Tuesday, November 29, 2011

welcome, welcome

hello to all the new faces from the south magazine!!! i am so glad you stopped by brownie-goose and hope you love it all as much as i do!

and for those that have the condition that i suffer from as well and may be thinking right now, "hmmmm...what did i miss?" no worries. it happens to the best of us, PLUS facebook is being super crazy now-a-days and hiding all sorts of posts from BG so you cannot see me. grrrrrrr. methinks facebook might be a BG hater.

anyways - i was EXTREMELY honored to be asked by a designer who is working as a stylist (who is also a project runway designer, i was slightly star-struck on the phone and was glad when he quickly realized how dorky but cool i can be and tried not to be too mortified when i asked certain questions, haaa - mitchell, ONE day i will laugh about it all) if he could pull some things brownie-goose for a photo shoot for the south magazine. ummmm, HELLS TO THE YEAH. i was super excited, but also very nervous. and so i got quiet and shady. and we all know by now that i am super obvious and when i get quiet - i am most likely up to something. :)

and so i sent lots of BG goodies to savannah and to my absolute shock and surprise, i saw yesterday when the issue hit the stands that MY DRESS MADE THE COVER. oh my word. when i saw it, i immediately thought i was gonna cry. and then i laughed, and kinda did a half cry in which i had a small snort with tears coming from my eyes. then my ears got all hot and i felt dizzy. and then i giggled again, and then the tears came. you see, this is HUGE for itty-bitty old me. i put so much into brownie-goose and pour every single bit of my heart into it, and to see a dress that i designed staring back at me on a cover - simply took my breath away. to me, at that moment...it had all paid off. this was me. this was my brownie-goose. this was my heart and soul of design. whether i decided the next day to quit it all (i am kidding here folks) or go big-time, i DID it. i am not one to pat myself on the back too often, but i did. yay me. and now i am chomping at the bit to see the rest of the magazine! and for those that are wondering...that dress on the front - well, that is a small sneak of what is to come on my next line, dock of the bay. just so you know, i LOVE teasers and sneak peeks.

so, now on to what i sat down to write about in the first place. you see, for all of you that are new to BG (what i lovingly nick-named brownie-goose) - i am a very wordy person. when i blog, you are lucky if you actually see a sentence that is pertaining to what i sat down with in mind the first time. my mind runs wild. you can read more about that here. but just to warn you. :)

if you want to purchase some of the frocks you saw in the magazine, this is how it goes. i am the only girl sewing and my demand outweighs my supply something crazy. and until i figure out how to fix that silly issue, this is how i roll. i sell my collection in uploads. i have already had 2 for my latest line daydream believer. i have one more that i want to do that will have bits and pieces of the entire collection in it. i ALWAYS post to my blog/website in advance of an upload sizing information, time, place, etc. for the past 2 uploads, i have used big cartel. i *may* and *may not* use it again, i may just use my etsy store for organizational purposes to make the control freak in me happy. so, in essence....stay tuned on here and also on facebook and you will be informed. promise!

so thanks again for loving brownie-goose, welcome and glad to see you! stay tuned and i will keep you posted!

Monday, November 14, 2011

happy birthday dear brownie-goose...

wow...what a whirl-wind again. once again, you girls rocked my daydream believer upload like no one's business! thank you, thank you, thank you!

on a whole other note. brownie-goose turns 3 this month. oh my goodness. i remember quitting my day job like it was yesterday. i remember sewing in the guest room which is now louisa's room. i remember almost jumping up and down every time i heard my blackberry chime for my brownie-goose hotmail account meaning someone was interested in me. i remember ordering fabric by the yard, and maybe 4 at the most. i remember moving my sewing room to the dining room when i out-grew my space in the guest room. i remember taking orders all.the.time. i remember building my sewing room and realizing that maybe taking orders all the time wasn't such a good idea as i sat chained to my machines. i remember moving into my sewing room and doing a holiday line. first and LAST that BG will ever see. i now have an aversion to holiday clothing because that christmas line almost broke me. i remember doing a lottery system for orders and getting some of my very first hate mail. all of this seems like yesterday...yet here i am.

crazy. humbling. and grounding. sometimes enough to make my head big, but thankfully i get knocked back down by murphy and his law in my sewing room.

so, here's to you brownie-goose. you've come a long way baby. where will you be this time next year? i honestly don't know. but it is awesome to think that BG has come so far in this time. it is awesome to think of everything that i have put into it. and so far, it has all gone over well. knock on wood. there have been bumps in the road for sure, but those speed bumps have just given me the time to slow down and re-evaluate the path i am on.

i have some really, really exciting things going on behind the scenes at BG lately. nothing i am quite ready to share just yet, but i can say that i am blown-away by it all. it creates so much excitement and pride for me, but at the same time puts me between a rock and a hard place with a decision that i cannot make to save my life. i swear i am not trying to tease here by any means, but i wanted to let you know that all of this couldn't be possible without the amazing support i get from all of you out there that love brownie-goose and spread the word. you all rock, but i think you know that.


on another note....ohhhhh brother.

i mean, really. meet my newest addition to the BG family of brothers. pepper. she is my new coverstitch machine. as you can tell, i have quite a fondness for brother machines. the only one not pictured is thelma, who is still on disability because of a certain seamstress who thought she could moonlight as a sewing machine repair lady. hmmmmm.

anywho. pepper has earned her name. she is spicy and fiesty. and she makes me say very, very bad words. i bought her one day on a whim and in the midst of a knit-induced temper tantrum. i have yet to figure her out, but then again...i have also not spent quality time with her. i am hoping this week to take some time from daydream and spend it with pepper, sewing for my hooligans so that maybe nash will have more than one thing to wear, and also getting cleaned up and organized in the sewing room...which means there will be a destash coming. and this one is going to be LOADED with blanks. i am no longer going to be stocking blanks (shirts for appliques) and want to unload all of the inventory that i have since i do not want to move it with me to georgia. stay tuned on facebook. and, if the inner hoarder in me doesn't take over, i may just destash some fabric too.

so again, thank you always. i always credit my unbelievably loyal fans for everything that BG is today - and today is no different. you all are the bestest and my faves. daydream believer will be having a 3rd and final upload in december. stay tuned for info on that one.

let's all raise our glasses, diet coke cans, coffee cups, etc. to 3 AMAZING years of brownie-goose. and here's to many, many more. :)

Thursday, November 3, 2011

daydream believer upload TWO

okay ladies...the second upload is tomorrow! wahoo!!!

4 of the designs from daydream believer will be up for grabs tomorrow, friday november 4th at 12 noon (central time).

yes, that is friday november 4th at 12 noon central.

tune in to my big cartel store (http://browniegoose.bigcartel.com) for the upload of the goodies.

up for grabs this upload are the butler britches (with matching shirt), the plum hattie (oh be still my heart), trudy's picnic dress and the lucky star pants (with matching shirt, it is a slate grey...pics make it look purple, that isn't the case). here are all the details.




CORRECTION - FOR THE LUCKY STAR PANTS, I ACTUALLY HAVE SIZE 18 MO SHIRTS FOR THE 18 MO PANTS.

(PS - if it helps any...lou is wearing a size 2-3 hattie and trudy's picnic. she is about 37" tall and weighs like 28 lbs.)

okay - last time it all went quick. and it was crazy. in fact, big cartel oversold a few items and got the shipping all kinds of confrused - but i am giving it another try because SO MANY people (shop owners) love it. so, here is another chance for the hearting to happen between BG and big cartel.

the difference this time is that all items will ship by next friday, november 11th. i have the majority of the construction done, but many of the details still need to be added. time in my sewing room lately has been really hit or miss since i cannot seem to keep my kids well. so, i still have some work to do - but as i said...your order will ship by next friday. with that said, some people said that they were never asked for shipping or for a code, and so it may get crazy again. so, if you can...please make sure that you have the correct shipping address with big cartel and if you are local, enter SHIPFREE for local pick-up.

thanks girlies, and again...thanks for rocking and being such loyal customers! and don't forget, brownie-goose on big cartel at 12 noon (CST) on friday november 4th.