City Snapshot: Berlin

I have been a little sick for the past few weeks- on and off. One of the reasons why this blog has not had many posts (the other reason is I have been too busy!). When you are sick there isn't too much to do but watch movies and read. Being a creative person, I find sitting and doing nothing really difficult, so I have a little more time now to blog...

I have been looking through some of my old photos recently, and I realised that I haven't finished doing my city snapshots. It is a fun excuse to look back at my travels and show you! So without further ado, here is my city snapshot of Berlin!



I visited Berlin over 6 years ago. This was around the same time I visited Paris, Rome, Vienna and Budapest on my own. So because of the time lapse, I can't tell you the names of the buildings or other landmarks, but I can tell you a little bit about the impression Berlin gave me.

Every time I have been to Germany, the locals have always been the friendliest I have ever met when travelling- and Berlin seemed to be no exception.

I can remember some of them mistook me for being one of them- which is always quite funny when they start speaking, and I reply in my Aussie accent, "Sprecken ze English?". This kind of happened to me all over Northern Europe.



They had loads of war memorials, "checkpoint Charlie" - where you once crossed from East to Western Europe, and loads of buildings where you could see the damage that bombs had made.

I thought it was really interesting how they had kept some of these bombed buildings- an old church, like the one pictured below- and created something new and exciting from it. Some of the old facade is still there, but from memory it had atleast three huge holes on the side where the bombs had hit it. The modern sky-scraper type building to the left is actually part of the church, and another part went through the middle of the church.

I guess it is a reminder of their past, but also a way of moving forward and looking to the future.







Berlin is very big city, with many suburbs. Some entirely modern, and others with buildings that probably hadn't changed for over 100 years- in Australian terms, that is a long time.


I was there in late March or early April, and the weather was perfect, as you can see. Much warmer compared to my first ever visit to Germany, in Frankfurt!


From memory, I quite enjoyed Berlin. It was easy to get around, clean, friendly people, great food, and full of a very interesting history and culture.

Obviously if you are a history buff, Berlin is one of the places you should go, but I think Berlin has much more to offer than just relics from the war. I think the modern parts of the city were very pretty (which is unusual for me to say- as I usually would say the older the better), or maybe its the ingenious way they have mixed their old and new together. Either way, if you were into architecture, perhaps Berlin would be a place for you to visit too.

The Making of Lorelle's Bright Blue and Black Wool Winter Coat

The weather has been very cold recently- perfect for making coats! Recently I had fun creating a bright blue and black coat for Lorelle. As you may have seen in some of my previous postings, I put a lot of effort and time into making my designs- this is what sets my designs apart from many other designers out there.

Since it is so hard to tell people how much work is involved in these coats, I thought I would show you...



I decided to give this coat something extra, by placing embroidery down the seam lines in black- to contrast the bright blue.





Each button hole takes many steps: working out where they will sit, making the piping, sewing the piping to the outside of the coat, clipping, hand stitching the piping down. Then once the coat is finished, I need to hand stitch the inside to the piping, to open up the button holes.





I place pockets in each coat, on the side seam.




Each Penelope Red coat has many layers; outer layer in wool, interfacing (above), interlining in cotton (below) then a silk lining.



Some of the design details: contrasting shaped panels, embroidery, and pleating and fur trims.



Attaching the fur above, and attaching the collar below.



With so many layers, it is always important clip, notch, and trim all side seams.





Above, sewing the lining, and below shows how the embroidery is done- by my fantastic machine!



I do a lot of hand sewing in my coats- one of the reasons why they take so long to make, but it also means you are getting a truly unique and beautiful product. How many designers do you know have hand sewing in anything?


I hand sew all the seams flat, to make sure they sit flat and stay beautiful for a life time.



When the coat gets to this stage it really is exciting! Above, I am attaching the front outer side to the front inner side, which means I am almost finished!


...And the finished product! Lorelle was so excited that she had to wear it out straight away!

Ursula's Mint Green Bolero Jacket

I love it when a design comes together and I am reluctant to sell it- it means I am very happy with it! This bolero was a custom order for a lady in Germany, named Ursula. She tried on my Black Latin Bolero, but I had run out of fabric and couldn't make it in her size.

After a while, we both decided that this mint green wool/mohair would be a great option for the cropped jacket instead. I appliqued the cream lace onto the mint green fabric, just like I had done with the black latin bolero.



Little buttons and loops fasten the front which meets edge to edge.


I lined this bolero with cream silk satin, and green silk- I love these two fabrics together!


The lace has been applied to the sleeve aswell.


I received some feedback from Ursula yesterday:

"Thank u much !! It feels comfortable , fits perfect , looks wonderful!!! Keep the measurements!!
Thanks again. Your fan in Germany"

It is always nice to hear that my designs have reached their owners, and that they are enjoying them! It makes all the work worthwhile in the end and puts a smile on my face all day!

Outfit Time: Dinner with Friends on Thurday, 9th June

I can't help but want to wear this top, The Black and Cream Isis Blouse, and the skirt, the Nile Skirt, whenever I go out these days. It makes me feel very glamorous and yet is still quite a very comfortable outfit!

We were going out to dinner with friends on this night, and since I stay home all day working on my designs, I like to always get dressed up in my Penelope Red when I go out.

I love the sepia effect I did on the first photo- for some reason "the sepia effect" just called out to me when editing this shot. Pity about all the stuff going on in the background, but you get the idea! A little old fashioned meets modern fun!



1. Hat- from my trip to Scotland!

2. Top- The black and Cream Isis Blouse, a Penelope Red design.

3. Skirt- The Nile Skirt, another Penelope Red design.

4. Gloves- Cream w black detailing gloves from Forever New.

I am also wearing a necklace, made by myself, Leona Edmiston fishnet stockings, and black high heel pumps.

The Making of Lorelle's Black and Purple Wool Jacket part 2

I must confess, this isn't really a "making of", but I wanted to show you the finished product to the last post, which was The Making of Lorelle's Black and Purple Coat.

So here it is. Doesn't Lorelle look great!? I love it how she paired it with a pair of black pants, but brightened it up with a blue mosaic printed bow tie blouse (the pants and the blouse are all Penelope Red too!).

The lady has style!




As you can see, the brocade is outlined throughout the jacket with piping in purple.

The jacket was made from a black wool twill (with a tiny bit of elastane for comfort), a vintage floral brocade in black, blue and purple, and fully lined with a purple silk.

It is so great to see this design being worn by its owner in such a fun way!