Have you been following the Moda pillow talk blog hop?
At Quilt Market last fall, each Moda designer was asked to make and present a pillow that describes our creative journey, our design process, our background, or something unique about us. Now we’re each presenting our pillows on-line. And today’s the day for my pillow.
You probably already know that my background is in apparel design. I worked as a clothing designer for Ralph Lauren and for Tommy Hilfiger before S was born, and I left my job in order to stay home with her. From there, Oliver + S came to be. (If you want the whole story, you can listen to Hillary’s podcast to hear all the gory details of starting a business when you have a small child at home.)
So when Lissa, our fearless Moda leader, asked for a pillow describing this process, the design solution was fairly straightforward. My pillow should be clothing, right?
This pillow was made from a (now out-of-print) Puppet Show tunic. This particular dress was made for a photo shoot and trunk show shortly after I launched the company. The fabric is from one Sandy Klop’s first American Jane collections. I love Sandy’s fabric and quilt designs, and it wasn’t until after I started designing fabric for Moda that we realized Sandy’s daughter and I were house-mates and friends in college! So I feel like we’ve got a special connection.
As part of the pillow talk tour, we’re supposed to answer a few specific questions. I suspect this is all more than you want to know about me, but here we go….
What is a little known fact about yourself?
Early in my career, before I returned to school to study fashion design, I worked for one of the world’s wealthiest men. One day I hand-wrote a check to the government to cover his quarterly income tax payment. The check was so many digits long that I had to stop afterward and shake myself.
How do you relax?
I like to hang out with my family, visit museums, explore New York City, read, sew, and get together with friends. Recently I’ve been doing a little sewing for myself and have been catching up on some old New Yorker magazines. I can’t seem to keep up with magazines and books simultaneously, so the magazines stack up while I’m immersed in books.
What do you sleep in – PJ’s or nightgown?
I don’t like to have anything tangled around my legs when I’m sleeping, so I don’t really care for nightgowns or pajama pants. As a result, I usually wear a pair of my husband’s boxers with an old T-shirt. This really should change, I know. One of these days I’ll have to become a grown-up. But it gives me a good excuse to buy him funny boxers!
What kind of pillow do you like, hard or soft, foam or feather? And why?
Any pillow that’s big and fluffy, preferably down.
When you were young did you sleep with a stuffed animal? If so what?
Oh yes. I was very close to Teddy. Today S has Bear, and I still have my Teddy. Teddy and Bear are now very close friends, although S is rather worried about the stuffing poking out of Teddy’s nose. She takes good care of him for me. That’s him in the photo above, wearing the brown fur coat.
Do you sew in bed? Read? Watch TV? Eat?
No to all of the above. I’m not allowed! I do all my reading on the sofa before going to bed because it keeps Todd awake if I read in bed, even with my trusty headlamp. And neither of us like crumbs in the bed, so food isn’t allowed.
How many nights have you or your spouse spent on the couch?
I sometimes move out to the sofa if I can’t sleep, but it’s not a full-length sofa so it’s not really a viable option. In our tiny apartment everyone has to get along because there isn’t enough space to NOT get along. See? There really is something good about living in a small space! We’re very close–physically and emotionally.
Nighttime toddy?
Does it count that my husband’s name is Todd?
Early to bed or all-nighter?
I read somewhere that creative people are frequently night owls. This certainly holds true for me. Back in design school I was just getting started at 11:00. I still have my best ideas late at night, but I wish I was a morning person. And I don’t tolerate caffeine well, so coffee isn’t an option. I guess I’m naturally caffeinated.
Who would you most like to have a pillow fight with?
Perhaps with Lissa, once we’ve all done the pillow talk hop? (Watch out, Lissa!)
Alright, let’s do a giveaway! I’ve been paying attention to how these things are done and now know the proper way to do this.
1. Leave a comment telling me who you would most like to have a pillow fight with and you’ll be entered to win, courtesy of Moda, a Jelly Roll from this coming spring’s Oliver + S fabric collection which is called Modern Workshop. (We’ll have more to say about this collection in coming months.) In addition to the fabric, we’ve designed a special Modern Workshop quilt which can be sewn from a Jelly Roll.
2. If you haven’t already, sign up for our consumer newsletter using the box in the upper right-hand corner of our website. If you do that, you can come back and leave a second comment saying you’ve registered which will give you a second chance to win the prize. And if you already do subscribe to the newsletter, you can leave a comment saying that for a second chance to win.
We’ll pick the winner on the afternoon of Tuesday, February 15. Comments will close down and the winner’s name will be posted once the drawing is over. If you’re the lucky winner, we’ll contact you by email to get your shipping information.
And don’t forget that pillow talk continues! Tomorrow Sandy Gervais will be showing off her pillow at Pieces from My Heart.
Note: this post does not seem to be taking any more comments. We are addressing the issue. In the meantime, feel free to leave comments in the post above. We’ll do the drawing using both sets of comments.