I make things.

Lohengrin in Munich

2009-07-22T03:32:00.000-07:00

Lohengrin, the opera that i did about 170 drawings for/ assistant designed, finally opened in Munich! I had the pleasure of seeing the invited dress before opening night. The opera house was stunning and the costumes looked exactly like my drawings! The show was the start of the Munich Opera Festival and featured Jonas Kaufmann and Anja Harteros. Lohengrin was directed by Richard Jones and Designed by Ultz.

BIG NEWS

2009-07-22T03:20:00.000-07:00

i am designing my first big show! It's the Christmas pantomime at the Theatre Royal Stratford East - Aladdin. How exciting?!

It is set mainly in China, with a brief visit to Egypt. I want there to be a lot of hats. That is all for now.

like a dream

2009-05-12T04:29:00.000-07:00

Midsummers Night's Dream is all finished. I think the costumes look really elegant, especially considering everything was all poppers and velcro to accommodate the many quick changes.

There was only one performance but luckily it was filmed by the BBC and can be viewed here all year long.

N.B. The orchestra is the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

mid-temple mid-summer

2009-04-30T13:16:00.000-07:00

i am really excited about a new show i'm doing with Jenny Tiramani which will be a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream at Middle Temple Hall. There is only going to be one performance, but it will be recorded by the BBC to be heard on the radio and seen online.
Here is the hall in it's normal state, just to give you an idea of the space:

I really like doing shows in this space, it's amazingly beautiful, and apparently the first ever performance of Twelfth Night was done there! This past summer i did Romeo and Juliet there (assistant costume designer to Jenny) starring Juliet Rylance as Juliet and Santiago Cabrera as Romeo. The costumes were done using mainly designer modern clothing, but styled to mimic and Elizabethan silhouette. Libby Guy made some amazing leather harnesses to act as 'sword holsters' for the men. Please excuse the poor quality of the photos.

i see london, i see france, i've been making underpants!

2009-04-01T07:45:00.000-07:00

hi again. i'm back from a two week long work hiatus with some lovely american friends. i went to amsterdam, paris, and brighton and each city was just as fabulous as the next! (for more eurotrash naughtiness check out the debwa blog)

before i left i made another costume for annette, this time star themed. i managed to find a video of the doll costume (the previous job is did for her) in action, it looks very classy!

unfortunately, i think some of these pieces will need re-vamping as they are not holding up under the constant strain of being stripped away every night on stage! note to self: use only polyester thread when making burlesque costumes.

still working.

2009-02-26T15:08:00.001-08:00

lots to do this week.

vintage sleeve

2009-02-19T09:09:00.000-08:00

i drew this sleeve for the globe exhibition on the southbank. it's based on a pre-existing sleeve remnant - i simplified it a bit but i tried to include as many little insects as i could because i thought they were a nice detail, especially because most of them are more pests than 'cute' bugs. it's going to be embroidered (but not by me).

hansel and gretel

2009-02-18T06:33:00.000-08:00

i made a bunch of wigs and hats for the Hansel and Gretel panto at the Theater Royal Stratford East this past christmas. i didn't take very many pictures though, but i found a few online and thought i'd post these two.

here is the WITCH, who was so scary, she made all the children sitting around me in the audience cry, and i felt really bad.

this is me making the wig (unfinished here). it's actually made of colored wool meant for making felt crafts(it's usually called roving). we made it into root like dread-locks though, it worked really well, and is a lot tidier/ cheaper than using human or synthetic hair. in the back it goes all the way to my ankles.

the rest of the wigs were made from hair/ feathers. they weren't as interesting, except for yellow bird who had a small quiff made of yellow ostrich feathers. i'm still looking for a picture of it.

wednesday is blog day.

2009-02-18T03:08:00.000-08:00

happy birthday to my new blog. my sister, devon, made me the sweet banner, i am so very pleased with it. if you want to HIRE her to make you anything nice, let me know.

this blog is going to be about all the things i make. i'm hoping it will serve as a sort of unofficial, very casual portfolio, and will help me to find new people to work with.

this is what i am working on at the moment:
* a burlesque costume for the diva Annette Betty
* a sleeve to go in the Globe Exhibition
* drawings for ULTZ for an opera in germany

i just finished doing make up for lecture given by Jenny Tiramani on Elizabethan Dress at the V&A. This is actor Ed Hogg in a hand made dress for Mary Sidney from I am Shakespeare.

and here's a picture of me in the same dress at the Janet Arnold Patterns of Fashion book launch (Vivienne Westwood was there. she put her hand up my skirt.)