Fleeting Seasons

Posted on May 22, 2018May 18, 2018 by Melissa Harrison

We seem to have skipped spring here. We had snow falling right up to the end of April then switched suddenly to 20°C weather with no going back. All the plants have burst into life. It seemed like the magnolia and fruit trees would never get their flowers until they were suddenly there. Then, I think due to the sudden start to summer, they had all fallen away and been replaced with leaves within a week.

I thought I had lots of time to photograph my beautiful crab apple tree in bloom, but the petals all fell away before I got the chance. It feels very representative of the way life has been going since I became one of those very busy adults. The seasons and the weather slip away before I knew they were here.

That’s why, this summer, I’ve got a list and big plans to accomplish everything on it. I’m going to spend time with the people I love at the cottage, and spend as much time as I can swimming, even if my only companion is the dog. I’m going to sit on patios in pretty dresses, drinking radlers, shandies and cocktails. I’m finally going to find a good place for breakfast/brunch in this city that I’ve lived in for nearly a decade. I’m going to put lots of vegetables I’ve never grown before in my garden. I’m going to work hard and spend as much time as possible outside on the weekends. I’m going to say yes to the things that make me nervous and no to the things that make me sad. I’m going to thoroughly enjoy this summer before it slips away!

Top Banana Republic
Skirt ModCloth
Necklace Emery & Opal
Hair Flowers H&M
Earrings very old

All photos by me.

Shutterbug Skirt Two Ways

Posted on March 27, 2018March 27, 2018 by Melissa Harrison

I know I say this a lot, but I think this new skirt is my favourite thing I’ve ever made. I saw it as a shorter length skirt from day one but I was nervous about making such a full skirt hemmed about knee length, and I started to doubt myself. I ultimately decided to trust my instincts, and I’m so glad I did! I actually love the cut, drape and silhouette of this vintage cameras print skirt in the shorter, mini length so much, I decided to give it two photo sets: one with light pairings and one with dark.

Figuring I’m in a unique position of being able to make two nearly identical outfits in opposing colours with my natural cotton and black coloured Coffee Tees, I took the opportunity to try both out and see which I preferred. I definitely felt more confident and more like myself in the black – believing it to be more my colour – but I think I actually like the light outfit better when looking back at the photos.

Skirt Sophster-Toaster
Light Tee Sophster-Toaster
Light Shoes ModCloth
Dark Tee Sophster-Toaster
Dark Shoes ModCloth

All photos by me.

Tea Rex Skirt

Posted on February 27, 2018March 13, 2018 by Melissa Harrison

I’ll be doing things a little differently this year. Instead of trying to keep all of my new designs under a certain price point, and sacrificing exciting options and features to accomplish this, I’m going to make things the way I want and let them cost what they cost. With my first new skirt of the season, this meant doing things like using more fabric to make a fuller skirt, taking more time to line the skirt with lots of voluminous voile for a fuller, softer silhouette, and improving my patterns to include 2X and 3X as size options. In other years, I may have skipped the lining, or offered a more limited size range, to keep the cost of my materials and labour down when it came time to determine how much I need to charge for my work; this year, I’m doing things differently – and I’m so pleased with how this piece turned out!

Of course, all of my older designs will continue to be available at their original price points and I will still strive to make a variety of items that range from lovely, but labour intensive dresses to high quality, screen printed tees to the accessories that I make with fabric salvaged from the leftover scraps of those dresses. I hope that new and returning customers and admirers alike will see the benefits and the importance of this type of ethically minded, eco-friendly slow fashion and be there with me as I hope to make some of my best work yet!

T-shirt Sophster-Toaster
Skirt Sophster-Toaster
Shoes ModCloth
Necklace Craft Arts Market / Emery & Opal
Earrings old

All photos by me.

May Showers and Apple Blossom Flowers

Posted on May 8, 2017May 8, 2017 by Melissa Harrison

May Showers and Apple Blossom Flowers - Sophster-Toaster Blog

It feels like I haven’t blogged in forever. I’ve been so busy getting ready for my biggest market of the spring/ summer season, the Spring HandMade Market, that I haven’t had time for much else. It doesn’t help that it rained for days and days and days after a fairly calm early spring. A friend told me over the weekend that we passed the average rainfall amounts for the month of May in the first two days of the month.

I don’t think I’ve ever done a rainy day outfit, actually shot in the rain, before. So at the end of a week so rainy we had a road bridge guardrail collapse and both of our piers by the beach flood over, I decided to rectify this and use the gloomy weather to challenge myself to take some photos in less than ideal conditions. Plus, I couldn’t risk waiting another day and letting those beautiful crab apple blossoms go to waste!

May Showers and Apple Blossom Flowers - Sophster-Toaster Blog

Dress GAP
Sweater H&M
Stockings ModCloth
Necklace street vendor in Panama
Ring Blue Ridge Notions
Shoes ModCloth
Umbrella Amazon

All photos by me.