01.3.2012

New Product to Come

Happy 2012! I hope you’re enjoying it so far. Actually, I have a feeling it’s going to be an amazing year. Do you?

I spent mine here in NYC and in the Hudson Valley – which was a welcome break from what turned out to be a very busy holiday season for me.

Now it’s time to plunge back into work, and I’m getting ready to show at the NY Int’l Gift Fair at the end of January. We’ll launch three new products, in a bunch of new patterns…and I can’t wait.

Over the years, I’ve come to relish creating the packaging for my line as much as I love making the patterns. It’s the point where the designs really start to come alive as products, and it’s always exciting. Up here is a spec sample of one new style in progress. Lately I’m totally into utilitarian hardware labels of the 1920′s meeting delicate, textural patterns, and I’m loving the cardboard touches and the textures in this item. I think the diamond shape on the packaging is a bit strange….but I tried a square, and an oval, and a circle, and they’re just plain not as cool.

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12.9.2011

Words to Live By

Oh I just love a good quote, don’t you?

This week my clients, Blue Sky, were here in NYC and they treated Kurt and me to a trip to see Alvin Ailey, and we all had a fantastic and inspiring time. I feel very grateful to have seen such amazing and energized dance. So thank you, Blue Sky – and dancers!

The first piece centered on the Harlem Renaissence. At one point, this quote was spoken, and I made a mental note to share it here. Actually, the entire Alvin Ailey experience was similar to this quote. While the dancers were moving together, it was almost like watching a troupe of soloists. That was very powerful for me. Not only in the historical context of the Alvin Ailey group – but as a metaphor for being part OF a group. The texture of the pieces was rippled…natural…because the dancers were being themselves, and they were also being focused.

This quote, and the dancers moving, reminded me that love cannot be something you hammer into shape. It takes it’s own form because of what is around it, or what is not around it.

So surround and be surrounded! On that note, have a wonderful weekend all.

Links: Alvin Ailey,  Zora Neale Hurston

 

 

 

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12.8.2011

Swatch Series: 1

Good afternoon. I’m in the process of refining pattern for new launches – and planning launches for 2012, well into the year. I thought I’d share some patterns from the library, of design in development.

I’m feeling very inspired by the idea of texture, lately. Perhaps it’s a reaction to the way the world seems to have sped up. I find myself just wanting things to be richer and more layered. As far as color, I do love my brights, but I’m also beginning to lean towards darker colors and less saturated tones – which have been interesting to work with.

If you have a moment, hop on over to the  reader survey on Facebook and let me know your thoughts  – What kinds of new products would you like to see appear in the new year?

 

 

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12.7.2011

Sources : Tuareg Hair Beads

When I was in my early 20′s, I worked in a bead store. Occasionally the buyer would come in with a batch of Tuareg hair beads. I was always taken by the signature shape of these pieces, so powerful and unmistakable. A while back, I gave a pure white glass bead like the ones at the top here, to a friend who was going through a lot of changes. I thought it made a marvelous gift.

As a pattern designer, I gravitate to things that are shaped in unique ways, often things that are symbolic…challenging myself to see beauty in shapes that are not immediately “pretty”. The silhouettes of Tuareg motifs are a good example. I’m so glad to have found a couple of good images that show these incredible miniature sculptures up close!

Images from Bead Paradise

 

 

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12.5.2011

Mon.tage : Indigo

Welcome to the first installment of Mon.tage, a series of posts for Mondays showcasing a select group of images corresponding to themes I’m working with or researching in the studio at the moment.

Indigo: the name was coined by Issac Newton when he discovered the color’s existence in the prismatic spectrum. Yet, the color *we* know daily comes from a plant-based dye that goes back to ancient Greece and beyond.

After researching a little over the weekend, I not only found images of the plant, but also read about it’s history and use – and the cultures that have been touched by it – the slaves who farmed it, the ships that carried it – the color that makes blue jeans blue.

links:
Indigo Dye – also above in it’s dry form and plant form
Japanese Boro Vest and Gee’s Bend Workwear Quilts: similar – and worlds apart.

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11.30.2011

Hello & Welcome

Welcome to my new blog, and to the susyjack.com website relaunch!

Those familliar with my longtime blog Hey Susy will know that for a while now, I’ve wanted to move my blog into my shop and site. Now that the transition is complete, I’ll be using this space to share my inspiration, design, news and style work alongside my collection.

I’ll post a few times each week, and I hope you’ll join me as I share my work, launch new products, and of course… search for the finer things in life– one of my favorite things to do.

Thanks so much for visiting. See you soon!

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