NEW LOGO!!!

YAAAY!  Thanks to the amazing work by the incomparable Phil Balsman - I have a new logo and banner and all sorts of other awesome goodies!!!

To celebrate - I'm hosting a contest!  Go and "Favorite" the LittleAsianSweatshop on Etsy, for an opportunity to win a Poker Card Hair Flower!

If you've already favorited the Sweatshop - you are also eligible (yay for loyal fans!), so don't worry about having to do anything more!

I'll do the drawing on December 15th!  So GO GO GO "favorite"!  YAY!

P.S. While I'm at it - quick social media plugs...heh!
Follow me on Twitter - LittleAsianShop
Like me on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/LittleAsianSweatshop

How to Throw a Kickass DIY Wedding

My BFF recently just got married in Vegas, in a wedding that was uniquely them...and arguably one of the quirkiest, funnest, and *happiest* weddings I've ever had the luck to attend!

Want to throw your own kick assed DIY wedding? Here's how to do it in 10 easy steps:

1) "Elope" to Vegas on Dia de Muertos with your entire families and 25 of your closest buddies (it helps if your parents are pretty kickassed themselves...with a great sense of humor).

2) Instead of traditional engagement photos, go for a retro/pinup themed photoshoot (courtesy of Atomic Cheesecake Studios).


Fez hat optional!

 3) Design your own wedding invitations using those awesome pics (bonus points if you make the dress code "appropriate for Vincent Price's funeral").

OK, it helps if both the bride and groom are also professional artists

4) Put together your own wedding dress by purchasing your dress from Vivien of Halloway, a corset from Louise Black (of ProjRun fame), and "jazz it up" by adding a little lace and rhinestones!

5) Have an awesome kickass Sweatshop BFF (like...me!) who will happily make 30+ hair flowers for you to use as party favors.



All of those...in one afternoon!


6) Have that self same BFF team up with your uber creative (and ex-seamstress) mom to design the perfect wedding bouquet and matching boutineers.



With our powers combined, Mrs P & I are unstoppable!



7) When the custom cake topper doesn't arrive on time (an issue I'm still fighting with the artisian on), instead of freaking out, calmly borrow the bride and groom sugar skull figurines that you had gifted to your grandmother, and have your mother paint them (bonus points if it's with glitter paint) to match your wedding outfits, and use those as your cake topper.



It was the "something borrowed"

 8) Get married by a rockin' Elvis (we're huge fans of Viva Las Vegas) with webcast so friends and family that couldn't make can watch the wedding live!

That's me on the left...let's face it, *I* was the real star!

9) Instead of a traditional (and costly) reception in a ballroom, have a fun, yet sumptuous dinner at any of Vegas' amazing restaurants (Michael Mina's Nobhill in MGM was classy, delicious and had great service).

10) Post wedding, get some extra milage out of all the work you put into your dress and bouquet by having a Trash the Dress photo shoot at the Neon Boneyard (bonus points if your maid of honor BFF gifts that to you as a wedding present...yes, I'm tooting my own horn).



 Seriously, without any exaggeration, this was one of the best weddings I've ever been to.  Everything was fun, low-stress (well, as low stress as a wedding can be), and incredibly fun to be involved in!

Art by The Art of Paigey!

The Sweatshop's Holiday Guide!

I know, I'm so behind on updating this blog - I swear I have 6 entries in the works!  In the meantime...here's the Sweatshop's Holiday Giftgiving Guide!  Cool, kooky, and most importantly – unique (yet not crazy expensive) gift ideas!  Check out some of my favorite artisans (and friends) for some great gift ideas:

The Art of Paigey – Looking for some cool, funky jewelry or accessories for that special pin-up goddess in your life?  Check out Paigey’s store!  Not only is all of the artwork original to her, but she also does commissions too!

LibbyTreats – nothing says “holidays” like yummy treats!  But if you’re like me and have famously burned boiling water, then LibbyTreats is the place to go!  I have *personally* taste tested many of her treats and believe me, if a fatty and a glutton like me (especially one who normally don’t like sugary treats) find them delicious…so will your friends and family!  I’m still in shock that some of her items are vegan!

Ghost Girl Fine Arts and Crafts - looking for something that is perfect for a Poe fan?  Someone who likes things a little dark, creepy, or spooky?  I highly recommend the amazing stuff made by Ghost Girl!  Super cute gothy stuff...that appeals to even the non-goth set (like me!)

Christy Sawyer - her super famous (and most sought after) cupcake eating Batman (and assorted snack eating crew) is again available on her Etsy site!  But you better hurry because it looks like she’s having a sale on her necklaces – and her stuff sells out quick!

Maria Danalakis Art and Design - craaaaazy adorable prints and cards!  What makes it better?  There’s currently a 25% off coupon code – just check out her page heading!

Atomic Cheesecake – Trying to find something for your special girl…that’s also a gift for you?  Get her a GC for a pinup photo shoot with Atomic Cheesecake!  They will provide the outfits, makeup  and hair…she just needs to show up and look pretty!  It doesn’t matter if she’s never modeled, Stacy (owner and photographer) will have her giggling like a little school girl and giving her posing tips!

Silent Auction for TC Williams Marching Titans

Want to buy a playing card hair flower while supporting a local school?  Head down to TC Williams this Sunday (Nov 13th) at 5pm for their "Spaghetti Dinner & Silent Auction" to raise money to buy new band uniforms!  $10 a ticket, or $20 for the family - you can purchase tickets at the door or at the Alexandria Choral Society.

The Sweatshop has 2 hair flowers available for bid at the Silent Auction...and there are tons of awesome other items as well!

So go support the arts, a local school, and pick yourself up a lovely hairflower from the Sweatshop...all in one night!

More details here.

Retailers and Line Sheets!

Are you a store or retailer and interested in selling Sweatshop at your shop?  I've got great news - I am finally set up to take wholesale orders!  YAY!

Please email me at littleasiansweatshop@gmail.com if you would like a linesheet with my products, and information about my wholesale policy (it's simple and painless, I swear!).

Thank you thank you!

My schizophrenic Muse

While I love talking about the Sweatshop, my products, and my process, I become completely flustered when people ask “how did you come up with that idea?”

Creativity is such a weird and meandering path.  The leap that took me from watching “Barbarella” (for the 398^th time) to making a Japanese Flag circle bag is hard to explain.  It would involve a long story about how much I love Barbarella, the Xmen Morlock storyline that was completely based on Barbarella (seriously – watch the movie, then read issues 169 - 170 and you tell me!), which then lead me to think about the whole Wolverine/Mariko story line (which was so silly), and…voila!  My brain gave birth to the Japanese Flag bag. 

And the story behind how I came up with the monsters hat is just as convoluted (and involves a blizzard!).

So by the time I’m done explaining how I came up with my idea, the questioner has a confused yet blank stare in their eyes, as they try to follow my “logic”.

But I guess, creativity doesn’t really follow logic.  If it did, it wouldn’t be so elusive and magical and rare.

The thing that drives me the craziest is that my inspiration comes from all over the place.  Various materials, styles, and methods.  I’m so envious of those who have a set medium and style and can stay with it consistently.  It’s aggravating to come up with a retro Rat-Pack Vegas inspired hair piece while working on a soft romantic feathered birdcage fascinator for a client.  It’s not enough that my muse is fickle…but she also has to be schizophrenic to boot. 

Which is why the Sweatshop is filled with boxes upon boxes of various materials.  Since I never know what will inspire me next – the workroom is filled with all sorts of odds and ends, waiting to be made into something different.  It’s like the Land of Misfit Toys, only they are all wanted…just not right now.  Of course, I complain, but I’m really thrilled that I am fortunate enough to give voice to my creativity – and to have fans of my work!  It’s always wonderful – and humbling – to hear the exclamations of amazement and delight.

I wonder if I bribed my Muse with Chipotle burritos, would she be more cooperative?


How about you?  How to you rein in your muse?

Not dead yet...

I know it's been a month since I updated and even my twitter feed (follow me #shamelessplug) has been eerily quiet, but I swear that I'm still alive...just insanely busy.

I know, I know..."I've been busy" is the worst excuse in the world, but this has really been beyond madness!

In just the past month, I've started a new day job (YAY day job!) so that's been taking up a lot of my brain time.

Then I had the awesome opportunity to go see "Sleep No More", which is this amazing immersive play based on Macbeth.  It's basically Hitchcock and MacBeth had a love child...it would be this experience. If you haven't been, and you were thinking about visiting NYC in the next month or so...definitely make the time to go see it.  It's worth the $100.  It's like being trapped in a dream or a video game.  Only without having to worry about dying or monsters killing you.  Insanely surreal and utterly amazing!

The Plague Doctor (skull duck) mask that you wear during Sleep No More!

Then my inlaws came up to visit for a few days.  While I adore them and love hosting them, right when they visited, was right when my Etsy store decided to go crazy with orders!  So I had to juggle being a gracious hostess, with the madness of family get-togethers, with fullfilling orders as fast as my little Sweatshop fingers could go (PSA - glue guns are capable of inflicting 2nd degree burns...be careful kids!).

This weekend, my BFF is coming down, and bringing me some minions so that we can whip out 40+ hair flowers as party favors for her wedding...and also making a very special wedding bouquet! 

Basically every weekend has been madness.  So my normally pristine house and Sweatshop looks like a tornado blew through it...and I haven't had time to clean (I've barely had time to do laundry)!

And despite how busy I am, I'm just so grateful that I get to be so joyously busy.  Yes, I'm tired, yes I just want a weekend to curl up and sleep and veg out...but I'm glad that this kind of busy is the fun kind of busy - the kind of busy that is really tons of fun and better then the alternative.  I just wish it wasn't happening all at once! 

So...long story short...not dead yet!  I'm here and pushing out products with as little sleep as I can get away with!  I promise, lots of fun bloggy updates coming soon.  In the meantime...GO SEE "SLEEP NO MORE".  It was seriously worth the angst of having to work double time to make up for the loss of a weekend of fun!