Violet Folklore

Candace of California

From Sasha

Me and my sweet friend Candace managed to finally get together to do a photo shoot for Violet Folklore, just before she headed off to San Francisco to weave her next daydream. This girl is a child of the 60s at heart, and we have bonded over many a Rolling Stones song and felted hat. Artistic talent runs in her family, and she has extraordinarily clever hands which design amazing clothing, paintings, and beaded/stained glass/dried flower sandals. She also has a purely wacky sense of humor, which I found out the first time we hung out and watched a John Waters film. Sometimes she feels a bit like my twin sister in younger form! 
We headed down to the Yuba River, which was like bathwater after a week of scorching summer days. In the last hour before dark-- the famed "photographers hour" we took these amazing pictures. Thanks to Candace, who walked on boulders and steep sandy hills in her high heeled Anna Sui boots, and donned a fuzzy hat in the service of my strange Vision. You are truly a precious soul, and a real Artist through and through.  Enjoy!:

She comes in colors everywhere, they're in her hair... she's like a rainbow...

See you in Sam Clam's Disco, Candie!

Loud, Proud, and Dancing Like Crazy

From Sasha

Whoa! Somehow the weekend is racing towards me, and I haven't even caught up from the last one! If you're like me, a member of the technologically co-dependent generation, you don't quite feel ready to move into the future until the recent past is uploaded. 

Sidewalk Art, Dolores Street

Last weekend was Pride in San Francisco, the biggest celebration in the whole world of the awesomeness that is the gay/lesbian/bi-sexual/tran-sexual community. Gay folks may be more present than ever before in the media and American consciousness, but (as I often have to remind people), it is seldom easy in our culture to grow up gay. There is still so much shame and fear around the expression of different sexualities, if not the experience of downright social ostracization and violence. 

You might wonder why I am standing on my soap box in my fashion blog to tell you something you already know, but there is still an incredible amount of ignorance around this subject. In my small town the "cool" post-person raised is eyebrows sky-high when I told him where I was off to for the weekend, and even in the Bay Area I have known of people who have been beaten up, had rotting veggies thrown at them, etc., just for being "queer". So many of my friends are gay/lesbian, and I feel very strongly that they deserve all the rights afforded to "straight" people. This is not just a theory, it is a conviction that comes from life experience-- try counseling a dear friend who, as a lesbian mother, lost her child when her wife left her, because gay marriage isn't legal in California and she had no legal custody. I could really go on. But let's talk celebrating!

Here I am at The Roxie on 16th Street... my friends Kymmie and Denah made a film (with me in it) called Devil's Dairymaid, which showed at the prestigious Frameline Gay/Lesbian/Trans-gender film festival, as part of the experimental film shorts program. 

There's (left to right) Inbar, Chris, and Jessie, and Amy; thanks to everyone who came out and made it a full house!!! You cheered so loud for me and that butter churn... gotta love it.

Me and my dear friend Armelle, who came down from Oregon to visit with me and our mutual friend Terese-- here we are waiting for the 24 Divisadero! 

My friends have the cutest kids... 

The girls reunited: me, Terese, and Armelle!

Andy from the SF band LSD and the Search for God (I can feel my father's comment coming here- I dunno Dad, you're going to have to ask Andy yourself!), Chris, and me... musical buddies 4 ever!

The Dyke March!

Ladies...

Rockers! These are my friends who play in the all-girl SF band Excuses for Skipping. They rocked the whole parade as it marched by!

For those of you who want to see it in action, here's a video snippet from their amazing cover of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean!:

Speaking of which, Michael Jackson is not a passing fancy in my friend Linda (the lead singer of Excuses)'s house. Here he is on the bathroom mirror, where he has been for years:

 ...and on the door to her room:

I love San Francisco. Where else do you find a kite-making camp? Hello? Oh, it's a gay olde towne! (-:

New Pretties

From Sasha

Etsy is uploading sloooooow as a tortoise today, and while I wait I figure I'll let you all know what's just about to appear in the shop! Check these beauties:

(Yes, an actual faerie shirt!)

(These cuties are a size 8.5/9, narrow, btw...)

Up in the shop as soon as that darn server frees up! Meanwhile give us a holler if you want us to hold any of them for you... (-:

Crystal Unicorn Visions!

From Sasha

Today me and Amber received a package in the mail that was almost too delightful to believe. Our friend and customer Hana from Japan sent us two gorgeous pieces of silk from antique kimonos (you should feel the silk! Such amazing quality and texture), along with very special amethysts from her crystal shop! Being purple, amethysts (as Hana pointed out to us) are the official stones of Violet Folklore, and these two are quite the prettiest we've ever seen. In an effort to give proper thanks, I took a series of photos today incorporating the crystals (and my lil' friend the unicorn)... here is a huge thanks to Hana for giving us these gifts that increase the magic and creativity in our lives!!!

(Anyone who wants to photoshop a fairy in, go for it! I think we could use one!)

The wheels of commerce never stop around here, and yes... this gorgeous Gunne is going to be for sale tomorrow:

Thanks also to our customer, who I will simply call Beachy, for encouraging me to take my photography to the next level. This sweet soul has really made my week. I love our customers!

More lovelies are coming, ladies... stay tuned.

...Well Now You're Just Being Silly.

From Sasha

 

(It's almost funnier if I don't explain, but what the heck!)

So Chris found this vintage 80s British Knights tracksuit at the Salvation Army, and he needed to take some pictures of it to put up on EBay. (We're counting on those rich hip-hoppers from the UK with their Old Skool pride!) I had found this incredible Fourth of July dress, and needed to take some pictures for Etsy. I got it in my head that this dress could make the Front Page if Etsy does a 4th of July theme, and the wheels started turning. My original idea involved a backdrop of my friend's very all-American Big Red Barn, but I couldn't go over there cause she had some relatives in town and it was just going to be too hard to explain to everyone what the heck I was doing down there. (I didn't want to use the usual "field of flowers" background cause I felt like it would be too distracting with the busy pattern of the dress.) Chris also needed something other than a wussy hillside of daisies to sell his tough, street-savvy duds.

So we set off into the Big Bad World to try to get the Fourth of July Dress shot. Well, it was just One Of Those Photoshoots where nothing looked right... not the light, not the background, not the look on my face... nuthin! Or so it appeared on the camera screen. Sometimes this happens, even with the coolest dress, and it is unbelievably frustrating. We ended up doing shoots against five- count em, FIVE!- backdrops, trying to get a decent shot.

The longer we were at it, with me barking directions to Chris and grabbing the camera every three seconds, the more authentically "street" he became. By the time we did his track suit pics in this industrial looking parking lot, he looked positively tough! I was worn out and feeling like a very mussed up patriotic pinup, which was, I realized, the perfect time to take a shot of the two of us:

 

 

Irony of ironies-- when I uploaded the pics to the computer, where things always look a bit different, do you know which shot I liked best of the dress? The VERY first picture. Egads! All that for... well, was it really nothing? We got a good laugh out of it (after many tears), and we ended the whole night with Rice Dream Moon Pies and Nutty Bars from the Co-op, so all's well that ends well!

Here it is... front page, come on and love me!

The Gunne Sax That Made The Big Time

From Sasha   So my radable-awesome friends Kymmie Sioux and Denah made the coolest short film in REAL 16mm, starring me as, what else, The Devil's Dairymaid (no I didn't have to apply for this position, I admit... it was an inside job!). Their film has been chosen to show as part of the Canyon Cinemas Queer Underground Showcase at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco, this Friday night the 26th. I will be there to catch it on the big screen, and I'd love to see you there!   You might note, watching the trailer below, that one of the most important visual elements is a gorgeous white full-length Gunne Sax dress! And yes, I do spill milk VERY clumsily all over it... but I'm supposed to be kind of, um, possessed, so you have to forgive me.   The other films all look amazing too. For tickets and more info go HERE...  

Final Version - Devil's Dairymaid trailer from d.a. johnston on Vimeo.

What Will You Wear To The Summer of Love?

From Sasha

You might notice that we are getting more things in the shop on a regular basis these days. There is a wonderful explanation-- I finally cut down hours at my day job! Now I can split my working hours between my office manager gig and Violet Folklore. This is my first week with the new schedule, and I am so ecstatically happy! It seems a funny thing to do in (here it comes) "these economic times"-- and I don't say that lightly, since my hunny's job appears to be going under, and we have no Plan B in place-- but it just wasn't good for my brain to be spending so much time in one (non-artistic) mode all week long. Whether Violet Folklore is a big money-maker or not, it is creative work, and that's how I like to live. If we have to eat (more) beans and rice to get by, we will... and who knows, the big idea is that my consistent attention to the shop will grow our little business even more. It's worth a try!

(I hear women seldom celebrate their accomplishments, and we all know that we tend to lag on the self-care even if others are getting lots of our love, so I mention all this as an inspiration to you.)

Meanwhile, what ever will you wear to your personal Summer of Love? We have some ideas...

All of these pretties are in the shop now! Go get em' girls...

Sweet Surprises

From Sasha

The other day I received a wonderful surprise in my mailbox... my friend Andrea at the Etsy store Little Big Head sent me this adorable drawing! It features a beneficent garden ghostie, the better to help my plants and herbs to grow. I love the effect of the burned edges.

 

It happened to come in the coolest envelope I have ever seen!Check out her recreation of a typical Violet Folklore photo shoot, with all the clothes hung outdoors:

 

You can check out her stuff on Etsy here, and you will also love her sweet and uber-creative blog, here! Thank you so much Andrea, you are a ray of sunshine!

Dress You Up In My Love

From Amber

Sarah and I had a little photo shoot today at the nearby elementary school, look for these dresses (and the killer top with adorable matching hair band) to be listed in the shop over the next week!

(Note to self: get modeling tips from Sarah...)

Out Standing In Their Field

From Sasha

Confession: taking photos outdoors is one of my favorite parts of running the shop. I even love taking pictures with the self-timer... it is a great meditation for me. I have to be acutely aware of the light, the lines of the trees and the hills, my body, the texture and fit of the gorgeous vintage clothes, and obviously every shot requires that I stand in complete stillness. I have a very over-active mind that is only calm when totally engaged in a project, so this is the perfect activity. What really makes it blissful is that everything on the periphery of my attention is wild and lovely... the birds, the breeze, the trees, the flowers, and my ever-present and ever-amusing cats.

 I present for you a little recreation of my Day In The Field, and hope you can feel a little of the Peace, even through your computer screen:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Summer!!!

xoxoxo

Sasha