Update

Check out what is going on at the Purple Pincushion at our new blog.

http://purplepincushion.wordpress.com/2012/08/21/changes-in-the-wind/

Purple Pincushion 2012

After nearly 10 of the most challenging and exciting years of my working career I am taking a break.  I am NOT closing the Purple Pincushion but I am drastically reducing my work load in order to devote my time and attention to my precious daughter.

My original intent when I opened the business was that my work would allow me to be flexible with the needs of my family.  I had no idea, at the time, that there would be such a demand for my work.  Until recently, work was the only thing I needed to worry about so I never needed to utilize the flexibility that I had originally intended.

Then came Lily-an.  Our very special and long awaited daughter.  Many of you know of the long wait we endured to bring her into our lives through adoption.  Lily is now 3 1/2 years old and the light of our lives.

We have recently discovered that Lily has a rare, severe form of epilepsy.  It is treatable, but will require intense treatment and therapy for the foreseeable future.

Lily is now my full time job and the Purple Pincushion needs to be a part time, work when I can position for now.  So what does this mean for you, my customer?

• Very, very limited bridal alterations/custom work.
• No last minute rush jobs.
• No open shop hours for the Purple Pincushion - appointments only.
• Waiting list.  I am already booked up several months out.
• Just because you want me to do your work doesn't mean I will.  Lily comes first.

I have had such an open door, take all the work that comes, policy over the years, that I know this will be a shock and an adjustment for many of my regular customers.  Please be aware that Vicky (Hem it Up) will still be working and taking general alteration customers.  You will still be able to get your pants hemmed and your zippers repaired and replaced along with other minor alterations.  However, Vicky DOES NOT do bridal work, nor does she want to, so don't ask her!

Still not sure how this may effect your alterations or custom sewing needs?  Please just call us and ask.  If I am not in the shop - which I am not much of the time now - Vicky can take a message for me if she is there or leave a message on the machine and one of us will call you back as soon as we can.  Vicky's family is also a foremost priority for her so please be understanding of our scheduling needs.

We love our customers and we will continue to do our very best to meet your needs with the time we have available for you.

Whoa Nelly!

There is no easy way to get word out to all of my regular customers so I just have to try to put the information out in as many ways as I can.

As of today (July 14, 2011) I am not taking any new work until at least September 1, 2011.  I am rather unexpectedly facing surgery in mid August and I am going to be putting in some long hours between now and then to get done the work that I already have.

If all goes smoothly with the surgery I will have a 1-2 week recovery period which would bring me to Sept. 1.  Of course, there are no promises when it comes to surgery and I may also be facing additional treatments after surgery.  I won't know about any additional treatments until after the surgery is completed.

For the foreseeable future our hours in the shop are going to be erratic to say the least.  Vicky will be in as she can, but she has always been part time in order to work around her sons school and activities.  Vicky also does not do fittings for bridal or custom work, nor does she actually work on formalwear.  She will be available to continue doing her regular work which is general alterations - pants hems, zippers, repairs etc.

Vicky and I will both be on vacation July 18-22.

So I will keep you posted as thing develop and hopefully shop operations will return to some kind of normal after Labor Day!  For now call ahead and make an appointment for all pick-ups and drop offs.  If we are not there please leave a message and we will call you back as soon as we possibly can.

P.S.
We are also in the process of putting in new flooring through out the shop so please forgive the mess!  We may be closed a day or two over the next few weeks to get that project completed.

Chocolate Cupcake

Made this dress for a little sweetheart back in May.  I wish I would have had a chance to get a picture of her in the dress, she was too cute!  The dress was custom designed to match her mother's dress.

Is My Dress Done Yet?

That has to be the most common question I hear at this time of year.  If I answer that once a day I answer it 50 times.  I try really hard not to get irritated or short with my customers when I am hearing this question for the umpteenth time in a 20 minute period, but I am not always successful.  In an attempt to alleviate some of my own frustration and some of your frustration as a customer I am going to attempt to explain more plainly how this whole process works.
In the realm of bridal and formal wear there are very distinct seasons and trends within those seasons.  Here in Wisconsin it has been my experience that April through October make up the popular "bridal season".  The other big formal wear event that impacts my schedule is prom.  Depending on the year proms start some time in mid April and run through mid May.
Many of you call months ahead of time to find out when you should bring your dress in for your first fitting.  Thank you!!  If your event is any time from March to June I will tell you to bring your dress in as early as possible because no matter what the trend of a particular year those months are always, always crazy busy because of the double whammy of weddings and proms.
Now this is where many of you tend to get confused or misunderstand the process.  Just because you bring your dress in 3 months before the event, this DOES NOT mean that your dress is going to be done in two weeks.  All this does is guarantee your place in line. But understand this, the line is not single file nor is it first come first serve.  If you bring your dress in in March for a June wedding I am still going to have to finish dresses for March, April, and May weddings ahead of you because their event is first.  How quickly your dress gets worked on is at the mercy of how many other weddings are ahead of you on the calendar.  The majority of dresses are completed 1-2 weeks before the wedding.  If your event happens to be during an incredibly busy weekend you can plan on getting your dress the week of the event.
Please also remember that there can be many, many events on the same weekend making my crazy schedule juggling even crazier.  This past prom season was a perfect example.  You may not realize this but I work on prom dresses that come from 8-12 different area schools.  Normally the proms at the different schools are spread out over several weekends.  This year, because Easter was so late, there were 5 local proms all scheduled for the same weekend. That spells H-E-L-L.  Luckily I didn't have any wedding parties scheduled for that weekend as well.
Similar situations happen with popular wedding weekends and I have no way whatsoever to predict which weekends are going to have multiple weddings.  For a normal summer weekend I am usually working on 2-3 different wedding parties.  A busy weekend could mean 6-7 wedding parties or parts of parties.
So to get back to the main point - no your dress isn't done yet.  No, I haven't even started it yet.  In fact, there is a pretty good chance that I have no idea who you are when I'm talking to you on the phone because I don't really remember the names as much as I do the color/style of the dress.  So please don't be offended if I ask you to remind me of those details so I can figure out who you are.  And I promise I will try not to be short with you when I tell you your dress isn't done yet:-)

*Disclaimer*  I have to plead with you my state of being human.  In all seriousness, if it is the week of your event and you haven't heard from me please, please call and double check with me.  As much as I try to keep everything in it's proper event order, every now and then something gets hung in the wrong place or I just plain old miss it.

Real or Fake

So which dress is the copy and which dress is the store bought?  I really enjoy the challenge of duplicating a dress.

The one on the left is the adult version and the one on the right is the Jr. bridesmaid version. Trying to put a young girl into an adult dress just doesn't work.  Many times designers do not offer the same style dresses for the younger girls.  That is where I come in.  Most dress shops will allow you to order the same fabric that the bridesmaid dresses are made from, which is what was done in this case.

The result is a happy bride and a young lady who feels like a princess:-)

Latest Custom Project

Just finished and deliver this morning!  A custom gown made of silk charmeuse with an overlay of silk chiffon.  My customer was having a Celtic themed wedding and wanted a gown to fit the theme! 
I can't take credit for the embroidery on the train - a family member of the bride did the beautiful embroidery by hand.