pop idol tetris
I think it is awesome that Utada Hikaru (huge pop idol in Japan) kicks butt at tetris.
Hehe, glasses!
Watch on youtube as she super-lighting-blasts many nerds in a row.
Update: found part 2 of the Tetris match, where she goes up against 2 Nintendo brain trust guys. You can feel the waves of concentration coming off of them.
sloper drafting instructions
I've been busy busy making momoko outfits (3 over the past 2 weeks, 2 left to go). I was working off of the old sloper I made before I'd taken any sewing classes. But, I didn't have a sleeve pattern, so I figured I might as well redo things now that I know the basics of pattern drafting, and square all the corners that need squaring, etc.
First try, I used the internet directions I'd found the last time .. bleah! Some historic costuming person had written them up, and it's all wrong. What a waste of time. Looked around some more, and found a bunch of really useful vintage tailoring instructions from 1942, which worked really well :) I'll have to look at it more thoroughly some time, read through the tips, and maybe make a sloper for myself (though not sure about how I'm going to be measuring myself).
bodice drafting instructions
sleeves instructions
Doll proportions make for really strange sloper shapes.
p.s. If you are drafting for a doll, it's helpful to use rubber bands to mark the bust and waist, and a twisty tie to transfer measurements to your ruler.
foster's home
We were watching some cartoons over the holidays and discovered this great show on Cartoon Network - Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.
It was so good! Everything works: the quirky writing, great art and character design, and the animation. I went and Googled, and they have their own set of wikipedia entries, and Emmys, and fancy things like that.
My favorite is the character Bloo. He's simple in shape, but so squishy and expressive. And funnily selfish and dramatic.
Here's the opening of the show, along with some clips. It is one of the best animated shows ever, you must watch it now.
Ooh, and the show's production has a blog too. Here's a cool post with the original house design illustrations.
momoko party dress
Done with the first dress, 5 to go.
(more photos at flickr)
I will take fancy portfolio photos later, these are mostly for documentation. I'm not sure how people actually pose their dolls ... my doll stands are too clunky to hide in their clothes. Photoshop?
project dollway
I saw an announcement for a doll fashion design competition, Project Dollway, on the gogomomoko group.
Project Runway + dolls = super fun! How better targeted can this be? Winning designs get produced by an actual doll company, plus, um, other prizes I think. I think I will try to apply, even though I don't own any American dolls, and there might be actual doll fashion designers applying.
You have to submit a portfolio of at least 6 finished original doll fashion designs by March 1. I have some sketches I can send, but in terms of sewn items, I don't think anything I have is really all that submittable. Maybe I can work the hoodie and the denim skirt into other outfits.
I think I can pull something together by then if I abandon all projects and work just on this. (I spent this weekend translating my party dress into doll form, with a few changes, and it's almost done.)
Here we go!
eames
We were in Boston for part of the holidays, and stopped by Harvard Sq. in one of the coolest shops around, Black Ink. I was very excited to see teeny Eames chairs. 1/12 scale, so only mamemomoko fits, but we got three mysterious boxes hoping for the best. I'm a bit bummed out about the ottoman -- I was SURE that the box felt lighter than the others. Maybe some day we'll get the matching lounge chair.
They're (of course) originally from Japan and the Eames set is 3rd in a series of 4. Check out the cuteness of teeny designer chairs on ReacJAPAN's website.
It is annoying that Blank Ink marked up the prices 300%+ ($15 a box) from the original 525 yen (~$4). Kinokuniya tends to be ~150% markup. I guess that's what importing to the East Coast + maintaining a in-the-middle-of-Harvard-Sq store will do.