The Craft

Sorry for being absent all this time.  I didn't die, I'm just slowly adjusting from vacation that ended a month ago.  I'm pretty lousy at maintaining things.  I even had a bonsai plant die on me once, if that's  not a nurturing quality, then I don't know what is.  I've been in a rut lately.  I think I skipped this phase when I was fourteen, 60 pounds heavier and watching Degrassi re-runs at 4 a.m.  Never mind the mega hiddyness I just painted in your mind, on to the clothes.

This was just for fun when I went to my friend's house for a little shindig.  I caught up with my friends and asked my gorgeous friend Amber to model some of my garments :) Last time I saw her, she was blonde hahaha.  Time sure does go by!  This was her first time doing this and I must say, she can scowl with ferocity for DAYS!

I didn't have a plan for this shoot and I'm not even close to being decent with photography.  It was just a good time with friends and you know what it was worth the freezing, nipple stiffening temperature that morning.  She's wearing the clothing I designed in collaboration with my friend  Joco and his stunning shoes.  I watched "The Craft" and thought Amber was perfect to recreate Nancy's vibe of 90's goth girl look.  If you haven't watched "The Craft"  you haven't LIVED!

This is just a screen scrap of the film.  Nancy is the on in latex :)  I was aiming to have the same vibe in the photos I took.  I took the pictures and styled the looks. I'm not much of a stylist, but I do get very particular with how my garments look.  I hope you guys enjoy the pictures :)

The clothes look so different when they're being worn by Americans :o  They look intimidating.  I love Amber's ferocity here.  I wish I could visit more often and have her model all my clothes hahaha.

 I noticed that at certain angles she kinda looks like a punk/goth Taylor Swift hahahaha.  *Amber if you're reading this, don't take it the wrong way hahaha.

This is an old dress I made.  It was my first project I made  with an interlock.  It's a trapeze dress made with heavy weight Jersey.  It's so freaking heavy hahaha.  I printed on the white circles for the mod look, but when I look back, I could have done it faster and neater hahaha.  The giant Muffler was made by wonderful friend and  knit artist, David.  He's really amazing and fast when It comes to knitted goods.  I wanted to steal it, but I doubt It would be cold enough here.

The fur coat was a gift from a friend.  Yes, I have worn it in public, and no, no one splashed red paint on me.  I love how My friend's backyard looks like Jurassic park.

Btw, it really WAS freezing.  I'm getting goosebumps just imaging myself there.  Who needs to huff bleach when you an imagination.

 The muffler was big enough to make a protective hood :3  Ugh that bastard was cozy

If you have any inquiries about any of the looks, feel free to contact me or leave a comment.  I'd love to hear from you!

Elevate, Escalate Fashion Show

I've been EXTREMELY busy developing a small collection of garments in collaboration with a good friend of mine Joco Comendador.  He's a fabulous and bold shoe designer and always thinks beyond when it comes to creating his unique shoes.  I was extremely fortunate when he invited me to design for his upcoming show!

To be honest, I was kind of nervous because my aesthetic is not as dynamic as his, but with a little brain storming, Endless re-runs of Big-O, Black Coffee and help from Joco, I got back on the horse and worked my ass off!

The theme of the show was Poison Ivy, photosynthesis, black and neon green.  This was a fun challenge for me.  When I usually create, I usually sketch and plan everything out.  This time around, I found that using that method made me not like the work as much.  I just laid out the fabrics and started to piece them together.  After that, it's all history.  I just started to manifest on its own and this love child/bastard came to be :)

Joco designed these shoes for his show.  Pictures don't do these justice.

This was the only decent pic I took during the show.  I couldn't focus on taking pictures, but thank Buddha that Tricia was there to take pictures. The rest of the photos were taken by her :)  If you like her work, just shoot her an e-mail! :)

Another worthy note, Nadine, and Armin did the hair and make up for most of the models :)  I think they did a really good job at capturing the mood and theme of the show :)

 I played with texture and mixed wool, pleather and Hounds tooth together.  Raiza embodied the girl that wears my clothes :)  Strong and sophisticated :)

This is a baby doll dress with pleather sleeves and trimming.  I thought Melissa looked so elegant in this look. I kept changing who would wear what because sometimes a look just works and sometimes it does not.  When I first saw her I knew she was right for this look!  

I hand dyed an old teal blouse charcoal and made a pleated pleather skirt. :)   

Bey is an Amazonian.  She was really tall and I liked the thought of the skirt making her even more statuesque and gorgeous :)

The coat took me FOREVER to get it right!  It has a pleather collar and the zipper placket is the same thing.  The purple dress was actually an old piece I had lying around.  Joco and Bernie just  freshened it up with embellishments :)

This is a trapeze dress rendered in the same fabric.  They both had 60's vibes to them.  

Hhahahah Andie is game for the show! The giant to the left is Darren.  He was the stylist for the show and I think he embodied the overall theme of the show very well.  Excuse how exhausted I look.  I'm very haggard prone unfortunately.  

That's the end of the show! :)  I love these pieces a lot.  A lot of time went into sewing and designing these pieces.  Thinking of parting with them makes me sad hahaha.  I'm really thankful for Joco for being one of the few people that believe in me and giving me the opportunity to show my work.  I'm also thankful for everyone who was involved, the models, make-up and hair artists and friends who came to see the show :D  I can now rest for 10 years! 

Any comments, suggestions or questions?  Leave me a comment or feel free to contact me. 

-Jason

Made by hand

I love making things by hand.  My philosophy is, If I can make it, I don't buy it.  So Vodka, Macarons and yarn all have to be store bought for me.  You also save so much more money if you make yourself a knitted hat, rather than buying one at H&M/Forever21.  They over price their sweat shop labor goods.
Here are some projects that I recently finished. :)

My friend recently gave birth and I haven't had the time to give her the baby hat I made for her baby boy :)  It's the black one with the red pom-pom on it.  I also made and hand stuffed a whale from fabric scraps I took with me from San Francisco.  The orange hat is for me.  I hate hats that are thin and sewn together from knit fabric.  So cheap and flimsy, YUCK!

I hope her baby doesn't grow up too fast!  I love the pattern the yarn makes.  It's so fun and if you squint, you can pretend that the specks of color are racing to get to the top.  Who will win?!

It can be worn slouchy or you can turn the brim up if you're more pragmatic.  I can't wait to wear this when I go back home for Christmas :)  The yarn is an Alpaca wool and it's super soft and not scratchy.  If you could knit kittens, this is what it would feel like. (Don't knit kittens, that's gross)

I made this lumpy stuffed whale from a template I saw online.  I thought it was cute and gave it it a try. Well, her pattern was meh so I just added button eyes because it looked more sad hahahaha.  I'm looking for a small horn so I can make a Narwhal.  I remember dying this fabric a looong time ago.  It was an organic, woven bamboo and it was a really hideous Ecru color.  I decided to hand dye it a dark navy and I made a shirt out of it for a friend's birthday present a couple of years ago.  Wow time flies.  Now the scraps have become a Whale.  I love the little imperfections.  It means I have a long way to go and that I would have failed if I took Marine Biology.  I apologize to all marine biologist and whale enthusiasts for my gross interpretation of sea life.

Winter in Manila

Around this time of year in California, I start to knit because it's nearing the holidays and I love/miss the cold weather in my small hometown in the central valley.  My A/C recently broke and a friend's dad came over to fix it for me.  I started to snap pics of my finished circle scarf and just randomly put my knit wear on, because A) I had to entertain myself somehow and B) I'm a huge dork.  The weather today is slightly cold and I really love the sea foam hues in my house.  I think the muted sunshine near the tree by my condominium is responsible for this.  Another random note, did you know that your A/C unit is probably FUCKING filthy?  Reminder to clean your filter.  I always forget because I don't have the luxury of a *yaya*/maid because I think it's so weird to have someone wait on you.

**Yaya is the Filipino version of a maid, but in my observation, they look like they stick around for a long time and become a second mother to some people.  They also happen to clean, cook and wash your stuff for you too. Who knew?< (Filipinos know Jason, Shit!)

Knit heart by one of my Favorite Etsy Stores YesJess  I think she still does custom work so hit her up if you want well made and beautiful knits :)

Circle Scarf and Dress by Me // Cardigan-GAP

I love how versatile circle scarfs can be.  I chose this beige yarn my parents sent me because I can't find decent yarn here.  If any of you guys know, hit this girl up!  Since I'm no Coco Rocha or Hyoni Kang, I used my dress form instead.  I can imagine a young, hipster girl wearing this outfit to an outdoor concert at Golden Gate park, or a date with the boy who works at the record store.

I love how chunky this is.  I feel so safe and if I ever suffer from whiplash while driving, At least I know I already have a neck brace handy.  Looking at this makes me want noodles.....or natto beans

If you want/or are just clinically simple, you can pretend to be a kangaroo and put stuff in the little pouch/sling it makes if you wear the scarf long. Kidding.  I really want to shoot this on a live model.  I'm thinking of an Asian Zooey Deschanel.

Meoki told me that I had to put my face on posts more often instead of food hahahaha.  So here you go.
I want to wear this to school, but I'm too pragmatic and haggard prone to actually pull through.  But I can just pretend at my almost Air Conditioned home right?

Any questions, comments, things you want to see or know?  Feel free and leave a comment down below and I'll do my absolute best to get back to you!