Collars

Below are a few of my favorite detachable collars from various Etsy shops. I think these collars are a great way to transform any outfit when you're feeling extra girly.

Peach crochet collar by FUDUMUDU

Cobalt blue crocheted lace collar by Callmemimi

1930's inspired ruffle collar by Previously

Teal lace pointed collar by Yeye

Black Peter Pan collar by Luminia

Scalloped grey lace collar by Supayana

(Sorry, I know it's not fair, but I had to throw mine in there!)

One man's trash is another man's treasure!

Marc, Angie, and I got the Christmas present of a lifetime last week. Our superintendent informed us that a factory on the 3rd floor of our building that had gone out of business. He said there were a few rolling racks and some tables, and that we could take whatever was left. We were excited enough about the rolling racks and tables...but we had no idea what we were in store for!

We did some digging around and found BOXES and BOXES of beautiful buttons, zippers, and lace!

I guess to the average person it probably sounds like a lot of useless stuff...but for the three of us it was SO exciting. I'm pretty sure I screamed out loud when I saw the bags of lace!

Hope everyone had a fantastic holiday! I did a lot of relaxing. Pretty excited to get back to work tomorrow!

Angie and the Uniform Project!

My friend/studiomate Angie of Norwegian Wood was asked to participate in this month's Uniform Project. She had to wear the same black dress every day, and did it with style! I couldn't believe the things she came up with....it looked like a completely different garment every time. Oh and, just to confirm...she actually did wear it every day!

The Uniform Project collected donations to a charity of her choice (Free the Children) who will be using the money to build a school in India. Today is the last day to donate, hint hint.

I love the concept of reusing the same garment in different ways. Check out all of her outfits here:

The Uniform Project

New for the holidays....

Bralettes! They are so pretty and come in handy, especially for dresses that have low armholes or low backs....

I made a whole bunch of bralettes during a recent late-night at the studio! Marc, Angie, and I decided to work til 3 in the morning one night last week. I probably wouldn't have liked to do it alone, but it was really great to be there working with my friends!

Otto watching TV

Our cat Otto has become an avid TV watcher this past month. He never used to pay attention to the television...but now he begs me to turn the TV on.

Here's a video of him swatting at a little character on Freddy's Xbox....too cute! Heheh my boyfriend was not too happy when he saw this video and immediately began checking the screen for scratches....heheh. Boys....

Hope all of my American friends had a great Thanksgiving!

Why can't we all just get along?

I promise my blog won't become a cat blog. I love to see things like this because it really proves that friendship can win over instinct. I think as humans it is in our instinct to be afraid of other people/living things who are different. Maybe if we all made an effort, our world could look like this?

United Bamboo's fancy cat calendar!!!

I know what I want for Christmas! Cats+ designer clothing= DREAMY! (I normally think it's kind of creepy to dress cats but these clothes are so darn nice!)

Click this link to see more pictures...

Lookbook

"Hanging Out at the Studio" by Yana Gorbulsky on LOOKBOOK.nu

I joined Lookbook.nu today....are any of you guys on there? I just did, and oh my gosh, that website is so intimidating! It feels like everyone has these amazing professional pictures of their impeccable daily outfits. Even my pictures for my online shop don't look as professional as some peoples' casual "hanging out" pics.

Regardless, I think Lookbook's a great source for when you're in a funk and want some style inspiration...looking forward to spending many hours there instead of working. I've been procrastinating SO MUCH lately!

Corduroy and velvet skirts!

There are always a few vintage supplies I keep my eyes peeled for when I'm out thrifting- cotton lace, pompom trim, and crazy printed corduroy...just to name a few! I've been stockpiling nice vintage corduroy and velvet fabrics with the idea that one day I'd make a whole bunch of cute skirts.

Pretty happy with how they turned out....it's a pretty simple shape but it's really flattering for my body type....makes me feel like a lady! :-D

You can take a closer look at the skirts in my shop.

Halloween

What are you gonna dress up as for Halloween? I have a few ideas, but I think I'm going as a vajazzled Jennifer Love Hewitt. All I would need to make is a flesh colored bodysuit with some rhinestones sewn onto the crotch. Ugh, why didn't I think of this earlier....I coulda made a killing on etsy.

I wish I could find a picture to post on here that wasn't super offensive! Google image search at your OWN RISK!

NY and Pennsylvania

Here are a few photos of my recent trip to NY and Pennsylvania (where my parents now live!) I spent most of the time catching up with friends and family. I still can't believe I haven't been back since April...time really does fly.

Overall the trip was very inspiring, and I came home with my mind full of new ideas! I spent a lot of time (and a little too much money!) in the garment district. I'm currently finishing up my Spring/Summer 2011 collection right now so I purchased some really beautiful cotton/silk blends and silks from my favorite mill-end fabric supplier. I'm really hoping to step my next collection up a notch....still using a lot of vintage/recycled stuff and throwing in fancy mill-end fabrics. I'll be sure to post a sneak peak very soon!

My friend Jenny and I walked over the Williamsburg Bridge to hang out in Chinatown and then the Lower East Side. I ate an entire cup of banana pudding from Sugar Sweet Sunshine.

My sister's cutie cat in Jersey City.

Erin, Me, and Stella

My sister in her husband's new studio in Long Island City

My mom (really far in the distance) and my dad when we went mushroom picking at a park in Pennsylvania.

"Funhouse" near P.S. 1

Felix and I at "The Blue Stove"- a really yummy pie place in Brooklyn.

Drooooool.

Dinner w/ Erin and the ladies...

Brooklyn

I'm in NY right now for a few short days to catch up with friends and family. I've also been having a creative block these past few weeks, so a trip is always a great way to get the juices flowing. The creative energy in NY is soooo special and wonderful. I only realize that now. It's crazy how we can take things like that for granted.

Well, I'm off to bed! I walked all day....over the Williamsburg bridge, through the L.E.S., into Chinatown, back over the bridge, and then to Greenpoint where I'm staying with my friends Stella and Matthew. Got to see my wonderful friends Jenny, Erin, Aya, and Deborah, as well!

Hehe, it's pretty funny to see that almost all of my friends have a website :-D

x

Yana

Some new things...

Just listed a few new things in my etsy shop....

http://supayana.etsy.com

Boudoir/Dressing room inspiration

Yay! I found some great dressing room inspiration pictures. We have a teeny 6' x 12' spare room that we currently use as our "junk" room. Whenever we can't find a place for something, we put it there. Or we end up storing our bikes in it. It's a really bad habit! My super sweet bf has agreed to let me use the extra room as my walk in closet ;-D (Really buttering him up right now...)

Truth be told, my clothing could be organized a lot better. Right now I have clothes in different closets all over the house because we don't have enough storage space. For example, my shoes are in the kitchen, winter shoes are in the basement, my dresses are in an armoire in the "junk" room, and my t-shirts, jeans, and sleeping stuff is in the bedroom. Yikes!

Here are some great pictures I found online.

This one looks about the size of our room, so it's probably the most realistic.

Ahh so pretty. I love Victorian style things...

This room is huge! I like the floor to ceiling shoe rack.

Oh just threw this in there for fun. I have a weakness for ceiling medallions.

I hope I can get motivated to do this! I find I'm really slow when it comes to doing anything with the house. I guess it's because I'm so used to renting and it's hard to think past painting the walls...eeep!

Super sad cat

My boyfriend Freddy found this cat on our back balcony two nights ago when it was pouring rain. Usually he gets mad at me when I try to take in strays, but she is really rough shape, so he knew it was the right thing to do. She is definitely the boniest cat I have ever seen- I can feel every single rib on her back. She has all of these weird bumps along her gums, too...uhhh it's so heartbreaking. She is declawed so I know she definitely belonged to someone. I found her with a collar, but when I checked the registration number, it was registered for a Shitzu dog, and the owner never left their name or contact information. :-(

LUCKILY, one of my friends has agreed to foster her, but I have to take her to the vet tomorrow to get the poor cat checked out. I hope that whatever she has isn't life threatening, and I really hope that I didn't risk infecting my cats by bringing her into my house (although we kept her apart from our cats).

She is sooo sweet and affectionate. Luckily she is eating a lot and drinking, so she still has the will to live. My friend Jen named her Super Sad Cat (one time Jen found an abandoned Himalayan cat that we nicknamed Sad Cat). Today Sad Cat is one of the happiest cats I know. My friend Janice adopted her and named her Princess (which she totally is!)

I hope that Super Sad Cat can be a Super Happy Cat one day!

Well...that's what I've been up to besides sewing! Just stressing out about cats....sigh.

x

Yana

Supayana Fall 2010

Here's what I've been working on for fall. Everything you see here is made from either vintage deadstock, recycled, or organic fabrics.

Izzy dress

Fully lined stretch wool dress with a tailored fit. I named it the Izzy dress because my lovely intern Isabelle helped develop the pattern for the dress! We both learned a lot and I think the dress came out fantastic.

Eudicot top

This cute petaled collared, tailored blouse is made from wine colored mens' button up shirts. A "eudicot" is any flower that has four petals...if you're wondering why I named it that.

Organic cotton Night Sailing dress

This dress is made from black organic cotton with a black stretch lace inset and a sequined appliqué.

Aurora top

This blouse is made from deadstock 1950's cotton fabric! What a rare treat, to find over 20 meters of this fabric....completely untouched from ages ago. The reverse of the ties is a pale blush colored linen.

Grey wool pompom skirt, fully lined with vintage fabric.

Photos by Matthew Kristjan.

Modeling by Marcela Lazaro.

Tyson and Angie's wedding

My dear friends Tyson and Angie just got married a week and a half ago in rural Manitoba. The wedding was gorgeous and SO much fun...and I usually dread weddings! Freddy and I (plus 15 other Montrealers) flew out there to celebrate their special day.

It was a super creative, original, and go-with-the-flow kind of wedding, which is just a reflection of the bride and groom. It also proves that you don't have to spend a ton of money to have an unforgettable and beautiful wedding. Angie found her wedding dress for $5, the decorations were hand-made by willing friend-volunteers , and all of the bridesmaids dresses were made by the bridesmaids themselves (ok so I had to sew a few extra dresses, hehe). The wedding took place at Angie's parents' property- it was the perfect location!

Below are just a few photos, but you can see the rest here.

Angie and Tyson

Here are all the bridesmaids...from left to right- Amanda, Pam, Cara, me, Angie, Judy, Elaine, and Jill.

Omg, I totally ruined this picture because my dress kept lifting up when I spun around (I made my dress a bit shorter than the other girls...ooops). I'm the standing awkwardly pulling my skirt down....

The tent, all set up! The girls picked wildflowers from the yard for the flower arrangements. So pretty...

Congratulations Tyson and Angie!!! :-D

Backyard photos

Whew, it's been a while since I last posted! This summer has been flying right by. I've been super busy with work but I've been lucky enough to squeeze in some time to enjoy summer. James (my upstairs neighbor) and I have been putting a lot of work into our backyard, which was essentially a blank slate when we bought it. Everything we planted is growing in nicely! Here are a few pictures...

Little Girl, relaxing in the grass...

James works as a landscaper and was able to get us this gorgeous stone for free!

My cherry tomato harvest!

Echinacea, roses, and lavender...so pretty.

Well, I should get back to work! So much to do this week! :/