New Beginnings :: What I Learned About The Fashion Game

New Beginnings::

Where to begin… I got a new job.

Now the backstory….

Over the past few years, I’ve been on a journey to find my place in the fashion world. I came to NYC, got a fashion degree, and immediately started looking for work in fashion. While one wants to find a dream job the reality is that you find work so you can survive. And with this economy you can find yourself compromising a lot.

That said, I spent the past few years working in “technical design”. It’s less about design and more about fit and construction. I will say that I learned a lot and honed my skills, but after some time I realized this was not my dream, and in the end, not what I wanted to do every day for the rest of my life. So I back tracked. I’ve gone back to a world that is more technical, analysis, and project oriented. Gladly it’s still in the fashion industry and I think this will play better to my strengths in fashion & technology and make for a better long term career. And the added bonus, it will also allow me to focus on my own pursuits in my after hours.

What I Learned About The Fashion Game::

I usually shy away from talking about my day job but just this once I’m going to give some tidbits on my experience and share some of the interesting things I’ve learned along the way.

* Fashion really is not as glamorous as tv makes it seem *
Fashion is only glamorous for the head designer, celebrities, and the people in PR & marketing. Everyone else is working, and working hard long hours for no money. Unless you own your company, or are really high up, you make squat. Maybe less than squat. You get no credit, no invites to shows or parties, no love. You have to do it because you love it.

* A lot of people that work in fashion don’t actually like fashion *
To me, fashion is about art. For most, fashion is about what they like to wear. The most amazing thing I witnessed is that people in fashion don’t read the magazines, follow the trends, go to shows, etc. They don’t make their own clothes or craft their own look. They really just like to shop. And somewhere along the way it seems that the only requirement to be in fashion is a good shopping sense and the ability to copy the few people that actually do design from an art perspective.

* Fashion is where insecure people come to roost *
If you have insecurities about your body or your look, you would think that you would avoid a career that focuses on these things. That couldn’t be further from the reality.

* Fashion is filled with a whole lot of nice people, and just a couple assholes *
I try to refrain from profanity in print but that word embodies the sentiment perfectly. In all my time in fashion school, internships, freelancing, and working I discovered that most people in the fashion industry are very nice people. So much so that initially you’ll think someone is playing a trick. For instance, the head designer at my last job was a woman with a whole lot of power and influence but she was an absolutely wonderful person. She could be serious when need be but really pleasant and would hold a conversation with you about any random thing.

Now on the flip side, there are 1 or 2 assholes that can ruin the whole experience. The reality is that they are genuinely awful human beings. Miserably awful people. Awful people who will go out of their way to crap on you because you recognize they are awful people and want nothing to do with them. Like the person that barely talked to me in the first place, that went out of their way to let me know they were giving me the silent treatment because I forgot to say hello one day right after my grandfather passed. Because regardless of what I was going through, saying hello should always be my priority. Yep…that type of awful

So those are the highlights.

I’m happy to say I’ll be able to start focusing on my own work with a clear creative head. I’m really looking forward to it. As I get back into things, you follow my creative process and other random stuff on tumblr, twitter, goodreads, and pinterest.

Knitting misrepresentations :: I’m Kinda Peeved Right Now

So here is the thing. For years, well basically forever, it has been a known fact that Cascade 220 yarn is called Cascade 220 because it has 220 yds of yarn in the skein. So imagine my surprise when I go by the store and grab some Cascade 220 Sport and get home to realize this

136 yards. ONLY 136 effing yards!!! I’m a kinda pissed….really pissed actually because I didn’t get enough yarn in the same dyelots.

Now they know their brand & they knew what they were doing when they came up with that label. It’s not actually Cascade 220 Sport, it’s Cascade 136 Sport. I’m going to suggest they change the name before I get it in me to file a class action lawsuit over this. We all know how much Cascade appreciates lawsuits.

And that concludes my rant.

Knit Local :: Cabled Car Coat

And here it is…….

My latest work of knitting goodness which is featured in Knit Local by Tanis Gray.

Cabled Car Coat by Sauniell Nicole :: Copyright by Sixth&Spring/Tanis Gray - Knit Local :: Photography by Scott Jones

A few years back, Tanis contacted me about a book that she was putting together based around US-based yarn companies. The premise of the book is using local yarns to reduce the impact on the environment and support farms that take great care of their animals. I liked the idea and enjoy working with Tanis so it was a no-brainer.

The sweater is made in Farmhouse Yarns Andy’s Merino. I enjoyed using this yarn and really liked the color. I would honestly recommend this yarn for it’s softness and great colors.

If you get the book, you’ll see the story of why I chose this design but I’ll share it here too….

Back when I was in high school there was this Polo Car Coat that I desperately wanted. I had never heard of a “car coat” before or that there were coats specifically for driving. Only in America. And since I was learning to drive I felt it was most important that I have this “car coat”. The coat was $250 which mother thought was a ridiculous price for a coat for a teenager. Instead she took me to a fabric store on the other side of the city and bought me $50 in fabric & buttons to make the coat. I LOVED that coat! This cabled car coat is my homage to that coat.

The added bonus for me, is that when I envisioned this coat, I pictured this city/country version of the coat and even sketched it out with the girl in tall boots….

so you can only imagine how much I’m loving the photography for my project.

Cabled Car Coat by Sauniell Nicole :: Copyright by Sixth&Spring/Tanis Gray - Knit Local :: Photography by Scott Jones

The book is available on Amazon, in bookstores, and at your local yarn shops

The Cupcake Chronicles:: Molly’s Cupcakes

Molly’s Cupcakes
228 Bleeker St, New York, NY
Cupcake Prices: $3.75

It has been over 2 years since I last did an installment of The Cupcake Chronicles but I have been inspired. During an unscheduled trip to the West Village on a Saturday afternoon, I happened upon this little gem…..Molly’s Cupcakes. Located near the corner of Bleeker and Carmine, this shop is actually in one of my favorite areas of the West Village and snuck up out of nowhere.

I was first attracted to the store by the ingenious sign in the window and once inside I was greeted with one of the most fun environments for a bake shop.

It turns out that Molly’s Cupcakes was featured on The Food Networks Cupcake Wars. This actually wasn’t a selling point for me since I have never watched the show. The very pretty looking cupcakes was enough to get me going. Since my discovery I have been there SEVERAL times for research purposes. It’s a tough job but someone has to do it

Before I get to the cupcake reviews, I wanted to note that a part of their profits go to help local schools. ***BONUS!***

*** And as always THE DISCLAIMER: The views below are purely my opinion and based on my love of baked goods and personal preference. Your tastes are different and you may choose to agree or disagree

The verdict: .

Boston Cream

This cupcake is probably the closest they have to a basic-fancy cupcake….if that makes any sense. It’s a vanilla cake with a chocolate ganache frosting and boston cream inside. I must say that this one wasn’t one of my favorites. The chocolate ganache was a bit thick and fought against the softness of the cake. After being almost halfway through the cupcake I didn’t think there was a center filling. It seems the cream/custard filling sank to the bottom of the cake, as well as absorbed into the cake. I will note that I ate this at home so travel may have affected the outcome. For now, my rating is 2 cupcakes. I may try it again and eat it in the shop to see if I have a better experience.

Cake Batter

This one seems to be a favorite among the customers so I gave it a try. I started with the frosting. I’m not sure if it is classified as whipped cream or buttercream but it was light and airy which I liked. The center is filled with actual cake batter. A fun cupcake but again not a fav. Even though it’s injected, in my opinion, it really just feels like an undercooked cupcake. It’s one thing to lick it out of a bowl, it’s another to eat it in the middle of a cooked cupcake. It’s just not a textured I dig.

Pumpkin Spice

A seasonal cupcake. The cream cheese frosting is fantastic. One of the better I’ve had on any baked good. It was really smooth & light. The cake was moist with a nice balance of nutmeg & cinnamon. The marscapone filling was also a nice touch. I’d recommend this one if it’s in season

Peach Cobbler

This cupcake was actually the winning cupcake on Cupcake Wars. It features a really wonderful whip cream topping. The vanilla cake is light and moist but didn’t have a overpowering vanilla taste. My belief is it’s meant to meld with the filling. The filling is a peach puree which seemed to settle at the bottom of cupcake and absorb a bit. The peach flavor is light ad not a fake “peachy” flavor. I think the flavor will always be dependent on the flavor of the batch of peaches used. I found the brown sugar streusel to have a more distinct taste in the cupcake than the peach.

Apple Pie

THIS. IS. MY. FAVORITE!!!!!!!!!

Okay, in case you missed it, this one is my favorite. The 1st time I ate one I sang a line of “Jesus Loves Me”. No seriously, it goes “Jesus loves me, this I know. Because this cupcake tells me so…” This cupcake is magic!

Let’s start with the apple pie crust star and the whip cream frosting that tastes like cool whip but real and better. The cake is like a really moist apple muffin. It brings to mind a loaf bread and not so much a cupcake. I can taste the cinnamon and nutmeg but it’s not overpowering. Then you hit the center and realize there is an actual apple pie filling. Sweet Glory of America! It reminds me of a McDonald’s apple pie but chunkier and more amazing. It’s not too sweet yet just sweet enough. Seriously! I think I love this thing. TOP HONORS!!!

There are MANY more cupcakes on their menu, so I think I may need to sacrifice myself and do a bit more research

What I did over the summer….

For a time I had really gotten into a routine and realized I had closed myself off from seeing the world and really living life. Work, home, internet, sleep, repeat. Then I remember something that happened to me when I was 13 yrs old…

The summer before my 1st year in high school, I was looking forward to a summer of doing nothing. I just wanted to sit in the house & read. I didn’t have a lot of friends that lived close by, I was too young to work, and I couldn’t drive yet so this was the perfect option for me….or so I thought. I made it through 2 weeks of this plan before my mother had other ideas. SHE decided that I wasn’t going to spend my entire summer in the house and told me “I want you out of the house by 9:30am and I don’t want to see you again until 6. I don’t care where you go. Here is some bus fare”. Yup! She sure did. That set the tone for my whole summer.

So with that memory in mind I established “Field Trip Saturdays”, where I set out to do something new and different every Saturday, in addition to spend time with more people during the week.And it was a good summer. Of course that meant I didn’t give myself time to write blog posts about everything I did or post pictures on facebook. Now that the summer is over here is a quick recap of some of the highlights of my summer….