One-of-a-Kind Reprised

Several years ago, I found a wonderful sweater base in grey and black stripes.  It was unusual, interestingly made and had some elements I could accentuate as I upcycled it.  By restyling it from a boring pullover and adding some hot lime green trim, I called it the Zoe.

It was very well-received and helped me be accepted into an American Craft Council show in GA as one of 10 up and coming Indie designers to watch.  As you can imagine, I was excited and even more thrilled when they chose it to appear in the show's program.

The Zoe sold quickly, and I have often been asked to make another.  Unfortunately, I had not found a base that was slightly off the shoulders and unique like the original Zoe was made from....until now.








This past week while thrifting, I came upon a pristine cotton blend top that had very interesting elements.  It was nearly off the shoulder, had similar stripes and very interesting sleeves.  Long black cuffs reached almost to the elbow and a vertical stripe ran down the sleeves.  To top it off?  A perfect t-shirt in a great chartreuse shade was also there.


Home I went and cleaned, re-cut and created the Zoe 2 (with help from Debra!). It's not the same, but one-of-a-kind things never are. The sleeves are very unique- you can push them up, leave them down or even turn the cuffs up.  I love the updated look --it pays homage to the Zoe, but is a tad edgier. Mission accomplished at last!

If you enjoyed this post and would like to keep up with what we are producing at Echo or the art we are musing about, I humbly invite you to follow me at braitzatl on Twitter or visit us at www.echoclothingcompany.etsy.com

Tee Toppers Are Born

If you live in a warm place like Atlanta during the summer, you are constantly bombarded by hot and cold, hot and cold.  It's hot as blazes outside, so you are comfortable in a sleeveless top.  You walk into Willy's, the movies, Yogli Mogli, Target, (fill in your own blank here), and it's oh so cold. Enter my idea for "tee toppers", named for the perfect little shrug to throw over a tee.

In my post as designer for Echo Clothing, I am constantly grabbing up gently used tees and cutting them into shreds for trim.  Sometimes, it pains me to do this because they are cute and beg to be left whole.  As luck would have it, I started to come across good as new tees at my favorite thrift haunts, as well as super-reduced tees at regular stores ($3-4).  An idea was born.  Why not take them, recut them just like our bolero sweaters, and trim them with strips from other tees?


 







Not only would they be lighter than ordinary sweaters that might be too hot in the south in the summer, but they would be "green", original and a great way to transition between hot and cold. As an extra bonus, they could be washed in the washing machine, hung to dry----unlike some sweaters that have to be dry cleaned.  Even better!








Just like with sweaters, where we can alter a pullover, cardigan or crop into another shape, I decided to let the sweater lead the way (which I guess makes me a "sweater whisperer.") If it has a regular scoop, it typically gets a hook and eye (hidden of course) at the top.  If it scoops lower or is a v-neck, it may just be a standard bolero with no tie or hook.  Check them out. They are as unique, different and fun as the women whom I am hoping will enjoy them.

If you want to see what inventory we currently have available, check out the new on-line arm of Echo Clothing- www.echoclothingcompany.etsy.com. We keep posting as we make them.