Fashion Fight Club!

Bring on tha noise what?!? A fashion fight club here in Portland “PDX” Oregon? WERD! Go over to our blog and check us out! We’re a collective of local Portland fashion designers who share our strengths, ideas, goals, and friendship over coffee every couple of weeks. From these meetings spawn delicious ideas for events ie. Renting the biodiesel bus to take down to the Pool Trade Show in Vegas, planning a sewing party to make clothes for the Junk to Funk fashion show, and organizing underground warehouse trunkshows! It all started when Kenya got to thinking “what if all the independent fashion designers pooled together instead of stayed in their own little mini-ponds…wouldn’t that only make us stronger?” And she was right! We’re about 8 people strong right now, and growing.

I am so pumped! If you want to know what happens during our meetings, and what be brewing in our creative minds, please go and check out our blog. www.fashionfightclub.blogspot.com!

Some of our contributors include:

Sky&Boat

Erhart

Filly

Reif

Layers Squared

Foyer Clothing

Failure of Industry

There are links to all of these great designers at the blog. You can also recognize us at

myspace.com/fashionfightclubpdx

Living

Monday was memorial day. This year memorial day actually meant something personal to me. I have spent all other memorial days in quasi observance until this Monday, the 26th of May 2008. It’s the day my cat died. Now, don’t get the wrong idea here. I’m not going to dwell on death in this blog, believe me when I say that yes, I have thought a bunch about death the last couple of days, and yes it’s hard, and yes I’m in pain. But YES also, that death and cats and hard experiences deepen us and make us more aware of life. My friend Lindsay came by on Tuesday to share a bottle of Molly’s (imitation Bailey’s Irish Cream) and talk about the good times with Le Chat. We called her Chignon, pronounced SHEEN-YO(N). She was the BEST BEST BEST thing ever. Just a bundle of joy I tell you. I never understood how the power an animal’s spirit and personality could affect me. She was like a person. And yes, some of you reading this might be like “duh of course animals have personalities” but hers was the first to really strike me. Plus she was mine. I mean, I guess I’ve known other animals and seen how they’re different from others, and gotten a sense of what they’re like. But this little animal was with me. It was like she was my child. This is all new to me see… I had a cat growing up, for a few years between the ages of 12 and 16 I think. But my mother put her down when she didn’t stop peeing and tearing up the furniture. It was TERRIBLE. I was so angry at her for doing it, but really guys who wants a cat that no matter how much treatment, therapy, love, guidance etc. you gave it, just wouldn’t stop thrashing your home and attacking any child that came into the house. She was a HELL CAT. Seriously, plus, and now I’m not being biased here, really she wasn’t very cute. She was a child of nature, yes, she was a special creature here on Earth, but she wasn’t what I’d call “pretty”. So she had two strikes against her the poor thing. Ugly, and socially inept. Her name was Sydney. Mom tried to pawn her off on one of her friends who lived on a farm. We thought Sydney would have a good life out there, with other animals, breathing country air, living the leisurely country life. But it didn’t really work out like we’d planned. She ended up hiding in a tree stump for a few days, not coming in to eat, not leaving the stump at all. The friend brought her back. She kept peeing, she kept scratching, she kept hissing at children. Mom put her on a permanent small dose of valium to keep her peaceful. One time she gave her too big of a dosage and Sydney lost the use of her back legs for a day. We were at a loss. The vet eventually told us “Sydney isn’t going to stop thrashing your home” She was taken away from her cat mother too soon supposedly and hadn’t formed any social behavioral skillz. What a shame! Poor kitty. Jeez, what a wretched ending to a pretty rough life. Well, that was my only other cat. Sydney. I lived on and off with other cats throughout my adult life…a favorite is named Kai:

Aka baby kai kai – he is a hunter. He was a spirit guide to those of us in that house. He had a psychic connection with his loving roommate Warren. Kai was like Valcor from The Never Ending Story. Remember that guy? The big white furry dragon who carried Etrayu off into the night. This shot taken here was an extremely rare moment of loving peace on Kai’s face. Usually he was stalking around, stealthy, focused, and in tune. Not one to lose himself to mindless pleasant abandon – what a ninja. I guess this was my first experience with a socially adept, “awesome” cat. Besides Lara’s cat growing up… Oden. He is still alive and probably the best cat in the world…after Chignon. I lived with some other cats, one of whom has recently passed who was endearingly named Pookers. She was a bitch. I’ll say it, she was mean, and rightfully so. She kept her guard up ’cause Pookers didn’t take any shit from anybody. She was a feminist too. And she was kind of crotchedy. An old lady feminist semi-aggressive bombshell. What a babe. I don’t have any photos of her, but she was brown/gray with black tiger markings and big greenish eyes. You would pet her on your lap, and she’d be purring and loving it, then suddenly without ANY warning (still be purring) she’d bite down hard on your finger. Then she’d quietly growwwwwwllllll until you managed to get her fat butt off your lap. Then she’d stalk away, like “hey buddy, what’s YOUR problem?” I like cats that have personality. That have a bit of a mean streak. The pushovers aren’t as fun. Maybe that’s from years of training with Sydney. If your cat is going to be agreeable 24/7 may as well get a dog. They’re even MORE fun! YAY! I was always a dog person. I always thought I was a dog person. Until I met Chignon. She changed my world. She made it okay to be a brat. She was so perfectly content to just play with her feather toy, and then when I’d stop, meow at me for more, and meow, and meow, and jump on my fabrics, and meow and drink out of MY personal water cup until ……”OKAY! GOOOODDD I’ll play with you Chignon hold on!”. Then she’d be happy and content and just play and play. Then, when the time was right, she’d curl up and sleep like an angel from heaven. Seriously, like an ANGEL UP IN HEAVEN with the cherubiest expression on her perfect face until it was time to get up and eat some din. What a charmer. She walked like an elephant. Melanie and I were just saying how we should have called her Elephante, but in French so AY-LAY-FONT. She thundered around that house, THUD….THUD….THUD…”chignon!!” THUD THUDTHUDTHUD run run run…..jump! Onto the bed. Jeez, I am going to miss that missy. I never knew how much I could love a furry beast.

So the day Chignon died was a sad day, and so was the day after, and today, which is 2 days after. It will be sad. Losing a beautiful loving smart and feisty friend is always hard. Even a kind of good-looking, mediocre friend is sad to lose. But a cat that you loved with your whole heart, who taught you how to love unconditionally, who dies suddenly and unexpected, now that’s a big loss. Hmm….

Tuesday, the day after Memorial Day, Lindsay came over with that bottle of Molly’s and a Martha Stewart’s Living magazine. Inside the magazine is an article about a family of women who make beautiful shell art. This art is incredible.

Is that Rachel Nederveld in the top lefthand corner?

I wish this photo was larger so you could see all the amazing detail in these pieces. It’s very inspiring. Just think about 10 middle-aged fingers guided by years of experience and imagination gluing shell after tiny hand painted shell onto a canvas. Creating scenes of valiant horses, birds, flowers, ships, people, and landscapes. Thank goodness these ladies are out there doing there craft, and getting recognition for their work. Unsung heroes, well a little sung. Martha sang them.

So today, as I was bundling myself up to go out into the world. I walked past my coffee table on the way out of the front door and noticed this big word that just said “LIVING”. I stopped and had a flash of hope. This feeling filled me. It was an affirmation. It’s been so hard these past few days to remember to live. REALLY live. And guys, look at Martha Stewart. This bourgie white collar criminal all painted up and smiling. She says “FUCK yeah, I’m living. I’m gonna do a whole lot more living too. Right or wrong, good or bad, legal or illegal. I’m gonna have a good time”. That’s what her face is telling me in this photo. This photo under the caption “LIVING”. That’s all we can do anyways, just live to the fullest, despite the bad things that may come our way. The losses, the fights, the imprisonment. Whatever brings you down.

Until next time, remember to LIVE, to use your fingers, and to play with your cats.

-Heather

Tri-DANG!-ulator

“Dang. What?! Does this even exist? What am I supposed to do with this?” says the innocent consumer. “You WEAR it.” “Yeah, you put it on your body and use it to keep you warm and express yourself in it”. responds the person who made it.

It’s the Pyramid Triangulator.

It’s for sale at Foundation Garments Inc.

It’s really cool.

The story behind this jacket begins in Olympia. About a year ago. I think I wrote about this a while ago here on my blog….my friend Sarah Utter (Reading Is Sexy) and I decided to collaborate on a design. She’d make the pattern, or image, and I’d make the piece of clothing that that pattern or image would be adhered to. So over the last year ideas of what to draw/design floated around Sarahs brain and styles of garments I could make to go with whatever Sarah was planning floated around mine. She got the screen burned, I picked it up, and Lindsay and I silk screened by hand a whole lot of white sweatshirt fleece. Out popped the Pyramid Triangulator!

We’ll be creating more collaborative goodies in the future for sure!

Employee Of The Month

Here at Paper Doll Fashion we like to celebrate the diversity, talents and overall strengths of our employees. And that is why we chose to have an employee of the month each and every month. This month, the honor goes out to Lindsay Mishaywe Schief. Her skills range from, relaxing on the couch watching a tape and casually petting le chat, to meticulously making paper patterns, carefully color coding each one by size, and clipping them together in just the right way so they can hang on our one hanging clip. She makes sure to keep the piles of old patterns to a minimum! Linds is always right there if you need a tip on organization. As she will tell you, the skills she learned working in a windshield making factory have really helped her immensely in life. She can do the same thing over and over and over and never get bored! That’s why cutting out patterns, strips of fabric, and anything else we might need to cut comes so naturally to her. Her talents don’t stop there! This girl can design like the best of ‘em. She has amazing ideas that lead to beautiful clothes. As well as being super talented, diligent, friendly and organized, Lindsay is also very good looking. I think this helps in the fashion world.

So, here’s to our employee of the month Lindsay Mishaywe!

If you haven’t already, go check out my new website. www.heathertreadway.com.

Sea VS Sunset

Welcome to Portland. Have a seat in our Scan-design ergodynamic 100% fair trade hemp and recycled wood recliner. Right over here…good..yes, that’s right, just here next to this beautiful large house plant that looks like a palm tree. Relax while we play you your favorite music through our $3,000 and oh so attractive sound system. Would you like a cup of the best coffee in the world to enjoy while you wait for our hostess to come greet you and bring you to your NEW LIFE? Fabulous, coming right up.

Portland has been wonderful it’s true. A little too good sometimes for my rough around the edges self. I oftentimes feel underdressed going to the grocery store. Is this normal? In Olympia, you have to struggle to find people NOT wearing ugly velour track suits and overly large and stained clothing. I mean there are definitely stylish and attractive people living in Olympia. Olympia is home to some of the most beautiful people in the world in fact, but they mostly commune in a few choice places downtown and rarely ever step foot inside a grocery store. Co-op yes, Safeway, not so much. Portland’s co-ops are a little lacking. They’re more expensive, and carry less good cheese. But what Portland lacks in local small cooperatives, it make up for in the overall beauty of it’s surroundings. Beautiful buildings, beautiful parks, beautiful restaurants with beautiful people sitting in them. Everything seems to have much more intention behind it, aesthetically. You can’t top Oly’s originality though. The Voyuer Cafe is unsurpassed in creative enginuity.

I have found a new home and am enjoying it very much. I’m Playing in a new band with other Olympia expats called explodeintocolors. Our very first show is happening tomorrow at Dekum Manor. YES! I’m jazzed. You’ll get to see me wail on some cowbells and rock the tambo. It’ll be great.

Another fabulous event coming up is the Paper Doll Fashion’s Spring 2008 trunkshow which will be taking place at Olio United. That should be very entertaining no doubt. I attended their opening last year and was completely blown away by the graceful decor, the interesting people, the whole mission behind that boutique is inspiring. I feel so lucky to get to explodeintoportland’sfashionscene via this wonderful shop. Not like I haven’t been exploding into Portland over the last 5 years or so. Let’s see, it started with Seaplane. Yes, Seaplane was the first Portland boutique to carry my line, back when they were located in SE. Next came Retread Threads. Remember them? They were right by Powell’s in downtown. A cute place with a nice lady named Alberta working there. Anyhoo, a couple of years went by until I was discovered by the lovely and talented Heidi of Foundation Garments Inc up on Alberta in NE. I love this store! So much good stuff, another great place for me to be. I’m planning on having an explodeintonortheast party at F.G.I. soon. I’ll keep you posted for sure.

I’d like to now commence the photo sharing. Here is a glimpse into Paper Doll Fashion’s Spring 2008 line by Heather Treadway.

Playing dress up.

Over the summer I was lucky enough to help style some band photo shoots. Here’s Mirah wearing a Paper Doll Fashion original, and posing like an art-beast:

And here’s the band Old Time Relijun. I dressed and styled these guys and helped them find their poses for this set of press photos. A lot of fun, and always educational when in the presence of such genius.

Check out these bands by clicking this link. You can see more fancy styled photos there and also learn a little bit more about K and the music happening in the Northwest. www.krecs.com

Buyolympia.com

My life is surrounded by green things. I live in the Pac. NW. What can I say? You might not be suprised to find many green themes in my clothing. Perhaps if I follow my dream and move to Northern New Mexico, build an adobe house powered by the sun and start painting bones and flowers I’ll change my scheme. I love green. I love it like I love the trees. I need trees. And so do you.

I was talking with my studio neighbor Sarah U. the other day, and we decided to collaborate on some designs. I’d make the hoodies, and she’d screen print beautiful creations on them, we’ll sell them on buyolympia.com. I am very excited to start collaborating artistically with other folks, and she’s someone I’ve always admired artistically. Those owls man, they stare right in your eye, asking, pleading, “don’t cut down my tree home!” And they’re cute to boot.

So, now you know, I love the color green, and the color turquoise. I love turquoise because I’m an Aquarius, and super into astrology and turquoise is the color of Aquarius. I have a turquoise car, I have an over-sized linen long sleeved smock that is turquoise. This garment is so darn ugly, over sized shoulders, super tapered sleeves with a strange low mock neck, and lots of pleats so it kind of billows out around my waist then comes down straight along my legs. So amazing, yet so unattractive, it called to me from the Olympia Coop freebox with a voice like an angel “take me home, I’ll be good and comfortable for you…” it beckoned me with it’s turquoiseness. Plus I’m a sucker for natural fiber. Even though I never sew with it, I love it. I feel like it heals me or something. Just the act of wearing an organic cotton/hemp shirt will like, make me 5 years younger, or help me deal with stress or something. But I love jersey. I’m thinking of sourcing some bamboo jersey, mixed with rayon. Ooh, yum!

Here are some photos from buyolympia.com, including the new green and turquoise Zip Hoodie! Yay! Just imagine it perfectly hugging your body, under your favorite jean jacket and over your hanes white tee-shirt. This hoodie is so good, it just calls to you doesn’t it just say to you “take me home, I’m turquoise green, I’m so soft, I’m yours”.

And another piece of exciting news from the world of art and craft in the Pacific Northwest. My friend Freckleface will be selling her amazing coinalingus purses and wallets at our local boutique Dumpster Values soon! Check her out, her stuff is awesome.

Until next time, yours sincerely,

Heather

Fall/Winter Line is OUT!

It’s August, yes. And in some parts of the country it is actually still feeling like August – warm, sunny, dry. Here in the Pacific Northwest, the weather is doing something very UN-Summery. It’s actually cold and rainy most days, there are yellow tiny leaves stuck to my windshield with rainwater, I am wearing rubber rain shoes today, and yesterday Melanie was wearing a wool hat. Yikes. I do have faith that there will be more hot days, more chances to go swimming at Lake Cushman, and more opportunities for wearing those mini skirts and tank tops, or running shorts. This Summer’s strange weather patterns have affected me in a few ways:

1) I have been a little depressed I think

2) My cat has fleas, like hard core….and I actually flea bombed the house with this powerful raid stuff and the fleas totally survived and now we’ve got this eco-friendly powder spread everywhere that supposedly dehydrates the fleas and their eggs. (this isn’t related to the weather, but it compounds the negative effects).

3) The view of grey and rain has helped inspire my Fall and Winter clothing line in a really cool way. Seeing the exciting colors of Summer dissappear so quickly into the clouds kind of jumpstarted my Winter mind. I have designed some very interesting Winter hoodies.

Okay, now to the good stuff: Here is my Fall and Winter line. If you like, I’d be happy to send you an order form to share with your friends. Enjoy the photos! And thanks to Melanie, Clea, Rachel, Dirk, Brandon, and Ariel for modeling and helping with photographs.

Item A: The Hooded “V” Tunic

Look inside my eyes and what do you find? A fondness for gingham. I love the stuff. But not in that frilly apron way, I love it in that familiar sort of way. Like a solid cupboard full of homemade jam, an uncle who rides a motorcycle, a bare wood floor and a hefty couch. I like to mix it with stretchy jersey of a slightly different tone. Two tone stretchiness with a compatible dose of gingham. You’re feeling more relaxed aren’t you. Slightly more at ease on this comfy couch right? Well, here you are my friend, pull up a chair, sit by the fire, and open this classic novel of a garment. Oh yeah, and it’s sexy.

Available direct: $75 email: heather@paperdollfashion.com

Where have you gone rusty brown? Well, if you must know, right here on this dress. The rust of rusts, the kind that looks squishy and soft, like it could just build up and make it’s own lawn chair that’s been left out in the rain a bit too long. You know the kind of rust I’m talking about, the rust you trust. So, imagine if we were lost on an island and the only guy you were friends with was bald, carried a freaky machete and was always saying “don’t tell me what I can’t do”. What would you wear? You’d wear this little dress, because you CAN do it. You can do anything you want. The world is your oyster and you’re here to claim your portion of the squishy meat.

Item B: The “V” String Dress

Available Direct: $120 email: heather@paperdollfashion.com

Green. What does this word mean to you? I’m green with envy. I felt like I was ’bout to turn green after eating that gnarly sandwich. I vote green. Smoke that green sticky icky icky. Many things are associated with the word “green”. It also is a color that you can wear on your body in the form of clothing. I wonder what would happen if you wrapped a giant green tarp around your whole body and sat in the sun so the light filtered through the plastic and you were left with just the sensation of HOT and GREEN. Would all of the plants die around you? No, I think not. I think that you would feel pretty peaced out. What if you could accomplish the same wonderful sensation of being wrapped in a green tarp, but only had to go so far as to wear a hooded sweatshirt. With just a little bit of green strategically placed in there to satisfy your desire for this politically charged color.

Item C: The Green Girl Sport Hoodie

Off in a distant universe men wear really cool designer clothing that is not super baggy, have a giant silk screen print going down the front, or all khaki. This universe is called Paper Doll Fashion land and the only thing you want to do is go there. If I had a dollar for every time some one asked me : Do you make men’s clothes? I’d have about $20. Isn’t that great! But no, I was never given a dollar for every time someone mentioned how cool it would be if there were more hand made designer fashions for men, boys, and trannies. So, these next few garments are for the boys!

Item D: The Mens Psychedelica Sport Hoodie

Available Direct: $80 email: heather@paperdollfashion.com

…..okay these two are also for the girls. I know, it’s easy to say that you’re going to do something, and then back right out from what you’d promised. But after you have a look at these next jackets you’ll see what I’m saying. I Truly Believe that these jackets were meant to be worn by women or men. Think about it. What would you like to have when you’re hiking with your guy friends and your dog down by the river?? – A sweatshirt fleece jacket with rip-stop nylon to help protect against rain. And what would you like to wear canoeing down the Chehalis river with your buddies on a summer’s eve??? – A sweatshirt fleece jacket with rip-stop nylon to help protect against rain. And what would you like to wear that feels awesome, sexy, futuristic and comfortable all at the same time??? – A sweatshirt fleece jacket in TURQUOISE or NAVY with rip-stop nylon (AND A ZIPPER POUCH!) to help protect against rain.

Item F: The Triangulator

Available Direct: $110 email: heather@paperdollfashion.com

All of these items will be available on the website of Paper Doll Fashion soon. Please feel free to ask me any questions regarding what you see here. And, yes, I do custom orders!

Umbrellas in the Sun

Dancing, driving, making some sweet new clothes, those are the things that are on my mind these days. So, this weekend was a little creepy. I’ll tell you why. Saturday night Melanie and I were on our way down to Portland to spend some time with our friend Stephanie before attending the fabulous Crafty Wonderland. We had driven about 15 miles past Centralia when all of a sudden the accelerator pedal stopped sending gas to the engine and we started to slow down. Mel coasts us to the side of the road. Long story short, we’re towed and have to go back to Oly. Next morning. Sunday. The day of Crafty Wonderland. I head down with my buddies Abigail Adams and just when we think everything is going frostingly well (made a trip to Voodoo Donut in Portland) we realize that Sarah’s car is NOT going to start up and we’ll have to find a ride to the Doug Fir. YIKES! What bad luck. Her car was dead too. I blamed it on the half eaten voodoo doll shaped donut that Abby left on the back seat. Anyway, with the help of our lovely and talented friend Claudia, we make it to the show. Crafty Wonderland is truly a wonderful event, lots of great people who make cute and adorable things get together under one very stylish roof to conduct some business. A craft fair. Only, my clothing is not considered to be something that would normally be sold at a craft fair. At least that is what I realized this Sunday. My stuff is special, it’s women’s and men’s handmade designer apparel that is priced correctly. Like people don’t normally go to a garage sale and spend $85 on a tea kettle right? Nor do they spend $85 on a hoodie that rests on a rack next to another rack selling $10 tee shirts. So needless to say we didn’t make much money. In fact, I didn’t sell a single item! Although Sarah and Abby did and that made me happy, we BOTH had car repair bills to pay off now. So, we left the crafty show slightly bummed, even though the event itself was super cool and I’d totally go back as a shopper to support it. After a really nice night playing a form of charades that consists of reenacting scenes from movies while the other people in the room try to guess the movie at our friend Aaron’s house, we get up the next morning to bring our unsold wares to a local boutique. We get 4 blocks away from Aaron’s house and BAM! Our van is hit by a giant garbage-style truck and Sarah is on the floor. A yelp that escaped from my lips is echoing in the air, and Aaron’s door is knocked. Stuff is all strewn around. Breathe. We’re safe. No one was hurt, well, not physically. I totally thought I had caused the accident by my insane bad car luck. What if every vehicle I stepped into crashed or broke down. Is it only getting worse? I found out later that evening that Mercury was in retrograde so it all kind of made sense in my head. The lesson we gained from this weekend was that sometimes a forced break in routine, in mental clutter and “I gotta get this stuff done right away” attitude is really really good for you. Even if a bunch of bad stuff goes along with it.

So, let me tell you what I’ve been working on lately. A little number I like to call

Miami Vice Umbrella Skirt.

This here is the Plaid Banana Shirt

This is a dress called the Polka Tan

This is the Aer Lingus Drawstring Dress

Here we have the Plaid And Pleated Sports Jacket

And the good old Brown Lace Belted Tank

I’ll be bringing my new collection to Olympia’s own Hot Toddy in a couple of days, so stay tuned for that!

XOX

Heather

p.s. Thanks Clea and Melanie for being such exuberant and attractive models.

Coming soon to Pieces of Venus

Spring.  It’s Spring in Bordeaux finally.  There are little birds flying everywhere chirping all the time and making nests.  The sun is shining and warm, people are burning leaves in their walled in gardens, and all of the trees and flowers are in bloom.  The produce in the hippy organic coop is more plentiful, and the girls are looking fine in their summery clothes.  YES, it’s here.  The season of rebirth, cleaning out the old, flirtatious eyes are everywhere.  So, to hail in this beautiful season, I have decided to add some more photos to my blog! YAY! And I’m also excited to say that soon you will be able to purchase Paper Doll Fashion items from a sweet and exciting webstore called Pieces Of Venus.  Here is a sneek preview at what you will be able to find there:

The Polka and Pink Banana

Floral Lou Reed Dress