Malvena Pearl’s Emporium

I found a studio to share with the lovely and talented Jacqueline Palacios! Yippee! It’s located at the Fruitvale Presbyterian Church on MacArthur Boulevard, in Oakland. More updates to follow as we settle in and set up. We started moving in and I can finally see the floor of my spare bedroom.

A client came by Casa Roo for a fitting/hemming of a pre-bought 1850s-style, cotton dress that she has asked me to embellish. Yay! She came by during the rainstorm, so that’s motivation for you.

Ms. Sahrye Cohen expertly helped us put together an entry for inclusion  in the exhibit at the Nova Albion Steampunk Exhibition in Emeryville  March 12 - March 14, 2010.

On March 20, 2010, Malvena Pearl will have a table and display set up at the Greater Bay Area Costumer’s Guild Costume Academy.

I’m also working on the White Queen outfit, the Red Queen outfit and Queen Alice’s outfit for the  9th Annual Blind Babies Foundation Annual Beeper Egg Hunt in San Francisco.  I’m organizing the first-annual Tea and Raffle with the theme of Alice through the Looking Glass. Come join us!

The cape is sold!

The current owner bought it in London at a jumble sale in the 1980s. It has been in her closet since then. She was told it was created during the Victorian period. The bead work is almost completely intact and just needs a tiny bit of loving care to restore it to near-perfect glory. The owner of Black Swan Books, Bonnie, is the gal to contact about this lovely piece.

Here are the snapshots:

It’s been busy around the Emporium these last few weeks. With help from Mr. Acorn, I’m listing all the books that I got from Vintage Victorian.  I have done a lot of work in the sewing room, organizing and culling goodies to sell on the etsy.com web site. What films and books have inspired me, lately? “Persuasion,” based on the Jane Austen novel; the series “Jeeves and Wooster” with Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry; and I’ve been reading “David Copperfield” by Charles Dickens. I’ve also been perusing an interesting collection of works by 21st century artists called “1000 Ideas for Creative ReUse”  by Garth Johnson. I had to special order that book from my local bookseller, as it was sold out.

The books I’ve posted on etsy.com  are reprints of an amazing collection of catalogs, magazine articles and graphics with “how-to” instructions and inspirational drawings galore - material to inspire Victorian and Edwardian enthusiasts alike, not to mention those folks who are getting ready to make an outfit for a masquerade:

Happy 2010!

The cats have been supervising as I add vintage fabric to my offerings on the Etsy.com web site. Here’s a sampling:

I wish all a productive, inspired and health-filled New Year.

This Saturday, my friend Jean of Bibliomania book shop and I will join the ladies of the Costumer’s Guild at the Albany Public Library for their First Annual Costumers’ Bazaar. We will also have some beautiful books on fashion from Bonnie at Black Swan Books.

Jean has lovely vintage books and ephemera on textile techniques = crochet, sewing, knitting as well as fashion plate prints from the 1880s - 1930s, and biographies of designers and the British Royal families.

I am bringing handmade/beaded jewelry, vintage garments (silk and linen tops that I’ve been turning into stage costumes), shoes, trim, fabric, accessories- VINTAGE HATS, silk and wool shawls, a hand-embellished hatbox, and The Tailor’s Tarot. I also have some childrens books from the 1920s and an extra copy of 9/09 THREADS magazine with the article on custom-covering shoes;

Greater Bay Area Costumers Guild Costumers Bazaar

Saturday, August 29th, 2009 — 1:00pm – 5:00pm
Albany Community Center, Albany, CA

Come Join us!!

Please peruse the goods we are offering in support of our friend B.  who is in recovery from cancer. All proceeds go directly to her and her living expenses. We are adding more items daily. So far sales have been good.

Goods for sale here

I’ve always liked making miniatures. Here are the latest items I’ll be selling on the Etsy. com web site: tiny chairs that I made from the wires and tops of champagne bottles. Why tiny? I like tiny. I’ve been making tiny things since I was, well, small. I had a doll house but the fun part was making things for it and decorating it, not actually playing with it. Tiny, a bit fragile, and complex. A little world unto itself. I have some small wire-back cafe chairs and the tops to champagne bottles just lend themselves to this shape.

tiny chair one point two

I completed making R’s wedding veil and a hair ornament to go with Claire’s matron of honor dress. Here’s the dress we found for Claire at Dolled Up Vintage:

And here’s the photos of the hair ornament:

And the veil for R:

Our Services and Products

Beadwork and Garment Repair Service:
We repair beaded jewelry, beaded trim on garments and we do mending or repairs that require fine hand-work. Small or complex jobs are right up our alley. Drop us a note.

Custom Orders:

We work with you to design and produce custom orders for bonnets, cravats, fichus, capes, jackets, vests and other garments that you need for a dance, a ball, an historical reenactment event, a retro-themed party, a fair or a convention. We’ve created and re-styled contemporary garments into the full range of costumes from the Victorian era through outfits inspired by science fiction and fantasy literature. We also make custom jewelry to accent that costumes you already own.

Custom Made Ephemera and Letterpress Projects:

May Day Press will create custom-made ephemera (paper goods) using an 1890s letterpress.

Custom Made Hat Boxes:

Beth Woolbright creates hand-decorated hatboxes to suit all of your hat storage needs, made to your specification.

Please visit the Malvena Pearl etsy site and contact us via e-mail for more information about custom orders.