memorial day.

spent the day w.my family traveling from the old neighborhood cemetery to country cemetery decorating the graves of my ancestors... moments to remember their journey and their tales... a time to reflect on memories w.my grandparents and the stories they told of the people they lay next to now...
green sods are all their monuments; and yet it tells
a nobler history than pillared piles,
or the eternal pyramids.
j.g. percival

m.c.c. in good company

as the designer of my line m.c.c. i was asked by michigan avenue magazine to be featured in the september issue as 'chicago's hot young talent'

the photo shoot was today... i arrived with my m.c.c. garments in toe...
the four of us being showcased was quite a group... brittney payton, wgn chicago star and sports reporter, johnny knox of the chicago bears, and claudio riaz creator of his product line 'claudio'. each individual with their own story of where they have come from and where they are going... standing next to them in front of the flashing camera i felt truly honored.

be sure to grab your copy of michigan ave. mag. in september!

reminders of life found in the simplest blossom

some things in life are deceiving in perfection...a streak of imperfection... reminding ourselves that nothing in life is perfect... just beautiful.

summer snow

warm summer air blowing white bliss..drifting along the path..
a winter wonderland gracing our world.. the cotton wood puffs blow around my head.. and for a moment i forget what season i am in... i feel peace... even if only for a moment..

battling sky

a drive following the sky... the dark rain clouds drift around the sun... rain falls on my windshield and the sun pierces my eyes... a moment of warm rays and the next a downfall of droplets... the sun won.

the clouds part and drift away.

it is a freestyle

sometimes i wonder... will i ever run out of ideas? will my designs be too much alike?

then i remember... it is the freestyle of draping and the constantly changing world that influences me...

every time you crumple a piece of paper, it looks different...

every time i pull a piece of fabric across the chest and tack it at the shoulder it will be different...

every spring a new sheath of grass will grow, every winter a new flake will fall.

i'm not to worry.

just married.

just decided that they were the ones to spend forever with...

tilling.

the seasons change and the fields are no longer left alone...

tilled w.care. planted with seed in hope that this year the rain will come and the sun will shine...

the earth is uncovered to the elements... black birds flock to the exposed soil and feast on the turned up worms...

look to the night sky...

when love is lost, do not bow your head in sadness, instead keep your head high and gaze at the stars for that is where your broken heart has been sent to heal...

surprise by the pond

sitting along the north pond, sewing a m.c.c. spring 10 sample, to wear to an event as a trial, i kept my eyes focused on the stitches, rays of sun blinded my sight, i squinted, looked up and a mother w.9 ducklings fed right at my bare feet...i had hoped they would come soon...
watching them trust their mother and follow her every move...

"bonjour"

after touching up in the powder room i take the elevator back down to the lobby... the doors open, a man on the other side faces me and says, "bonjour!"
i am in a french hotel yes, but i have never been greeted this way in this country except for french class... i respond with "bonjour!" and his eye brow raises...

a few minutes later the manager of the hotel meets me to discuss m.c.c. designing the new garments for the sofitel restaurant: cafe des architects and le bar ... the manager of the hotel nicholas, was the "bonjour" man... and took no time at all to tell me how impressed he was w.me...

"most people either put their eyes to the floor or laugh when i say 'bonjour'..." -nicholas

over croissants and cappuccinos the calaboration developed...

the lesson learned is you never know who it is you are meeting on the elevator...

awakening...

early morning drive...
the sky lightens w.no sign of the sun...
one second it is blank...the next it appears...

a glimpse

the ground is cold and the air is warm...

something tells me it won't stay that way... the dandelions show that summer is around the corner...