business is one that is new and exciting for me to learn about.  There was a moment after the launch event when I was feeling a little lost. My goal for the pop up shop was to have as many tops as possible and now I am slowing down a little and perfecting my finishing techniques and design. I feel like I am also beginning to understand the groove of business! 

The newest NUUFORM

I am spending the week at home in Western Massachusetts visiting my parents. I brought my newest top which perfectly matched my mom's shorts so we had to do a photoshoot! 

I also very recently joined Pinterest. I am using it as a way to keep track of some inspirations and to put my work in that context as well. If you're on Pinterest check out my boards and follow me! 

xo

Rachel

Home Away From Home: Zine Club

For the past five or six months I have been attending a bi-monthly zine club started by Emmeline Solomon. Emmeline is so many things but mostly she is an incredibly understanding and giving human being. I usually show up to zine club starving and lacking the necessary caffeine to function and she is always there with coffee or tea and snacks! Also an incredible pile of magazines and books to chop up for the afternoon. 

Emmeline <3

The floor in Emmeline's apartment remains the best place to photograph zines

Zine club has been a great standing appointment for being creative. I graduated from art school two years ago and it's been a struggle to find ways of being creative outside of school. This is partly why Emmeline started the club. She says she wanted to "create a space where folks were united just by they desire to hang out and make something. Everyone who wants to gets to make something and receive multiple objects in return. This provides folks with the hard physical proof of making and the ability to grow their libraries with the zines made by those sitting next to them." The club has done exactly that.

Cole Lu, #1 supporter of zine club and official PR spokeswoman and Social Chair + Friend to all!

Cole Lu, Social Chair of zine club, is also an essential element of zine club. She is friend to all and has a good critical eye. She is the one, whether she knows this or not, who really pushed me to try to make my best zine. Her zines always push boundaries and make you think. Emmeline credits her to actually getting people to come to zine club. Her energy and friendliness is infectious. Cole is assistant director at Fort Gondo and runs and curates their zine library. 

Mara and Kristie 

Amazing buttons and membership cards made by Emmeline 

2015 so far has been my year! I started NUUFORM and finally feel like I am doing something important, creative and stimulating. The gals and occasional gents at zine club have been a non-stop source of support and I am grateful for all of our Sunday afternoon conversations.

xox

Rachel

Learning to Weave

This past weekend I took a frame loom weaving workshop at Enamel with artist Hillary Bird. I had finally met Hillary at the NUUFORM launch party after being only Instagram acquaintances before then. She is a friendly and enthusiastic fiber artist and it was such a pleasure being able to learn from her!

One of Hillary's weavings up in Enamel. 

I follow many weavers on Instagram (such as Maryanne Moodie, The Unusual Pear, and JuJuJust to name a few) and it was fun for me to finally understand their process! This was the first workshop that I have taken at Enamel and I am happy to say that it was totally worth the $60 class fee. I came away with so much information I didn't have before and all the tools to continue my weaving and to make many more in the future! Hillary was a fabulous teacher and I left the workshop with a weaving that I then finished the next day. 

Hillary showing us how it's done! 

Hillary brought yarn from her own stash for us to choose from for our compositions. I realized that this technique would be such a great way to use up yarn that isn't enough yardage to start a new NUUFORM top. I found that with weaving, unlike knitting, a little bit goes a long way!

It was great to meet some new people interested in craft in Saint Louis. The class was full and everyone approached the weaving differently. It was fun to see everyone's progress. 

Angela Malchionno with her weaving

My first ever finished weaving

Thank you to Enamel and Hillary for a great Saturday afternoon! 

xox

Rachel