Miss Ruth Tops Now comes in Sugar Cookie too!

I have really enjoyed working with stretch fabrics for a long time now and sweater knits are just as fun.  My new 4 thread mock safety serger arrived last week as well as my new electric rotary cutter so I was inspired to redo my Miss Ruth Top pattern for a slimmer, more tapered fit after getting some great feedback from my customers.
I am happy to say that our Miss Ruth Top is also now available in Sugar Cookie!  This is a creamy golden knit boucle with a little lurex woven in for a sugary effect.  And like our original Miss Ruth Top in False Eyelash lurex, the Sugar Cookie version also has a cute covered button at the neck.

Since we don't have an official model shot of this new top, Deana has created a drop down option under the original Miss Ruth Top ordering page.

I hope that you will enjoy this new top as much as we do.

find it here!

The Count Down to Viva Las Vegas

Oh my Goodness!!  Viva LAs Vegas is upon us.  Only 56 days til the vending ballroom doors fly open and masses of ravenous rockabilly shoppers pour in.  That's when the 3 days of wonderful madness begins for us.

There is so much that I want to do before that day arrives.  My brain is spinning with tons of new designs using fresh Spring & Summer fabrics.  I will be posting our progress weekly until our boxes  ship out and will continue our journey when we touch down in Vegas.

Although we are scaling back on our wholesale endeavors, we will still offer cash & cash to wholesalers from around the world at VLV on the last 2 days of the event.

Rumor has it, we may be launching our long awaited,  extended plus sizes for feedback and for purchase.

I'm really looking forward to creating lots of great new collections to debut at VLV that will be available first on Etsy when we return to the studio.  Our top sellers will then be photographed and made available at www.modemerr.com

We look forward to seeing you there!

http://www.vivalasvegas.net/

The Mode Merr Story

I am finally sitting down to give this blog a whirl.  I guess that my first entry should be about Mode Merr itself.   I started selling Mode Merr designs in small boutiques in 1989 around Boston (my old stomping grounds) and in L.A which was my first stop after being kicked out of art school in 1991.

Mode Merr has remained a very small company by choice. Usually only 2 to 6 dedicated contractors and here and there we work with small sewing houses, always in the US of course and usually on the East Coast.

For a long time my goal was to get as big as my competitors and spread Mode Merr into every retro boutique and website on the planet.  Over the years, I have come to realize that I really enjoy sewing and having a stronger connection to my customers so growing any bigger would become a conflict for me.

Right now, when an order is placed, I usually go under my vast cutting table to where my fabrics are organized and stored per clothing style.  I get down my hand traced oak tag patterns and I cut the items one by one. Either myself, Deana or Jo Ann will construct the items and I will finish and press them, neurotically trimming the threads.  Then I wrap each order in tissue paper,  with a hand written note all tied up with a ribbon bow and send it on it's way.  We manually enter each name and email into our shipping software to alert our customers that their goodies have been shipped.

As I start the New Year, I have been thinking how I would like this year to progress.  Instead of expanding our reach, I have decided to pull back on big wholesale orders and our very streamlined items to focus on smaller retail collections of fun new designs with a dash of humor and cuteness that my older designs offered.  

As always, I am open to hearing from my customers, many who have been there from Mode Merr's start on how to proceed.

PS this is my first blog entry, I think I will get the hang of it soon and will be adding photos, links and all the rest.