Since the last time I wrote one of these updates, the art market came and went. It was an interesting experience. At first blush, it wasn’t particularly successful; after accounting for my market-related expenses, I was able to turn a very modest profit. I didn’t make as much money as the prior 2 markets I have done, and that is without even accounting for materials or my time (either making the pieces or attending the market itself over 2 days). So … calling it a “profit” at all is generous.

This was due, in part, to the attendance at the event itself which was lower than anticipated. The show was attached to a farmers’ market which is a weekly (and usually well-attended) event. For some reason, this particular weekend was a very quiet one. That’s just luck of the draw.

The other, and probably greater, reason is simply economics. This event reinforced my theory that most people have a price ceiling for on-the-spot impulse buys, especially in a situation like this where buying art was not the primary objective of their visit (most of them coming to the venue for the farmers’ market). Based on my observation, $20-40 is generally the range for impulse buys, with people perhaps willing to spend a little more on functional art – i.e. things like pottery and jewelry. The things that appear to sell most consistently at the market fell into that price range, whether art prints, postcards, stickers, key chains, ceramics, etc.

My pieces start at $50. Lots of people admired them, but few were willing to commit on the spot. And I totally get that. As disheartening as it felt in the moment to spend a whole day without selling a single piece, I am fine with it now. I got a bunch of new followers on my art account, some of whom may, in time, decide to buy one of my pieces.

I have given a lot of thought to whether I need to adjust my “offerings” to these market economics and I have decided not to. First and foremost, I am making art for myself – as art, not as commerce. I don’t want to let economics dictate what I make. Making smaller, simpler, less detailed pieces – just to be able to sell them for a lower price – doesn’t appeal to me whatsoever. And, due to the nature of what I make, it’s almost impossible to create something simple enough to be worth selling for, say, $20 a piece without compromising the appeal required to make someone actually want to buy it.

All of this to say: I am not in a rush to join more markets. They provide good exposure but I need to balance that against the cost (low vendor fees are key) and the time investment. Finding venues that offer good traffic, independent of my own advertising, is also key to exposure – i.e. having new people see my art. I also think I might have more success at art-focused events like Royal Bison or the Strathearn Art Walk, but I know it’s much harder and more expensive to become a vendor at those shows.

But leaving aside the profit aspect, the art market was a GREAT experience. I was able to share a booth with a friend and fellow textile artist, and these 2 days gave us a wonderful chance to connect. We were able to support and encourage each other, which was great because we both struggle with impostor syndrome and it’s nice to have someone pumping you up during an intense time like a market. I also got to see other artist friends who were at the event and feel like part of a community. I even made a new friend! (Which, for an introvert in her 40s, is a huge deal.) The event left me feeling energized and inspired, and I now have a long list of project that I want to make. I don’t have any definitive plans for selling all the things I’m planning to make, but I am excited to make them. Which is what this is all about.

Speaking of which, let’s talk about what I’ve been working on.

First, I made a few more things for the market:

This was part of my on-going abstract floral series. It actually sold at the show, together with another piece in the same vein – both to the same couple who loved them so much, they couldn’t decide which one they preferred.

This was a new version of an old design, which I previously made for myself. Although popular, it didn’t sell (yet).

This is a new design which could turn into a theme. I love playing with swaths of colour. This was one of the pieces that sold as well.

Moving on, I’ve been working on some other new things:

I actually made this hoop for myself. I have a little gallery of cartoon portraits (Frida Kahlo, Elizabeth I, Iris Apfel) and have been wanting to add to it. Marie Antoinette was fun to make – I got to play with lots of different textile scraps and get creative about textures.

Speaking of my gallery, here is another one. This is actually my second attempt at Girl with a Pearl Earring. I made one years ago but it was much more rudimentary as I was just starting to figure out these embroidered portraits. I am much happier with this version, which benefits from a few more years of experience on my part.

I am testing a new technique for using thread as “paint” – it’s a more impressionistic style, I think. This design was inspired by Aurora Borealis (northern lights). My bestie loved it, so I gave it to her.

Another experiment in the same vein, this time inspired by (what else?) Monet’s waterlilies. This is definitely one design I want to revisit, perhaps to play around with different colours as well.

Winter is usually my “crafting season” — as the weather turns cold, I tend to stay home more during my days off, which means more time to make art. So I expect we will have lots to talk about in my next update.

Details: J. Crew top, Line sweater, Marc Cain skirt, Chelsea Crew shoes (all thrifted), Ralph Lauren blazer (Poshmark)

Thoughts: I almost got rid of this skirt last year because I wasn’t quite ready for mini skirts then. I ended up keeping it because it’s such good quality and, boy, I am glad I did. I’ve enjoyed experimenting with this silhouette again this year; I think the key to making it work for me is opaque tights. Then I can adapt it to my Historian/Witchy Academia aesthetic for fall, as an alternative to midi skirts or pants. I quite enjoyed the warm tone palette of this outfit — it’s surprisingly (to me) flattering to my complexion and colouring. I think I look best in cool colours but maybe it’s not quite absolute?

Details: J. Crew shirt, Gap sweater, BDG pants, Jil Sander jacket (all thrifted), J. Crew shoes (retail)

Thoughts: I’m also rediscovering my Gap striped sweaters — paired with a button-up shirt, they fit my current aesthetic really well. This isn’t quite Witchy Academia, but it’s fun.

Details: Denim & Supply dress (Poshmark), Everlane sweater (thrifted), BlankNYC jacket (retail), Ash sneakers (thrifted)

Thoughts: This outfit gave me strong 90s grunge vibes, which I loved. I was nowhere near stylish as a teen in the 90s, so getting to re-live that fashion moment now is nice.

Details: MSGM sweater, Tabi skirt (both thrifted), Club Monaco turtleneck (retail), Ash sneakers (Poshmark)

Thoughts: Green and orange is a bit of an odd duck combination. I took my cues from this varsity-style sweater and added the skirt because it has similar colours. The result is more student than professor, but it’s still sorta academichic-adjacent, right?

Details: Club Monaco turtleneck (retail), no name cardigan, Tommy Hilfiger jeans, Brave belt (all thrifted), Mia shoes (retail)

Thoughts: I don’t normally thrift Shein-equivalent fast fashion — which is what this cardigan is, I’m pretty sure — but I made a (reluctant) exception in this case because I liked the looks of it. The quality isn’t good but I plan to keep this piece in circulation for as long as I can. It’s a good piece to throw on for super casual errands (like school pick-ups) when I still want to look cute. It takes a super basic outfit and makes it a bit more interesting.

Details: Wilfred sweater (retail), Tradlands jacket (thrifted), Ralph Lauren skirt (swap), Chelsea Crew shoes (thrifted)

Thoughts: Purple and green are my villain colours — I feel like a badass when I wear them together — but they felt subdued in this outfit by the addition of the whiskey/tobacco brown. Is this a bit too matchy? Possibly. This outfit felt like it was on the edge of greatness (haha) but not quite there. I’m not sure what would have taken it over that line, but ah well. It was still pretty cute.

Details: Max Studio dress, Frame blazer, BR belt (all thrifted), Club Monaco turtleneck (retail), Mia shoes (retail)

Thoughts: I’ve been thinking about this outfit since the summer when I thrifted this dress. It’s transitional dressing at its most appealing (to me). The addition of the velvet blazer, together with the turtleneck, totally changes the vibe of the prairie dress. You may have noticed that I wear these Club Monaco turtlenecks a lot. I have them in 2 colours: dark green and dark purple. They are very fine, lightweight, super soft merino wool; they are so thin, they are slightly sheer, which makes them perfect for layering. I wear them as a base layer because they are not scratchy or bulky at all. They’ve held up very well over the past 4 or 5 years (handwash and air dry, always) and I so wish I had bought more at the time or could find something similar again. They’re a staple of my fall and winter closet.

Another thing I get asked from time to time on IG is how I translate style inspiration into real-life outfits. In recent years, my approach to outfit-making is much more intuitive than process-driven, so I am not sure if I am the right person to talk about this topic. If you are looking for detailed analysis, Margaret of @mgetsdressed is really good at talking about her process and breaking down style inspo. But I am going to take a stab at this topic and hope that it’s at least middling useful.

The first thing I do when I see a photo that lights up my lizard brain (to borrow a phrase from another IG users, Frisky Gatos), is ask myself: why do I like this? Very often, it’s because the outfit elicits a certain mood, feeling, mental image, whatever you want to call it. Other times, it might be a colour palette, or a particular silhouette. If it’s something specific like that, recreating it in my own outfits is pretty straightforward. If it’s colour palette, I look for pieces in my closet that are the right colours (or close enough) and play around until I find a combination of items that works together and approximates the inspiration palette. If it’s a silhouette, same thing: I look for pieces that have similar proportions (irrespective of whether the colours or other details are the same or not) and then figure out if the versions I have actually go together or not. Sometimes, this means I end up with really interesting pattern or colour combinations that I might not have otherwise thought to create. Bonus!

The more complicated — and, to me, interesting — process is when I am drawn to an inspiration photo in its totality … in other words, because it embodies a mood or idea that captures my imagination. This doesn’t mean that my goal becomes recreating the exact outfit. Sometimes that is feasible, but more often than not it isn’t, because I don’t have pieces that are exactly the same or even close. Moreover, I am personally not a fan of copying outfits. Style is a form of personal expression to me so even if I am inspired by someone else’s ideas, I feel the need to put my own creative spin on them. Plus, if you use inspiration as a guideline rather than a prescription, you can create more than one outfit that shares the same DNA. I am a huge fan of remixing (i.e. wearing your clothing in different ways) — it staves off “closet fatigue” or “style ruts”.

Okay, so you like the vibe of an inspiration outfit … now what? The next thing I do is try to break down the key elements of the outfit, and then decide which ones are critical to that vibe. It’s hard to talk about this in the abstract, so let’s use a visual example. I have had this Ralph Lauren runway outfit saved since last spring, and I go back to it regularly.

Here is what I like about it: it has a very Romantic feel but it’s an outdoorsy, not-too-frilly vibe. There is an autumnal coziness. I love the juxtaposition of the floaty skirt and the rougher jacket — that feels important somehow.

I won’t lie: I have been looking to find a skirt just like the one in the inspo photo for months now. Not simply to copy this outfit (see above) but because I think it would fit into my wardrobe really well. I haven’t found a “dupe” yet, but I did end up buying some items that have a similar vibe — floral, floaty, maxi length.

My breakdown of the key elements is as follows:

• semi-sheer floaty (chiffon) patterned (preferably floral) maxi skirt (or dress)
• heavier weight jacket, preferably with texture
• high neck knit top (different texture than the jacket)
• belt

Looking at the inspo photo more closely recently, I realized that there is actually a vest over a turtleneck (I think). That opens up a few more possibilities, but I actually don’t think that the vest is a key element; I think the main thing is having texture in play through the jacket and top.

Here was my first attempt:

The only thing I didn’t love about this outfit was that the dress wasn’t quite long enough. The proportions with that long blazer are just a bit off. If the dress came to my ankles, it would have been perfect. To me, the shorter length detracts from the Romantic-ness of the overall vibe. It feels less lush.

Here is a very different take:

The colour palette is totally different, right? But, to me, the mood is the same. A minor nitpicky observation: the material of the dress is heavier, and the cut of it a little narrower than I would have liked, but the handkerchief hem compensates by creating that “floaty” feeling. The shorter length of the jacket here balances the (still) too short length of the dress. I didn’t feel this outfit needed a belt, so I didn’t add one.

One more:

Here, I went back to a more literal translation with the top half, but tried a more out-of-the-box option for the bottom half. This skirt has a busier pattern (it’s actually a mix of patterns) which has the disadvantage that it could pull too much attention and overwhelm the outfit. The tiers create visual weight (not good) but also a certain lushness (good). The length works well with this longer and oversized jacket. I really like the juxtaposition of the velvet waistcoat and the corduroy jacket. Overall, I think it really works.

And this is how I got 3 outfits (and more to come, I’m sure) from one inspiration photo:

I hope this breakdown helps to illustrate my process — which, honestly, until now I have not put into words in my own head — and gives you some ideas about how to approach the inspiration-to-real-life transition. Happy experimenting!