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Contact us at Sunsetsontheeastside@gmail.com! www.sunsetsontheeastside.com

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Shout out to Models

At one of our last shoots with Patrick Callbeck and Models Heather Tasker and Sarah Bulman
Hey folks,
So I'm at school in my Universities lib... should be writing my research paper about blogs, so instead I'm blogging on my blog.  It's related right?
This post I would like to dedicate to our models.  Any girl who has ever in her lifetime modeled for our clothing line... This is a shout out to you.
Before all the lovey dovey stuff comes out, for those of you who are not models, I would like to make one thing very clear. There is a horrible stereotype out there about models.  You know the one: 
The popsicle stick thin, giraffe height, cocaine snorting, coffee and cigs diet, bitchy ladies who won't roll out of bed for less then 10 thou to do a job a monkey can and has done girls.  
Now I'm not saying that this perception is on any of the islands pretty ladies but it's out there. Modeling is hard work. One thing I am very proud to say is that in our design team each of us has modeled at least once for the company so we know very well how hard it is. 
Now picture this if you will:
You are placed in front of a bunch of critical eyes, hot light in your very make uped face and a lens pointed at you and only you.  Different directions are being yelled at you, put your foot here, turn your face there, find the light, smize, don't wrinkle the dress, be natural, not that natural, model with your whole body, you're forgetting your face, get those wrinkles out of your neck,  LOOK COMFORTABLE!  or worse... you are given no directions at all and expected to produce a picture so beautiful, so amazing that who ever looks at it will want to buy what you are wearing.  
Now to some this is easy and effortless.  Some models strut on to the set and just produce beautiful pictures because the camera loves them.  I have yet to encounter this model.  I think they are unicorns.  The camera can love you and make you look as pretty as possible but if the dress ain't selling you won't be booking no gigs.  I'm sure Tyra banks would be the first to tell you that she doesn't just get on set and take pictures, you have to pose, be aware of your body, sell sell sell! So the point I'm trying to stress is this is not an easy job and I invite anyone who thinks otherwise to give it a shot. I'm sure your belief will be changed when put in the above situation.  

But all this doesn't mean it isn't fun. It's an adrenaline rush, and when you get that amazing picture you feel like you are on top of the world.  
So to every girl who has ever stepped on our sets or walked our runways THANK YOU!  Without you we would not sell like we do.   Without you we would not have gotten as far as we have.  And with out you our clothing wouldn't look so gosh darn good.  We owe a lot of our success and fun times to the models so I cannot stress this enough THANK YOU!
I would love to put a list up for all the models we have ever worked with but that list would be so long I would probably never get back to my research paper.  So for the sake of my school marks ,  you know who you are and we love you!  We hope you have had as much fun working with us as we have with you, and I'm sure we will have more in the future.
F.Y.I  to any models who have applied to model in our next shoot if you were not chosen you were put in our model bank and may be used for future shoots so keep checking those e-mails!  and thanks for the great response.
Okay back to my paper.......

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Reviews

I thought I would provide some links to some of our recent reviews of our last collection. These will eventually be posted on our website but here are a list for now.

My fav out of these three is the fashioninhal blog. It made us feel like celebrities by being spotted :) A big thanks to the people who interviewed, reviewed and blogged on us.  All press is helpful and we are super thankful for it.  

http://fashioninhal.blogspot.com/


http://www.fashionmagazine.com/blogs/fashion/at-the-shows/2009/11/04/halifax-fresh-faces-and-thriving-favourites-at-atlantic-fashion-week/


http://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/atlantic-fashion-week-night-two-recap/Content?oid=1366994




Enjoy and we encourage you to comment.  



Monday, November 9, 2009

Photo by Ryan Macdonald 


So this is admittedly a very neglected blog.  So i'll try to do better, but it's not always on the top of the priority list as you can imagine.  Also, posting more often will probably lead to topics that may not always apply to the company. 
 Finally you will have to try to excuse my english writing skills, I have never been grammatically correct and against the better efforts of my current english prof, they may never improve.  I'm okay with that, I hope you can be too.

Atlantic Fashion Week has just passed us by and what a whirlwind it was.  I drove us to Hali in the family car. It was my first time driving in Hali and I am very proud to say that we had no accidents and only drove around in a circle once!  although I do have to thank the lord that Kirstin brought her GPS otherwise this may not be a happy tale. 
 
The show itself went over not so bad.  It's always chaos during the show and your adrenaline is whats keeping you going but we made it through and I'm really proud of it.  As you may have read in reviews and such of the show we showed a collection that was a little different for us.  
This time around we made an effort to be a bit more cohesive with the company choosing similar fabric and we each did a take on a dress made out of the same fabric. It was a fun trail for us but I can confidently assure you that although some feel that it lacked our more, how shall we say this..... eccentric pieces?  we haven't lost it.  Depending on what happens with us in the next little while you should expect a pretty interesting show for AFW in the spring.

Right now we are trying to plan out the next little while so I can't give you dates for upcoming shows and such.  A photo shoot will be happening soon which will be posted on the website. 

***For the photoshoot if there are any models, hair stylists, or make up artists that we havent worked with before that would like to be involved please contact us and let us know!  We love working with new up and comers and don't be shy.We are not asking for professionals, just anyone who feels they have an inclination, and preferable be good at one of these things We can't come and find you if we don't know about you! sunsetsontheeastside@gmail.com***


Finally I'd just like to say that I have found and fallen in love with Regina Spektor.  I knew her name before and I couldn't tell you why i have never listened to her before.  But thanks to "500 days of summer" (an excellent film go see it now, K thanks) I'm in love.  I'm behind the curve I know. Also Carla Bruni(quelqu'un m'a dit is the best in my opinion) , super pretty.  This is the music I would play in my pretty little dress shop if I was ever crazy enough to open one.  

K I think that is it for now.  I'll probably post again in the next.. lets say year... yah that's a safe bet :)

Jax ( my nickname from grade school.. kinda miss it.. bringing it back)


p.s www.sunsetsontheeastside.com  You will like it I promise!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Taaa Daaa!

Okay gals and guys, We are just so darn excited about this website we want you all to see it before it is officially launched. It has all the parts to it but the address is a little odd. I swear it's not a virus ha ha 



http://bit.ly/sunsetsontheeastside 




VOILA what we all have been waiting for is now here. With this website in place I feel like we are a lot more serious. We mean business now folks!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

moving up in the internet world

So at this very moment we are working on our website. Why has it taken us so long you might ask.... well I blame it on a severe lack of knowledge when it comes to computers so we gave in and hired someone.
It's looking good and I can't wait for everyone to see it.

AFW....thats what we are looking towards right now. Should be good, and we are showing on the main night this season so this is super exciting for us.

For those of you in Halifax we have sold out at Love Me but we will get things in there ASAP!

Now still fashion related .. ish... is the new Sex and the City movie. That is right, there will be a sequel. I'm very concerned about this. I have a tendency to believe that sequels never work out ( has anyone see the Donnie Darko one? that's just a hot mess). The only sequel I have ever enjoyed is Dirty Dancing Havana nights and thats because I hadn't seen Dirty Dancing yet. I have since seen it and still love the sequel.
If they screw up this movie then SATC is ending on a very poor note. No pressure guys but you have the entire reputation of a fantastic show on your shoulders, don't ruin it! Of course it's the same director and such, and from what I've seen the styling is still the same only with a heavy infusion of eighties. SJP big blond curly hair reminds me quite a bit of Jennifer Grey or better known as Baby from Dirty Dancing.... maybe that's a good sign....

Pic of Sarah Jessica Parker on the set of the new movie: http://gofugyourself.celebuzz.com/2009/09/01/spl120696_010.jpg

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Best present EVER!

K I have two very important things to say.

Number 1:  We have put about 6 new pieces in The Green Man that are very affordably priced if I do say so myself ( as low as *ahem* $19)   so there is literally no excuse not to get out there.

Number 2: Thursday is my ( Jackie ) birthday!  it is something that I have been looking forward to my whole life( har har), BUT not only does it mark one more year in my life .... the heavens and fashion gods are giving a fashionista the best gift she could want.  AN H&M IN HALIFAX!  that is right kids there is an H&M  opening in the Dartmouth mall on my birthday.   Before it was only the very very rare opportunity that I could venture into this store.  Traveling is expensive when you are a student and I rarely get to do it now  so having this FAB store only a few hours drive away is awesome.   

Something I would like to bring up though, is that there are mixed feelings about this amongst the fashion community.  People seem to think that now that we have this store super close all those unique items that they would take back from trips and get praised on will be everywhere.  I say  poo poo to these people.  If you're scared of people stealing your new unique look from away then maybe you don't understand the concept of a look or style. Style, from my understanding, is how you put pieces together and fashion yourself.  It's a reflection of yourself so unless you have a twin who happens to buy all the same items of clothing and watches you get dressed in the morning ( creepy much?) I feel like we are all safe from the big bad store coming and stealing away our compliments.  Not to mention that all these concerned people will most definitely be in this store anyways.  Because who really can resist H&M?

Happy shopping ... come next AFW I promise you you will see me in this store :)

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Montreal

K so I'd like to believe that you all have been drooling for info on the Festival de Mode et Design as we have.  So with this headset I'm posting the link to the photo album of the festival. There is only 1 of our four sent pieces in the album.  bummer :(  but as soon as we get our hands on the others we will let you see.

While flipping through the pictures you can see what a huge deal this event was.  The crowd looked fantastic and it makes me pretty bummed that we didn't get to go.  But there is always next time baby!  I'd like to believe this is only the first time we will be showing there.

So me and the girls have been slacking company wise but when it's summer and the weather is this nice.. who isn't?  so we will be getting back to you all with updates on upcoming things just as soon as we get this lazy attitude exhausted and put ourselves back into gear  from our crazy work schedules.

Our pieces is around the middle of the album and is grey with a black ruffles down the front with a turquoise trim running down the ruffle.   The model appears to have some kind of strange white bow in her hair, or possibly origami...  I'm not too sure about that but of course we weren't there so I'm giving the styling the benefit of the doubt for now. There is also a closer shot of the same dress around the end of the slide show as well.  

http://www.jimmyhamelin.com/docs/jour_3/

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Anyone for Jell-O?

In the spirit of Saturday morning cartoons, Sesame Street and the Cosby Show I feel we should all share a bit of our nerdy selves. I want to know what your favorite blogs are (if anyone does in fact read this), and I'll share some of mine as well as some fav sites. I appear to spend alot of time on these despite my rampantly slow dial up internet. It will be scary once high speed comes this way, I may never be seen again.

Here goes:

http://www.thesartorialist.blogspot.com/

http://polanoid.net/

http://fashionablepeople.wordpress.com/

http://www.fashion156.com/

http://www.stylebubble.typepad.com/

http://www.fashionologie.com/

http://www.nylonmag.com/

http://www.fashionmagazine.com/

http://www.flickr.com

http://www.sunsetsontheeastside.etsy.com (Shameless plug)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com

Love,
Kirstin

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Ohh CANADAAAAAAAAAA!( sang with grade three french accent)

Today reminds me of the days when, through grade one to three,  the whole school would sing our anthem at the start of the day.  
Back in those years because I was in French immersion we sang it in french but of course we had no sweet clue what we were actually singing.  Instead of words we learned how to make the sounds so it appeared like we were singing the anthem.  At some point in elementary school I realized that I was not singing actual words but emitting sounds that gave the impression they were french. 

K that had nothing to be with clothing but I thought I would share it none the less.  

So at the moment we are in our "down" time. This time being that we aren't showing our collection like mad women and running all over the maritimes.  But don't be fooled,  this is not a slack time!  Actually,  it shouldn't be a slack time however we have a tendency to abuse our down time by doing nothing then hit ourselves while we are scrambling to get a collection together.  My 8-5 job just finished so now I have the time and am lacking any real excuse not to create.  I've made the decision to not take a second job this summer  and just work my regular one.

 This will
 A) give me the opportunity to make clothing.
 B) give me the time to volunteer which i've been dying to do.  
And C) give me more time to have a good summer and not a manic working one ( sorry to hear about your schedule Kirstin! )

So today I will begin actually dedicating myself to working on the company!  It's been so good to me so it definitely deserves my attention.  Or what is more likely to happen,  hang out with my friends and enjoy Canada Day.. opps:P


but i'll think of clothing the ENTIRE time I do it I swear!


Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Well I've started a new job with the provincial government for the summer and I have to say I'm already going crazy. I never realized how much I need a creative environment to maintain my sanity. All I've wanted to do for the last two days has been to sew or draw or make anything with some signifigance. Though somehow an 8-4 government job and a 5-11 restaurant job leaves little time or energy for anything but falling in front of a tv at the end of the night. Why did I not take advantage of the last 2 empty months and create like a madwoman? I suppose this will all make me value my free time more (as it usually does). Maybe I'll catch up with all those people who have enquired about my recent existence.

Last day at Pseudio is on Friday. Tear. Not being paid to play with clothes anymore.. weird....

Love,
Kirstin

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Nervous Jitters

Eeek the Festival of Mode and Design Transcanada Runway show is today! Which means we'll be judged by a whole new fashion crowd. I know we're all holding our breath until the feedback comes in. Hopefully I won't turn blue...I've got my fingers crossed.

Love,
Kirstin

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

So if y'all didn't already know....

http://www.fashionmagazine.com/blogs/fashion-reporters/2009/06/09/halifax-east-coast-designers-take-the-runway-in-montreal/


YAY thanks to Nadine for the mention and we absolutely cannot wait.  It is such a big deal for us and we are just bursting at the seams( pun VERY intended) for this to all go down.  So excited, but also super nervous.  fingers crossed!

Cool things to come besides Montreal tho,  stay tuned! 


Friday, June 5, 2009

Ahem! eyes to the front students!

Today we are going out to Kinkora ( I believe) to teach kids from grade 5-8 about what we do.  Lets be fair here, I don't even REALLY know what we do, so to show kids how to do it is a little ... strange to me.  However, I do like the idea of kids being exposed to different art mediums because clothing is often ignored as being a method of creative expression.  Art itself in our school systems is becoming more and more scarce and not simply the obvious art class but stuff like music or dance.  
Although P.E.I schools do seem to have good outlets for these.  As a students of Bluefield High School the art classes we're fantastic ( katryna will vouch for this), we had a full fledged band program (me and Kirstin were band geeks), I started a small dance club within the school, and all three of us took drama in school.  

We were very lucky, as you can see, but I know that not all students in Canada are or even in all our school systems are.  Being exposed to everything is important because not every student is going to turn out to be a scientist, doctor, or lawyer.  

I like to believe that our passion found us, and we are incredibly lucky for this, but not everyone is so lucky. So if you have children or are planning on so doing, I think involving children in as many things as possible ( As a young child I tried swimming, figure skating, ballet, basketball, drawing, theatre, gymnastics, piano and more. Thanks mom and dad! )will help them find their passion.

And really, what is a life without passion?

-Jackie

Saturday, May 23, 2009

growing up...

Alright so Fringe went over pretty darn well. Of course because it was outside we had weather issues and and apparently we truly are cursed with music issues ( it was small and nothing our fantastic models couldn't pull off anyways) but we made it out alive. 

Here is the lame part... people would ask how it went and we'd say "good"  and did you have fun?  "yup"  any real problems?  "nope not really".
 What I'm getting at here is that maybe runway shows aren't as exciting for us anymore.  This is not saying that I don't love them, because trust me they are one of my favorite parts of the company (sewing and meeting and chilling with our models being the other top three).  I guess after having done so many shows we've become relatively ( don't want to jinx ourselves here) immune  to the backstage mishaps that befall runway shows.  We know what could happen and what will happen and what to do.  So my adrenaline still pumps when your model is about to hit the runway and their dress isn't entirely tied up, but that first rush where me, Kirstin, and Kat looked at each other and wanted to cry from happiness has died off a little.

However we have tons more firsts to come. I find it hard to believe that after our first runway show in Montreal we won't get emotional.  Heck, I get emotional at the simple thought of it. So maybe the excitement of a maritime fashion show isn't what it used to be, but I have my fingers crossed that me and the girls will still have the opportunity to be blubbering backstage messes in the future. 

Ciao for now kids and make sure to pick up your copy of Panache in June to see our new DIY project!

-Jackie

Friday, May 15, 2009

FRINGE TONIGHT

I LOVE FASHION SHOWS

yay

I am also nervous for some odd reason... hopefully it's not foreshadowing of something terrible happening like rain, catwalk accidents.. or music mishaps which we seem to be prone to.

6 30 waterfront by Peakes 



k breath.....

-Jackie

Saturday, May 9, 2009

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


those exclamation marks are there to display my excitement.

So when you think fashion capital of Canada what do you think?
I would hope it would be Montreal because that is certainly my inclination.

So why this talk of Montreal?  Wellllll.....

SOTE is making it's first appearance there!  That is right Sunsets on the Eastside has been invited to show at the Festival of Mode and Design in Montreal!  

We received the call that we were one of four designers from the maritimes chosen to show in Montreal a few days ago.  I was at work at the time so admittedly did a very poor job of selling clothing, I pretty much day dreamed the entire time.  Kirstin has to go do an interview for us for The Guardian  so I can only imagine how hard it was to concentrate on answering questions.  Katryna was in Ottawa so found out a day later then us which sucked but when she called me and told me about her reaction it got me even more excited. So needless to say this is one of THE most exciting things that has happened to us yet.  

I really hope we can all make it down to see the show in Mtrl because it would be a real shame to miss our first show there. But the simple fact that our  pieces of clothing will be there is incredible. I'm sure Montreal will show them a good time!

So for more information on the event go to:
http://www.festivalmodedesign.com/events.php?language=en&date_id=20
From here you can see a little of everything including the other designers we are showing with.

p.s it's on St. Catherine street!!!  a.k.a best shopping street in Canada, in my opinion. With exception to University Ave., Water Street, and Birmingham Street( Where our shops are located).

because I am just so darn excited I've included another shot of our upcoming collection to be shown at Fringe next week GET YOU TICKETS NOW PLEASE!  we want to see people in the audience!  ( Shot by Patrick Callbeck, Make up by Ellen Connaughton, and model Kirstin Sweet designer)

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Shhhhhh don't tell!


Hey there Folks!

Because you have all been such good little fans here is a sneak preview of our Spring Collection 2009 .  The make up was by Ellen Connaughton and the great pic by Patrick Callbeck.  
This gorgeous model is Allison Kelly who did fantastic for her first time.  Kirstin Sweet, yes that's right, our very own designer also modeled for this shoot and did fab as well.  

Hope you come to the Fringe to check out our stuff.  We show may 15th at 6 30 and may 17th at 2.  It would make us SO happy to see you all there!

Enjoy!

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

so the theme of this week has been photoshoots!

On sunday we did one for Panache for our column on DIY.  Myself and my roommate modeled in it.  And may I just say... modeling is SO not as easy as it looks.

People! I think we all need to gather round and listen to this...
modeling is not just being stuck in front of a camera.  well.. that does happen, but many other factors are at play.
You have to think of the garment you're wearing, your job is to make it look good.
You have to think of your face and how it looks to the photog.
You have to make sure your face is catching the light and you aren't in the shadows.
In my case, you have to watch that your feet don't look like they are clown feet in those gladiator sandals. 
Lots of the time it takes forever to get the right shots and round after round and clothing changes make it hard to keep smiling.  
You have to interact with your co model in this case, which was shockingly difficult.
The most difficult for us was having the same face.  If one of you looks happy and the other serious it just looks ridiculous, as I've witnessed in my pictures :( I liked serious she liked happy
WORST OF ALL is the scrutinizing faces watching you and you can read  "this is just not working.. sigh.." on their faces and have no clue how to fix it.  
Growing up being super tall from high school on I always got the "you should be a model"  line.  Which, sure, is flattering. I secretly thought, well that wouldn't be hard!.. surprise IT IS!

Not that I didn't have respect for my models before ( I adore and am grateful for our models I hope they know that!)  but now I can sympathize and this will hopefully make me a better director for shoots.  I guess we will find out tonight at our shoot for our spring line.
This shoots is going to be outside at sunset( ha ha) into the night.  Should be fun and I'm certainly looking forward to it.

Speaking of looking forward to things FRINGE is coming up quick and it is certainly going to be the bomb.. and not just because we're in it he he.
Get your tickets super quick.  This show is certainly something to catch if you're feeling the need for a surge of that urban talent.. and I mean really,who isn't!

for the details.


Finally, the last thing I'm going to need you to click on ( I know, so much work, I have to apologize) is the latest write up on us from AFW.  I have to admit, the bloggers mention a russian designer who is only 15 (who I believe was features on Americas Next Top Model) and I am seriously jealous of her.   I mean we aren't even 1/8th as successful as her and she's just 15 but I think an important point as to this reason is raised in the blog.  We have to thank the great ladies who wrote this, I had a really great time reading it and it's so nice to see that our neighbors in Hali have such cool writing talent (and such good taste! ha ha).  Not that this is any kind of a shocker.
Alright folks, I'm off to bask in spring sun ( in my new Seven For All Mankind capris I bought at Value Village for $6.. sorry kirstin and Kat I had to brag just one more time about that!)

Lots of Love
Jackie


Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Heres another review of the show.. unfortunately some of their facts are wrong, such as we are no longer in high school, but still a nice review.

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2009/04/atlantic-fashion-week-fall-2009-eco-ethical-fashion-is-just-so-damn-cool-danica-olders-orphanage-deux-fm-laura-chenowith-and-more/

Also feel I should mention again the we will be participating in the most exciting event this spring... what's that you might ask?

The Fringe Urban Festival!

We had a meeting with some of the people in charge and we are so excited to be a part of this.  I'm sure you've seen the ads around so you have no excuse not to know about this. For more info visit www.fringeurban.com Tickets are on sale now!

And we promise to rock the house all you fashiony (a word we have decided IS in fact a word while we were in Halifax)  people.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Did we jinx spring? Perhaps I got a bit too enthusiastic when a few sunbeams appeared. All I could picture were spring frocks. To my dismay those dresses will have to remain in the closest, until this last wave of reality melts away. All 25cm of it.
At least this new blanket of snow reflects more sunshine then mud?

Even if the weather does not permitt us to leave our legs bare I will continue to stitch up some summer attire, it doesn't hurt to be prepared. You can prepare too by stoping by Love Me Boutique (Birmingham st. Halifax N.S.), where pieces of our latest collection are already in store.
However, if you find yourself stranded you could always check out our etsy site.
Sunsets on the Eastside is now available nationwide (and parts of the US)! We have a few select pieces up on our online store with many more to come in the near future. Check it out and let us know what you think.

http://www.sunsetsontheeastside.etsy.com

Love,
Kirstin




So I recognize that I just posted pretty recently but I have a little more to say ( for those of you know me, I know you wont find that shocking) .
So here are some shots of the show and the pieces that are in the Love, Me store. ( there is one more piece in Love, Me then shown here that I will post when I get a pic of it)
This shots are taken by Ian Smith a friendly photog who we met the first night of AFW at the media night.
I'm going to post a pic of us at media night too also taken by Ian.

There is also a review of Friday night AFW by the coast with a mention of us that i'll post here.  If you didn't get to see the event they did an excellent job of giving you a sneak peak of us and the other designers. 

http://www.thecoast.ca/ArtAttack/archives/2009/03/28/atlantic-fashion-week-friday-night-recap

So us designers have decided to rewind ourselves back to high school a little.
 Once upon a time we all started out by designing our own clothing to wear the next day at school just for the fun of it. It was all about what we would want to wear.  But since the company has started we haven't had the chance to make clothing for ourselves. This is something I have really missed.  When someone asks me if I made the article of clothing I am wearing, I would love to not have to say " No, sorry it's not". 

Not to worry though folks, we will keep designing for you but we have to start flaunting our clothing too, and this is something I cannot wait to do.

When you have to take other peoples ideas of what is pretty into account when designing, it becomes much much harder then you'd think.  This has often caused me a lot of stress.  So when I started to think about what I would want to wear... ideas came in droves and droves. I forgot how easy it was to think up fantastic ideas when I stopped thinking about others opinions of the designs and started designing for me.  So for the next little while you will be seeing us three designers hopefully flaunting our own stuff just for ourselves.  Maybe if the reception on the clothing is good enough we'll make more so you can enjoy it too! 
 So feel free to ask " Did you design this?"  So I can say  proudly ...."Yes!"

-Jackie

Monday, March 30, 2009

*sigh of relief*





Wow the last couple months have been absolute craziness!  
We've completed 3 successful shows ranging from a school charity event to Atlantic Fashion Week.  

We are proud to say that all three of the shows we have participated in have been for Charity.  Charities are one of the things we absolutely love to be involved in. Our first event was for Free the Children put on by a group from Colonel Gray High School, the F.L.A.R.E event put on by Talent PEI was for The Children's Wish Foundation, and finally AFW was for OneXOne. 
These events make us proud not only to be representing PEI but to say that we have helped others in need at the same time. 

Our first show was only 9 pieces which were all redone pieces a.k.a eco friendly!  That was so much fun to do.   I really enjoy redoing pieces and giving them a second life. It's so much fun to see a dated piece of clothing turn into something current and beautiful.  

The second was 12 pieces with original pieces featured.  Other talents were involved in this show such as some of the islands ever talented singers and dancer which made the show that much more fun to be involved in. We had tons of fun because some of our previous models made it home to participate in the show as well as some new ones which made it that much more fun.  We love our models more then life, they are a joy to work with and I would just like to Thank them so much because without them our clothing couldn't come alive and look as beautiful as they make them.  

Finally we did Atlantic Fashion Week.  This collection was supposed to be focused on Spring/Summer but we decided to do a Hybrid collection of S/S and Fall/Winter. Any excuse to go and visit Halifax is okay with me but throw in a fashion show and I am more then there!
The first night was media night and chatted with some lovely people, got to know our models, and made some new contacts.  It's intimidating to go to an event where you know barely anyone and try and rep your company but we pulled it off which required some getting over our fears. We felt so good after and  it was completely worth it. We went back to our hotel with so much confidence for the big show.  
Friday was spent crazily shopping for an outfit for that night.  The night before I wore a skirt made by my friend James White which gave me that extra boost of confidence I needed.  I knew I needed to find something equally as confidence inducing for the big show though.  I will admit to some jealousy on the part of Katryna who found a very pretty dress (on sale!) but my new beautiful shoes worked as a band aid to my jealousy. In the end I didn't find anything new but I pulled some stuff together and felt pretty darn good never the less.
Considering AFW is the biggest show we are involved in during the year it was a little stress inducing, but It was more than worth it.  All 21 pieces made it down the runway and we received great feedback. We felt on top on the world after the show chatting with people and we absolutely can't wait to do it again.  
If you are interested in watching a portion of the show there is a good clip on Haligonia.ca that I will post below. If you start the clip at 10:49 then thats where our clothing hits the runway.

http://live.haligonia.ca/community/1093-local-fashion-designers-raise-the-roof.html

I'll also include some pictures( taken my Josh Webb) of the dresses we have put in our fantastic Halifax based store called Love me! Boutique.  This store in on birmingham street off Spring Garden and we strongly encourage you to go not only check out our stuff, but there is tons of beautiful Canadian made stuff there as well.  

Finally we are proud to say that Sunsets on the Eastside is finding a new way to contribute to the island fashion community.  The spring issue of Panache magazine features a DIY project taught by us so you can make a fav old t-shirt into something new and fabulous.  You'll have to check out the mag to know exactly what I'm talking about!


Up coming SOTE events:
Sunsets will be showing at The Fringe Urban Festival during may.  This event is a really cool mix of events such as fashion, urban art, dance, and sports.  Definitely something you will want to be checking out!
http://fringeurban.com/home.htm

Here are the links to the pictures because we aren't allowed to upload:

http://pa.photoshelter.com/img-show/I0000bIQvlTJWxAE
http://pa.photoshelter.com/img-show/I0000Lkh8R0Bwmpg
http://pa.photoshelter.com/img-show/I0000GL_8ww4pY_E
http://pa.photoshelter.com/img-show/I0000k0QM_5BMLWY

If you have any questions for us or comments on our collections feel free to post here, on facebook or e-mail us at sunsetsontheeastside@gmail.com

-Jackie

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Passion

How I've missed this feeling. It's amazing to see how one area of your life can affect the rest. Alot of time has gone by since I've made a new piece of clothing that I actually put my heart into and I can feel the effects already. I wake up feeling happier, more creative and more willing to put all of me into what I'm doing. In other words I've rediscovered a passion that I let fall by the wayside for too long. Now it's not like I've let this go for years, but it has been a number of months. Either way I need to keep this up, if only for my own sanity, so as not to slip into sedation.

We're preparing now for fashion show season which is one of my favorite times of year! The work is difficult but that necessary push to get ourselves in gear is such a motivator that we so desperately need. Keep an eye out, we have two confirmed shows in February and most likely more in March and April. In the mean time keep checking this blog and our facebook group for updates!

Love,
Kirstin

Saturday, January 3, 2009

The artist high

There are many creative things in this world that leave me feeling amazing. A small number of which I would be considered talented at, however I do them none the less because they make me feel great.  That feeling I have officially dubbed "the Artist High".

Now typically for me activities such as making clothing ( the obvious), writing ( the slightly more obvious), dancing, and one more thing that very few people are aware that I enjoy doing.
Drawing
This would be because I do not consider myself to be highly talented in this field of art and because it is something that many people feel like they can judge without any expertise. It can be intimidating to share this type of art.  Or that is my excuse. 
However tonight for the first time in a V.V. long time I grabbed a piece of paper and a clicky pencil and let it flow.
Now, the picture of a young asian girl that I produced may not be particularly realistic, or in fact look as if she is asian, but I am still proud of it.  
I forgot how amazing it is to remember all the other things you can do when you tend to focus on one thing.  
The other side of it is that I was making something that was just for me with no one else in mind.  To be completely selfish in what I was creating let me work a little more freely and produce something I love much more. 

So I would hope that this would encourage you to remember that thing you used to do as a child that you loved, and perhaps was not the best at, but truly enjoyed and practice it a little, see what comes out of it.  Whether it be an instrument, a sport, or in my case drawing.  I can pretty much guarantee that this will be a pick me up and a good way to remember who you really are.
Lose the embarrassment and self evaluation, just do!
It's worth your while!

-Jackie