Whoa Hair

I've had quite a few looks over the past 2 years.

My camera is broken.

I'm very sad about it. This was my Sunday. Here are 2 pictures from my phone.

Fantastic Find

In the name of all things right with the world, someone please buy these chairs. I'm not the seller, but happened upon them via Craigslist. They just need a little upholstery love, like the chair from Anthropologie that's shown below. If I could in any way justify the need for these three chairs, I would. Trust me, I tried.



If you're interested, here's the original link.

Drool Worthy: Mesh Purses

What I wouldn’t give to own one of these beauties. I ran across three different mesh purses at Wolff’s Flea Market this past Sunday. I hope it’s an indication of a forthcoming trend. Each purse ranged from $40-$135, which was more than I wanted to spend at a flea market, but overall in terms of mesh purses, those prices are a steal! My heart belongs to the purse with the fringe bottom. More images and detailed shots of these great accessories on Flickr.

A Mini Showcase: Men's Decor

I couldn’t help but notice all the great items for men at my recent trip to the flea market. As I wandered up and down the aisles I was struck with fantasies of distraught bachelors’ begging me to help them decorate their spaces. Since I know of no such men I took pictures instead. Here’s a little roundup of some pieces I thought would work well for a more masculine look. A few different shots can be found on my Flickr.

Nothing But Love For Wolff's Flea Market

Summer is in full swing here in Chicago, and each weekend is filled with street festivals, live outdoor music and trips to the beach. This past weekend was no exception. Saturday night was spent inside the MeanMillies studio finishing up a few projects. With the windows open, a warm summer breeze ushered in the sounds from my neighbors as they held an outdoor party featuring a live backyard Jazz Band.

On Sunday I had the pleasure to finally check out Wolff’s Flea Market. If you are in Chicago or the Chicago land area, chances are, you’ve driven past this beast of a market held at All State Arena. The objective was to find pieces capable of being repurposed for jewelry and in general to become overall inspired. With vendors who were open to bargain, and lots of things to look at, the day was a success.

Check out the pictures above for 3 of my favorite objects from the day that didn’t make it home with me. A fun pair of earrings, a pair of vintage aviator goggles and a really great working record player (only $10!). For more great Wolff’s Flea Market finds check my Flickr.

MeanMillies Online Store

Hooray! The online shop is finally open courtesy of Etsy. Please visit my online space for lots of handmade, vintage inspired jewelry. Check back for more items in the next few weeks. I have some handmade items for your house and home just waiting to be posted.

Vintage Heaven Pop-Up Shop

A few weeks ago I was asked by Isa of Chicago Looks to be a part of Vintage Heaven, a Vintage Market located at Heaven Gallery here in Chicago. I couldn't turn down the opportunity. Here are a few flicks from the day. You can also find a few other images on my Flickr.

Last, and quite possibly most importantly, thank-you to James, my dear boss Andrea, and my sister Sarah for pulling long hours with me to get everything ready for show.

Irony Is Overrated

Aside from this blog, I have another blog called Irony Is Overrated. It's an image meets commentary blog. You can check it out here or see the images on my flickr.

New Necklaces

I really love vintage things. I'm also a huge fan of ornate necklines, collars, etc. I think the new necklaces I'm making reflect that. I hope you think they're nice.

I made this one for my dear friend Amy. A candid of her + necklace.

A hint at something new.

A quick peek at an upcoming project with Gus Gavino of Middle Mind Project.

Making Stuff, again.

Here’s a quick peak at a project I currently have in the works.

I’m playing with the interaction between more industrial looking materials paired with organic elements. We’ll see how it goes. This particular piece is a mock-up for a series I’ll be doing on a larger scale. That series will be on display at a sweet Rubbish event housed at EP Theater on February 11th. Check back for more details.

Photos:
An overall of the process, handmade bracket detail, canvas with added dimension before being covered

Get Your Craft On

This past Thursday, the very talented Lauren hosted a craft night for some fellow creatives. When I say "craft night," I mean CRAFT night. We made Shrinky Dinks and got crazy with Perler Beads. Everyone brought a snack, and Amy along with J-No provided us with delicious cocktails. Also in attendance was Andrea of Owly, Denise of Nisee Made and her own illustrations, Jennifer (J-No) of nojenno's, and Daphne of Digitas. Above are a few pics from the night. Click Here to view the album on flickr. 

I could not get over how fantastic Lauren's place was. The space itself was multi-level with a ladder up to her own private roof deck. Mid Century furniture was everywhere you looked, and natural light flooded this top floor space. Every corner had some sort of incredible detail, whether it was a plant or a small horse figurine. To sum it up, the space was divine. 

After all the Shrinky Dinks had been baked, and all the Perler beads pressed, we left with a sense of accomplishment. A great night of snacks, creative acquaintances, and delightful crafts had been achieved. 

Until next time, Ladies.

Simple Science Screen

Just a quick post to let you guys know we're working on some screen printed goods. The process we use to burn screens is definitely an affordable route if you don't have a light box. Which, we do not. 

That's a whole new project for a different day....

More updates soon. Promise. 

P.S. A special thanks to Leslie of Urbanestics and UrbanPosture for the printing tutorial.

Loving Lace and Launching the Store (soon)

We're starting to sound like a broken record with all the 'Coming Soon' promises. No more! What we have here is a little sneakie peakie of what should be hitting our Etsy store in the next week and a half. We have 4 different products being finalized, and we couldn't be more excited about it. So please, hang with us a bit longer and we promise not to disappoint. 

The product featured above is a few pairs of our fancy lace earrings. Super light and perfect for the warm summer weather. Product specs will be posted on the Etsy listing. Let us know what you think. 

If you're super eager to know exactly when these are hitting the store, drop us a line and we'll send you an email on the day of the drop. Or follow us on Twitter to get day-to-day updates. 

Cheers!

Dinner & Drawing

Last night a few lovely friends came over for an evening of dinner and drawing. It was a room full of talented people who can draw themselves out of any situation (present company excluded). We kicked the evening off with some pasta and delicious salads, and moved the party to our sketchbooks. 

I was excited for Aaron Albarran of Toxik to meet my friend Tim Bubel (for this link, check out the painted shoes, that's his work) who is an artist of similar style. If you ever need zombies, monsters, or any of the like, hit them up. Not only talented, but hilarious and kind as well.

Next was the introduction of Amber Luecht and Ross Murray. Again, 2 artists with similar styles. I personally think they should do a collaborative animation...........

Finally, it came down to Greg and I. I think we spent most of the night trying to out-shade the other. I struggled with an illustration of hair, and Greg worked on creature illustrations. 

All in all, the night was a success. Except for the part where I forgot to take pics of everyone's finished work. Instead, enjoy pics of everyone hard at work, except Tim who was most likely making us all laugh.

More Concept Art

Perhaps Spring isn't the best time to introduce this project, but with all this gloomy weather, we're going to do it anyway. It's an "I miss you" card! This quick sketch gives you a rough idea with where we're going on this. It's going to be an overhead view of a bed, with only 1 side having tousled covers. The implication is that you're tired of sleeping alone, and that you miss someone. The plan is to make this as an art print/postcard. 

So, check back soon if you're interested in letting someone know you miss them. 

Spring Cleaning

Happy Spring, everyone. In honor of the seasons changing, we're doing some changes in the studio. Cleaning, re-vamping, etc. Once we're re-organized, we'll post pictures. In the 

meantime, here's a quick sketch of an upcoming t-shirt we're making. 

"It's Only Hair" is inspired by an upcoming haircut for Mean Millie's Angela. She's cutting it all off, and as a reminder, it's only hair. So the t-shirt will celebrate hair by screen printing long flowing locks on the front of a white tee. The shirt will eventually be available in white with black, red, yellow, or brown inks. 

Stay tuned for results.....

photo featuring Angela by IshootRockstars

sketch by Angela

Willow Goes Solely To Web

I know it's been a bit since our last post, but we're back now. So, dry those tears, and let's get creative!

One of our favorite local stores, Willow, is closing down their brick and mortar shop at the end of this month to run their store completely online. While this is sad news, it is completely understandable in this economy. We've become particularly fond of this store, and even had the opportunity to do a window display for them. We wish Amy the best of luck in her online endeavors, and can't wait to continue to get our favorite Willow items online.

Also, for those of you in the area, Willow will be having an art show this evening titled "Oil & Wood." It starts at 6 pm and goes until 9 pm. Hope to see you there!

Photos by the Lovely Leslie of Urbanestics.

Loco for Labels

Good morning! Just a few quick things before we get our day started. 

1: We're getting labels! For all our sewn merchandise, our branding is underway. Check out our labels. We're excited to get them and see them in person. We found this label company through Etsy, and are excited to support them. They were great with answering any questions we had, and promptly returned our emails. Even without seeing our final product, we highly recommend them. Check out their unique way of sending proofs.

2: Do you have any before & after projects you would like to share with us? We're preparing for a before & after post, and thought it would be fun to include some of your stories and projects. If you're interested, send a description of your project and a few photos to angela@meanmillies.com. 

That's it for today, see you guys tomorrow.