Sailboats

Let's dive into spring/summer 2014! Nothing says summer like sailboats, especially in Chicago. Lake Michigan is full of boats and yachts during the warmer months and though I can't afford to get out on the lake, I can easily get behind this pattern.

The journey of this print was definitely an adventure. As a team, we at Mata Traders decided that adding a dash of nautical into the spring 2014 mix would be an awesome idea. Like the "Tools of the Trade" dress from Spring '13 and many other textiles designs for Mata Traders, I collaborated with Nora Slavin Howe (the fabulous mom of Mata Traders' creative director, Maureen Dunn). Nora is a wonderful artist who hand sketched a bunch of sailboats. I scanned her drawings, took on the role of pattern technician and played around with color, orientation, scale and repeat for over a week before we finally decided on the perfect print. 

From left to right: Starboard Dress, Tied and True Top and Summerfest Dress.

Once we got a fabric sample back we knew we had to use this print on a top. The Tied and True Top matches the print beautifully. The tie in the front carries a nautical element while still looking work appropriate. The Starboard Dress on the left and the Summerfest Dress on the right are enhanced with yellow piping and trim which brings out the bright sunny feel of summer. Both dresses are super comfortable, fun and a perfect warm weather outfit!

Spring '14 on ModCloth!

WOW! It has been way too long since I have written a post, but that just means I have been working like crazy these last few months, and boy do I have some goodies to share! Within the next few weeks I will be writing about all my projects but for now I thought I would start with an exciting announcement.

Textile designs by Shifra Whiteman. Garments by Mata Traders. Sold through ModCloth. 

ModCloth is, once again, selling garments with my textile designs! I designed these fabrics for Mata Traders and ModCloth ordered these garments to start Spring '14. On the far left, is the Perennial Picking Top, in the same floral print I designed for the Fall '13 Meet Me in the Meadow Dress. The cascading roses make this top look so sweet. Next to it we have the An Enchanted Evening Dress. This dress was designed specifically for ModCloth but the same fabric can be found on other dresses in Mata Traders' Spring '14 collection (available on their website in April). The following dress is the Give You a Print Dress in Hexagons. I designed this print for Mata Traders' Spring '13 collection but it was so cute that we decided to use it again! On our far right we have the Carry On With Confidence Top in Sailboats. This was a fun collaboration textile which I will write about in the next few weeks. I love how nautical the top looks with that tie in front. 

This is literally just the tip of the iceberg! Each of these designs has a story behind it, which I will write about and cannot wait to share so stay tuned! 

Math, math, math…MATH?!?!

I HATE MATH! There, I said it and have been saying it for years! I was never good at the subject in school which was was, without a doubt, the lowest grade on my report cards. Math has been my nemesis and has even made me cry….multiple times. My boyfriend cannot understand why my hatred is so strong! He tells me that when he sees my textile designs, he knows there is tons of math involved…. and he is right, there is. But I am not getting graded on it and I am definitely not thinking about math as I solve how to align repeats seamlessly. Maybe if there was a repeat pattern math class (which I clearly would have aced) I would hate it less. 

Last night, my darling mathematical boyfriend announced that he had gotten to the next stage in interviewing for a  funky, new (math-ish) job. The step itself is attending a "Happy Hour" and was told to "bring something creative". Naturally, he should just bring me but since that isn't allowed, he asked if I could design his business cards… And guess what he wanted me to make a pattern of? If you guessed MATH, you are correct! So, last night I quickly made a repeat pattern for the back of his new business card, found a bunch of symbols I never actually used in math class, so that my darling could be the star of this "next step happy hour interview" thing.  While it was painful at times to work with math again, i'll admit that it was kind of fun whipping this little print up for m'darling! 

Once upon a Yiddish bicycle...

A few years ago, a friend of mine asked me to custom paint her bicycle. A bit about this friend, her name is Eve Jochnowitz and she is a wonderfully creative individual who works with food (Check out her blog HERE!), Yiddish language & culture, and folk dancing to name a few. She is also an avid cyclist who pedals fearlessly down the streets and avenues of NYC. 

Anyways, back to the story, a few years ago Eve had asked me to paint one of her many bicycles. However, due to location, time and who knows what else, the project kept being pushed back... until this past summer!

Eve had gotten the pistachio green base coat painted before hand at Horse Cycles and had brought small jars of chocolate brown and red enamel paint for me to use. I painted the text "טאָ לערנט זיך שוין ייִדיש’' on one side and the translation "Learn Yiddish already!" on the other. In addition to the text, we decided that branches and vines should be painted as if it were taking over the bicycle and pomegranates (a traditional Jewish fruit and symbol) would be growing all around. We also decided to hide a few images of goats (another traditional Yiddish symbol) to add as a game!

After it was all finished and dried, Eve brought the bicycle parts back to NYC, returned to Horse Cycles for a finishing coat and had the whole thing reassembled at Bikeworks, on the Lower East Side. She sent me an image of the bike all put together, but it's also great getting surprise photos and texts from friends spotting the Yiddish bicycle parked all around NYC.

Secret Santa

Being the Jewish girl that I am, I can count on my hand the few times I participated in the thrilling seasonal activity, "Secret Santa". This year the staff at Mata Traders organized a "Secret Santa" and the big reveal was at our holiday party last Friday. The theme was "My favorite color is..." and while some people strayed away from the theme, the gift given to me was for many reasons the most awesome gift ever!  

Fair Coast leather clutch with my textile design as the lining!

Last month I learned about a company called Fair Coast. They are a local company based in Chicago that makes handmade leather goods. I met the Fair Coast husband & wife duo at a holiday fair a few weeks ago. They are the sweetest people who are passionate about handmade products and working with companies and people who are local and ethical. They came over to Mata Traders and bought a handful of damaged dresses (garments with broken zippers, misprints, minor tears...etc.) and repurposed the fabric as lining for their leather clutches. 

Katie Gavenda, my "Secret Santa" and marketing associate at Mata Traders (not to mention an awesome graphic designer) really hit the ball out of the park with this gift. It means so much to me that she thought of this awesome company, but she also picked the lining with my original design! When I opened the box and saw the Fair Coast logo stamped on the protective bag, I knew exactly what it was I was receiving and started jumping up and down like... oh I don't know, a kid on Christmas morning! 

Fair Coast envelope clutches with repurposed Mata Traders fabric as lining.