Articles in Studio

As I mentioned earlier this week, Kenn and I were in Mexico City last month. We were thrilled to be able to get there for Dia de Los Muertos, which was breathtaking. The flowers, the colors, the costumes, the ofrendas, the music, the food were all unbelievable. I highly recommend a trip. If you’re on …

We decided to get a tree for the studio this year. But what to use for decorations? It didn’t make sense to go out and buy a lot of ornaments and things when our studio is chock full of pretty trims and doodads. So we decided to decorate a sewing-themed christmas tree with spools of …

We’re back in action after a relaxing Thanksgiving here in the US. I had an amazing time in sunny southern california, and even got to do some fabric shopping with my friend Christine Haynes (more on that later). It’s always a little weird to come back to work in the middle of the week. I …

I’ve owned a lot of sewing machines. Maybe it’s because I’ve moved around a lot (Los Angeles, New York, LA again, all around the SF bay area before settling in Portland), but I never really invested in a great machine until a few years ago. I’ll be honest. Until that time, my sewing machine purchases …

The weeks before the holidays always seem funny. Everything feels in upheaval as we decompress from the recent launch, start making plans for future projects, and tentatively pick up everything we’d dropped. After a big project or event, do you ever feel strange that you’re NOT going crazy any more? I think this is a …

Did I mention how busy we have been the past few months? I’m so excited Walden and Gifts for Crafters are no longer a secret. It means I can share these photos with you! Gifts for Crafters Rachel & Sheli Screen Printing I only helped one day. All of the rest of the Cooper hardware …

We first experimented with men’s patterns a few years ago when Negroni came out. I’ve always meant to do more, and people have certainly asked for them. But I’ve never quite felt right about the way it mixes with the ladies’ patterns. I mean, the packaging was pink. NOT that there is anything wrong with …

This week on Instagram: Pretty fall roses on my walk to work, Sheli’s cat was surprised by her freshly cleaned room, Kristen had an awesome duck embroidered on her vintage button-up, and I visited some goats who live near our office. Dear Readers, this week has been all about project management. It’s easy to come …

Wow, can it really be October already? Here at CPHQ we are focused on getting our office re-organized (photos to come). We are also  putting the finishing touches on two exciting new projects, including doing our own screen print labeling! Expect more hints as we go through the month, and a big reveal in mid-November. …

Photo shoot days at the studio are always a little hectic, but lots of fun, too. Zinnia went off almost without a hitch, and it was the first shoot with all five of the current Colette employees! Credits and details: Model: Jade Sheldon Photography assistants: Sheli Ben-Ner and Kristen Blackmore Jewelry: Tiro Tiro Set: Home …

I’m a very process-oriented person. Yes, it would be nice to be brilliant, creative, responsible, detail-oriented, alert, articulate… and to be that way all the time. But in the real world, we are all human. We all make mistakes, forget to pay attention, or have trouble digging up new ideas. That’s when I find it …

I wanted to share some cute behind the scenes photos with you all from our latest photoshoot. Scroll down to the bottom for a silly blooper (that thankfully occurred towards the end of the shoot)! We were very lucky that this happened after we’d shot lots of photos of the white seersucker version…

As always, May is a very colorful month in Portland. My garden is overflowing with roses and peonies right now. It’s been a super busy month in the studio. Between the Quilt Market party and getting a new pattern out to print, our serene studio has been just a wee bit more chaotic and messy …

I recently paid a visit to the studio of Alyson Clair, designer of Clair Vintage Inspired. Alyson specializes in adorable knit dresses, designed and produced here in Portland. It’s fascinating to me to see the process of a production designer, and how their challenges are both the same and different from my own. Small designers …

Quilt Market came to Portland this Spring. For those of you who don’t know about it, Quilt Market is a twice yearly sewing industry trade show, the largest of it’s kind. We thought about having a booth, like we did a couple years back. After all, so many wonderful people would be there! That’s really …

I’m sick this week (boo!), so I’ll keep this quick. In fact, that’s fitting because this month seemed to fly. We had such a great time traveling this month and meeting so many friendly new faces, but it’s good to be back home amongst my cats and flowers again. There’s nothing quite like Portland in …

I’d forgotten what a beautiful month March can be, full of blossoms and the very occasional day of sunshine. We did lots of driving, with trips up to Seattle, the charming coastal town of Astoria, and a day trip to Mt. Hood. After releasing Laurel, these were much needed breaks. I also started working on …

Just wanted to share a few extra behind the scenes shots from our photo shoot with the lovely Jade Sheldon and Cory Burnsed and model Alex Hagel. And if you missed the short video from the Laurel post on Tuesday, take a look:

We’re hustling and getting ready for the new pattern release. I thought I’d share a few pictures from the studio with you in the meantime. I’ve been saving old bias tape packaging. I don’t know why, but I guess I’ll do something with it eventually. I bought a bunch of Japanese mooks and magazines at …

This month, we’ve been working on the final push for the new pattern (coming March 19!). I get really, really excited about every pattern that comes out, but I must say that I am just bursting to release this particular one. Since we made the decision to switch to release a single pattern at a …

This is the sad situation that had grown on my sewing table. A teeny little drawer overflowing with needles, needles, needles. I decided to use some leftover scraps of contact paper from last month’s chalkboard project to do something about it. In addition to the black contact paper, I used a white paint pen, some …