Photo shoot #1

Happy Friday, folks... I'm going to make this short and sweet. So I mentioned in my last post I got some new photographer neighbors. They took one look at my work and wanted to shoot it That same week! Well, needless to say I was more than happy to let that happen, and the results were... AMAZING! The talent behind the camera is Robert Hayman, and he truly has a gift :) So without further ado, here is the first half of the Red Vamp 1880/90s gown photo shoot!

              

Yaaaay! Enjoy the pics everyone! And Please, do share or "Pin" the shots you love the most (just don't forget to credit me and Robert Hayman!!)

Stay tuned for the other half of this photo shoot! Hey, I gotta bring y'all back somehow ;P

HIATUS Pt. 2

So you guys wanna know what else has been keeping me busy and away from writing blog posts? You don't.... OK, well I'm going to tell y'all anyway, because.... It's my blog!

1.) I've got cats...

These Adorable little fur-balls were born/raised in the junkyard of my workshop property and I've been socializing them ever since they started wobbling around! After their mom left, I took care of them and you could say they began to regard me as the "Mama cat" (Of course, she came back a few months later, pregnant with another litter!) Well back in September I heard talks about Mgmt wanting to trap-fix-release all the cats on the property (there were apparently 25 cats total!) I became a little worried but I figured they’d come right back with that kind of program. It turned out, they weren’t doing that and the cats were being trapped and taken to the pound! Of course, I freaked out because my “babies” were being taken away to a very uncertain future! Well to get to the point, I stepped it up and adopted the two boys from the animal shelter and took the remaining girl to FixNation myself so we wouldn’t have any other problems. But the boys ended up with respiratory infections, which meant I had to take them back to the vet for more antibiotics. It was an ordeal! I was lucky to have such a good work neighbor who offered to hold the girl kitty at his home while she recovered! (I can’t have cats where I live so they stay outside my workshop, in a cathouse) Unfortunately, the last little sister is still at the shelter waiting to be adopted and it breaks my heart knowing she may never see her siblings again… I’m contemplating adopting her as well, but she’s so cute she may have a chance with someone else! So that was One sidetracking issue...

2.) I have a God Daughter!

You see, I’m originally from Memphis, TN, and my best friend of 20 years had her first child back in December! It was planned that I go back to attend the Baptism since I am the Godmother. My BFF’s parents generously bought my ticket to come out and it was So nice to finally meet my little Livy the night I flew in. She is an absolute Doll; just such a sack of smiles, I love that little girl so much! It’s so great to be a God Parent and to live vicariously through your friends with the whole child rearing business, hahaha! Anyway, I went back home for a little over a week for the Baptism and spent some time with her, my parents, my sister/brother-in-law, and pretty much everyone that’s important to me here and it really was a fantastic time! But it was a week out of work, both personal income work and business related work, which pushed things back a bit… And of course this was the trip I already had planned before I had to deal with all the cats and their surgeries and antibiotics and the sheer mess of it all! It was very stressful to say the least, but everything worked itself out (thankfully for my Amazing boyfriend and generous work neighbor!) and I am very grateful! So that was the Other sidetracker.

3.) I’ve been looking for a new workshop…

While I Love my current workshop, our neighbors seemed to be moving out and I was hopeful to take over their more spacious unit. But it seemed the other partner (who’s squatting in the outdoor space...) wanted to keep it and apparently scrambled to find a tenant in the last minute before I even got the chance… So we now have new neighbors essentially, but it has been quite beneficial to me since the new neighbors are photographers and have proven to be very interested in my work!

So finally, to conclude this unusually long post, stay tuned for those photo shoots by my neighbor, Robert Hayman; they are AMAZING!!! 

Thanks for reading :D

HIATUS Pt. 1

Yea Yea... I know... It's been a while. Like over a month. I know, I'M SORRY! And I KNOW I keep saying it, but keeping up with a blog is difficult for me! Especially since I've been focusing most of my time and effort to my IndieGoGo campaign (which honestly didn't get very far...)

I obviously need to come out with a video next time around... ANYWAY, I was trying my best to get donations but if you read one of my other posts about Facebook, then you can understand why I was having a hard time. I ultimately caved in and spent $15 to boost my IndieGoGo-link post and got about 10 more Likes on my page but no additional donations (I am still grateful for more Likes though, don't get me wrong!)

Another thing I've been spending a lot of my time on is my Etsy page! 

I only have 4 items (only 2 of them are actually my creation) but it's certainly a start! Two of the items are custom handmade vintage pieces given to me as a donation from my boyfriend's great-grandmother! How sweet, right?! So that's my Etsy page, check it out!

There have been a multitude of other things that have sort of taken over my mind and time in the last month, most things I couldn't control (which I'll get into in another post) so it's kept me from Really getting down to business! But now I'm back, and will hopefully keep up with this S**t!

Thanks for hanging in there! :D

*Fun Fact: Today is my Dad's birthday! :) Happy Birthday Daddy, Thank you for all of your support!*

Because I Have To...

Ok, so this is the post I've been dreading... Crowdfunding... I'm not good at it. As a new business, I'm broke. That's something that most consumers don't know about small businesses; you really need a nice chunk of capital in order to begin operations. I went to business school after receiving my degree in Fashion Design, and while they taught us all of the ins and outs of "business," they didn't really elaborate much on how to actually obtain the funds needed to start a company.

Luckily, we live in the digital world full of social media marketing and a larger sense of online community. So I decided to put together and launch a crowd-funding campaign to help me raise the start-up funds needed to get this show on the road. I've had several donations, which I am incredibly grateful and appreciative for, but in all honesty, it's HARD!! I wasn't aware that Facebook sucks in terms of actually reaching out to people. Maybe you have 572 friends, but I can guarantee that only about 15 of them actually see what you post. And, when you rely Heavily on the support of your social circle (whether it's full of close friends and family or distant acquaintances) it's critical that as many people see it as possible! Facebook's platform seems to be Pay-to-Play, so without "Boosting" my post, the same 5 people are the only ones Liking and Sharing. This is a BIG PROBLEM!

So, after realizing this, I transitioned over to Twitter. They are SO much better when it comes to actually connecting with others and getting your message out! Granted, I have no idea how many (if any) of the donations came from Twitter followers, but I have connected with many other professionals who are interested in what I'm doing. Some have helped by retweeting my link and some are interested in collaborating! (Remember that photo shoot I mentioned in the last post? Well, the photographer found me on Twitter!) 

Now, without further ado, I'm sharing my IndieGoGo fundraising campaign because I need help. I really need help. If there's someone out there that's interested in historical costuming, couture wedding gowns, or just supporting small businesses, please do me the giant favor of making a contribution today. There's less than 30 days left now, and I'm only 2% of the way to my goal. I really Really need your help! Click here to make a donation. 

Thanks for reading!

Round 2

Hello again!

Ok sorry for the delay, things have been super hectic and I'm terrible at keeping up with a blog. BUT it's pretty important so here we go... Trying!

So in my first post I just kind of introduced myself and wrote a tiny bit about my first piece as a business, here's a picture to recap!

Today I want to show off present another project I'm working on. I initially I started the project just wanting to replicate the "smoldering temptress" from one of my favorite movies, Moulin Rouge. BUT, since I'm an official business entity now, I started thinking about the legal stuff and decided to avoid ANY trouble with copyright infringement I should make some changes:

....And Now!

I know, I'm pretty excited about it too! ;) It kind of has a bit of an 1898 Vampiress from Interview with the Vampire (another one of my favorite movies) feel to it now with the changes I've made and I'm so glad! I luckily had just the right amount of black sequin mesh, beaded trim, and a black appliqué to really complete the look! 

Well, I'd say this post was a success *still keeps fingers crossed* Thanks for reading and viewing the pictures! Stay tuned though for a stylized photo shoot of this dress with a Gothic Glam model friend of mine :D

~Monica <3

Hello World!!

...Here's to the first post, let's not screw it up... OH HI!

So, my name is Monica, I'm a designer, and as of this June I became a small business owner! 

"Designer of what?" you may ask... Well, I am a costume designer,  particularly historical costumes from the 16th to the 20th centuries. I also have a very soft spot in my heart for wedding dresses, so I do a bit of that as well (which I'll get to in a later post!) 

"What's your new business called?" you may wonder... Well, I am so Proud to present, Boxcar Boutique! 

I have been sewing since I was 6 years old, by hand at first, and then a few years later I disobeyed my mother and dabbled with the "broken" vintage sewing machine inherited from my grandmother! Ever since then, I've continued to develop my skills as a seamstress (ohhh sexy..) even went to College for it. 

Yup, so I went to FIDM (the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising) for fashion design, graduated, stayed another 1.5 years to get my Bachelors in business management, graduated from that and then... did nothing with it. Until Now :D

I had a realization one day that I have a unique talent, with "college degrees" to back it up, and the independent personality to start something real for myself, a Real Career! SO, here I am.

Now, I want you to see something, it's my very first project as a bonafide business:

First of all, this is my sister, she was my very first client! Second of all, it was my very first piece as Boxcar Boutique :D My sister volunteered at the Memphis Renaissance this past August and I can guarantee she was the best lookin' broad there! Initially, neither of us knew what we were getting ourselves into, but to make a long story short, she's incredibly happy with her gown and will return to me for next year's Faire frock!

Ok, so I feel like I've said enough about myself for now, but stick around folks, I've got plenty more to show & tell!

~Monica