Chengdu Fashion Week 2012

Rachel Bougher... International model...Where do I start?... Midwest Fashion Week 2011, Dayton Fashion Week 2012, Chengdu Fashion Week 2012, Numerous print magazines and even acting, the face of local International designer Marlene Haute Couture for 2 years, the list goes on and on!  Born and raised in the Midwest right here in Fort Wayne Indiana she has made an impression on the local high fashion scene.  I met Rachel though socal networking and started following her modeling and soon met her at a local event.  I was immediately impressed with how this 18 year old handled and presented herself.  It was obvious from her grace and poise she was quite a model. Naturally when I heard she had been accepted to walk in Chengdu fashion week I was very excited for her.  I watched intently on Instagram for pictures and updates about her trip, as it was just about the only line of communication.  I knew when she got back I had to hear the whole story... and so I asked.  Not long after she arrived back in town we met up and I had the privilege to to hear that story complete with pictures, lots of pictures!   So without going on forever and ever lets get to the interview!  

How did you first get started in modeling?

I started out with a modeling and acting class known as Barbizon. I was enrolled in the MidWest Barbizon which took place in Fort Wayne and I was a part of the 2011 class. Having this extra help gave me a huge booster not in only feeling able and ready to start my modeling journey, but in other ways such as higher confidence and being able to sing in front of an audience. After finishing Barbizon, I started to search for work on my own. Thankfully a local photographer known as Fisher Fotography wanted to help get me started on the right track. Eventually I was able to start reaching about around town and became very close with International Fashion Designer Marlene Haute Couture. She took me under her wings and helped me grow and develop into a high fashion model.

Chengdu Fashion Week 2012

The story of your modeling trip to China is fascinating. Tell us about how it happened.

Well Marlene Haute Couture was invited to Chengdu Fashion Week many months ago. My mom at the time was helping assist her and Marlene asked for my mom to come along there with her. I was very excited for MHC! My mom was in contact with a woman named Vivienne over in Chengdu, she was able to help give me the opportunity to come and model in Chengdu after I sent her my measurements, height, experience, etc. After finding out I was accepted, there were only two weeks before we had to leave for China! I was so excited and trying to wrap my head around my thoughts. All the way from getting my first passport photos, to going to Chicago for a weekend to receive a Chinese Visa AND taking all my college finals a week early! Whew!
In the end, it was very humbling to know I have had so many wonderful opportunities to enjoy what I love.

Chengdu Fashion Week 2012

On the flight to Beijing China, and things sure get interesting!!! 

From what you told me you had quite the adventure getting to China, and once in Beijing a frightening incident! What happened?

Just thinking about the trip and the way there gives me a headache, it was a long 12-13 hour flight!  When we boarded our flight in Michigan to take us to Beijing China, Marlene, Karen, and I started to experience the different culture on the plane. It was noisy, loud, smelly, and very unpleasant! We even had seats right next to a bathroom! Landing in Beijing was where things started to take another turn. It was very early in the morning when we arrived (around 12-1AM) and our flight for Chengdu didn't leave until around 7AM (If I remember correctly). It was a huge culture shock! We looked very confused and when trying to ask for help, many people didn't understand us.

It's a crazy thing to think about just simply saying "Hello, do you speak English?" and no one can understand.

When we found someone who actually spoke English, we later on found out he was a con artist trying to scam foreigners into staying at very sketchy hotels and ask for "tips" for his help. We sadly believed he was someone who worked at the airport because he was dressed in a suit and looked very professional. He was able to take us away form the airport and stick us in a hotel room, but thankfully we figured things out before our flight and got out of there and back to the airport!  I just know now to only trust yourself when traveling and to always be aware of what's going on around you at all times! 

Let me tell you that after hearing Rachel tell this story and then reading her response here... This my friends is the PG version!  There is just no way of really telling this story without writing pages and pages it seems.  I can't imagine what it would be like to arrive in a place like that  with such a communication barrier.  I would chalk this up as a character building life experience! 

Arriving in Beijing China

Once you arrived in Chengdu, what was the time line like from arrival to walking the runway the first time. 

Well all 3 of us were extremely tired but finally made it to Chengdu! Only thing was, it we didn't have our luggage because we forgot to check it in when we reached Beijing! So we had to file and claim luggage and hope the airport would bring our belongings to the hotel. We had met other designers, assistants, photographers on the flight from Beijing to Chengdu. (and we were not the only ones who didn't get our luggage) Finally reaching the hotel we met Vivienne and others in charge and were placed in our rooms. Our hotel was BEAUTIFUL! I went to my room, knowing I would be placed with a random model, but found out I was there a day earlier than all the girls. The next day came and the models started to arrive as we had to learn the new walks for the runway, figure out which rooms to go to for fittings that night, etc. My roommate was Anna Kolesnik. She was from the Ukraine and was one of the youngest models there being only 17. At first I was taken back and got the feel that she didn't like me, but we bonded over my shoes I had brought with me from back home and started a friendship.

Outside the hotel

Here they are going over different walks and learning how the show is going to run.

Diagram for different walks and designers.  That outline is the shape of the runway.

Some of the models hanging out backstage

Such a beautiful venue for the show!

You said you were the only American model at Chengdu Fashion Week. How were you received and how did you mesh with the others? 

If I could take another trip back to Chengdu, I would in a heartbeat. Modeling was a big deal to go over there for, but the friendships I brought back in my heart are ones I will never forget.

At first I had a better relationship with all of the students and helpers for Chengdu Couture Fashion Week. There were many helpers, boys and girls, for this Fashion Week. They were all students there assisting because they wanted a possible career in fashion, design, music, etc. in their future. They were so nice and polite to me! Most spoke English very well so I was able to communicate easier with them. They even knew how to pronounce my name. In Chengdu, many of them watch the show "Friends" and recognized my name, Rachel, because that was who Jennifer Aniston played in the TV show.
I had many of them ask me where I was from. I would tell them "America" and they would just reply
"Oh wow! That is my future homeland!"
"I want to move there!"
"You are so lucky! What is it like?"
They told me they loved my eyes and my hair because it was so different. Always complimenting me saying "You so beautiful Rachel!" I'm telling you, they were way too nice to me! 

Signing an autograph for one of the student helpers

Outside the Hotel with some fans

Later on in the first week I became really close with two of the models there. One was Anna and the other was a girl named Silviya. They were my two Ukranian red heads! We grew closer because Anna spoke more English to me than the other girls did. Most girls spoke their own languages to each other and I would try to act like I knew what they were saying. Silviya understood Russian but didn't speak it very well, so she spoke English all the time. Silviya took me out some nights to bars to meet some of her friends (It's legal for me over there! Don't worry!) And Anna would take me to the black markets during down times between shows during the day.
Saying goodbye was one of the hardest things for me to do the day before I left. I gave Anna one of my shirts as a "remembrance of me" And Silviya and I talk on different global phone apps still to this day... 

Rachel and Silviya out on the town

Did you have a favorite designer you wore on the runway?

Honestly, each designer brought their own unique expressions of creativity to their designs....it was hard to have a favorite! Along with Marlene there were a couple other US designers and a few from Russia, Ukraine, etc. Walking for Marlene was always an incredible opportunity and since I was able to wear her designer showpiece the last night of the show! I also enjoyed a designer from California and his partner. They were very nice to me and said I wore their dress beautifully (all black with slit at bottom of dress with a red, orange, yellow flower on the side) They keep in touch with me for any upcoming work they want me to be a part of. 

 

One of her favorite designers Jamil Khansa

A dress from Jamil Khansa

A collection by Marlene Haute Couture backstage. 

What was your overall experience like in China? Did it change you in any way? Is it something you would want to do again?

Chengdu, China holds a part of my heart ever since I left. Besides the dirty air and bad plane flights, I would love the chance to go back and be with some of the people who made my experience so worthwhile. Having the opportunity to be the only American model was a very big honor to me. I received a call from a random number asking me about being in Chengdu Fashion Week again, but was unable to understand the rest of their message or name to call them back. But hey, you never know! Maybe I'll have another chance to go back one day in the future.... 

I have to admit that even though I do not know Rachel as well as some I am very proud of her going for this and actually doing it!  I hear pretty often about how boring our city is and nothing is going on...  There are people doing big things and involved in big things, you just have to know where to look.  Before I got into the fashion world I had no idea there was a "Fashion World" right here in our city.  So before you think your city or our city might be boring take a look below the surface and find the stories like these!  You just might be surprised like I was.  So even with all the buzz, excitement, and pretty much non stop action, Rachel did have some time to slip away and do some sightseeing.  I will leave you with those pictures.  Thank you for reading! 

 

So here I was chugging along with my jewelry line and everything was fine.  But that's just it... it was just fine.  In the back of my mind I had visions of wild crazy stuff that you may see in the fringes of high fashion, but it ended there.  And then it happened, one day while messing around on twitter I commented on a tweet from someone I had talked to for about a year.  Her name is S. Avery and she is a celebrity stylist, basically someone who styles someones look.  I think I could use some help in that area myself actually... ok ok I'm day dreaming again, it's way out of my budget anyway.  So long story short in the course of the conversation we decide to do some sort of a collaboration.  Well that turns into me designing a piece for her, which by the way scared the heck out of me. How was I going to design something for HER???  Well not being one to run from a challenge I jumped in with both feet.  It was decided I would design this piece for her and have it in a local art gallery show coming up.  That's all well and good but let me fill you in on the timeline I was working with.  ....Big Breath...Pretty much my wife and I were expecting our second child at any moment this piece had to be big crazy and bold and surpass anything I had done before....breath.... oh and I had to have it designed, built, modeled in time for the gallery deadline of Aug 16 (I had just over a week)..... oh my that's not much time.... Whew ok ok lets do this!  And then it happened! I freaking did it!  I jumped so far out of my box I can't look back and see it, I am ready and not scared to jump now! Here are the details of the piece and the build I call my "Make a Statement" project. 

Here is the sketch that Avery sent me.  This is when I knew I was going to be in for an adventure!

   

So here we go with my initial design sketch, well after many other and much messier sketches.  The design changed from this original concept you will see as we go. 

Here my wonderful friend Chelsea is being very patient with me as I work on the full scale mock up of the piece.  It's more tapered, or graduated now than the original design.  On a side note she is wearing G2G earrings! 

So here we are with all the pieces cut out and ready to hammer. I do all of my hammering with one hammer and it's free form hammering.  I do not use forms to shape the metal. 

Whew this was my first time hammering a collar piece and it came out perfect!  It was such a relief to see this part come together because it was the hardest part to hammer.  All the other pieces were flat. 

Here are all the pieces hammered and just laid out on a board.  Nothing is connected at this point, but I am very excited to see it coming together. 

Its a bit hard to see here but I was gluing the sheer black fabric to the pieces.  This is what makes this piece so flexible and wearable.

Here I am riveting the back plates on with copper rivets I made.  

All put together here and polished.  Ready to be modeled! 

My friend Chelsea once again helping me, this time dress shopping just hours before the shoot!  The model was busy working and Chelsea is the same size, just a few inches shorter so it worked out perfect in the end! 

Here the amazing makeup artist Kristy Jahn is putting the finishing touches on Model Emily Berz and then we are ready to shoot!  I am very proud that I styled this shoot so well, it was a first for me.  Kristy took my idea and concept and really nailed the look, she is a truly talented professional. 

A few shots from the shoot, I only needed one shot for this whole project.  That ONE shot that really nailed it is the one at the start of this post.  It is just WOW, a real statement and that's what this piece of jewelry is! A real STATEMENT! 

Special thanks to everyone who helped me on this project.

My wife who put up with my craziness for the week. 

S. Avery for giving me the opportunity to jump, and giving me advice and encouragement throughout the project.  

Chelsea for modeling the mock up and dress shopping last minute.

Emily Berz for modeling and bringing that attitude to the shot and just being a fun person to work with.

Kristy Jahn for the world class makeup artistry, you really tied it all together with that double wing hotness! 

Amber Sturgis for the photography and getting that perfect shot I needed, and for getting the prints done. 

I couldn't have done it without all of you, I thank you all and appreciate each of you so much! 

Thank You

G2G Jewelry



G2G model April wearing the Large Dual Ring earrings and the 3 Ring necklace.

G2G Jewelry, what is it?  What does it mean?  Well I am going to answer those questions and hopefully any other questions you have about it.  G2G Jewelry is a eco smart and fashion forward jewelry line from Ostlund Custom Works.  The base of each piece is made from scrap metal I source from machine shops and scrap yards.  The majority of it is high grade aluminum alloys used by PHDinc for making industrial air cylinders.  Some of the scrap I buy from them actually was an air cylinder at one point but most is new material cut offs or rejects.  This is metal that would go to metal recyclers for processing into "new metal" again.  I take some of this material and turn it into art and fashion accessories like the earrings and necklace pictured above on April. 

"Is it heavy?"  I get asked this question a lot, and I mean a lot! I get asked by almost by everyone despite having made efforts to tell people its light.  This jewelry is very light, much lighter than you would expect.  So light in fact that once I have told you its light and you pick up a piece you will comment "wow this is really light"  I have been told by many women who have wore my earrings that "They are so light it feels like I am not wearing anything!" 

"How do you make it?"  Well I take this scrap aluminum tubing and cut it into rings which I then finish with a file, and that's the base of each piece.  It has distinctive file marks nicks and scratches on the "raw" cut edge.  This is my style of not over processing my work.  I then add the jewelry hardware (beads, chain, cord, ear wires, clasps) and build it into a very versatile piece of jewelry.



Scrap bin at PHDinc



Dual Ring earrings

"What does it mean?"  G2G stands for Gothic to Glamorous.  It's my motto that "From Gothic to Glamorous its all Beautiful"  Meaning I believe that my line of jewelry looks great on any style and any woman.  I have been working hard at getting pieces modeled with different styles and different woman to show just how versatile it is.  Below you will see these beautiful ladies wearing the same jewelry but shown with polar opposite styles!  From glam and pretty, to hard and goth its just amazing its even the same piece! So if you are looking for wonderful handmade jewelry that is unique, wearable and just YOU,  look no further! G2G Jewelry is every woman! 


G2G Jewelry model Tawny wearing the Large Dual Ring earrings.



G2G Jewelry model Jacqueline wearing the Large Dual Ring earrings.

G2G Jewelry model Chantel wearing the Large Dual Ring necklace.

Jacqueline wearing the Large Dual Ring necklace.

Gothic Choker

Simple oval hoops

Please take a look at my website http://www.ostlundcustomworks.com/ to see more of my work.  To see what is available for sale online now look at my Etsy shop. If  you want to see what some of my scrap metal was, or was going to be take a look at PHDinc  If you have questions about my jewelry line leave a comment or email me through the contact me form on my website.  Thank you for reading!

Little Mr Liam

Daddy and Liam

Ready for summer

So here we are almost 5 months down the road and this little guy is really growing!  People always said time would fly when you have a kid but now I believe it!  Its been a time warp since he was born.  Everyday is getting more interesting as he develops and learns.  Its so fun to watch him rolling around on the floor and playing with toys while "talking" up a storm.  He is such a happy baby and always wakes up with a smile and goes to bed without fuss.  He is sleeping all night and has so much energy in the day its a bit tiring at times!  He just had his 4 month check up (a bit late) a few days ago and got his shots so he has not been feeling very well.  But I have to tell you the guy is tough! (just like dad)  He really didn't get very sick and still has always had a smile for Mama and I.  He was pretty much himself last night playing and carrying on like usual till he gets tired and ready for a bath and bedtime.  Oh and Liam loves his baths!  I see many a wet floor in my future as he gets bigger because he can already splash water out of the tub!  He will get to thrashing and laughing and I end up almost as wet as he is! 


Did I mention he sleeps? Well he sure does,  not only did he pick his own bedtime (at 9) all by himself  but he goes to bed without a fuss.  Just lay him in his crib and its lights out till morning!  I hear we got really lucky so I wont question that and just be happy.  He really is a wonderful son and just a perfect little person.  Well I just wanted to give an update and share some pictures with all of you!  Now its time for work, if you have time leave some comments below I love reading them and I respond to them all!      

Zonk!

Ahhh this is the life

All smiles!

Talking away



"I am so damn cute  you cant help but smile at me"





Rock Star of Jewelry

I first met Victoria on Twitter and little did I know she was a true rock star of jewelry!  Not only are her designs worn by top celebrity's but she teaches people how to make it as well.  She takes metal and makes it glamorous, pieces that grab you and make you stare!  I decided this was someone I wanted to get to know as I am delving into jewelry myself.  I wanted to pick the brain of the best! So here is my interview with the one and only Victoria Tillotson.

Give us a bit of history on yourself.  My background is firmly rooted in liberal arts academia, but I've collected jewelry my entire life starting with rhinestones and 1950s kitsch in the 1980s and moving through ethnic jewelry and finally modernism.  I made kooki jewelry in high school with blue electrical wire, those bubbles with toys in them from a gumball machine, and vintage beads.  People liked it!  Why it didn't dawn on me then to go to design school I don't know, but i didn't.  In 2007 I bailed out of my doctoral program in Comparative Literature and moved to NYC with my husband, where I had started taking jewelry classes in 1998.  I did finish my Ph.D. but realized my passion was no longer there.  I began assisting another professor at SVA (School of Visual Arts) One thing led to another and in 2002 I was offered a position at School of Visual Arts, where I have taught ever since. 

My main inspiration is sterling silver modernist jewelry of the 1950s-1970s, and within that Israeli modernism in particular.  I love bold striking forms that make you look!

When it comes to your work you combine a few of my favorite things, art, true craftsmanship, and function.  What is your process from concept to reality?  Since I don't have formal art training and don't draw (although perhaps I should not admit to this!!) I get flashes of images in my head and then write them down.  Designing anything is a dynamic process as you know, and the object will take various permutations along the way.  You kind of have to just let the piece take the lead.  I may make a piece in copper or brass at first. 

Designing commercial work - meaning pieces to sell to mass market- and designing "art" pieces have two different processes: for commercial stuff, production ease and adhering to a price point are key and I design with them in mind.  For the arty pieces it's more about vision and precision.  The eye can see to 100th of a millimeter and it's hard to hide mistakes when you're making geometric shapes.  It's easy to bury mistakes in the kind of jewelry people dub "organic," - and I get mad at my students when they try to get away with this!  My one-offs tend to be very architectural, they need to be perfect and that takes time.

In the world of jewelry and fashion the styles change almost daily, how do you keep things fresh and interesting?  I don't worry about it. I make what I like and if I like it, someone else always does too.

You are a professor of jewelry making at School of Visual Arts in New York City, give us a sense of the core base of learning and skills you teach.  Also what is your goal as a teacher of your craft and what do you instill in your students?  My beginners learn basic jewelry making skills including sawing, forming, soldering, polishing and stone setting.  I start with making a sterling ring of their own design set with a round or oval cabochon.  This teaches a lot of critical techniques in one project, and they have something to show for it.  I always tell people:  "I'm going to teach you the right way to do it, and then after that you can do what you want."  Yes, I want perfection.  Am I going to get it 100%? No.  I mainly want people to make jewelry that expresses themselves and have fun doing it.

My advanced students do more, well, advanced techniques like hollow construction, boxes/hinges, settings for faceted stones, gypsy or flush settings, chain making, etc.  They design and create their own projects.  I work on techniques one on one, but its more of a studio class.

I look at your "laundry list" of accomplishments with awe and to me you are at the pinnacle of success.  Is there one metric by which you judge your success?  This is challenging to answer and my fumblings that follow will illustrate it!  For me like many people, it's tough not to fall into the trap of feeling that money=success.  For artists like ourselves, this is a particularly perilous way of thinking that must be avoided.  Instead I think:  what about my career do I like and what is fun?  I like writing books, I like getting press and being in books,  I like being on TV and opining about jewelry, I like teaching.  So since these are the things I do and the things I like, I guess-guess?! - I'm successful.  But the naked truth is that I am never satisfied with what I am doing or have done.  It's just how it is.  I think i could be the jewelry version of Oprah and still not feel successful!  So the answer is... there is no answer.

What are you striving for at the moment and what are your future goals?  I want to learn some new techniques.  After all the more public ventures I just spoke about this must sound weird.  But one thing I constantly battle with as a self-taught jeweler is the feeling that I'm inferior to those who went to, say, RISD or Pforzheim.  I can teach anything; but I always want to be able to do everything.  I don't like the "those who can, do; those who can't, teach" mentality that so many people unwittingly cling to.  Otherwise, I am also involved in another book project way out of the realm of jewelry.  More on that later!

Now to go off topic and away from jewelry, in an effort to see more who "YOU" are as a person tell us who "YOU" are!  I'm 43, married and have a six-year-old son named Rijk.  I was born and raised in RI and say it like Rhode Islanders do: "road-Eyelan."  I went to Moses Brown School and  tried as hard as I could to break the mold of the prep school student.  Just to prove I was 100% weird, I chose Hampshire College.  I love mid-century modern design, particularly Paulin and Jacobson;  I have a weakness for Louis Vuitton; a favorite dinner is nachos and a margarita followed by pink cake from Amy's Bread in Manhattan; I will never say no to a jellybean; I almost exclusively listen to punk, old and new.  My favorite bands are New Bomb Turks and  Distillers plus lots of the archaic hardcore from the 1980s; favorite colors are orange and purple; I have a 1981 BMW R65 but it doesn't go;  my favorite plants are cacti; when i feel truly unhinged, I get my ears stretched.  Somehow this sort of lunacy grounds me.  I will end up with 1" plugs when I'm in my 50s, and it's not going to be pretty!  My favorite places are Bryce Canyon, Paris and the beach; favorite authors are Jean Genet, Oscar Wilde, Georges Bataille and Pat Barker.  For fun i love yard sales and flea markets, going out for drinks, the occasional mosh pit even though I am way to old, eating to much popcorn at the movies with my son and, corny as it is, long uninterrupted  hours in my studio.

To end this can you give fellow jewelry makers and designers a bit of advice?  What do you feel is the most important thing for them to remember?  Never give up. Never! There have been many times I have thought about giving in and trading entrepreneurship for a "real job."  It is so freaking hard sometimes.  You just have to be able to keep clear in your vision no matter how many people try to push you this way or that, or just flat out tell you no.  Train yourself to look at every challenge as an opportunity.  Every single thing, from "oh no, they're out of the metal I wanted" to "Vogue Magazine said no to the samples I sent for a story for the twentieth time" to "I'm not going to be able to pay my bills this month."  Learning this resiliency does NOT come easy and at first it's hard to weather.  But you MUST learn how to convert a no into a yes.  And you MUST do it again and again.  And when you have truly mastered that, you will be successful.

So much for emotional advice.  From a practical standpoint, every designer needs a business arm of their company/craft.  Whether it's a friend with an MBA who can help you with the basic P&L sheet to an expert in capitalization, you need someone.  Why?  Because without a business plan, the stresses of running a company will erode your creativity and you will be depleted.  There are lots of people in your life who can fill this role, if you can't afford or don't want to hire someone and they want to help. Let them! Give them some beautiful pieces and it will be a 100% win-win.



SVA studio



I want to thank Victoria for doing this amazing and inspirational interview with me.  There were some key points in it that I needed to hear as an artist, and I hope it can help others as well.  You can find her on Twitter at @chicmetal and find her amazing jewelry on her etsy shop chicmetal and if your looking for her book here is the direct link Chic Metal Jewelry Making