As I was listing this dress on Etsy, about 10 minutes ago, I had the thought “Gee I hope it doesn’t sell before I have the chance to blog about it!”

Then I thought “That’s crazy. Nothing ever sells that fast.” One minute later I went to put a link to it on Facebook and… it was gone. Sold! To the dear Joanne, vintage lover extraordinaire. She had just settled down to a warm cup of chai and decided to browse around and just happened to see it the moment it went up.

And I do not blame her for hitting “Add To Cart” immediately. I freakin’ adore this dress. If it had fit me, it would have been mine. The purpleness! The Austrian authenticity! The adorable, oh-so-”folksy” lining and labels! It’s like a beer wench (and I mean that in the best sense) and a May Queen got together to design the loveliest dress on the planet.

At least the rest of us have the pictures to look at, right? (Speaking of pictures, we are getting a new, super pro style camera this week! I am so excited to be able to bring better quality pictures to my little corner of the indie/vintage fashion world).

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A few nights ago I finally got myself and some of my friends together enough to pull off an indoor photo shoot. We did it at St. Joseph’s Hall and Cultural Center- built in the 1860s, St. Joe’s originally served as a convent and orphanage for the early Catholic, mostly Irish, Gold Rush 49ers. There is a beautiful old cemetery across the street, a grand church across the other street, and a Catholic school right next door. Today the great hall serves as a stage for performers, meeting place for traveling Tibetan monks, and hopefully from now on regular Violet Folklore photo shoot space.

Graham made a delicious enchilada casserole, we had free flowing beer, wine, and chocolate, and random friend folks stopped by and ambled through as we did our best to make a go of this brand new photo shootin’ experience. (Next time: better lighting!).

The art backdrops were all hand cut out of paper by Nevada City artist Tahiti Pehrson. (<- Website designed by Graham- jack of all trades. For more on Tahiti see my blog from last year Epicly Layered). His work is beautiful, intricate, and one of a kind- check this blog for a giveaway featuring one of his (smaller) pieces next week! That’s him top left in the above shots. Top right is photographer Samantha’s very cool, obviously very stylish nine year old son Julian, bottom left is my new friend and stellar new model Ariella, and bottom right is my older but still pretty new friend and also stellar new model Jasbir, being primped by her husband, musician Spencer Seim.  Continue Reading... (588 words + 17 images, estimated 2:21 mins reading time)

Black Velvet White Lace Prairie Skirt

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Here are a few of the new pieces that I will be adding to the shop over the next week or so. I will post a more extensive blog on the whole photo shoot soon as well- lots of friends, two gorgeous new models, amazing food & drink, and killer art backgrounds by Tahiti Pehrson. Oh, and the place we shot at is extraordinary too.

You’ve probably read this quote before. I know I had. But when I saw it again yesterday hanging on the bathroom wall at my yoga studio I found a whole new meaning in it.

This is a really hard time of year for may of us. I know that I have been having my own little Crisis Of Confidence lately, and for no actual reason that I can see. I’ve felt anxious and I was even considering, for a time, removing everything I’ve ever posted online (links, pictures, blogs, everything) because I suddenly felt incredibly self conscious, like I reveal too much of myself. I’ve always been passionate and expressive, always wanted to share with others the things that excite and inspire me.

And I’ve always taken shit for it. Usually it slides off my back, but for the last few weeks I’ve just wanted to shrink, Alice style, and hide away so that no one could see me or know who I really am.  But that’s bullshit, and I can’t give in to it. Martha Graham’s exquisite sentiments have been the catalyst to get me out of this sluggish, fear-based, even dangerous state of mind:

“There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique.

And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it.  Continue Reading... (427 words + 1 image, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)