tie a ribbon in your hair...6 june 2008 gratitudes

1. working with my dear, talented roomates chelsea cook and peter cooney 'til the wee hours of the night while trying their patience with my guilty pleasure music (too embarrassed to even admit...)

2. collecting imagery from my favorite sources: milk magazine, lula magazine, alice in wonderland, henry darger books, discarded scrap book photos, photos of my muses...

3. the ability for one project to consume a home. trails of cut fabric and paper; piles of black velvet fuzz; and bits of thread and chipped sequins pouring from every corner of our apartment. a hurricane of trims and notions. i kid you not.

4. drinking excessive amounts of coffee and feeding on disgusting amounts of sugar (cupcakes, cookies, tarts...) to stay awake. the best part of the process.

5. pete's obscene and hilarious outbursts when sewing machine needles broke or stitching went awry. the things that will come out of that boy's mouth can certainly make a girl blush! his design concepts that come alive while he works. he truly is an artist whose best ideas are born during the creation process.

6. chelsea's patience, steadfastness, and commitment to craftsmanship. these are three of her qualities(amongst many) that saved us during our senior year. she has the kind of perseverance that will rise to any challenge and finish no matter how difficult or ridiculous the expectation. she, like our mentor mary ping, knows the meaning of slow and steady wins the race. a mantra we remind ourselves often.

7. reminding ourselves why we moved to new york in the first place. why we paid through the teeth for art school. seeing the finished product felt like falling in love all over again. because in the end, after all the long hours and calloused fingers, we are here to try and make some magic happen.

as i say time and time again, i do still believe in magic.