Ramonalisa Smiles

Great new store!

2011-11-20T22:51:00.001-05:00

I mostly work with boutiques in other cities, so it's a real treat when I can visit a local shop which carries my line. The treat is extra-sweet when that shop is Les Coureurs de Jupons, a freshly-opened boutique on Masson. I had been once before to bring my stock, but it was before the boutique was officially open and store owners Geneviève and Kristelle were busy as bees building, renovating, decorating, and otherwise setting up.

Their work has definitely paid off! The place looks amazing, and has a warmth that is felt the moment you walk in the door. Huge by the standards of indie shops, that only gives more space to showcase home-grown design. A haven for shoppers keen on responsible consumption, Les Coureurs de Jupons carries more than 50 (!) local lines for women, men and kids too. And since the reason for my visit was to re-stock the many Ramonalisa Fall/Winter 2011 pieces that sold in the last weeks, it seems that Les Coureurs de Jupons is off to a running start. Stop by soon, you'll be glad you did!

Les Coureurs de Jupons

2627 rue Masson

Mon-Wed 10am - 6pm

Thurs-Fri 10am - 9pm

Saturday 10am - 5pm

Sunday 11am - 5pm

New styles for Fall 2011

2011-08-25T19:17:00.002-04:00

Ah, it was a great summer. I'm always a little sad when summer ends, but fall is my favourite time for fashion and I'm really happy with how this year's collection turned out. How about you?

Work Cut Out

2010-11-29T09:04:00.011-05:00

Last week I really had my work cut out for me! I was in the midst of preparing for the imminent holiday craft sale madness, when Christina from Workshop and Flock in Ottawa contacted me. Apparently her boutiques had sold out of several Ramonalisa styles this month, and she wanted more. My busy month got busier and I got to work.

Having run out of some of the original fabrics, I changed up the linings of the skirts and the hoodie/tunics while maintaining the look and feel of the original styles. The result is a new batch of the most popular Ramonalisa styles for this season which uphold my mandate to produce original clothing in limited quantities. I think this adds a lot to the unique quality of my pieces. An added bonus for me is that rather than making the same thing over and over again, I get to keep designing even when I'm in production! I'm very happy with how these pieces turned out, and I hope my Ottawa customers will be, too.

Studio Sale!

2010-09-12T19:29:00.003-04:00

My studio-mate Eugenia and I had our first studio sale yesterday. It was really fun to welcome everyone into our usually quiet space, and to see so many people trying on the clothes!

We had a lot of friends come by, and also people we'd never met before because of a few signs up outside the building. We were both selling samples and stock from previous seasons at 50%-80% off retail prices. Everyone seemed happy with the great deals and we got to clear out some space in our studio to make room for new designs. It was a really great day, I just wish I'd remembered to take more pictures!

Fall/Winter 2010!

2010-08-12T20:25:00.005-04:00

I know, it's been ages since I blogged. But trust me, I have not been idle! Production for Fall/Winter 2010 is now complete. Here are the dresses for Toronto and Ottawa, which will, along with tops, tunics and skirts, be hitting the stores in the next few weeks. Yay!

I also designed a new collection for Spring/Summer 2010, making me officially on-schedule for the first time.

And, I just put up the new website! Check out all the new designs for this fall/winter season at www.ramonalisa.ca.

Thanks for reading!

February Blues

2010-02-07T22:21:00.006-05:00

It's funny to be making sleeveless tops in February, but that's fashion for you! This is one of my favourite photos from the Spring/Summer 2010 shoot that happened a few weeks ago. After getting all the pictures online and contacting a few new stores, it turns out that there is some interest in this piece! I'm glad, since although it's actually not that easy to make (coverstitching is sometimes tricky!), I find it really neat to look at and very comfortable to wear.

So I've been grading, cutting, and sewsewsewing all week. As far as many stores are concerned, spring starts in March. Hard to imagine right now in Montreal, but in my studio it's spring fever!

Check it out on Artfire!

The Return of the Rusty Plum

2009-12-15T09:48:00.004-05:00

The last time I did the Rusty Plum craft fair was almost 10 years ago. It was the weekend before Valentine's day, and I huddled with about 12 crafters in the old Elle Corazon space (now the Arterie) on Bernard. I was making paper, notebooks, cards and agendas at the time, but traffic was slow at the sale that weekend and I used the time re-learning how to knit from my table-neighbour who made the most amazing hats I've ever seen.

The Rusty Plum evolved a lot after that, but I was busy having kids, seamstressing and getting a clothing line off the ground. By the time I was ready to do another craft sale the Rusty Plum had vanished...until now. This year, the bazaar continues it's tradition of offering the best of our local artisans for the three weekends leading up to Christmas, with great coffee and foodstuffs to boot. But instead of a tiny store space, it's being held in the enormous basement of St-Michael's Church on St-Viateur, and instead of 12 artisans there are more than 50 tables to browse. With everything from designer cupcakes to jewelry to handmade soap (not to mention fantastic art prints and silkscreened t-shirts), this holiday bazaar really has something for everyone on your list. Not only can you pick up unique handmade gifts, you also get to meet the artisans and contribute directly to the local economy. Christmas shopping with a conscience has never been so easy!

I'll be there again for the third and final weekend, December 19 and 20, with my recycled wool "Ear Hats", mittens, and neckwarmers for kids and a couple of new styles of winter necessities for former kids, too.

RéCréations are back!

2009-10-18T16:35:00.002-04:00

Along with Ramonalisa, my clothing line for women, I also make seasonal items for kids using recycled fabrics. These hats and mittens are made from recycled wool sweaters and are completely lined with polar fleece. As you can see, they come in all sorts of colours and are available in a range of sizes to fit kids 1 to 6 years old. This season they are available at two lovely boutiques in Montréal:

Tralala

363 Fairmount Ouest

(514) 656-5522

and

Le Nid de la Cigonge

268 rue St-Viateur Ouest

(514)276-6262

If you'd like something but can't make it to the stores, drop me a line and we'll figure it out!

The Making of Ramonalisa

2009-10-04T12:21:00.007-04:00

The photoshoot for my Fall/Winter collection for 2009 was a day to remember. The weather was perfect, the autumn light beautiful, and the team was terrific. Veteran Ramonalisa model Geneviève gave her all, even after having just come from another photoshoot that morning where she wore the hat of photographer. Beautiful Térésa, our second model, posed like a pro all afternoon and brought a lot of fun to the shoot.

But nothing would have been

possible without the behind-the-scenes magic of stylist-extraordinaire Sandra and photo wizard Ari Tapiero. Sandra is extremely professional and remained focussed all day long, making sure that the hair do's and makeup she had so perfectly executed before the shoot stayed perfect. On top of all that, Sandra just knows how to accessorize. Her input in everything that day was absolutely crucial!

Ari Tapiero is so talented and capable that instead of worrying about everything...

and trying to stay in control...like I usually do, I could actually relax and just enjoy the day. What a treat! It was his idea to do the shoot outdoors. This worried me initially, since the weather had been dicy, but of course the day was perfect. I watched in awe as Ari took the models up balconies, down alleys, and even into the middle of the street! All with absolute confidence, ease, and light-heartedness. All the pictures were taken within the three hours we had to do them, and we finished the shoot on schedule at precisely 6pm. By 8, I had all the photos on a disc and Ari gave me another disc of the finished photos from the ones we selected together the following day. I am now convinced that there is nothing Ari Tapiero cannot do!

You can see all the fantastic photos at ramonalisa.ca...be sure to look for all the "invisible" effort that went into them!

To Sew Or Not To Sew

2009-09-10T16:38:00.008-04:00

When I tell people I’m a clothing designer, many express amazement that I know how to sew, and use a sewing machine. Sewing is something our grandmothers did, but who has time for that now? Today clothing is generally bought from a rack and most people don’t think twice about how it got there. On the other hand, there is a growing consumer consciousness towards buying local to reduce waste and pollution and to support local economies. Food is one example of this trend, and eating locally grown produce is also recognized for it’s benefits to health. So how does clothing fit into this trend? We need all need to eat, and we all need to wear clothes. We can generally find local produce at our grocery stores, but what about clothing? When and how did we as a society lose this basic skill?

Before sewing machines, nearly all clothing was made locally. Most towns had tailors and seamstresses that would make individual items of clothing for customers, but most people couldn’t afford them. Instead, women sewed pants, shirts and dresses for their families by hand, using a needle and thread. It took about 14 hours to make a man’s shirt and 10 hours for a simple dress. Women often worked days at a time and long into nights making and mending their families’ clothing.

The idea of a machine that could sew had captured the imaginations of many inventors around the world, but was highly controversial. Tailors feared losing their livelihoods, and actually burned down the world’s first machine-based clothing factory a few years after it opened in France in 1830.

In America, concerns about sewing machines centered around the possible consequences of women having too much time on their hands. With machines to speed up the work of making and mending garments, it was argued, women would surely go wild with shopping, playing cards, and who knows what else. Isaac Singer (inventor of the Singer sewing machine) himself, before realizing the monetary potential of the sewing machine, is said to have exclaimed, “You want to do away with the only thing that keeps women quiet – their sewing!”

Once his business venture was underway, however, Singer became a fierce promoter. It was not an easy idea to sell in the mid 1900’s. Women were considered much too delicate to run anything mechanical and not bright enough to manage such a complicated instrument. To convince people that women really could handle these intricate mechanisms, he used women in demonstrations to potential buyers and advertised that even a child could use them. He marketed sewing machines as a time saver that would allow women more time to care for their families and, gradually, the public was won over.

The main challenge then became cost. The original price of a sewing machine was equivalent to the cost of a car today. Owning a sewing machine in the early days was a status symbol. Sometimes several families would pool their resources in buying and using a sewing machine. In 1956, the Singer Company offered the first installment plan, the precursor of the modern credit economy. Not only did this multiply sales and make owning a sewing machine possible for the average family, it also changed the way we manage our money.

While the invention of the sewing machine facilitated an easier production of clothing at home, it also spurred the development of the ready-made clothing industry. With the advent of electricity, clothes could be made even faster and factory-made clothing became more and more prevalent.

Today, clothing produced in overseas factories is the norm. In the last 150 years, clothing has gone from being made by the hand of a single person (usually your wife or mother), to being mass-produced in China or Indonesia by several poorly paid people (often children), each repeating a single process over and over again for the long duration of the work day. The ecological costs of shipping clothing across the world is also extraordinary, with severe environmental consequences associated with oil consumption and pollution.

Clearly, most people nowadays don’t feel like spending their lives sewing. But isn’t there another alternative to the oppression and pollution of mass-production? The answer is YES! Many big-name clothing companies such as Roots, Men’s Work Warehouse and Tilley are choosing to keep at least some of their production local. Other internationally recognized design houses such as Joseph Ribkoff, based in Montreal, have made a conscious decision to manufacture exclusively in Canada. There are also lots of small, independent designers today who actually enjoy sewing and produce their designs themselves or hire local help for small runs. These designers harness the constructive power of the sewing machine to create pieces of clothing with love and attention, and avoid the waste, pollution, and socio-economic traps of factory mass-production. In my opinion, it’s the best of both worlds.

Google your area for locally-made clothing and independent designers of hand-made clothing, or find them on Etsy.com and Artfire.

Referrences:

http://ezinearticles.com/?A-Brief-History-of-Sewing-Machines&id=73917

http://www.historyofquilts.com/sewmach.html

http://www.moah.org/exhibits/virtual/sewing.html

http://inventors.about.com/od/indrevolution/a/clothing.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barthélemy_Thimonnier

My New Skirt

2009-08-08T21:45:00.003-04:00

Well I've been full into summer mode and I haven't blogged for awhile. I'm getting ready for fall with a brand new collection, and this tartan skirt is the last of the new patterns I've made. I didn't document each step of the process (too long!!) What you can see in the pics are: the skirts cut out with care to match up the plaid on each side, sewing the pleats, and the finished product. Say hello to the Tartan Mermaid skirt!

Scrabble Tile Pendants by RG Designs

2009-07-10T08:29:00.010-04:00

I wasn't planning on blogging this morning, but when I saw these recycled scrabble tile pendants on Artfire I just had to share. RG Designs is the work of Renee G., a self-described "happy artist" from Green Bay Wisconsin. Her Artfire shop is full of beautiful handcrafted pendants made from recycled glass tile. The 1 x 1 inch pendants are sealed with a non-toxic craft resin, then finished with a sterling silver plated medium ball. A 24 inch silver plated ball chain necklace can be purchased separately for an extra couple of bucks, bringing the grand total of most pendants to something under $10 Canadian (shipping exluded).

As if the gorgeous variety of designs listed in Renee's shop were not enough, she also offers custom ordering for pendants with your own photo or image for no extra cost. And, she sends each one out, custom or not, in a little box all ready for giving. I think this happy artist is going to make a lot of other people very happy, too.

RéCréations: Eco-conscious clothing for kids

2009-07-06T09:25:00.014-04:00

Waste not, want not. This summer I've added one-of-a-kind t-shirts to my line of recycled clothing for kids, RéCréations.

Available in baby sizes (6 -24 months) in Montreal at Le Nid De La Cigogne on St-Viateur and at Tralala on Fairmount. Sizes up to 8 years are hanging out on myArtFire and Etsy stores. Have a look and let me know what you think!

2009-07-03T17:44:00.006-04:00

I joined ArtFire a few weeks ago. If you haven't heard of it, it's a bit like Etsy.com but with several features that make it even more enjoyable for both buyers and sellers. Opening a shop on ArtFire is just as easy as on Etsy, but there are no listing fees. If you sell something, ArtFire takes NOTHING. Sellers can choose to pay $12 US per month to list as many items as they want and have access to extra features like widgets and additional layout options. Alternately, you can get a basic account and list up to 12 items completely FREE! I have a basic membership, but am planning to upgrade eventually as ArtFire is such a cool environment.

As opposed to Etsy, for example, to buy something on ArtFire you don't need to set up an account. Fast, easy shopping, YES!

Here's something I found on ArtFire that totally floats my boat: OMG text magnets! There is also a pin version of these. This shop actually has a few items I find extremely alluring. Go check it out!

Spring/Summer 2009

2009-06-28T10:23:00.000-04:00

I've been designing for as long as I can remember, and have taken it on more seriously in the last year. A couple of months ago I organized a photoshoot for my newest women's designs for spring. I was really happy with how it turned out! I chose a great team of friends to model (Geneviève,) take photos (Lainie), and manage makeup, hair and accessories (Sandra). I was really touched by how much energy everyone put into the project, and the spirit of co-operation made it a really fun day. Seeing my ideas come to life this way is extremely gratifying!

I am finally blogging

2009-06-26T23:20:00.001-04:00

After thinking about doing this for ages, the time has finally come! I kept a journal since the age of six and really enjoyed it. Then my brother read it when I was about 12 and I stopped writing completely, for 20 years! What a shame! Writing helps to organize thoughts, define ideas, and connect the threads of experience. With two kids, two clothing lines, and way more ideas than time on my hands, I could certainly use some mental organization!

So this blog will be about the things I make, the things I like, and the dots that connect them. Thanks for reading! Please feel free to leave a comment if you have anything to add, it's nice to know you're out there!