K.I.S.S.

Hello there,

Have you ever been told to KISS?
Here's the nice translation: KISS = Keep It Simple Sweetheart.
It's something that has been passed down from one engineer to another at my 'other' job. The underlying advice is that while you can make things very complicated and fancy, you really should consider that keeping it simple may just be the way to go.

Why am I telling you this?
The feature piece in this week's blog post is about keeping it simple. I watch as many fashion design competition shows as I can and I often hear the judges criticize the designers for creating something that has already been done. That used to make me think that a fashion designer must always create something  new and different. There are many ideas that have I have tossed out because a Google search revealed that someone else had done it ... that was until my discussion with my aunt who owns her own design company: Osuare. She explained that sometimes, to make an impact, you just have to look for the simple things and do them your own way.

So here's my simple double peplum top; my way.
If you like it, you can place an order and I'll make one for you too. :)

The Summer of 2015

Hi there,

It's the last day of the year!!!!
I am super grateful to God for bringing me this far. Can you believe it?
And best of all, I am ending this year better than I started it ... how wonderful is that?

In 2015, I had my first vendor/show case opportunities (3 in total) for ZiChiE Designs.
I also had an international order from the ZCD Etsy store (click here).
And a very busy summer. I'm guessing it is the warm weather but I had a lot of wedding orders in July/August/September. In addition to that, I made vests for the men in the LA Voice (my church choir).

To wrap up the year, I thought I'd put pictures from this summer's order in one post.

Enjoy.

ZCD Purses at a Showcase hosted by YAPPies (Young African Philly Professionals)

ZCD Vendor Table at ACANNA Festival

For the Sister of the Bride

Dress and Matching Vest & Bow Tie for A Friend's Wedding

Gold Lace Dress for a Friend of the Bride & Groom

Gold Lace Clutch

Pink and Blue Dress for a Friend of the Bride & Groom

My Birthday Skirt

Dress for Ms. V for our Church Anniversary Dinner

LA Voice

(Made the Vests for the Men and the Maxi Skirt [far left])

Skirts for Mummy and Daughter for a Wedding

ZCD @ SAANE 2015

Hello there

The same client (Ms. N) from my previous YAPPIES post (link) invited me to partner up and share a vendor table at a SAANE event last Saturday (June 13) and below are pictures from the event.
SAANE = Semi-Annual African Networking Event

I would like to say a big THANK YOU one of my favorite men. It was his birthday and we had made plans. Being the great supporter he is, he delayed our plans and said I could not miss this opportunity. Thanks, Boss.

** 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).

What My Dress Form Wore

(Ms. N made the tote bags)

My Side of The Table

Her Side of the Table

My Partner Wearing Her ZCD Dress

A Friend With Her ZCD Clutch From the YAPPIES Event

Nice Decor

Of Course, I Wore ZCD (Ankara Border Skirt)

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)

Charms & Shells

 * A couple of weeks ago, I was recovering from a bout with cold and just didn't feel like getting on my sewing machine. To keep my creative juices flowing, I decided to tackle another project that had been on hold for a little while: making charm jewelry with African print fabric and shell earrings. Zi and I also made some button earrings but I'll save those for another day :)
** The charm jewelry are also available on the Etsy store: click  or type in:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/ZiChiEDesigns
*** Check us out on Instagram: @zichie_designs

 

Bow Ties, Bow Ties, Oh My!

* About 2 weeks ago, I met with a client who needed some alterations done and he asked me to bring samples of the bow ties I had. Well, I did and he ordered one in every print I had so ... 11 bow ties!!! After some minutes trying to follow a YouTube tutorial on tying a bow tie, he requested that I make the bow ties pre-tied and adjustable. I told him I'll look into it.

** I borrowed a friend's store bought, pre-tied and adjustable bow tie and got down to some reverse engineering :). In the process, I came up with so many designs that I think I'll add these (minus his 11) to the Etsy store. Enjoy the designs I have translated from paper to fabric so far (below).

*** Check us out on Instagram @zichie_designs.

Same African Print - Different Backing (Black vs. Pink)