Creative Firday: Interview ACIDZIP

On this Creative Friday we are featuring the jewellery designer ACIDZIP. I really love the simplicity and the delicacy in her designs. I feel like I could team her jewellery with a heap of outfits or even create a garment around the jewellery. It sure was a treat to sit down and chat with her about her jewellery line, life in Berlin and creativity! I love the point that she makes about just going for it! Don't wait until the "right time". There is no "right time", just hurray up and do it. AGREED!

Ting from ACIDZIP                                 Photo: Michael Dooney

Where are you from?
I was born in China but spent the majority my time in Canada. I recently moved from Toronto to Berlin and am still trying to make myself feel at home here.


What is your art/craft and where can we find it?
I make jewelry that often feature porcupine quills. My items are currently available on my Etsy store (http://www.etsy.com/shop/acidzip) and in a boutique called Victoire located in Ottawa (so if you ever find yourself in Canada…) Berlin shops are on my to-do list so hopefully soon!

What are the positives in buying handmade items?
I love producing and purchasing handmade items because I know that there is a story behind every item. Each item has been made with care and I’m a total sucker for details.


Where do you find inspiration?
The Internet. To be more specific, the Internet and it’s endless source of beautiful images and the wonderful people who create them. I’m very visual so I often find myself sifting through blogs and tumblr for images that simply “click” with me.


What motivates you to create?
Jewelry making started out as an outlet for my pent up creativity but now it’s the feedback that keeps me going. There is nothing better than seeing people react to your pieces and hearing back from satisfied customers. 



What encouraging words/advice would you give to someone who is interested in sparking their creativity?
If you have an idea or vision, just go for it! I sat on the fence for years and now wish that I had started earlier. It will never seem like the "right time" and you will never feel like you have enough time but once you start it will be hard to ever give up.

An outfit fit for Autumn

 

mahaila made skirt and top           Photos: Michael Dooney

In an effort to improve my German language abilities I have recently spent some time trying to decifer the patterns in the Burdastyle sewing magazines. I have great difficulty with these patterns as the sizing is often off, so I am constantly making significant alterations. I thought that it was a result of my poor German comprehension, however after chatting with some native German speaking sewing mates, they informed me that they also have problems with Burda. Perhaps thats what you get when you pay 5 euros for a heap of patterns. Does anyone else have problems with the sizing??? On the plus side I am improving my alteration skills.  

The skirt. 
This is one of my easy 'built around the waist' skirts. And I know that I have been promising it for a while, BUT hopefully the tutorial for these types of skirts will be up soon. I am sooooo busy at the moment WAY too many projects and soooo little time. 


The top 
I am trying to make one pattern out of every Burdastyle magazine, so this was my September 2011 issue effort. Perhaps not the best fit, but I do love my vintage red buttons:) 

We took these photos when it was still warm enough to take them. I love Berlin Autumns. The colours are so very inspiring!

Reminder: 

The new CUT magazine is out! so check it out. 

getting back into it

mahaila made skirt and top. Both based on Burdastyle patterns.

We took these photos when Berlin had continual sunny days and I still had a broken hand. I am surprised that after a few months my hand is still a little bunged up...but having use of both hands again has allowed me to start sewing, knitting, crocheting and screen printing. YAY!I have also been experiencing a few weeks of creative flow. I just can't stop making things. Do you experience waves of creative productivity?

This top is my second version of the Burdastyle Herbst mag 2011 top. This one is made out of cotton and I just added a little floral pocket. The skirt is the Burdastyle bubble skirt, but I omitted the bubble as it looked incredibly strange. I think that I will be making another black skirt soon as I love to wear my different coloured stockings with them. I do have some sad news about my floral doc's.The sole has partially fallen away from the boot. I tried glueing them, but the glue was not strong enough. So I will be off to the shoe repairer. Fingers crossed I can get them fixed. 

Steve Schapiro: Best exhibition:)

 

 (mahaila made top and skirt (based on Burdastyle patterns), plaid coat - best second hand find EVER!)

We hardly ever venture to the West of Berlin. Lets be honest, there is not that much happening on that side. But we could not resist the short treck when we heard that Steve Schapiro was having an exhibtion with a personal tour of his images. You may recognise some of his images. His 'Warhol and entourage' image is probably one of his most famous.

                Steve Schapiro

This was the best exhibition that I have seen... EVER. I know that is quite a statement, but who can resist a sweet, charasmatic, inpsiring elderly man bursting with exciting stories about his days as an influential photographer.  I loved his 'famous people' photos, but I really loved his documentation of world issues throughout the 50's and 60's. There were also many moving images from his documentation of Martin Luther King Jr, the Kennedy's amongst others which were featured in the exhibition.

MY OUTFIT

I love this top. It is simple to make and I just can't stop wearing it. I have made another 2 versions(which I still have to post). This skirt was meant to bubble at the front. When I had cut it out and pinned it together, it looked a little ridiculous. Why would I want the skirt to look like I had a huge gaping tummy? So I incorporated rather large darts into the skirt to ensure a more fitted silhouette. This coat is my best second hand store find. I found it in Perth years ago. On the way to the Schapiro exhibtion on the train, a little old lady told me that I had an authentic coat on. She was pretty impressed :)

1/4 circle skirt maxi

mahaila made skirt & top

After calculating the circumference for the 1/4 circle skirt (you can find the tutorial here) I set to work with this navy blue fabric. As soon as it was cut, I knew that there was a problem.... it looked like a netball skirt. I love netball and it's one of my favourite sports, but I certainly do not want to be wearing the skirts off the court (though I admit, I am guilty of wearing my uniform to the shops on occasions...after a game that is!). I had this olive green fabric left over from a jumpsuit that I had previously made and added it to the bottom of the skirt to create the maxi. I am quite pleased with how it turned out. I am not the maxi wearing type, perhaps I am converted. On another note, I will be collating some of my ideas regarding alterations for the circle skirt in a tutorial.... hopefully soon:) 

the top: I can't stop making this top. The pattern is from the Burdastyle Herbst 2011 magazine. I have made 3 versions already! This is the first and I find myself wearing it often.

Photos: Michael Dooney

with a broken hand comes change

Recently I broke my hand which has rendered me a little helpless in my everyday activities (I can't even sew!) Though with all experiences come positive outcomes. So this an opportunity to make some changes.....starting with my hair!

I have planned to cut my hair off for a while, but never found the 'right' hairstyle. Having difficulties managing my hair with one hand and feeling tired of my long hair, I decided to go to the hairdresser and just have it cut. I was lucky enough to score a friendly, talkative, English speaking, Austrian hairdresser. I now have a hairdresser in Berlin! It was hilarious when he was hacking my pony tail off, the elderly German lady sitting next to me nearly had a fit. I, however was cool, calm and collected, ready for the change. Now I just have to find a good charity to send my bundle of hair to (if anyone knows of a good charity let me know. So far I have found a few cancer related charities)

Within my recovery time I have had time to reflect and perhaps a little too much time to read. I'm not a particularly religious or spiritual person, so when searching for inspirational words I turn to the works of fearless philosophers and scientists. My readings have encouraged me to make some changes, so here are my 'New 'hair' resolutions'. 

My 'new hair resolutions'

1. Be more disciplined and focused on my goals

2. Take time to be appreciative of my surroundings and the people within it. Be more social too! 

3. Work on fitness. Being fit = positive mood

4. Reading. Read more! and go to more museums

5. Continue to sew and create. Really start to experiment a little more

6. Buy local, ethical products. Particularly food & sewing items

 7. Get on top of learning German. It's getting embarrassing!  

8. Organisation - Be organised (I am sure I have it in me..... somewhere)

9. Work hard... have fun in the process

Lets see how I go. Fingers crossed it will all happen! I will report back to you in a few months, regarding my progress.

 

Is anyone out there making proactive efforts to make some changes too???

kaye + mahaila in Berlin

mahaila made items: 

Kaye's 1/2 circle skirt and mahaila's pencil skirt

mahaila

This was our second shoot together! The first being in Australia (here) and the second being in Berlin. Kaye visited us for a whirl wind 2 weeks... where unfortunately the weather was not all that fantastic, so we were fairly unmotivated to take photos whilst exploring the city.On one of the last days we made our way to one of the many green spaces here in Berlin for the shoot.

I teamed my chequered pencil skirt (previously blogged here) with a secondhand Humana blouse, which has actually been home sewn. I love finding these handmade treasures:)

Kaye's 1/2 full length circle skirt (you can also make this with this tutorial) is made of silk chiffon. Silk chiffon can be difficult to work with and you will need to hang the skirt before hemming to check the fall. For this particular skirt you need at least 2.5 metres of fabric with 150m bolt length.

Kaye

I had been dying to have a shoot with mahaila while I was in Berlin. We hadn’t done one together in so long!

Mahaila had made this circle skirt for me after I sent her a pic of a maxi skirt earlier this year. She fitted the skirt while I was in Berlin and I had a wonderful present to take back home. The flowy chiffon and pretty floral print is really something special.

I didn’t have much in my suitcase so I couldn’t style it quite the way I wanted to. When the weather gets a little warmer in Perth, I’ll be able to wear it exactly how I want, sky scraping heels and all!

Photography Michael Dooney 

Berlin - a distant memory

(Circle skirt dress: Made by mahaila < ------ check her tutorial here. Shoes: Kmart. Sunglasses: Free with a pack of Strongbow)

My trip to Europe now feels like a distant and magical memory. My patients at work still ask me about my favourite part of the trip. When they do, I immediately remember the feeling of what it was like to discover the little world that my sister has built for herself on the other side of the globe.  

On this day, mahaila and I took advantage of the sunny weather and played table tennis out in the park. I wore mahaila's dress with my canvas lace-ups. Something about the sun and the beautiful city made me want to dress far more girly than usual. I kind of just wanted to skip around the city.

These sunglasses (which I lost in Amsterdam eeeeergggh!!!) have "STRONGBOW" written in large white writing on the side.  For our international readers, Strongbow is a company that makes beer and cider. The Canadian guy on my tour asked, "Strongbow - is that an expensive designer in Australia?" After a little giggle to myself, I explained where I got them from :)

Kaye xx

On this weekend we travelled out to Potsdam to the Schloss Glienicke. It is certainly a sweet, modest little palace. This ultimately sets it apart from many of the other palaces in the Berlin-Brandenburg area. We found plenty of locations for photos and spent a pleasant morning wandering through the gardens.

The pattern for the top was created by the Burdastyle member Seagle. She named the pattern Port Elisabeth and I just love the shape of it. I shortened the hem of the top and added this detail at the front. The pink/gold fabric was purchased at the markets with the vision of utilising it for the Port Elisabeth pattern. 

Have you ever had a problem with finding the perfect fabric for the outfit that you have in mind? Well this is a constant problem for me. Finding fabric in Germany is quite difficult....and yes, I am aware that in Aus we have a good selection, so my high expectations have hindered my ability to select material. For this outfit I couldn't shake the thought of baby blue. So after visiting numerous markets I was told by a friend to visit Berger Stoffe. This was a great recommendation. I found the right fabric...plus a little more:) So I drafted this high waisted skirt pattern and made this baby blue skirt with a striped detail at the hem. I think that it turned out quite well

Photography: Michael Dooney

 

Berlin - mahaila, kaye and michael have a picnic in the park!

OUTFITS

Kaye: Skirt: made by mahaila (previously worn by mahaila here). Top: Agent 99. Necklaces: Etsy. Shoes: K Mart. Bag: Gift from mum. 

Mahaila: Playsuit: Made by mahaila (previously worn here)

Wow, its been a while since I've posted.... 6 weeks actually. Its good to be back :)

Some of you may know that my absence has been due to travel. I've been on a whirlwind trip through Europe and it was amazing. Of course my first stop was Berlin to see my big sister and fellow blogger, mahaila.  Berlin is truly an amazing city - so full of life. Mahaila and Michael had a lot to show me and I loved learning about the city that my sister had been living in for the past year or so. We didn't have much time to take photos for the blog, but we have a few posts in store for you guys..... :)

One of my favourite Berlin experiences was finally going to the markets that mahaila had been telling me about (and  you, our readers!) These photos were taken at the Turkish markets where we bought fresh produce for our picnic we had planned for the afternoon. I swapped my traditional Aussie barbecue at the beach for a disposable grill at the local park.... weird. But apparently that's how the Berliners roll, so it was good to experience such a contrast. 

Another thing I loved about my Berlin experience?? Raiding mahaila's wardrobe!! After admiring her creations from across the globe, I was finally free to mix and match her hand made goodies with the very limited number of pieces from my suitcase. This skirt was one of the first items I got my hands on..... arrrgh, how I wished I had my shoe collection to play with!!

Kaye xx