Blood, sweat and patina

This blog post is dedicated to all things fabulously bloody, sweaty, stained, dirty and worn out.

Doing blood work is, in my opinion, one of the most creative aspects of being an On-Set Costume Supervisor.  However there is also a knowledge required in terms of blood colour and the direction it will take when flowing down a body.  Blood pumping above the heart is bright red because it has lots of oxygen in it, whereas below the heart it is darker (as seen in the photos).  These are samples of my handy work at creating realistic effects of SPFX blood for nose bleeds, supernatural/knife/bullet wounds.

"The blood is the life." ~ Bram Stoker/Dracula

One of my favorite past times for film work is adding character to clothing to give them an honest, used look.  There is nothing worse to me than watching a film or television show with the actors wearing pristine, shiny new, pressed perfect costumes.  They look flat and unbelievable.  I want it to look as if the clothing has been lived in.  Unless of course it is required that the garment looks freshly new.  These are samples of distress I have done to hems, sleeves, pockets and shirt collars, as well as sweaty armpits and overall dirty haze to fabric.

Patina...  breakdown...  wear & tear.

Hoping and looking forward to doing a lot more of this in Deutschland!

<3
Devi

A hat isn't simply an accessory...

...  it is a statement.  A proclamation of who you are and how you want to project yourself to the world.  Are you modest, flirtatious, coy, sexy, independent, sporty, elegant, zany or queenly?

I have been collecting vintage hats for nearly 15 years and with an over-active imagination decided to start making the hats that I couldn't find when rummaging markets and vintage shops.

I will also include in this post a small collection of floral hair ornaments I have also made.



Grey felt tilt hat with spray of black feathers, twist of rust feathers and black & white feather spines.  I added the feathers to the pre-purchased felt hat.

1940's black feather tilt hat with clock parts, magnifying glasses and crow skull.  I added the cogs, magnifying glasses and skull to the hat for part of a Steampunk costume I had made for a German music festival in Leipzig about 3 years ago.

 

Black velvet toy hat with beads, feathers, fabric flowers, and plastic berries.  This one I actually made from scratch with a basic mesh hat form.

Simple flower hair clips in a variety of colours and styles.

Hopefully some of these have inspired you find a daring chapeau to express yourself and turn the heads of everyone you pass...  or get in touch with me and let's see what we can create together!!!

<3
Devi

Why are you dressed like it's Halloween?

Costumes.
My making.
My life.

Halloween has *always* been a special time of year for me.   My parents had a huge hand in this when I was younger.  Always encouraging me to come up with a creative and scary costume for the highly anticipated night of trick-or-treating.  Here is a little taste of some things I've created in the past few years.

This is the first Halloween costume I've ever made.  The hat was given to me as a gift, but I made the black PVC cape with purple lining.  My favorite Disney villain has always been Maleficent from "Sleeping Beauty" so naturally this would be the first costume I would attempt to fabricate.

Not very scary, unless you view the "obsession" as frightening, another obsession of mine is the Japanese kimono and haori.  The rust kimono is made of silk and the black haori is made of brushed cotton.  There is one other haori I have made that I will have to add at a later date.

Medusa...  snake tilt hat, fingerless gloves and corset.

Little Bo Peep, killed all her sheep and didn't know where to hide them.  Apron, bloomers, sheep purse, embellishments on straw hat and blood effects.

Once I have a few more photos I will add them to this posting aw well.

“The difference between a Man of Sense and a Fop is..."

"...that the Fop values himself upon his dress and the Man of Sense laughs at it, at the same time he knows he must not neglect it." ~ Lord Chesterfield 1694-1773.

This post is dedicated to mens attire.  Unfortunately, I do not have much to contribute photographically to this entry, but I did have the opportunity to construct a wonderful Victorian inspired mourning coat, vest, cravat and high waisted trousers for a friend as a gift for his wedding.

Is it shiny? Does it glitter and twinkle and sparkle? Yes? Then I want it.

Jewellry...  diamonds are a girls best friend you know.  Though this entry will not display anything you might have seen on Dynasty.  These are my modest designs inspired by science, art and the Industrial Revolution.

The first sampling of necklaces are made of microscope slide glass, forged with a soldering gun.  They are double-sided so you have the option of wearing them 2 ways.  Some are collage, others are simply images.

This next grouping is of a collection inspired by the Industrial Revolution.  Some of the components are Victorian, other bits and bobs are contemporary.

Pocketwatch clip brooch.

Brooch or cameo

Clock hand earrings

Ring