Family Affair

Hello there,

In December, I talked with a lovely lady who wanted me to make a skirt for her and matching skirts for her little princesses. She said there was no hurry so we took some time going back and forth online until she found the fabric she wanted. In January, when I went to get the measurements, it turned into the skirts plus vests and bow-ties for her king and prince and a pair of shorts for the prince.
I'm really grateful for the opportunity.

Enjoy the pictures below.
** I pressed the clothes before delivery; please excuse the creases below. **

All Together

King - Vest & Bow Tie

 

Queen - Gathered Skirt

Prince - Vest, Bow-Tie and Shorts

Princesses - 2-Tier Circle Skirts with Netting

Father & Son Set

Some Smooth Jazz

Always Learning ...

Hello there,

Back in SS1 (10th grade equivalent?), we were a handed a sheet of paper that listed occupations and what subjects you should be good at to succeed in them. Based on my teen-self's academic prowess, I had a lot of options (a lot) but I was drawn to engineering. The one thing I like about being an engineer today is the ability to assess a problem and design a solution. For my ZCD work, I usually break down the item to its basic shapes in my head and them build it up from there (unless I'm using a prepared pattern).

Today's post is a bit of a show-and-tell. I have added 4 more items to my 'I-know-how-make-this' list and I wanted to share them with you. If you've browsed the Etsy store (here), you know that besides clothing, I can make accessories. Until now, accessories = bowties, purses and earrings. After today, I can add wristlets, lapel flowers custom bias tape and peplum belts.

These new items were custom orders and I did some research, reviewed tutorials and figured out how to make them. Yay for learning!!!

Lapel Flowers

These are rectangular pleated strips with one zig-zag edge, can you tell?

This one is a folded over rectangular gathered strip. 

Wristlet 

(Zippered Pouch with Wrist Strap)

Had to rip and re-do a couple seams but I got it!

DIY Bias Tape

Peplum Belt

(hi-low style)

Start with a hi-low circle skirt, cut a line down the center, add a long waistband.

 

ZCD @ ACANA Festival

* Hi there :)
So far, August has been buuusssyyy. And not just with my sewing.
I was talking with my bestie and mentioned that I am so busy that I hope I won't be too tired to enjoy my birthday (yes, it my birth month!!!!!!!!) when it rolls around.
Bestie said I always get so excited about my birthday so this year most likely won't be an exception.
I love celebrating my birthday - no matter how big or small the celebration is - I will take myself to dinner if need be :). But yeah, presents are welcome (hint, hint, hint).

** Anyhoo, here are some pictures and videos from my table at the ACANA festival on August 2nd.
Nothing like starting the month with a bang, right?
I have some other work in progress that you can check out here (disclosure: I try but this Orders page is not always up to date)

*** Don't forget to check us out on Instagram @zichie_designs.

My Table

& Me - Wearing my Ankara Pants (also seen here)

it was hot out there ... thank God for the tents :)

The Stage

(Couldn't see the stage clearly from my table but during the last act, I packed up my 'store' and went to enjoy the dancers in the video)

Videos

2 Days to ACANA Festival

* It's been a year of showcases so far and I thank God for all these open doors.
For my church (Love Assembly), this year is our year of Open Doors and God has been faithful to His promise.

So far we've had:

• Fashion Show at Widener University (post)
• Showcase at 'YAPPIES Showing Thier Creative Side' event on (post)
• Vendor table at SAANE Networking Event on (post)
  and coming soon ...
• Vendor tent at ACANA Festival on Sunday, August 2nd.
  ACANA = African Cultural Alliance of North America

For this event, my plan is to have one-size-fits-all items as well as skirts with elastic waists (one-size fits-most?).

** Below are pictures of some things I either or have in store or plan to make more of.

     2 days to go ... wow, almost here.

*** Check us out on Instagram @zichie_designs.

Skirts 

(Elastic Waists = One-Size-Could-Fit-Most ...)

Bow Ties

Neck Ties (... maybe)

Jewelry - Button & Charm Earrings

Purses

T-Shirts

Belts

ZCD @ YAPPIES Sharing Their Creative Sides

* Hello there ...

The last 2 weeks have been looooong weeks. One of my clients makes pillows, pillow cases and other home decor items. Both of us belong to a meetup.com group called YAPPIES (Young African Philly Professionals) and she had an idea to host a meetup event to give some folks a chance to show and sell their handiwork. She asked me to be one of the sellers a few months ago so I thought I had enough time to make a bunch of stuff for sale.

Well, it came down to T-2 weeks and I wasn't a tenth of the way through my 'to-sew' list (*sigh*). I put in a lot of long days to take care of custom orders as well as prep for the showcase and in the end, I had t-shirts, jewelry and purses to sell as well as some outfits to display as samples.

I think it went well - enough that I agreed to partner with my lovely client at another event on June 13th. :)
Let the long days continue ...

** Enjoy pictures from the event below.
*** Follow us on Facebook (Zichie Designs) and Instagram (@zichie_designs and @e_fazion) or email (zichiedesigns[at]gmail.com).

T-shirts and Sample Rack

Purses (the best sellers of the day)

Bowties

(Plus the pillows by Ms. N)

 

Jewelry

Mixing and Mingling :)

(I'm the one in the African print and lace peplum top)