The Creative Cookie

Winter Craft Series Update

Check out some of the great results from the first two weeks of the Winter Craft Series! In these classes participants learned to make an emoji applique and a scrunchie. Join us Wednesday 1/27 from 4:15 - 5:15pm, we will be learning how to make a zippered pencil pouch. Learn more here and don't forget to sign up here!

Fashion is Self Care with Valerie Mayen

Valerie Mayén is a mom, a business owner, a fashion designer, and because of all this, a believer in fashion as a form of self-care. She began her business over a decade ago and spent a great deal of time on Project Runway where she refined her craft. Fashion has been a part of her life for decades and it’s because of fashion’s “transformative power”, as Valerie says, that fashion stays an important and poetic part of her life. Grab a cup of tea and read below as Valerie talks about her time in the fashion industry and the reason behind her belief in fashion as self-care. 

Make sure you check out Valerie’s brand Yellowcake Shop on Instagram: @yellowcakeshop to keep up to date on her journey!

Source: @Yellowcakehop on Instagram

 

CC: Tell me a bit about yourself. Where are you from? What do you do?

VM: I’m from Corpus Christi, Texas. I grew up there but left when I was 17 and moved to Philadelphia to start my foundation studies at the University of the Arts for illustration. My BFA is in illustration and graphic design. I ended up transferring to the Cleveland Institute of Art, spent a year at Otis in Los Angeles and did some study abroad in Italy studying art history. I kind of bounced around all over the place, landed in Cleveland and never left. So, I’ve been in Cleveland since 2002 and I started my business here in 2009. 

 

CC: Tell me a bit about your time on Project Runway. What was your favorite piece that you made on the show? What was your favorite challenge?

VM: I was on Project Runway in 2010 for season 8 and went back for All Stars in 2016. My favorite piece from regular runway was probably the Marie Claire dress which was in the second episode. We had to make a garment for the every-day-woman, the “Marie-Claire-woman” and the winner got a spot on a billboard. I almost won that challenge! My second favorite look was the “party store challenge”. We had to make a garment from party supplies and I made this dress out of black and white napkins. I was in the top 3 for that one as well, but again, I was runner-up. 

I had a great time and I would definitely do it again, however, I would do some things differently. I was so lucky and fortunate to be a part of that experience!

 

CC: What do you love most about your work and the fashion industry? What makes you passionate about it?

VM: I think the thing I love most about my work is being able to materialize something that is functional, but also that acts as a catalyst to express who you are on the inside. Fashion can be a very superficial, self-serving, shallow industry, but there is also a lot of beauty that comes with it. There are some things that are very tangible and poetic about fashion and about the craft of cloth and tailoring. It’s kind of an industry trade that has been around for a very long time and is definitely more artisanal than some other trades. 

The thing I love most about fashion is that it has transformative power. When we’re making garments, we’re not just making them for people to wear to bed or to buy their groceries in, we’re making them for job interviews or because they lost a bunch of weight and want to treat themselves. We also do a lot of custom work for clients, whether it’s brides or birthdays. What you put in your body affects your mood, your thoughts and your health. The things that you put on your body also affect your productivity and your efficiency and your attitude. A really great fitting pair of jeans can really make you feel different about yourself and about your day. Fashion is transformative, it’s a way to make something out of nothing, and it’s functional.

 

CC: Tell me a bit about Yellowcake. How did you get started with the brand and what are your goals for the future of the brand?

VM: I started the brand in 2009 on a whim. I was a nanny for a couple of years and I just wasn’t really satisfied with my position. I always loved fashion design, but I didn’t really know enough about it. I’d never used a sewing machine in my life. I was 25 at the time and took a class at the community college 10 minutes from where I lived. I was able to take a few classes and I learned how to make a skirt, a blouse and a dress. Then I had to drop out because I couldn’t afford it. I didn’t have the $3000 to pay for the next semester, so I dropped out. I panicked because I had already quit my nanny job and the back-up job that I had lined-up fell through. I didn’t know what to do with myself until my friend introduced me to Etsy. It was slow-going at first and it wasn’t until I started making outerwear that I noticed a difference. I think women are more prone to buy everyday wear more cheaply, but outerwear is kind of like a utility product that you use all year long or all season long. So, I was able to charge a higher price point for outerwear and women were willing to spend it because it was an investment. So that’s how I built my business- by sticking to one product and being really niche and really good at making that one product. It’s better to be the master of one thing, be really good at it and be well-known for it than to be just okay at several things. 

So, that’s how it began and it slowly evolved and Project Runway helped a little bit. We had a storefront for about five years until we converted to a studio and showroom only. Now, we are primarily e-commerce because of COVID-19, but also because that was the direction we wanted to take. It’s more sustainable and it’s more financially lucrative. And now, we’ve been in business for almost 11 years!

 

CC: What are some social issues and organizations that Yellowcake supports? Why?

VM: A big part of the reason why I started Yellowcake was because a lot of the fashion industry is produced overseas. Not only are these garments possibly being made unethically with cheap labor, but it’s also traveling further to be made and shipped back. So, the emissions are much higher, the carbon footprint is much higher and the quality of the product may be different. If Americans, that are so hell-bent on bringing jobs back to America, aren’t willing to pay American prices for their products, then there’s a disconnect. The reason we started doing this is because we felt like we could do our part to contribute to our local economy, to bring small manufacturing back to the midwest and employ our neighbors. This was something that one of my biggest mentors taught me, Kathleen Fasanella. When I was thinking of getting some of our products manufactured down south or even overseas, she said, “Well why?” I said, “I don’t want to make this on my own anymore.” She said, “If you have more time than money, then you need to use your resources wisely and, until then, make the things yourself. Employ when you can but employ locally. Employ your neighbors.” So, that’s what we did and it took a bit longer, but it was more beneficial for us in the long run. We were able to pivot really quickly when the pandemic hit and, now, our clients know exactly where their products are being made. 

We also noticed that a lot of men and women who are being marginalized for the sake of fashion are Black and brown people. I’m Latin American, myself, so part of the social organizations that we heavily support are initiatives that we know are going to help eliminate homelessness, poverty, hunger and other social justice issues, like this year when we got to work with Know Your Rights Camp and Freedom Minneapolis. We work with the Cleveland Foodbank and Laura’s Home, which is a rape crisis center for women and children. Every year we used to do a fashion show that would support different non-profits like Halo, a children center that has orphanages in Latin America, India and Africa. We try really hard to work with organizations that are smaller to mid-size. We try to do our part to bring awareness to our clients of who they could be supporting in ways that they hadn’t considered before. We also know that any fundraising that we do for these organizations, that money is going directly to programming and not the pockets of CEOs. 

CC: How did you find out about The Creative Cookie? How long have you been partnering/working with Lesley? 

VM: I knew of Lesley several years ago before I was her mentor. In 2011, she started following us after Project Runway and we really liked her work so we started following her back. It wasn’t until this past year, in 2020, that we got to know her a little better. After the protests, we realized that we weren’t doing our part to elevate Black and brown voices the way that we could. As a business owner, I know that my strengths lie in giving business advice however I can. I’m not a huge expert, but I’ve been in business long enough to know more than new business owners. There’s always room to teach, regardless of where you are at in your journey. As a Latin American woman, it surprised me to realize that I hadn’t invested enough time in female or minority-owned businesses. So, I reached out to 5 Black-owned businesses that I knew of. I reached out to Lesley to ask her if she knew of anyone that needed guidance and she said, “Me!” So, I said, “Okay, sure!” She has been one of my most successful mentees this year! Lesley’s a really unique person and I really enjoy working with her!

 

CC: What is your idea of “fashion as self-care” and why?

VM: Especially in this pandemic, I think a lot of us have been delegating ourselves to sweatpants or loungewear and not really trying. It’s easy to do because I’m at home most of the time. When I take the time to put on real clothes and fix my hair and put on some makeup and be intentional about what I’m wearing, it does make me feel different. It makes me feel a little bit more lively and gives me a bit more “Moxy” to take on the day. For me, that is important because it’s easy to lounge around in your pajamas all day because you just feel like “blah”. That has a lot to do with what we put on our bodies, not just what we put in them. For me, I think self-care is really just about taking the time to do that (get dressed, do your hair and do your makeup). Whenever I make the time for that, which is maybe twice a month, it’s really important and special. Taking the time to put in the effort to coordinate your outfits, being creative with what you put on your body and trying new things- that’s important to remind yourself of your identity.

 

By Kasey Lettrich 

No Knob, No Germs

Members of The Creative Cookie team have been trying No Knob (@officalnoknob) for the past few months, since its launch, and we approve. It's antimicrobial, sustainable, easy, and cute! Check out our journalism intern, Kasey's, review!

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When the pandemic began, for the first time, I really had to pay attention to what I touched and whether or not I touched my face after opening a door or using someone’s pen. I was never a germaphobe, but all of a sudden, there was a massive fear of germs everywhere. Of course, most of us are now accustomed to these changes and pay close attention to the things we touch. Imagine not having to worry about the doors that you open because you have a device that protects your hands from any germs; No Knob does just that. 

 

No Knob is a women-owned U.S. company that creates antimicrobial silicone touch guards for your hands that allow you to open any door without worry. I had the pleasure of testing out the No Knob product for a week, and I have to say, I will never take this off my keychain again. 

No Knob creates products for adults and children with fun designs for all ages. A huge bonus with No Knob is the inclusion of matching masks! I am someone who has a very small face and most masks don’t fit me properly. However, the No Knob masks have adjustable ear straps, a nose wire and are tight-fitting. It is my new favorite mask!

Of course, that was not the most important part of my week with No Knob because the No Knob device itself was a lifesaver. I was able to open any handle (rounded knobs, push doors and pull doors), car doors and get gas without worry. When I am getting gas without No Knob, I am constantly sanitizing my hands throughout the process. This is excessively drying and a pain in the butt. But, with No Knob, I was confident that my hand that touched the gas pump was clean when I got back in my car.

The only problem that I had with my No Knob product was that it was sometimes a challenge with my acrylic nails. Of course, many people don’t have this problem, but I do wish No Knob would create a version of their product that is slightly longer for people with large hands or acrylic nails. While they do have different sizes, they are still not made for people with long nails. This is a niche problem, but it would still be nice to see that availability. 

I haven’t been able to stop worrying since this pandemic started, but No Knob truly gave me one less thing to worry about. It was such a worry-free week with the germs that I encountered and I really enjoyed it. Overall, they are super affordable, washable, sustainable, antimicrobial and made for kids and adults. Because of this versatility, I would suggest No Knob to anyone. And, if I had to rate this product, I would give it 8/10 stars for its ability to work for almost anyone and eliminate some worry in an anxiety-riddled time despite the inability to customize its shape.

 

 

CreativeBug "Hair Accessory Trio" Video Launch

I'm so excited to announce the first of my DIY videos with CreativeBug has just launched! During this video you'll learn how to make three essential hair accessories - a bow, a headband and a scrunchie. These projects can easily be customized to your style by choosing a fabric that feels like you. Click here to watch and learn!

A little behind the scenes detail, we taped the classes in my home this past October. I felt it was unsafe to travel to San Francisco where CreativeBug's studio is located so they agreed to partner with us remotely. It was cool to set everything up and make it work. Shoutout to the tiny team who masked up and joined me for the three-days of filming! 

 

Enjoy and please send us photos or tag us with what you make! 

 

** Insert Confetti!** 

Fashion Is Self Care with Weaver & Artist Morgan Hale

Morgan Hale, a weaver and artist, is one of many people who see fashion as a form of self-care. Morgan adores weaving and works to make the coziest garments and woven items. So naturally, Morgan defines a fashion-as-self-care garment as something that is comfortable. Read below as Morgan shares her experiences in the fashion industry, her upcoming projects, biggest accomplishments, and her idea of fashion as self-care. 

Check out Morgan’s Instagram, @m.h.a.l.e, to see her beautiful creations! 

CC: Tell me a bit about yourself. What do you do? Where are you from? 

MH: I’m a weaver! I spent most of my childhood and teenage years in rural Vermont, but before that, my family and I lived in New York and Connecticut. Growing up, I loved creating in many mediums but my mom sparked my interest in the textile world by teaching me to knit and sew. I went to MassArt in Boston for college but at first, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to major in. I considered illustration, photography, printmaking, and fibers, but I decided on a major in fibers, which is where I learned to weave. After college, I moved to San Francisco and made functional woven pieces like scarves, blankets, and pillows for a while. Currently I’m living and working in New York and I still make some functional items and take on commissions but this past year things changed a bit. The pandemic provided me with extra time to get back to my fine art practice, something I had been hoping to do for a while. My process has grown and changed but weaving is always at the root of it.

 

CC: How did you get into weaving? What makes you passionate about what you do? 

MH: When I toured the fibers department at MassArt I fell in love with the studio spaces filled with beautiful wood floor looms, big windows, and a huge yarn closet. I knew I wanted to learn how to weave and be in that amazing space. I took the weaving courses offered and after I learned the ins-and-outs of weaving, the process became second nature. While the setup process is relatively similar each time, the possibilities are endless. There are so many patterns and colors to try and ways to vary a design on or off the loom. Even after nine years of weaving, the repetitive and ancient process still feels a little like magic and it keeps me coming back to explore new ideas.

CC: Tell me a bit about your upcoming gallery exhibit. What's it called and what inspired it? What was the most challenging part to get ready for it and what risks did you take?

MH: My work is being shown at Shelter In Place gallery. It’s a new and unique miniature gallery that opened during the pandemic. The gallery was made at a 1:12 scale, meaning 1 inch = 1 foot. This miniature set up allows for more accessible opportunities for artists to show their work. It also makes the work look huge - something I don’t currently have space or resources to pull off. 

 

The five pieces I made are part of my Time Isn’t Real series and are each 5” x 7” in real life but will look 60” x 84” in the gallery. The inspiration for this series began at the beginning of the pandemic. With my daily life slowed down, I was spending most of my time inside and I started to observe my surroundings more. I took note of the changing shadows and light and started to archive these moments by applying plaster to woven panels. Eventually, I broke away from the reality-based imagery and took this idea further by creating my own shadowscapes, like in the pieces for this show. You can read more and see more of the works in this series on my website.

 

The most challenging part of creating these pieces was actually working small. Applying the plaster at such a small scale was a bit fiddly but I made it work! I also ended up having custom stretcher bars made to keep the illusion of the scale accurate after finding no ready-made options available. You can view the pieces on the Shelter In Place gallery Instagram or website.

 

CC: Tell me about some of your creations. What are some of your greatest accomplishments in your work?

MH: Transitioning from creating functional work back to fine art took me a long time and while I could do without the pandemic, I’m glad quarantine gave me the push to really get to work. I know many people have struggled to just survive through this so I’m grateful for the encouragement from my support system to keep going. The Shadowscapes series I’m currently working on is one of my proudest conceptual works. My work has always been process-driven and I’ve struggled with conceptual work in the past but this came naturally. Having this work to propel me through this heavy time has kept my mind and my hands busy. 

CC: What is something interesting about your work that many people wouldn’t know?

MH: Many people don’t realize that to create a weaving, it is a time-intensive and multi-step process. Since most textiles today are produced by machines, it can be hard to imagine creating cloth one thread at a time with your body and a hand-operated loom. Sometimes the process to set up my loom takes longer than the actual weaving! I’ve been sharing videos of my process on Instagram reels and it gives a little insight into the many steps it takes for a weaving to come together.

CC: How did you find out about The Creative Cookie? How long have you been partnering/working with Lesley? 

MH: I found Lesley and The Creative Cookie in the “creative gigs” section of Craigslist over the summer! She was looking for help sewing masks and when we met via Zoom, we really hit it off. Since then I’ve become her studio assistant helping to sew masks, keep things organized, make sure things run smoothly behind the scenes, assist on photoshoots, and more. We both live in the wonderful neighborhood of Ridgewood, Queens which has made moving materials around and doing photoshoots much easier, especially during the pandemic.

CC: What is your idea of “fashion as self-care” and why?

MH: For me, fashion as self-care is about comfort. Wearing something that feels comfortable on my body makes me confident. Along with being comfortable I also want to look cute which led to my love of jumpsuits and overalls. Comfort has become a bigger priority for me lately and I love how versatile jumpsuits are. They’re great for the studio, for relaxing, or for that rare occasion of dressing up and going out. When I’m looking for a quick self-care boost I put on a pair of fun earrings. Adding something small but special to my look always makes me feel great!

By: Kasey Lettrich 

FREE Winter Craft Series

Join me for some fun crafting this winter!

• Open to ages 7 - 13
• Each week participants will make a new project based on my upcoming Creative Bug DIY series.
• View the projects, supply list and links to each webinar here.
• This program is free but you must RSVP. To enroll, please fill out this form by Monday, January, 11th!
• If you have any questions please reach out to my studio assistant Morgan Hale - [email protected]

Please share this or tell a friend who might be interested too. We hope you're able to join us!