Posts from ‘Embroidery’
Embroidering Travel
This post was written by Erin based on Katrin’s telling of the making of her embroidered travel belt.
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While on my first road trip across Canada, with the man I later married, I wanted to record our travels. The problem was I get car sickness.
Despite, the fact that I couldn’t write in my journal, I found embroidery to be something I could handle even with the rock and roll of the road. Embroidery became my traveling form of journaling.
I stitched the landscapes and the names of all the animals we saw along the way.
The coloured threads depict the story of our road trip together.
I would sit in the passenger seat of our non air-conditioned van and stitch away.
The finished belt wraps around my body twice.
The needle pulled the thread in and out of the fabric stitching the moments I wanted to capture. The van hit the road. My needle pulled the thread. The wind swept us away at the start of our journey. The stitches became pictures. The pictures began the story of our journey. I stitched the flower called Indian paint brush. Wild to Canada, this flower called out to be remembered. I stitched the orange and yellow of it’s petals. The lakes in Ontario were numerous swimming pleasures. There were so many lakes. I painted with the blue of my embroidery thread just one to remember them all. As we approached the prairies fields of Canola, also called Rape seed, danced yellow blooms that waved in the wind. Dots of yellow thread floated across the belt.
The car broke down and we had to spend three days waiting for a part in Edmonton. I stitched the part we needed called a U joint. We drove on to the Rockies. Nights under the crescent moon were beautiful.
We took the fairy to Salt Spring Island and went swimming with purple and blue dragon flies.
We watched boat racing on a Native reserve on Vancouver Island. We walked in the red wood forest under the full moon.
Then we left Canada. We hit Seattle and we went to the fish and flower market. Four hours from Seattle, we spent two days at mount Saint Helen the mountain that erupted years before.
LOVE…….LOVE LOVE WAS EVERYTHING. Our van was love parked in dry lands that had sage bushes all around. I stitched a heart floating over our van. I stitched my love. My heart.
We drove through the Craters of the Moon and finally got back to the rivers of Ontario. Eager to get home we drove and drove and drove…day and night. We took shifts.
The road took us home.
Nature has always been my greatest inspiration. Flowers in the summer and leaves in the Fall. It is so simplistic, but it returns to me every season and I never tire of these basic earthy themes. Here is a sampling of some land art I find beautiful (all done by a man named Nils) and some of the leaf embroidery we are working on for the current Fall 2010 collection.
These leaves will be appearing on our Fall pencil skirt. It is my new favorite skirt and I am super excited to introduce this cut as a recurring staple to the store.
The black and white feather appliqué is a perfect t-shirt for the graphically bold. The feathers are delicately placed at the neckline of the v-neck. (this photo is on it’s side)
The new Mystery jacket ($126) with tumbling red tulle leaves (pictured below).
Nature in red glory marching to the water. I don’t really know what this photo is about I just like the walking red flowers.
Frost on the leaves is coming sooner than some of us would like to think.
The collection in store offers some fashionable ways to get ready before it gets cold out!
Kat
Ok, so we all love men in tight pants. Are we agreed? Add silver and gold tread, pink and orange capes, heart stitching and pretty buttons and my heart goes pitter patter.
Photo: La Presse Canadienne /Rafa Rivas Corrida espagnole
I love the hot pink tights! It is a moment of glory when hot pink tights are a symbol of masculinity and dominance.
The love and detail that goes into costume making is very different from all the assembly line of fashion production. These garments are made tight so that there is less material for the bulls horns to catch on. I love the embroidery. I love the embellishments. I love the tassels and pom poms. The layers! The capes! The little hats! I love that there can be a ritual for men to get this glamed up and that this much pomp can actually contribute to their sense of masculine power.
black and white toreador portraits by photographer: Christian Courreges
The Catalan people have recently voted to stop bull fighting. They are breaking with tradition and choosing to move forward into a cruelty-free world. They are courageous and I have great admiration for the willingness to evolve. Congratulations!
Down with needless torture of innocent animals. Down with the idea that we are not animals ourselves. Down fear of the other.
Cheers to men in tights. Cheers for playing dress up! Cheers to ornate fabulousness. Lets find a better reason for men to get this dressed up. End the blood….. Keep the fashion!
Torro! Torro!
WE LOVE THESE BECAUSE THEY ARE fabulously embellished and brightly colored fun for your sunny beach times.
This summer is the first ever debut for swimwear in the store. WE have lots of different styles to soak up the sun in.
We love these because they are SKIMPY! Some times, when you are deep in vacation land, and you have had enough time to shed your northern inspired body issues and fears, and the sun keeps calling, and the sand is delicious and warm, - you want to wear a little less. You could, do like some of the locals in your paradise spot probably do – GO Naked! Or, you could slip into one of these playful little numbers. These beachwear pieces are high on style and small on coverage. Tee heee hee ! Have fun! Enjoy the sun!
Miss Sara M discovered these gems for us, in her home land of Columbia, where the swim pieces are lovingly made and embellished by hand. WE love the color combos and three dimensional elements. The bikinis with the leaves have a particular KL flare that fits into the boutique so nicely beside Kat’s own swimwear designs. Wear these mini pieces with some great cover ups like Kat’s flying vest $64 or Patricia Woods Beach Wrap Cardigans $ 115 (available in sheer black and Ivory and Gray). Then add on a fun Pupina beach bag for good measure(available in store for $24 to $36 in variety of bright colors with floral ascents).
Katrin has equally playful options available in store that she designed herself that offer all the fun with more coverage. Katrin Leblond offers her own designs in bikini and very covering tankini versions.
I personally can’t wait for the tankini to hit the shelves. I’m looking forward to going with my daughter to Montreal’s outdoor pools and wading pools and not feeling too shy to get wet and have fun with her.
The Athena dress makes a great beach wear pairing to which ever swim pieces you choose as the dress is actually made of highest quality swim compatible fabric. Put on your dress and high heels, grab a martini and jump in the pool! The fabric is quick drying and light and stays great in water. Kat is THE true goddess of swim and poolside clothing. Many of her Art Skirts and Katrina tanks and mini skirts also make amazing beach or poll side cover ups for over your swimsuit. No doubt you can be the best dressed Pool side Party hostess in your KL ensembles.
I did this embroidery on a vintage $2 bill in my early twenties.
The Queen is very important in hat-wearing society. I learned how to make bibi hats from Pauline Duguay, and the studio has recently released a new batch of bibi creations. I personally love the turquoise butterfly terrarium and the leaf.
Kat
Rebekah Crown has become a staple in both Katrin’s personal and boutique life.
I had the opportunity to interview her via e-mail for a little insight on the things that make her tick, and how she conducts her craft
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Enjoy, and soak up her love for the arts at her vernissage (flyer with dates and times at the end of the post)!
So tell me a bit about what you do! Everything from Spiritual enlightenment to creating beautiful textiles and artwork it seems! How did you get into all of these domains?
What inspires you when creating?
What colours/fabrics/textures are you naturally drawn to?
Anything shiny. I also have been known as The Supreme High Priestess of Purple. Black should only be used or worn to show off colour. Purple goes with everything especially orange.
Any special treatments or processes that tribute to your signature styles?
I have explored many quilting and surface design techniques and am not sure I have settled on one in particular. I DO like to embellish with holographic gold thread.
What fabrics and materials are your staples?
I use mostly cotton fabrics, some I dye myself but I also do some felting and bead work. I LOVE the batiks from Bali. They have so much light and movement in them. Did I mention holographic gold thread?
What does creating do for you? Is it a release, an excitement, a concentration?
Creating feeds me. It is more of an obsession than anything. Pieces arise within me and demand to be made. A blissful slavery.
What do you see in your future?
One goal I have is to have a show in Santa Fe. I feel I need to develop my work more before that happens. I would also like to have a big piece in a public place in Montreal.
Portraits (especially self) are always interesting to see. Someones perception and talent used to portray themselves or someone else through their own eyes… Sometimes they expose a certain emotion or mood – possibly even a flaw or feature… and other times they are perfection. An outsiders preconceived notions of a perfect life. Here are a beautiful collection of hand embroideries (inspiration courtesy of Mr. X Stitch, the KING of Contemporary embroidery and needlecraft) bringing out certainly the best in the people presented
. Amongst ladies and gentlemen I could not help but add in some other beautiful forms of embroidery and needlework… I need to learn how to crochet/beautifully stitch – LIKE NOW!!!
I love the use of buttons, paint, beads and stitches that make this collage type of art so expressive! The zigzag stitching reminds me so much of Katrin’s embroidered skirts and Emilie Desmeules (a KL boutique artist) abstract detailed yarn color explosions. Makes me want to grab a canvas and get to work! Never experienced any of Katrin’s artwork? Take a walk through the store and keep your eyes peeled for original KL masterpieces… or, grab a smoothie next door at all vegan Aux Vivres and gaze adoringly at the mounted printed fabric canvases that Kat created. Divine!
Hope your week is everything you expected it to be and more! This is the halfway point…
xox
























































