Nicki's Central West End Guide

ME's "Have Art Supplies, Will Travel" Workshop

For the past couple of years Mary Engelbreit has been celebrating her birthday by holding a Home Companion Workshop in her CWE Studio at Euclid and Maryland. This year's birthday celebration is scheduled for the weekend of June 9th and 10th. The editor of the late Home Companion Magazine and CWE resident Barbara Eliott Martin has been helping Mary organize the event, and two dear friends of mine, Charlotte Lyons and Kathy Curotto, are teaching. Another star in the crafting world, Amy Powers, will be there too. 

It's a great opportunity to see Mary's fabulous studio, enjoy a day or two learning something new, and of course, eat a little birthday cake. There are a few spots left, so dash over to the Workshop's webpage and sign up here. 

Meet designer Emily Brady Koplar

Emily Wai Ming Brady (Koplar) was interested in clothing starting at a very young age and would sketch outfits she would like to wear. She was encouraged by her parents with the gift of her first sewing machine at age 11. She wore the free-spirited clothing she made to a Kirkwood grade school, but when she transferred to MICDS---with its stricter dress code---her designs were saved for proms and working on costumes for school plays.  Her artistic family includes an Irish father who plays the piano, and a Chinese mother who Emily says has the vision in the family. Both encouraged Emily and her brother, an artist who works for Amazon in Seattle, in their artistic endeavors.

While this is a post about Emily, I imagine you're curious about her connection to the Koplars, a family that has been prominent in the Central West End for four generations. Emily has been married for three years to Bob Koplar, a lawyer who is working on the successful relaunch of the family's Voltron property,  a TV series that originally aired in syndication in the mid-1980s.

While clothing design was her passion, practical Emily majored in Economics at Boston University where she also took classes in costume production. After graduation she earned an AAS degree from Parsons School of Design in New York.  She then became a designer for The May Company's private Valerie Stevens label, and then worked for Aeropostale. Last year Emily started her own clothing design company under the label, "Wai Ming," which is her middle name, meaning "gift of light."

Emily creates her designs in a home studio. She hires professionals for pattern and sample-making and uses interns from WU's Sam Fox School of Design to help with computer sketching, packing, and other odds and ends. She uses novelty fabrics from Italy, and silks from Japan. The pattern in the silk blouse that Emily wore the day we met at Ivy Hill in the CWE, and in the dress shown above, is her own design. It takes a full year from fabric selection to shipment of finished product to the stores, so this young designer is always working in a different season. When we met she was about to ship the Spring line, but was working on her collection for the Fall season.  Emily travels to New York at least twice a month to oversee the production of her clothing in the Garment District. 

Hillary Dutcher, the proprietress of Ivy Hill, told me she has done very well with the Wai Ming line. Pieces from the 2012 Spring collection arrived at the neighborhood boutique last week. Pleated skirts are $140 to $180, blouses and tops, $130 to $150, dresses are $300 to $400. For now Emily is content selling to smaller venues, as she gets immediate feedback from their customers. While I don't want to guide you out of the neighborhood to shop, you can also find pieces of Wai Ming's Spring collection at Cha and Esther in St. Louis, Thread in Columbus, Ohio, and Roslyn in Chicago. Her lined was recently picked up by Searle in New York, and Thistle & Clover in Brooklyn.

It was great fun for me to talk to Emily last month and get an advance peek at her Spring collection. The world of fashion is such a tough business to break into, and I greatly admire this talented St. Louisan for following her passion and making a success of it. For more information, or to get on Wai Ming's mailing list, contact Emily at: info@waimingstudio.com.

 

Easter Sunday

When someone you know well has an exceptional talent for doing something, does it make you feel less confident about trying it yourself? That's how it is in our family when I, and three of my four sisters, think about creating a centerpiece or floral arrangement for a special occasion. We always defer to our youngest sister Jody, a very talented floral designer (now retired) whose creativity is second to none. The situation is so bad that we even considered asking her to make the centerpiece for her own birthday party recently, but then thought maybe that was taking it a bit too far. I might be venturing out on a thin limb when I suggest that she was one of the first in the area to feature natural elements, such as birds' nests, in her arrangements, but I'm willing to take that leap. This Easter morning, her charming and understated birds' nest and turtle shell display greeted us on the front porch of her house, above.

The garage door of my sister and brother-in-law's house is draped with a twenty-year-old wisteria, just weeping with blossoms.

Back home in the CWE an "Amethyst Falls" wisteria is also bursting out all over in our backyard, above and below. As with many creatures of beauty, wisteria has a definite mind of its own. It demands constant attention lest it take over the territory. We are constantly cutting ours back. As my late father used to say, a wisteria's roots must reach all the way to China.
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A Neighborhood Needle Felting Workshop (more photos added!)

Photo courtesy of Kathy Curotto

I've been working on organizing craft classes in the neighborhood for several months, and have finally gotten the first one together. Join us for a Needle Felting Workshop on Saturday morning, April 14 led by good friend Kathy Curotto, Lifestyle Editor of Mary Engelbreit's late, great Home Companion Magazine. Kathy's work is also featured in St. Louis At Home Magazine, and can be found in Better Homes and Gardens, and other publications.

Though the current summer weather doesn't lend itself to wearing a felt scarf, who knows what season we'll be in by April 14? And once Kathy---a very relaxed and fun instructor---teaches you to needle felt, you can use the technique on pillows, totes, etc., etc.

Date: Saturday, April 14, from 9 to Noon.*  Limit 12 people.

Location: 449 N. Euclid at Washington.

Class description: NEEDLE FELT SCARF

A stylish, colorful scarf around your neck will make you the envy of the CWE.  All participants will receive a blank felted scarf to design by needle felting yarn and other felted pieces.  Supplies needed: fabric shears, straight pins, felting needle tool with needles, and felting foam (6”x8”x2”) or mat (all available  at Joanns, Michaels, or Hobby Lobby and their websites). There are a limited number of felting tools and foam available for $15.

Cost of workshop: $40, includes class and basic supplies, camaraderie (priceless), and refreshments. 

To sign up, or for more info, contact Kathy: CWEworkshop@gmail.com

*If there is enough interest we'll add an afternoon class.

Photo courtesy of Charlotte Lyons

As soon as I posted the notice about this workshop, I received these wonderful photos from Charlotte Lyons who teaches classes, along with Kathy Curotto, at Mary Engelbreit's occasional Home Companion Workshops right here in the neighborhood. They show class participants in action making beautiful felt scarves under Kathy's direction.

Photo courtesy of Charlotte Lyons

Both Charlotte and Kathy will be teaching crafty things at Mary's next Home Companion Workshop in her CWE studio, Saturday and Sunday, June 9 & 10. See info about the workshop right here!

Marjorie Hoeltzel's gift to Trinity's Food Pantry

Each year Steve Turner, who runs Trinity Church's Food Pantry, has a note card made from a parishioner's photograph to benefit the pantry, which has been serving the CWE for over 30 years. It was timely, and as it turns out quite touching, that Steve asked textile artist Marjorie Hoeltzel, who volunteered at the Food Pantry on Wednesdays, to create a quilt block for this year's card, above. Ninety-year-old Marjorie passed away in January. 

Trinity Church's Food Ministry served 8,134 people in 2011, up from 1,312 in 2010, and 2,300 more than 2008. The food pantry is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, & Thursdays from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Clients register with the pantry and then visit once a month to collect fresh produce (cabbage, oranges, & onions purchased by volunteers), rice, margarine, butter, and 4 cans of food per person in the family (meat product, vegetables & soup). Trinity Church also offers a hot lunch every Sunday at 2 p.m.

In addition to feeding their clients, a registered nurse from the Parish Nurse Fellowship visits on Wednesdays and is available to assist with health needs and offer advice about healthy living. She is so popular that people come to see her even if they are not scheduled to pick up food on that particular day.

The 5 x 7" cards are blank inside and are sold in packages of 10 with envelopes for $15. They can be ordered individually as well ($1.50). To order contact Steve Turner at (314) 651-6927 or msteveturner@aol.com. After you place your order, bring a check to Trinity's office which is located off the parking lot just north of the Church at 600 N. Euclid. The office is open from 8 to 4:30 Tuesday through Friday. Shipping is available for an extra $2.50.

Thank you to Steve Turner for asking Marjorie for this gift and to the Food Pantry's many wonderful volunteers for their work serving the community.  I understand that the pantry can also use clothing for their clients. Drop offs can be made during the hours the pantry is open (see hours above).

P.S. - A further note on Marjorie's talent and contribution to Trinity Church: At the service for this beloved artist in late January the ladies who served as ushers wore handsome vests Marjorie made out of her signature men's ties (see earlier post here). One of Marjorie's relatives wore her stunning black & white quilted vest that could have been shown on a New York runway.  Just an amazing talent and inspiration!

Meet Jennifer Ingram, The Apparel Doctor

Jennifer Ingram, above, has opened her alterations business, the Apparel Doctor, at 447 N. Euclid. Jennifer's neighborhood connection began years ago when she lived on West Pine and attended Rosati-Kain High School. When looking for a location for her business, she decided on the CWE because of its central location and the mix of residential and eclectic retail uses.

While attending SLU as a marketing major, Jennifer apprenticed at Seams Necessary on Page Avenue and fell in love with construction and alterations. She transferred to Washington University's School of Art and eventually earned a B.A. in Fashion Design. After graduation Jennifer worked as an assistant designer at May Merchandising on its private label brand.  In the small world department, a job at May Merchandising is also how Dawna Sturdivant of Borough Vintage (where the Apparel Doctor is located) found her way to St. Louis, though the two didn't know each other at the time.

After Federated Department Stores bought May Merchandising, Jennifer taught textiles, fashion merchandising and marketing courses at Sanford Brown College. Last October, Robin VerHage-Abrams the current Area Coordinator and Associate Professor in the Fashion Design program at Washington University's Sam Fox School of Art, invited Jennifer to teach design and construction to junior and senior Fashion Design majors. In addition to a work and teaching schedule most would find dizzying, Jennifer and her husband are raising three children, two-year-old twins and a four-year-old.  

Jennifer alters both men's and women's clothing. Jim and I have been extremely pleased with pieces she has altered for us. Examples of her prices are: hems $8 to $24, zippers $12 to $24, tapers $10 to $24, waist in & out (this about sums it up, doesn't it?) $10 to $14. Jennifer also makes custom clothing, including special occasion dresses for bridesmaids (she shies away from bridal gowns, as bridal jitters make her nervous). Prices depend on labor and do not include the cost of material.  Check out the Apparel Doctor's website for more information on her services, including pickup and delivery for a small mileage surcharge.

As a supporter of the "shop local" movement, Jennifer offers a discount on alterations to clothing purchased in the CWE. Just keep the tags on the clothing.

P.S. - Missing a button? Ask Dawna of Borough Vintage to show you her large collection of buttons---you're bound to find a match, or something close.

The Apparel Doctor, located inside Borough Vintage at 447 N. Euclid at Washington, Fridays from 1-6 p.m., Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Sun. through Thurs. by appointment, (314) 884-0739.

Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas!

Holiday traditions, Part V

Photos courtesy of Elizabeth Barnes

I first met Elizabeth Barnes just after she and her husband George Knapp and two charming daughters moved to the neighborhood. She was googling the CWE and came across this blog---we've been friends ever since.

When I asked for help with this year's holiday blog posts, Elizabeth was more than willing to share her families' Christmas traditions, starting with the wreath drapped with antique beads and pine cones that hangs on their front door.

Elizabeth considers their Christmas tree, above, to be a "work of art" and loves reliving memories as each ornament goes up. She's been collecting ornaments since she was fifteen, ever since her best friend at the time made a snowman ornament for her, below.  

 

Elizabeth said that the adorable handmade snowman has gotten pride of place for the past thirty years on her Christmas tree, right. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The family loves to collect ornaments from their travels, including an ornament from Bali, left.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Barnes/Knapp collection also reflects the family's interests, including daughter Isabelle's love of ballet, right. See the post on Isabelle just before she danced the role of a toy soldier in the Joffrey Ballet's Nutcracker last year. She danced the same role in the Missouri Ballet's production at the Edison Theater earlier this week.

 

 

 

                                                                      

The ornament, above, commemorates the couple's first Christmas together.

The last photograph shows daughter Caroline's first birthday ornament. Elizabeth said that she and George have given every new baby in their family a silver bell ornament on their first Christmas. The ornament is engraved with the baby's name, the words "First Christmas," and the year. They hope that the children, and cousins, carry their ornaments on to their own trees with happy memories.

Thank you so much Elizabeth for sharing this beautiful ornament collection and the stories behind each one. I so appreciate your contribution to our virtual holiday house tour. Merry Christmas!

 

Holiday traditions, Part IV

Photos courtesy of Emma Hand

Another friend and neighbor who has generously shared her family's Christmas traditions is Emma Hand (see post about Emma here). Emma, who describes her decorating style as "very haphazard, easy and earthy," and her husband Carter live a "hop, skip and a jump" from our house.  That's exactly how their two adorable young daughters can be seen traipsing about the neighborhood. You'll see the girls' chipper gait in action in a post next week with photos of Lilah and Cali's trip to Crepes, etc. for "the best hot chocolate in St. Louis."

The mantel over the Hands' fireplace is trimmed with pine cones and foam holly berries found at a local craft store, and a cardinal perched on top of curled birch bark from a neighbor's tree.

The Scandinavian wood-cut vignette on the mantel is a nod to Carter's mother who's Norwegian. 

In the entryway, there is a dried boxwood tree next to a drawing by local artist Leslie Laskey, which was a gift to the Hands from the artist.

A view of a simple bench near the fireplace covered with pillows and rolled blankets, above.

 

According to Emma the family's holiday elf, Skippy Dimpledot (above), "skips" around the house all night and lands in different spots each morning with a note for the girls.

Emma randomly hangs tree ornaments around the house, such as the magical mushroom above the window bench, left

In their bedroom, Lilah and Cali can hang a sweet dream in the treetop that Emma has decorated with pink lights for the holidays.

Merry Christmas and thank you to the Hands for their generosity.  Someday maybe Carter will share his mother's dark chocolate butter cookie recipe with us, which he brought to our first Big River Food Swap. When Lilah was visiting recently, she told me how to make them: Melt chocolate chips, roll them into a log, harden in the fridge, and then slice and bake them. Sounded perfect to me, though I suspect there is a little more to it.

More holiday traditions to share

Photos courtesy of Kelly Reding

Kelly Reding, who works magic refashioning vintage clothing (see post about Kelly here) brings the same sensibility to decorating her home in the CWE for the holidays. Kelly is another generous neighbor who was willing to be part of the blog's holiday house tour by sharing photos of her young family's Christmas traditions with you.

This clever designer loves decorations with glitter, and is usually drawn to things that are not in the traditional red and green Christmas palate. When she sent the photos, Kelly emailed: "I am obsessed with snow babies (above). I have several ornaments and figurines---I think they are magically adorable and kitschy. The little houses (above), which are new for me this year, are from Ken Meisner at Plaza Frontenac. I'm using them in a diorama in our antique wedding armoire, which I plan to add to in the years to come."

Kelly continued: "I always display white ostrich feathers in the pink parlor room so I thought some marabou feathers on the mantle, around the Santas, would be a nice addition--it kind of looks like snow."

Each of the years that Kelly and her husband, Nick, have been in St Louis, she's collected one new Santa,

and one new Mark Robert's Santa Fairy, above and below.

Kelly added: "The fairies watch over our stockings and can be hung in all sorts of silly places. I like to move them around---climbing the tree, opening gifts---so our son, Will, thinks they are real."

Thanks again Kelly! After the holidays are over, be sure to check out Kelly's shop, Dauphine, located on the first floor at 449 N. Euclid. Dauphine is open on Saturdays or by appointment.