What a fantastic weekend of arts and crafts! For those of you who missed the show, you can find some of my stock on the Etsy website. Come visit my shop, bruk66, at etsy.com. I'll be listing a few hats for those of you still in winter weather, spring skirts, Day of the Dead pillows for Cinco de Mayo celebrations, and Rodeo Revival shirts for your inner cowboy.


Thanks to Molly for modeling my "Jenni" skirt at this past weekend's Green With Indie Craft Show up at Webster University. Seems like it caught a few folks eye! And thanks to Ms. Miller of Scarlet Garnet Jewelery for the trade, she ended up with this skirt.


Next year, I plan to join the fun and create something wild for the fashion show. Congrats to all the participants whose work was so phenomenal!

Please check out:
http://scarlettgarnet.myshopify.com/

Day of the Dead

Growing up in Nogales, AZ, I was extremely influenced by the culture. I miss the wildly colored houses visible from across the Mexican border. Even though we lived in the high plains desert, the town was alive with brilliant hues.

Nogales, Sonora is a tourist town and one can find the most beautifully painted ceramics, Mexican silver jewelry, and woven textiles.

I just love the mix of Catholic and Pre-Columbian imagery that permeates the religious iconography. These Day of the Dead pillows are my own tribute to the little town where I grew up.

I have some of these pillows listed on Etsy in my store bruk66. I really appreciate the website and their push for handmade items. It is wonderful to be able to broadcast images of my work to a wider audience and/or clientele.

Please check out Etsy.com for handmade items and my store bruk66.

Rodeo Revival Heads East

Thanks to Cena and Dick Swizzle, Rodeo Revival has hit the East Coast. This custom design was made for a fan of game shows, specifically those from the 70's. The radiating diamonds and triangles are based upon the Gong Show logo. The shirt has been decorated with rhinestones to give the impression of the running lights that were all over the tv studio sets.

Dick Swizzle runs his own game shows out of his club in Brooklyn. Please check out his sites.

http://www.dickswizzle.com
http://www.myspace.com/dickswizzle
http://magneticbrooklyn.com

Special Occasion Dresses

Some of my other custom wear includes special occasion dresses. It's extremely fun to build a party dress for a lovely lady. They are all gorgeous to me!


This little black dress is made for a birthday girl who will be celebrating her 25th tonight. I'm sure that Ms. Nicole will be the belle of the ball, dancing the night away. She looks just like a Hollywood princess in this satin and chiffon gown. I wish her a very happy birthday and many more.



I built this custom wedding dress back in June for my friend Mirnela. She and her beau had two weddings--one in Arkansas and one in Albania. The dress is a cream matte satin with overlays of sparkle organza and chiffon. It has lace appliques along the hemlines and bodice. Over 1000 rhinestones give the gown that extra sparkle. Talk about a fairy tale gown...

Custom Applique's

Appliques help personalize a custom western. I create the images out of fabrics that have been glued together with Wonder Under and top-stitched on the machine. For an extra fancy touch, rhinestone studs can be added for that special sparkle!


This western was created for Justin Brown with his favorite guitars as an applique'. Justin is a local St. Louis musician who plays with the Dock Ellis band, and, along with other local musicians, is a host of the Chippewa Chapel held Wednesday nights at Off Broadway.


The little kitty-cat pictured above is on a baby-blue 50's circle skirt. I've sold a few of these skirts to the local rock-a-billy crowd. Along with the roller derby gals, these ladies have a fun sense of fashion.


This shirt was sold at the Rock and Roll Craft Show 4 held here in St. Louis featuring local crafters working in a non-traditional style. Great event to get your Holiday shopping done. This year, it was held on December 8th and 9th and was very well attended. A mob, I'd say!! The craft show was held at Mad Art, an alternative space that hosts art and music and can be rented out for any event.

Please check out these sites:
www.myspace.com/sixstringsamurai
www.myspace.com/thedockellisband
www.myspace.com/chippewachapel
www.myspace.com/newoffbroadway
www.archrivalrollergirls.com
www.rocknrollcraftshow.com
www.madart.com

BadFolk

Whooo!! What a weekend! I have TWO bands, not just MaidRite. The other is called Bad Folk, and that is self-explanatory. We are a roots inspired group that mixes it up with lack of knowledge and pure inspiration. Some, who do not understand the basic origins of traditional music, will give us the comparison of Uncle Tupelo...the honest truth is that both bands do the same thing--listen to the traditions.

Punk inspired Rock--well if you don't get the message you might be into fashion and top-40 radio play. Punk is a real genre that existed (OhMyGod!) 30 years ago, and everything else since then is just fashion. Like, how did grunge with their ripped up jeans and squatter accommodations become a multi-million dollar business??!! A real part of America becoming a commodity. I bet those kids in Seattle didn't make as much money as the record companies or clothing manufacturers.
So this is one of BadFolk's D.I.Y. projects. Yeah, we released it this past Saturday. It is a split single 45 record with another local band called the Rats and People. They really rock! Their side of the 45 is called 'I Sang to Heather Nethereye'. Folks in St. Louis don't understand the huge amount of talent that is right under their nose. I've lived in this city for over 20 years, and the majority of the population is looking elsewhere for talent and new ideas, and they are missing the big picture...

Please check out:
www.myspace.com/badfolk
www.myspace.com/ratsandpeople

Maid*Rite Music

I have two bands. This one, Maid*Rite, has just released our first EP. It is a six song CD that we had recorded back in January with Jason Hutto at his studio, Smoking Baby. At the time, we had a lovely fiddle player, Catherine Cathers. Since then she has left us for the warmer weather of Florida. Replacing her, is Jennifer McDaniel who plays clarinet, recorder, and our Maid Rite washboard.
Here we are playing at Mangia on South Grand in St. Louis. I wish I knew what the hell we were cracking up about...Anastasia Swan took this photo of us.

Instead of the usual band t-shirts, I've been making some of my Rodeo Revival wear for the band. The yoke is both decorated on the front and back--the back having the Maid*Rite name.

It's great fun to have folks come out to our shows decked in these one-of-a-kind shirts. For me, it is like seeing an old friend who's come to visit.

Cool links to check out: www.myspace.com/maidrite
www.myspace.com/anastasiaswan
www.myspace.com/mangiaitaliano