g'day, Australia!

We were rather excited to learn that our new friends at J. Leutenegger, our exclusive distributor in Australia and New Zealand, decided to reproduce our booth at their quilt market, held last weekend near Sydney. And they did a bang-up job, too, especially considering the short time frame in which they assembled it all. Look, they found the same cabinets, table, and chairs. And even the same flowers!

as seen in New York

Boutique sewers, here's your chance to use those labels! We've lined up two shops here in Manhattan, two sweet little boutiques that want to carry Oliver + S handmade clothing.


If you'd like to lay claim to selling your sewn garments in New York City, drop us a line at information@oliverands.com. We're assembling a list of interested craftspeople and will pass along that list to both shop owners. The shop owners can then contact you to negotiate terms for a small collection of Oliver + S clothing styles in their shops.


Please note that Oliver + S won't be part of these business arrangements; we're merely making introductions so you can start discussions and hopefully work together to assemble a collection that will be unique to each shop. The specifics are up to you and the shop owners to work out.

Good luck, and happy sewing!

P.S. Regarding the photos: I love that word, "purveyor". Makes me wish we had used it in our branding. I mean, "Oliver + S: purveyors of quality sewing patterns for children's clothing" is a bit long, but it has such a nice sound to it, doesn't it?

oh yes

I gave you a Before teaser and then never posted the After photos! So sorry. Actually, I've been procrastinating because my photos didn't turn out very well and I was secretly hoping they would miraculously improve if I let them sit on my desktop for a while. I think I confused them with green tomatoes or bananas or something.


Oddly, they didn't get any better. But you can still get the idea.


And I negected to photograph the newest element in our booth: we bought an industrial laundry cart (the kind found at your local laundromat) to use for displaying patterns and for hanging garments. It's very cute and rather practical. If it weren't so big (by New York standards) I would use it in our design studio, but in our current location it would eliminate the option of walking. We'll forego the cart for the time being.

where I've been for weeks now, in spirit

Here we are in Portland, Oregon, preparing for the spring International Quilt Market, which begins this Friday. Market is an enormous trade show for quilt and fabric stores, where new products like fabrics and patterns are shown and available for wholesale orders. We'll be previewing our fall collection, which will be available for purchase in August.


And here is our booth before setup. Lovely and inspiring, yes? Ah, but just wait; I'll post the After photos very soon. The booth itself hasn't changed much since last time, but maybe I can give you a quick glimpse of the new collection!

Tomorrow we finish setup, prepare for our first Sample Spree (ask Gina for details), and then survive the infamous Spree and its aftermath (as well as packing up anything left over--please let there be no leftovers!) before collapsing into bed at the end of the day, probably sometime around midnight. Glamorous and exciting would describe it. Oh, yes!


I'll be back soon with tales to tell, I'm sure. Hopefully they'll be positive tales of heroism related to the US post office and my three missing samples.

sort of like this

A seersucker Tea Party Playsuit with feedsack piping and lining and vintage buttons, hanging from a vintage-inspired rack. A fun way to display the finished garment at a shop or at home, right?


The Playsuit has gotten short shrift in our line, but it's included in the pattern for the Tea Party Sundress and is appropriate for boys and girls. Really easy to sew, with optional instructions for snap tape at the inseam (makes for easy diaper changes).

We'll be showing the Playsuit at Quilt Market next week made up in a really soft, luxurious Italian wool suiting for fall with a Liberty print piping in the waist seam. Can't wait to show you the photos when we return from the show!

showing off

So you've finished sewing an Oliver + S pattern and want to show off your work? Well first of all, post it to the Flickr group!

But here's another idea for displaying finished garment (aside from on a child, that is), either at a shop or at home. The Small Object has these adorable hangers for sale in a limited edition, and for just $10!


You could display the hangered garment on a quilt rack a la Soulemama (how cute is the bubble dress made up in that print?), or you could also use a peg rack like Posie Gets Cozy has. I like the peg racks at Land of Nod; does anyone know of other good sources?