Stampington & Co.
Top Navigation BarOrder Forms
Your One-Stop-Shop
for Creativity

Belle Armoire

Order a copy of the
March/April 2007 issue online now!
$5.95 (single copy)
Plus S&H


Click here to take a look inside our
March/April issue!
   
 

SPECIAL FEATURES

6 Cover Story: An Affair with the Long Coat: An Interview with Denise Shardlow
by Michelle Flores
Philadelphia-area couture designer Denise Shardlow created a successful line of luxurious yet practical handbags. But her obsession for sleek and romantic silhouettes and lush fabrics drove her to make richly hued and tailored long coats that make winter a wonderland, indeed.

10 Oh So Romantic! Denim Couture
by Suzanne Vinmans
Turning a pair of castaway bib overalls into a sweetly feminine prom dress is a "win-win situation" for the author, who delights in adding hand drawn details to fabric.

16 Aphrodite's Journey: A Free-Form, Bead-Embroidered Necklace
by Myra Wood
A fiery necklace blossomed from an alluring, flame-worked cabochon acquired by the author.

23 Student Runway: A Call for Apprentice Artwear
Are you a student of wearable art and/or fashion deign? Are you a design instructor or professor or mentor to an artwear student? Stemp into the spotlight by submitting artwork for publication in Belle Armoire®.

50 Wired Necklace Assemblage
by Joe Carrion
If you cab see an object as a jewelry piece, then it should be a jewelry piece, proposes the author, who incorporated old rusty keys, stamped clay beads, charms and paper beads into a necklace.

52 Sugar & Spice Purses
by Meryl Perloff
A handbag isn't just a handbag in the eyes of the author, who views purse making as an opportunity to transform a metaphorical and functional object into art.

54 The Ethnic Princess
Artwork by Katie Gorgol, Silvia Ozkan and Annacleta Chiweshe
Story by Annacleta Chiweshe
A student-professor design team took up the challenge of using the shaped weaving technique to design and created a stunning dress reflecting ancient cultural themes.

56 "Cap-tured" Art Charms
by Angela Cartwright
The author tests the artistic impact of reducing her hand painted photographs to minature size in creating bottle cap charms for earrings and pendants.

58 Warlord Jacket
by Judy J. Jennings
Relying on gold fabric paint and gold thread, the author pays tribute to the ginkgo tree and fabric designer Lonni Rossi with a gloriously stamped and embellished jacket.

60 Pastiche Jewelry with Panache
by Suzi Brown
The author explains how to rock the Tyvek® look with a wonderfully manipulative and lightweight medium that serves as a perfect canvas for making true one-of-a-kind jewelry.

DEPARTMENTS

15 The Professional Artist: Selling Your Instructions
by Sarajane Helm
A certaiin way of doing things, an approach or technique developed and refined are valuable commodities to would-be and experienced artists, notes the author.

March/April 2007
ON THE COVER

Denise Shardlow created her Russion Princess coat during one particularly bleak winter. The project fired up her passion for coat dressing. Find out more on page 6.

20 Artful Journey: The Beauty & Magic of Théâtre de la Mode
by Michelle Flores
Fashions by Nina Ricci, Véra Borea, Pierre Balmain, Marcel Rochas, Marcelle Chaumont and other artistic legends of the Parisian haute couture houses of the late 1930s and early '40s come to life in a post-World War II exhibit that continues to astound and delight fabric and textile artists around the world.

24 Threads: The Therapeutic Art of Tunisian Crochet
by Jennifer Tan
This combination of crochet and knitting is easy on the wrists and easy to learn, so get hooked already, enthusese the author.

30 Designer Collection: After Marie Antoineete's Own Heart – Amy Hanna
by Ricë Freeman-Zachery
Tintype photos, antique cameos, vintage religious medals and old flea market charms sigh of past lives lived in Amy Hanna's richly sentimental jewelry.

40 Inspired by Design: The Dawn of Deconstruction
by Justine Limpus Parish
The era of deconstruction that began in the 1980s is alive and well today in both runway fashion and artwear, the author explains.

43 Altered Couture: Artwear That's Fun to Wear
Sandra Wright, Sherrill Kahn, Cyndi Lavin, Suzi Brown, Barbara Matthiessen and Cynthia Powell reinterpret accessories, jewelry and garments in delightful ways.

64 Salon
by Our Readers
Prepare to be inspired by this gallery of terrific art-to-wear garnments, stylish accessories and beautiful jewelry made by our readers.

96 Tapestry: Gramma's Legacy
by Jane Cheek
A design for a pendant evolved from the author's desire to preserve the inscriptions on her beloved grandmother's wedding ring.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

2 Letters to the Editor

3 Letter from the Editor

72 The Artist's Library: Book Reviews
By Michelle Flores

73 Necessities: Product Reviews
By Michelle Flores and Jenny Doh

74 Happenings
A calendar of conventions, workshops & tours.

82 Into the Wardrobe
Next issue offerings.

83 Salon Details
by Our Readers
Learn more about the techniques and materials for the items presented in Salon.

86 Advertiser Index
Find our advertisers with this handy index!

94 Submission Guidelines
You can be published!

SPECIAL ADVERTISING

86 Online Connections

86 Destinations


PHOTO CREDITS

Sylvia Bissonnette: Cover and pages 7-8, 11-12, 16, 23-24, 30, 32-33, 35, 50-53, 59, 64, 66, 68 and 71.
Lorin Backe: Pages 10, 17-19, 26, 34, 36-39, 43-48, 56-58, 67, 69, 70 and 96.
Below are pages from Belle Armoire, March/April 2007.

Surviving winter isn’t just a physical requirement but a mental one. Custom clothing designer Denise Shardlow of Philadelphia perfectly understands those needs and designs beautiful, one-of-a-kind long coats to meet both.

Suzanne Vinmans’s love of denim and illustration come together in bib overalls and jean garments transformed into prom dresses and gowns. Suzanne altered original garments and added black organza, burnout velvet and trims to fashion truly unique denim couture.

 

 

It was love at first sight for bead and fiber artist Myra Wood when she came across gorgeous glass cabochons by Sheila Ernst. Myra was inspired to design an elaborate bead-embroidered necklace to serve as a frame for Sheila’s fiery, purple and red cabs.

Tunisian crochet is an old artform that offers both experienced and beginning knitters and crocheters new creativity. Tunisian crochet, also known as afghan crochet, incorporates elements of both knitting and crochet, yet is easier to achieve (and easier on the hands) thanks to the extra-large crochet hook used .

Amy Hanna almost never met an antique cameo, religious medal, tintype or curio that she doesn’t like. She translates her love for generations-old jewelry and for all things French into stunning necklaces, brooches, rings and bracelets that she likes to call “rejuvenated jewels.”

Joe Carrion is new to jewelry making, but you wouldn’t know it upon seeing his Wired Necklace Assemblage. Made of found objects, handmade beads, charms and jewelry findings and old keys, the necklace encouraged him to take risks and experiment with different materials and techniques.

Meryl Perloff wasn’t dismayed in the least when she wasn’t able to find a handbag to match a special occasion dress. The professional interior designer and artist simply created her own, and then launched her own handbag business.
 
 
     
submission guidelines
ed. departments