Ask - Jennifer Parry Dodge of Ermie

I'm so excited by the previews Jennifer is releasing for her coming Ermie goodies. These prints, my goodness! And the fabrics? Belgian linen lined with silk so pretty I'd be tempted to wear the garments inside out sometimes. Jennifer's also doing some basics in solids this season - hand dyed solids, of course.  

Jennifer's line is one of the most inspiring and exciting around, and I love that she chose to name her line after the woman who supported her creativity throughout her life, her Aunt 'Ermie', Ermengarde Vincencia Cuhel. 

Can we talk about the name, Ermengarde? I really love it, from it's formal version to it's nickname. Ermengarde has variants Irmingard and Irmgard, and has a host of dignitary namesakes. It also calls to mind for me the names Hildegarde, and Ermentrude. These are all such strong names (Hildegard quite literally so).  


I'm also a fan of the names Jennifer has selected for her garments; they really echo so well the aesthetic. You will find the following on Ermie garments (past and present): Solstice, Canyon, Zuma, Topanga, Tigerlily, Fire Season, Mariposa (butterfly, moth), Cloudburst.

Jennifer's blog is a real treasure, too, isn't it?  I always find such interesting things there. This post on the Japanese art of Bokeh comes to mind. 

Let's talk to Jennifer.

--what do you need going on around you to work? 
I’m usually by myself, and I need something to listen to in the background. It’s usually KCRW (local radio station)/ NPR. I really should listen to more music, as NPR starts to repeat it’s stories after a few hours, and can be a bit heavy emotionally.

--two favorite things in/about your home (other than family/pets)?
I like that it’s an older home- a bungalow built in 1923, and that we have quite a bit of land for our neighborhood. I’m especially loving our front yard this year. We landscaped it last year, and it made a huge difference. It’s so lush, and I love that it’s made up of mostly native, drought resistant plants. Lots of succulents, cacti, and sage. The smell of the sage is luscious.

--favorite drink and snack right now for busy time?  

Almond Milk, or almond butter on a brown rice cake, a hard boiled egg or a bit of good charcuterie or cheese.

--you can go anywhere in the world and can leave today, where are you going"
Japan
--what are you doing there?
Experience everything that I possibly can! 
--what must you bring back
I wouldn’t necessarily come back, but if I had to return: locally produced new and vintage textiles, ceramics, Japanese paper, and art, fashion and crafting books. Mina Perhonen, Eatable of Many Orders, Issey Miyake, Tsumori Chisato, and Cosmic Wonder clothing & accessories by the trunk load (I can dream, right?).






--do you know how her Aunt got her lovely name, any anecdotes about it to share"
I don’t unfortunately. I do know that it is German in origin, and Ermen means “Whole” “Universal” –garde means “Enclosure.” We just always called her Aunt Ermie or Erm.

--any names you love right now?

Andrin Paul, who is my new godson. Giangiacomo, the name of my other beloved godson. Tomory- my husband’s name.

I also like my mom’s first name; Judy, and I love her mother’s first name; Lillian. My mother in law’s name; Madeleine is so pretty, and her mother’s name; Jermaine (although we always called her Gigi). My brothers in law have great names: Alexander Leeman Dodge & John Constantine Bentley Dodge. My sister in law, Satoko, also has a beautiful name.

--name game:

1. a favorite fabric or color
Turquoise. Voile.


2. a favorite designer/artist whose name you love

I like how these names appear as written & sound--they are fun to pronounce:

Polly Apfelbaum, Eva Hesse, Sonia Delaunay, Frida Kahlo, Georgia O’Keeffe. Yoko Ono. Vashti Bunyan. Mia Doi Todd. Beatrice Valenzuela. I also love my friend Hadley Holliday’s name!

Such a fantastic list of names, Jennifer! If I had to do a paring with just two from each list, it'd be Beatrice Turquoise. From Jennifer's list of family names,I'd pick pairings Judy Satoko and Tomory Constantine (too many great names there not to play with them!) 


 It was just so much fun chatting with you, Jennifer - thank you for sharing and inspiring! 

Are you guys excited for the release of the new Ermie pieces?  I am so delighted with each season, and I can't wait to see more! Any favorite names here? 






(images: courtesy and © of Jennifer Parry Dodge @ Ermie)

minä perhonen

I really like the Spring/Summer 2012 beauties from  Minä Perhonen.  One of my favorite textiles is the tree print, called Metsä, which is Finnish for "forrest".  Minä means "I", and Perhonen is "butterfly".  The Japanese designer behind the line (Akira Minagawa) chose a Finnish name for his brand because he "sympathized with the lifestyle and the culture of Finland".  


Me too, Akira.  Naturally, I thought this line a good feature amidst my series on Finnish names.


The lovely photos bring us yet more names: photographer, Norio Kidera, and model, Junko Motoyama. The film attached to this season's creations is really pretty, too.  It carries names Hiromi Chinone (hair and makeup), and model, Kiki.  And the music in the film is by group Karluv207, members Kozue and Natsuko. Interestingly appropriate (and likely no accidental selection on Akira's part) is that this Japanese musical duo plays the mandolin and the kantele, the Finnish national instrument and key player in it's Kalevala.  I think both instruments make names as lovely as their music.

Akira

Norio

Junko

Hiromi

Kiki


Kozue


Natsuko


Mandolin


Kantele

Minã

Perhonen

Metsä


With this beautiful mix of Finnish and Japanese names fueling my inspiration, I can't resist making a few combinations with one name from each language:

Kiki Elokuu


Ilta Norio 


Metsä Koemi

Suzu Laulelma (bell. song.)

Hoshi Ommel (star. stitch.)

Halu Umeko (wish. plum blossom.)

Yumi Kertova

Totta Midori (true. green)

Hiromi Mansikka 


Suvi Mandolin


Emi Apila 


Sachi Omena 


Ilo Maemi 


Sumi Perhonen 


Akeno  Kantele 


Sulka Kozue

Don't Finnish and Japanese names seem such natural pairings? Perhaps for some of the same reasons that a Japanese  line inspired so much by the culture of Finland (not to mention a blend of the countries' musical traditions) works so beautifully?

 I don't quite remember the meanings of each one of these names, but I know there are meanings there. It might be fun to look them up post-pairing, a sort of beautiful meaning-grab bag?


Don't forget to come visit me today at Design for Mankind; I'm featuring three pretty blogs from Sweden, Japan, and the U.S. 

(all images courtesy Minä Perhonen by Norio Kidera)

Suvi Ainoa

Suvi Ainoa is a sustainable lifestyle brand celebrating "simple ways to live" for Parent and child. I'm in love with the simple linen dresses, aprons, baby floor mats, plaid placemats and coasters. The special illustrations by Finnish artist, Hanna Konola, on the pictured tea towels are also tugging at me with their minimal designs and environmentally friendly dyes.  And?  Everything is on sale.  

Suvi Ainoa is run by Yanyan.  She's Chinese - American and has lived in Finland as well. Both clearly inspire her aesthetic. Her blog is lovely, too.

And I love the name of her line. Suvi means "summer" in Finnish, and Ainoa means "the only one". A well named shop with noble values and beautiful treasures is always lovely to find.

(images: 5 & 6 courtesy Suvi Ainoa, images 1-4 & 7 courtesy Design Mom) 

fruits of my week off

I took a few weeks off to gather myself and find direction for this blog (amongst other things), which I'll write more about later. I played mom-nurse to two sick kids for a week, too. But most importantly, I was learning to sew! 

Many months back, I stayed up until 3 am reading the entire Ermie blog from it's beginning post. When I got to the part where Jennifer launched her own line, I actually cried. The next morning, with only a few broken hours of sleep fueling my inspiration, I pulled out the broken sewing machine I'd owned for years and decided to finally learn the basics. Chris fixed it up for me and I learned well enough how to wind the bobbin and thread the upper thread, but life took some crazy turns, and I didn't touch the machine again until last week (the lower thread proves trickier, right!) 

I've had Jenny's enticing Wiksten tank pattern waiting in my dresser for several months with the promise that I would learn to do something with it. Seeing her creations in pattern form years back was a hefty influence in my wanting to make my own clothes. After reading Jenny's pattern, it was so very clear that I decided to just dive in, to use the pattern to help me learn my machine, learn sewing, all of it, even though I'd never sewn so much as a napkin.  

I headed to JoAnn's 50% off rack for some cotton fabric and found several cottons that were reminiscent of the garments in my Japanese craft books.  

After encountering a little snafu with my machine while sewing on the pocket, I sulked around for hours, cut a larger pocket to cover the mishap, and finally bought a seam ripper before it hit me: I will not replace this pocket! This imperfect pocket is the mark of my learning. This pocket says, "Someone made me. with her hands (and machine). while materializing a life long aspiration!"  Well, it says that to me.  And this mindset is just as much a feat for me as the sewing itself, I tell you; I'll likely wince at the pocket a few more times before completely believing my pep talk. 

I must say, it feels great to learn something new and love it, to overcome the challenges and feel as pleased with the outcome as the process. I fell in love with sewing from the second I began to cut the pattern, and my love only grew with each stitch and every "aha! that's what those lines on the needle plate are for!" type moment. 

I've wanted to sew for an incredibly long time and now that I know how much I love doing it, I'm certain it will stay a special part of my life. 

I can't recommend Jenny's pattern enough. It's easy to follow (it taught me to sew, after all!), the tank is such a flattering fit, and the pattern also provides a longer dress version. I expect I'll return to this pattern over and over again. My 2012 summer will be draped in it, for sure! 

Now, this new, hard-earned tank of mine needs a name, I think.  The first person to comment with a name shall name it (but we'd all love to hear additional suggestions.) 

What are your experiences with sewing? What's the last thing you made? Is there anything holding you back from trying?

Up next: more Finnish blogs and names, and a very exciting Ask segment with one of my favorite people.  




(p.s. I'm not drinking liquor while breast feeding; The beverage pictured is a club soda with olives! )

you're my fave - part one

I was planning to start 2012 with something I'm pretty excited about-- the first post in a series on Finnish names, blogs, homes and artists (including an interview!); but I've decided to put it off till later this week (stay tuned.)

In stead, I want to take a post (maybe two) to have a look back at Marginamia's 2011, selecting my favorites from each post: my favorites in the comments from my brilliantly creative readers, my favorite picks from the designers who participated in Ask,  my favorite name pairings from post to post, and the names I'm simply most partial to from all the names I've featured.... along with some new name pairings, of course. 

For part one of my 2011 faves list, I'm showcasing my favorites from our Ask interviews and my favorite contributions from you, the readers, from within your lovely comments. 

The images above are from each of the Ask series of designer interviews. This was a great year for Ask! (and yes, we'll be getting back to it regularly very soon-- I'm so excited about the coming interviews!) I want to extend another big thanks to all the wonderful designers who participated this year. This is absolutely such a special part of this blog; it wouldn't be Marginamia with out it!  Here are my favorites from our Ask segments--

single name favorites from Ask (in order of dates featured):

Celosia (Nicolette Owen of Nicolette Camile Floral Design and Little Flower School)

Edith (Jenny Gordy of Wiksten)

Potter (Jenny Gordy of Wiksten)

Honora (Jenny Gordy of Wiksten)

Dahlia (Amy Merrick of An Apple a Day)

Vine (Sarah Winward of Honey of a Thousand Flowers)

Cedar (Sarah Winward of Honey of a Thousand Flowers)

Aves (Jennifer Wong of Wongoers)

Kazu (Natsuko Hagiwara of Me & Arrow)

Rie (Megan Neilson of Design Diary)


name combo faves from Ask:

Dahlia Elspeth (Nicolette Owen of Nicolette Camile Floral Design and Little Flower School)

Cotton Lela (Jenny Gordy of Wiksten)

Marigold March (Amy Merrick of An Apple a Day)

Autumn Bell (Sarah Winward of Honey of a Thousand Flowers)

Halcyon Teak  (Jennifer Wong of Wongoers)

Hoshi Alela (Natsuko Hagiwara of Me & Arrow)

Phillipina Johana 'Pina' (Megan Neilson of Design Diary)

Another element of this blog that's really special to me is it's readers, not just in that it has readers, but in the particular readers and commenters I have had the pleasure of interacting with this year. I have been so touched in receiving such lovely emails from you, from the letters centered on funny name anecdotes to those full of beautiful, personal stories--thank you for sharing!  I'm often well entertained and inspired to simply link back to your own blogs through the comments, and I feel so proud to have such a lovely, creative bunch gathered here.  

Suffice it to say, y'all have left some amazing comments, and I'm so grateful for your thoughtful contributions- a giant Thank you to my readers!

Here are some names and name combos that really shine from your comments (in no particular order):

Sundew (from Nook of Names)

Momo (from Lucy of Merdenoms)

Hoshi (Japanese for 'star', from Ebirdie)

Iska (from Nook of Names)

Esha (from Lucy)

Clemency (also from Lucy )

Azusa (Japanese, from Mandy)

Palmira (from Jessie May)

Forsythia (from eBirdie)

Fuchsia (from Nook)

Georgina (from Jessie May)

Honey (from eBirdie)

Hermione (from Jessie May)

Robinet (from Lucy)

Cloud (from Lucy)

Georgia (from Modern Crush)

Boheme (from Äiti)

Ibis (from Eponymia)

Myrto (from Jessie May)

Bedivere (from Midwinter names)

Fergus (from Nook)

Oski (from Nook)

Inigo (from Nook)

Nell (from eBirdie)

Belia (from Midwinter names)

Fernanda (also from Jessie May)

Pomerine (from eponymia)

Cleonie (from eponymia)

Eimi (from Anna Emilia)

Brontë (from Nook)

Pepperberry (from Midwinter names)

Murrelet (from eponymia)

Fairuza (from Cristina)

Bay (from T.)


and my favorite name combos from your comments (in no particular order):

Alma Lark (from eBirdie)

William Pear (from Jessie May)

Olive Frances (JM)

Fig Ava (JM)

Emerald Moseley (from Nicole)

Ulani Francesca (JM)

Rosalind Roma (from Nicole) (this would be a perfect 'Ro' name)

Edith Honey Rose 'Eadie' (JM)

Frances Winter (JM)

Seneca Agnes (from Nicole )

Julep Henriette (mine)

Concordia Enid (from Midwinter names)

Lona Mavourneen (from JM)

Joesephine Dahlia (from T.)

Beatrice Bluebell 'Bebe' (from Nicole)

Marguerite Constance 'Daisy' (from T.)

Tallulah Reve (from E.)

Bramble Bellamy (from names for real)

Cloud Marceline (from P.J.)

Oscar Tobermory (from Lucy)

Lucia Frost (from Nicole)

Silvestra Snow (from eBirdie)

Juliet Ophira (from British Baby Names)

Jasper Deco (from British Baby Names)

There you have it, the best of all your lovely contributions in one place. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Now I want to do some new combos from the two singles lists from today (Ask-designer singles and commenter singles), so that the designers and readers may join forces to create awesome combinations!

Designer/Commenter combos:

Celosia Boheme

Potter Inigo

Honora Cleonie 

Cedar Bedivere

Fergus Vine

Sundew Rie 

Clemency Aves

Georgina Kazu

Next up? more favorites, I think: mine and yours! 

Happy 2012! 

(images: one by nicolette owen, two from wiksten blog by jenny gordy, three from an apple a day by amy merrick, four from honey of a thousand flowers by sarah windward, five from me & arrow by brandon harmon, six from myrtle avenue bird town, seven from megan nealson's design diary by brett dierolf.)

holiday sweaters + names for knitters

I sincerely love holiday sweaters like the ones above, and  I'm pretty obsessed with hand knit items and wool, in general, so Santa came a bit early to deliver some wooly goodies for the cooler weather. Of course, this has me thinking about the people, hands and names attached to it all, along with great names for those who love knitting!  

In the first two photos you'll find vintage, hand knit sweaters from Canadian shop, Bondplace Vintage. These are mine and the girls' official holiday sweaters. Mine actually isn't very holiday like at all, but I couldn't resist it. It's warmer (and certainly cozier!) than most of my coats, so I've been living in it while we make holiday decorations in the back yard-- I think that makes it my holiday sweater!  The sweaters came with a lovely note and wooden deer ornament, and I just couldn't be happier with them. My only regret is that I didn't snatch up this  hooded penguin sweater and this Mulberry sweater. I rather like the sound of Mulberry, and think it has some pretty great nickname options. Bondplace has a lot of vintage, hand knit goodies and they're having a sale for the holidays!

The third photo features a yellow hand knit sweater I picked up at a thrift store for $2.50! It's the softest sweater in the world and has stayed super nice without much care and with a lot of wear. The pants  ('woolies') are great for cloth diapering or over a pair of leggings for the really cold days. I'm almost sad for the sweater that was repurposed to make them because it must have been a really rad sweater!  Also rad? the name of the shop: Flora Gayle.

The ivory fisherman sweater in the fourth photo is a vintage, hand knit goodie I bought on ebay from Rita in Oregon. I was so happy to discover her name because Rita is also my mothers' name (who was also a knitter).  The awesome kneepad (!!!) woolies are from shop Cloth Diaper Club.

The beautiful blue-green sweater in the fifth photo is a  hand knit sweater I found for $2.00 (alongside the yellow one) at the thrift store. What I love so much, besides the  color, pattern and brown bear buttons (!!!), is that it still has it's "Merry Christmas. Hand knit by Betsy" tag attached.  I'll never know who originally received this little treasure from Betsy or why she gave it up, but the tag makes me absolutely giddy with a feeling of specialness, as if Betsy had intended it for us all along.  She hadn't, but needless to say, I'm happy it's we who get to enjoy her hard work and thoughtfulness!  The scarf was a gift, and I'm unaware of it's maker. The crocheted, peach booties are from shop Lovey Dovey Boutique (Love and Dove are both beautiful names on people, too!)  Dovey is actually shop owner Jenna's surname; I sure hope someone down the line in her family opts to use it!

The sixth photo features another sweater from Rita's shop and more Dovey booties. The hat is mine (from J. Crew last year) but it looks better on Nona and she loves to wear it! 

The seventh features blue heart-patch pants, again by Flora Gayle-- I just couldn't resist posting a photo with Valo June's sweet, little hand! 

The eighth photo is of the softest-ever pair of woolies by Joy Barry (here). I'm so in love with the color! It goes with absolutely everything. 

The ninth photo is a little set from the 1950's I picked up on ebay from a lady named Trudy! 

And the tenth and final photo is a collection of our absolute most precious treasures. They were all knit and hand stitched by my mother, Rita Gail (second Rita and second Gail today, linked through knitting. love it.) Her knitting journey is really quite inspirational. My mother didn't even start knitting until she was almost fifty, just several years before her death, and she loved almost nothing more. I remind myself of this when I feel tempted to fall into the "I still haven't....and I'm in my thirties now!" mindset. This will be our first Christmas without my beautiful mother, so these pretties are featured prominently in our home and we look at them daily. I'm so proud and admiring of my mom for, amongst so many other things, how she always continued to grow and search throughout her adult life, to always find new things to love, new challenges, new friends; never ever being too proud to show her humble, curious nature to her children, to show us that she was a work in progress.   I'm so happy to feature these special pieces of her story. (the monkey is called Baby Lulu, after a song).

Finally, there are some interesting names to be found in the world of knitting.  Even though weaving and knitting are technically different practices, weft (a type of knitting) comes from wefan, meaning "to weave", so I think Weaver and its related Loom (which I've mentioned a few times before) are names to consider if you love knitting.  Selvedge might work for the last child born to a knitting family. There's also Purl, as in the purl stitch, though this one is a bit tricky given that it could sound like a yooneek spelling of Pearl, so I might just stick to Pearl and consider it associated enough.  Another type of stitch? the Moss stitch can honor knitting and nature at the same time; moss is absolutely one of my favorite things to stop and study with my girls, one of the most brilliant colors in the universe! 

Notorious knitters include Elisabeth Zimmerman, Alice Starmore, Julia Hopson, and Magda Sayeg who's known for starting the knit graffiti movement 'yarn bombing' in the U.S. (so. super. neat.)  Clotho, from the Greek's version of the Parcae was the spinner of the thread of life, and we know I'm fond of the Roman's version. And if Yarn, itself, doesn't seem an attractive name choice, there are yarns made from Cotton, Flax, Jute and Nettle.  There's the latin Neo, which means to spin thread and yarn, to interweave.  Yarn in Basque is Hari, Lanka in Finnish, Fio in Portuguese. and Keito in Japanese. Stitch, which seems an appropriate analogy for a child within a family, is Sutetchi in Japanese, Ommel in Finnish, and Sauma in Icelandic. 

From today's inspirations:

Bond

Mulberry 

Flora Gayle

Rita

Betsy

Love

Dove

Dovey

Joy

Trudy

Lulu

Weaver

Loom

Selvedge

Pearl

Moss

Elisabeth

Alice 

Julia

Magda


Clotho

Cotton

Flax

Jute

Nettle

Neo

Hari

Lanka

Fio

Keito

Sutetchi 

Ommel

Sauma

Any potential knitting names I've left out?  Would you consider honoring a favorite hobby in naming someone?  How would you pair these?

(images: mine. I really want to occasionally use this blog to help me learn photography and styling...so thanks for your patience! Hopefully you'll get to watch growth unfolding, which is always one of my favorite things in reading a blog; I love to start with beginning posts and see how they evolve.) 

Stay tuned for names inspired by holiday decorations and activities! 

Ask: Megan Nielson of Design Diary

That's oh-so-lovely clothing designer Megan Nielsen above. She hails from Perth, but currently lives in the U.S. with her husband and two children, 'Bunny' and 'Buddy'.  I was so happy to stumble upon her blog and find such a warm soul, lovely garments, and super fun DIY tutorials. 

a giant thank you to Megan Neilsen for giving us our interview today for Ask!

Megan makes and sells patterns in addition to garments, and there are maternity patterns amongst them. Maternity!  The adorable names on Megan's patterns? Pina and Rie (My own great grandmother was a Ree).   She has recently gotten into designing for children, as well, and I can't wait to see more. 

Megan's newest winter line, Country Roads, will be available for purchase this Saturday, December 17, in her online store, featuring the Meadow, Kelly and Chantilly skirts and the Ridgeway, Sudley and Peidmont blouses. Peidmont is a "long sleeve sister" to the Banksia. I'm thrilled the beautiful Banksia got a new sibling--the navy blue silk is so pretty!

The online lookbook for Country Roads was a beautiful collaboration with Tania (model) of the blog, What Would a Nerd Wear, and Sydney Poulton (photographer) of the blog The Daybook (who I previously featured here). Congratulations, Megan, on such a pretty winter collection!

Here are some of Megan's lovely garments from a past fall collection:

And while her recent Christmas garland and stocking tutorials will certainly help you find your holiday groove, her mint green shorts will have you wanting to rewind a bit back to summer time-- I mean, if there were ever a reason to deal with the heat! 

Megan regularly offers generous advice on starting your own clothing lines and businesses, and her support of the independent design community doesn't stop there; she also regularly features

interviews with independent designers! Her most recent is with Lyndsay Senerchia of shop Seams to Be (below).

I love the sense of community that forms around handmade living, small businesses, and peer support. Everyone benefits from this type of supportive community, designers and consumers alike.

And speaking of handmade and recycled goodies, I think I'm going to be heading to the thrift store where Megan found this amazing stack of fabric! Maybe they'll have more plaids and checks?  I'm so curious about what's going to be made with it!

So let's talk to Megan Nielson!

1. I know you opt to share with the public only what you call your children, and not their full names, so how did you arrive at their nicknames?

On my blog I call my kids Bunny and Buddy - they're both names my husband came up with actually! When I was pregnant with our daughter, my husband used to tell everyone we were having a "honey bunny;" when she was born the name stuck, and over time we just started calling her Bunny. Unfortunately, now that she is a little older she won't let me call her that anymore (it makes me so sad!). Our son's nickname came about pretty organically too. Since the beginning he's been a cuddling kind of kid, and he was very colicky, so my husband used to hold him for many hours at night when he was small so i could sleep. He called him his "little buddy", and now we just call him Buddy!

 2.Were there any almost names for your children that didn't end up making the cut? 

Oh we had so much trouble choosing names! We are suckers for biblical names, so for our daughter we were huge fans of Rachel and Rebecca.  I was also pushing for Caro - it was a name from a book I read as a child and just loved. For our son we really had a tough time. Once again, we really loved biblical names, so David was a favourite, but the biggest contender was Christopher, which is actually my husband's name. In the end we just couldn't bear to think he would be known his entire life as Junior, Little Chris, CJ or something. But for me, Cameron was my favourite for a long time. It's a family name that goes back to my first relatively to immigrate to South Africa, escaping religious persecution. I love his story; it's a beautiful rags to riches kind of tale, and one my family loves to tell - I hope that one day a Cameron can be part of our family again. 

3. I love the names Pina and Rie!  Can you share where they come from and why you picked them for your garments?

Aww thank you! Rie is actually the pet name my father calls my mother :) Her name is Muriel, and when they were first married everyone called her "Mue" as a nickname, which he hated, so he started calling her Rie - I've always loved it! I think it's one of my favourite names ever. Pina was my Oumagrootjie’s (Great Grandmother's) nickname. Her name was Phillipina Johanna (named after the apostles Philip and John) but that's a long name! So everyone always called her Pina - i think it's so pretty!

4. Any favorite names right now? 

Cameron is still one of my favourite names. I hope that if we have another little boy in the future that i can call him that.

5. I recently saw that you found a great pack of vintage fabric at the thrift store (pictured above). Any plans yet as to what you're going to do with  it? Have you used any of it already? 

Oh yes!! That was such a find! I really almost died when i saw that box - so many gorgeous fabrics! I actually have a lot of plans for them! I've already used some of the plaids for clothing for my son, and I have some dresses planned for the florals. To be honest, I just can't resist a floral dress :) it's one of my many weaknesses!

6. Do you ever gain inspiration from other disciplines: music, film, gardening? Can you talk a bit about what inspires your design aesthetic? 

Funnily enough, most of my inspirations come from areas outside of fashion. I'm heavily influenced by nature and landscapes, they just really speak to me. I'm a really nostalgic, sentimental person, so most of the time my designs are a reflection of how I'm feeling, and what kind of mood I get from the outdoors. 

7. Do you imagine the women who might wear your creations? What are their stories? 

I absolutely imagine the women who wear my creations! I generally think of them as young women with well curated closets, who appreciate quality and details and think carefully when they get dressed. I imagine them wearing my designs everyday no matter where they going, just because they make them feel pretty. I really think beautiful clothing can influence your mood - and I always hope that when women wear my pieces that they walk out the door feeling amazing, confident and gorgeous! A lot of the time I use my friends as muses - it really helps me to imagine the girl.

7. Do you appreciate the same qualities in names as you do in clothing design? 

Definitely - I really enjoy names that are nostalgic, and a little unusual. The same with clothing - i feel like my designs nod to the past subtly and are different from what you see in any store.

8. Sweetest parenting moment in the last month? 

Gosh there have honestly been so many. This has been a really lovely month for both my kids. I think for my son it was when he gave me a kiss for the first time. He's such a boy, and though he's cuddly, he's never actually kissed either my husband or I; but a few weeks ago when I was reading him a book he just looked up at me and kissed me, and it was one of the sweetest things of my whole life. I will remember that forever. With my daughter -- since she's 3 she's very into imagination games-- her favourite thing to play is mommies and babies right now. You learn a lot about the way you parent from how your kids act when they pretend to be you! I was just touched beyond belief when I overheard her tucking her toy kitten into bed, telling it how much she loved it and how special it was, and finally praying for it and singing the same lullaby i sing to her each night. It was too precious!  

9. Favorite word? 

Bokke - it's an Afrikaans word (my mom is Afrikaans) and it means "little buck" or "little dear", it's something South Africans will say in reference to a pretty girl - and i've always loved it. 

10. Favorite song? 

Gosh of all time? It's an unusual one, especially since it's not of my generation - but I love "Take on Me" by Aha.

11. Favorite book? 

Ooo that's hard, for me it's really a 3 way tie. Each year I read Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen), North & South (Elizabeth Gaskel) and Nine Couches Waiting (Mary Stewart). They are always duking it out for first place :) I'm a romantic, can you tell? 

12. Anything new on the horizon for you that you can tell us about? 

Right now i'm really just working my butt off! I'm finishing up my Fall collection (my very very late fall collection) and working on new sewing patterns for my pattern line (some womens wear and childrens wear actually). It's all fun and exciting!

Name game time!  please help me create a name by answering the following questions:

1. A color or you love to work with:

Coral - one of my current favourite colours!

2. For the middle name, please pick a name that you heard more in Australia, but don't hear much in the U.S.: 

Nicole! I knew sooo many back home, and haven't heard of a single one here :)

There you have it: Coral Nicole. Beautiful! 

And from today's inspirations, names found alongside Megan's garments, patterns, children and musings:

Megan

Bunny

Buddy

Coral Nicole

Phillipina Johana

Muriel ('Rie')

Mue

David

Christopher

Cameron

Phillip

John

Caro

Rebecca

Rachel

Bokke

Jane

Elisabeth

Mary

Stuart

Sudley

Tania

Sydney 

Ridgeway

Piedmont 

Banksia (a family of Australian flowers, which can yield Banks, Sia, Nia, Bani, even Betty)

Chantilly

Meadow

Rie 

Pina

Dune

Plains (I've seen a Fields, why not Plains?)

Desert

Horizon

Day (from the Midday top, though Midday, itself, could be an option for some.)

Eucalypt

Brumby

Darling

Range

Kelly

Matilda Bay (too great to split the name of this dress up)

Jewel 

Sea

A few pairings from this bunch that strike my fancy:

Muriel Meadow


Phillip Plains 


Sudly Christopher


Jane Eucalypt 


John Piedmont Brumby (Monty)

Stuart Buddy


Banskia Rie 

Elisabeth Day (Betty Day--double name)

Mary Jewel (double name)


Rebecca Dune ('Rue')

Thank you again, Megan! It was such fun talking with you. Best of luck to you and thank you for all the wonderful inspiration.

What do you think, readers? Any more pairings you'd like to see with any of these? Plan to try out any DIY projects, yourselves?  

Happy Weekend!

(images: all courtesy of Megan Neilson, by Megan Neilson, by Sydney Poulton, by Brett Dierolf, by Bryan Skeen)