Jane Austen Mini-Convention in San Mateo, CA

Our friends with the Jane Austen Society of Northern California let us know that there was a mini-convention in the works for March, 2017, and we got prepared.

Our proprietor was able to find a suitable outfit to wear, created and loaned by creative and talented Lynn McMasters, who also created the outstanding Timeline of Fashionable Hats for Ladies and Gentlemen during the time period of Jane Austen, that was on display at the Public Library in San Mateo.

We had delightful historical and literary presentations by a number of members of the Jane Austen Society, live music and country dancing. Ann Morton provided delicious cakes and other desserts for our consumption. We had a game of Whist, presided over by Deborah Borlase. Our Proprietor offered a hands-on writing workshop for those who wanted to learn or revive their skills with the quill pen and ink, folding paper and sealing it with wax. We had a marvelous turn-out of all ages of people, met some old friends and made some new ones.

It’s now been requested that we help organize a program, like this one, as a fundraiser for the Vassalboro Grange in Maine, with Full Circle Farm founders Jody and Bernie Welch, our Proprietor’s sister and brother-in-law. So stay tuned, gentle readers, for more information about that event, coming your way in August, 2017.

Welcome to London! (inside the Cow Palace, Daly City, CA)

Hello, hello. It’s that time of year when theater, dance and literature enthusiasts from all over the greater San Francisco Bay Area congregate to prepare the Great Dickens Christmas Fair, to go on beginning November 22, 2014, 10 AM – 7 PM– we are open for five weekends, including the Friday after Thanksgiving, through December 21, 2014. Check out this Map of London!

On behalf of the Emporium, Miss Charlotte Badger would like to Cordially Invite You to help us celebrate the holidays in the tradition of Charles Dickens! Miss Badger has agreed to step in to the hubbub of the Fair on behalf of the Emporium proprietor; she’s been helping out at Dickens workshops by hemming pants, finding suitable hats, locating lace and caps and helping our friend Jacqueline with her hand-sewn bonnet commissions. In just a few short weeks, Miss Badger will be singing with the Coventry Carolers and working at the Green Man Publick House at the Great Dickens Fair.

Would you or your loved ones would like to come see the spectacle, eat delicious foods, greet Father Christmas, encounter various characters from the works of Charles Dickens, see Her Majesty Queen Victoria and her retinue, or dance at Fezziwigs? Yes?! Then please contact the Emporium so we may assist Miss Badger with preparing the appropriate amount of discounted tickets for you on the day you wish to attend.

Basic Hand Sewing class at 2013 Workshop Weekend

We are happy to report that our proprietor will be teaching a workshop at Tech Liminal in Oakland on Sunday, June 23, 2013.

Basics of Hand Sewing

Are you interested in repairing your own clothing? Not quite certain what to do with that torn shirt? Never known how to sew on a button? How about patching a torn pant leg?

In this workshop, we’ll cover the basics of sewing by hand. You’ll also learn how to repair and care for worn-out and vintage clothing. By the end of this workshop, you’ll have all the knowledge necessary to confidently sew by hand!

Needles, thread and patch fabric will be provided. If you’d like to bring a garment to repair or transform, please do!

Entrance to Workshop Weekend costs $30; the hand sewing workshop materials cost $5.00.

Gratitude

Halloween and Day of the Dead celebrations are part of our calendar year. They are different traditions; the the Day of the Dead in early November is a time for us show gratitude for our ancestors. Halloween falls on a number of birthdays for our friends. We celebrate the moment and the passing of the year with them.

Both holidays can be an inspiration to create something unique and share it with others: costumes, headdresses, toys, masks or drawings. The possibilities are endless. Today we show gratitude with this quilt square made for a charity quilt.

Malvena Pearl’s Hand Sewing Class at Workshop Weekend

We are happy to report that our proprietor will be teaching a workshop at Tech Liminal in Oakland on Saturday, June 30, 2012.

Basics of Hand Sewing

Are you interested in repairing your own clothing? Not quite certain what to do with that torn shirt? Never known how to sew on a button? How about patching a torn pant leg?

Needles, thread and patch fabric will be provided. If you’d like to bring a garment to repair or transform, please do!

Entrance to Workshop Weekend costs $30; the hand sewing workshop materials cost $5.00.

See the available workshops and register here!

interior design project: custom pillow covers

We recently put in a request to the elusive batch of House Elves to do some overtime, assisting with the pillow covers for a client’s sofa. The client provided all of the materials and requested biased piping, using a cashmere blend that will match her sofa. It turns out that the House Elves were on sabbatical, so the Proprietor completed all the sewing, research and musical accompaniment selection, herself. Soon, the House Elves will return, but until then, I’m on my own. With some limited assistance from Hercule, who eats his dinner in the Malvena Pearl Studio and sometimes naps there, this project is now COMPLETE. And as my thesis mantra became, Done Is Good.

Any road, here are pictures that Mr. Acorn was kind enough to take for us.

NOTE: The musical accompaniment that assisted in the completion of two pillow covers are listed below the photographs. Happy New Year!

Music that helped me complete this project:

The Band (the brown record)

Mel Torme sings Songs of New York

Frank Sinatra Songs for Lovers

Robin Williamson Songs of Love and Parting

Bruce Springsteen Unplugged

Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown

Mr. Cinders (1983 revival original cast recording)

K.T. Tunstall Live in London 2010, in which KT does her impression of an audience member: “MORNING LOVE. I’M OFF TO WORK, NOW.” in her Biggest most Boring Voice, ever.

hair ornament

I showed my work on Facebook and got some nice responses:

This yellow, red and orange piece was for C. at the lovely wedding of R & R.

So, another friend wrote and asked me if I could make something to go with a festive tropical dress she has, that she wears to a holiday party each Christmas season. Here is what I came up with. This piece did not work for my friend’s Ensemble. It is now For Sale on the Malvena Pearl Etsy web site:

tosnog-013a

December is upon us

In the past few years, I’ve made an effort to either volunteer at the Dickens Fair in Daly City, California, or to spread my enthusiasm about going to the Dickens Fair to other folks. I’ve made a bonnet or two for this occasion and assisted a number of friends with their outfits. Here’s a photograph from 2005, one of the first years I went to Dickens Fair with pals Beth (on the left) and Aimee (on the right). I made Beth’s gray and plum-colored outfit, my outfit, helped Aimee embellish her jacket and skirt; and I made both my bonnet and Aimee’s bonnet.

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If you like live music, live theatrical performances, dancing, games and general holiday fun set in the time of Charles Dickens’ city of London, then you may want to go to the Dickens Fair. Happy Christmas!

November First Day of the Dead

Today is a special day. Remember those who went before you. Dance, sing, draw, paint your face, celebrate. Your grandparents wanted you to be here. They may even have prayed for you to be here. So embrace the life you have and give thanks in a way you know they will still hear. Decorate some sugar skulls. Light a candle for those who are no longer with us and tell them a story.

I designed and made the quilt square using fabric from my stash and gave it away, here. It will be part of a quilt that raises funds for a national domestic violence prevention program called Becky’s Fund.

Canine Couture sparkle collar

I recently designed, produced and completed this sparkle collar for the owner of a very lucky Brittany Spaniel