Altered Statement specializes in unique one of a kind
hand dyed hemp fabrics and clothing.

Who knew Hemp could be so comfortable, beautiful, and sustainable!

Friday, July 25, 2008

Supporting Members

In the last couple years we've cut way back on the business... needing to take on other full time jobs to have consistent paychecks and health benefits. In that time we discontinued our advertising and lapsed our professional memberships because of dues.
The winds of change blew hard sometimes, but 2008 has brought us back full circle in some places, and spiraled out in others.
With going to High Sierra, coming out with some new designs and styles in our clothing, and getting back to business we'd like to get our memberships renewed and once again supporting those organizations that further the hemp revolution.

We'd like to invite you to also support The HIA (the Hemp Industries Association): http://www.thehia.org/donate_join.html and either join or donate.
At this time we'll be applying for supporting members (just $35/year) but would like to soon become a full members... be involved, check out the benefits of a full member (just $125/year for most) http://www.thehia.org/membership_info.html with voting privileges... you can be part of the change.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Friday, July 18, 2008

More new designs!

As we posted before we left for High Sierra, we have some new designs! Now that we're back we can post the rest of that collection.
I was hesitant to work with jersey knit, but I'm over that now, and LOVING this new yoga wear line. (I'm not sure what that really means, yoga wear, but I can say these clothes are super comfy to wear!). We have some new knits coming in middle of August (cross our fingers) and once we get it dyed up we'll have this new line available! We are taking limited custom orders, so be sure to drop us an email if you have some ideas.
A friend challenged me to start working with jersey. I first came up with the black and avocado set (featured a couple blogs back). Everything worked for her, except the tube top/skirt. She wanted more support and to be able to wear it with a bra.... so I came up with this amazing rouched top. It has so much adjustability in style and looks amazing on many body types (as does this whole collection).















The pictures aren't the greatest, but we're gearing up for a photo shoot in September/October... with a fashion show October 3rd, here in Portland. If you're interested in helping out in any way, want to work some trades out, please let me know!

Okay, back to the collection... in addition to the adjustable pants in the last blog I made a flare legged version (for my friend Megzz! in all her hooper fashion) and although I'm still tweaking the pattern, I love the base pants itself. Super comfy! The weight of the fabric is just enough to feel the quality, but the fabric itself breathes and doesn't just sit on you. *There are more pictures on our website and flickr account.*

As I was over at Teje's taking pictures, her neighbor was hanging out front and volunteered to model (I'm always up for variety in models, since all I have at home is the dressform). This outfit is maybe a size too big for her, but it depends on preference and what you want.

One of the best things to this collection is the versatility... be creative, try it up, down, or as something else. Our rouched tube top/skirt is a perfect example. Wear it as a top or skirt (by itself or over pants/skirt). There is a drawstring (with a smidge of elastic for comfort) at the top, and strings at the side to gather and rouch as much or little as you want. Maybe even try it as a dress?

And to top it all off is our wrapped hooded bolero! I blogged about it in a couple posts back, click here.


And don't forget the Warrior Wrap click here.


A full photo shoot coming soon!! As well as a fashion show October 3rd in Portland, Oregon. We'll have many more designs including our "In the Works" peacock skirt and even a peacock stilting outfit... yes, we hope to have some stilting models walking tall in the crowd at our fashion show... should be good times!

Stay Tuned...

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Local Trunk Show coming soon....


So I had this brilliant idea to look up on craig's list for a trunk, so that I could get in to the whole idea of local trunk shows. My plan is to approach Cafe Delirium in downtown Gresham to host a trunk show for me. I would send out invitations to local shops or people that might be interested in our clothing. I'm not exactly sure what that will all look like, but my searching craig's list paid off with a beautiful antique trunk!




We don't know much about it, except it has a marking of The Chicago Trunk & Bag Co. and DreadNaught. There is little actual damage, which seems more surface and only on one side. All in all I'd say it's in pretty good condition for being around 90+ years old.
It's not *mint* but I think it's well worth the $55 I paid. It's a brute, and I'm not sure how I'm going to transport it if I choose to use it at a trunk show. I thought it was a brilliant idea at the time, and well worth it, even if it doesn't get used for it's intended use. What shall I do with it.....




So join the mailing list on our website www.alteredstatement.com
to receive email notices on when new items are posted to the website, up and coming local events, and mailinglist only discounts.


Altered Statement Trunk Shows coming soon....

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

That was.... AWESOME!

We had so much fun at High Sierra Music Festival 2008!
We're still decompressing from the experience, but we're already planning for next year!

Where to start...
It was a LONG drive down, we got a slow start and drove through the night (which wasn't so bad because that's when it was the coolest). We left Tuesday night at 8:30pm and got there at 1pm the next day, which included grocery shopping in Redding and a detour because of the wild fires.
When we got there we saw that most people had two and sometimes even three 10X10 booth spaces stacked behind the 10X10 we were told was our booth. And although we were told there was no electricity, there was (pirated)... but we wanted to be safe than sorry and so planned for the instructions that were given to us. We also found a drainage hole in the floor of our booth, Dena (from EarthboundCreations) the vending coordinator worked with us to find a bigger piece of plywood to cover it. It was an eye sore, but we worked with it.
Next year we'll make sure to bring another EasyUp to extend our booth (and bring enough inventory to fill it). We had a very 'boutiquey' booth, which was great... I did feel that if we had had twice as much inventory we would have sold twice as much. Our rainbow awning made up for an ever decreasing inventory and kept bringing people in... it created enough shade to make the inside of our booth a noticeable 10 degrees cooler... we'll definitely keep the awning for next year!
For more pictures of our booth at High Sierra Music Festival 2008 Click Here

We were so fortunate to be at such a great venue that there were actual bathrooms (and showers) close by, and that the main gate of the meadow where the vendors are is closed down and secured every night (allowing the only time for us to get away from our booth)... (not that he's reading) but I want to thank Manny (and all the other staff) for this security and freedom as a vendor. Manny was there for up to 15 hour shifts and we appreciated his job and friendly smile.

So Thursday night, the first night of the festival, we closed our booth early and put up a sign saying we were off to the Fire Fashion Show!

If I had to do it all over again, it would be better, but all in all I have to say that the Fire Fashion Show was an honor, was a fabulous idea with great potential, and was such a fun time. Thursday was the slowest crowd to the Fire Performance, which gave the freedom to try something new. I'll have some video up soon! So stay tuned.
The Fire Performances were spectacular! I missed Friday nights, but Saturday was amazing! Sunday was a bit anti-climatic, not as engaging to the audience, but none-the-less entertaining and mind-blowing. They did a great job with trying something new, using more theatre and drama in the performance, and of course the costumes were fabulous! But back to Saturday's.... We had run out of memory on our camera to take any video. Brandon and Shireen did this crazy and amazing hoop duet where Shireen stands on Brandon's shoulders and they both hoop... great act! There was Jamie Janover on a pyrobeat drum tricycle. And there were spring jumps through flaming hula hoops with double staffs from Noah. Amazing crazy fire fun! The fire shows are that they over at the late night shows and are free... or rather then performers don't get paid for what they do. They do pass out hats to collect any donations... the question is asked, "What would you pay for a show like this in Vegas?" Saturday's show could have been on any ticket in Vegas! Great energy, engagement with the audience, big fire, and lots of it! And what great performers to have dealt so professionally with a guy tripping on acid walk right through their fuel station, redirect him, and not bat an eye in the performance. They set up the environment and hold the safety line in only a space marked off with chalk... in the walk area between the late night shows.
The fire performances were the only thing we got out to see. We did get to hear everything at the main stage including an awesome performance by Michael Franti (and Keller Williams) on the last night.

We saw people we hadn't seen in years, Jody from Yeah!Yeah! block printing who pulled up right next to use as we drove in to get our tickets and set up. We also saw, on the 4th of July, an epic dress that we made 5 years ago... Erin, the girl wearing it, must have thought I was a freak! But I freaked out when I saw it. "That's my dress! I did that dress!" It was in perfect condition!! To think what great condition she had it in, that it is such an epic dress, makes me feel like there's a chance that 20, 30, 50 years down the road I may just see it wandering again! What a trip!



MZglass was fabulous to camp next to, Pria gives a wicked good message, MountainAir Batiks were amazing (mixing their own dyes too! The colors were fantastic!), Eve's hipbelts are a must to grab (her whole booth is incredible with tons of style!)... there were so many fantastic vendors I can't even begin to name them all. It was great to see so many handcrafters versus imported items... good balance, and good representation of handcrafters!.

Now that we're back it means lots of unpacking (and uploading new items to the website), finishing up the sewing projects that didn't get done in time to take (an exclusive online batch), and getting ready for next year! We'd love to go back, and although we won't know if our vending application will be excepted for next year, we're going to be planning like we are.

We'll have new items up soon on the website, we'll be taking a few custom orders to prepare for the holiday shopping, but other than that it may be limited on what's available on our website. Just as we did in preparing for High Sierra, we'll be blogging about our new designs here on our blog - keeping a bit of visual inventory of what we'll be stocking up to take next year.

*If you're in the Portland area* you'll have some local opportunities to check us out. We'll be having a fashion show October 3rd (stay tuned for details) and possibly some trunk shows at Cafe Delirium in Gresham. Join our mailing list on our website (or stay tuned on our blog) for details on where to find us.

Thanks for ALL your support! We appreciate the love! We'd love to see you again next year at High Sierra!