HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!!!!
FROM KIMMI J

If not later....now's the TIME!!

Hi guys...I have some exciting news!!
Right after graduation, i began my search for my next venture. I worked on my portfolio and got myself together for the next step in my career. It was time for a REAL internship under an exceptional designer. So I began writing emails, sending pics of my portfolio and making some calls everyday to get where I need to be. In October or so, I had an interview with Sylvia Heisel, a great designer in NewYork! The interview didnt go so well (in my eyes at least), but about 2 weeks ago, I got an email stating that I got the internship in NewYork! I was so excited cause you guys have no idea how bad that day went and to top it off, I thought I did really bad in the interview...well I was wrong! Since I thought I did so bad, I started my search again for more internships and I came across Betsey Johnson! I have always LOVED her accessories, clothing and everything...so I thought why not? A week and a half later, I got an email back from the assistant designer at BJ saying that I could do an E-interview (an interview via emails, answering questions...). I got one of my friends to look over it, made some changes and hoped for the best...
Well about a week ago, I got an email back from BJ asking if I would accept an internship to Betsey Johnson! So now I had two great internships to choose from! It went over and over in my head wi=hich one to choose..(I know my friends got sick of me asking them which one I should take) but I had to choose for myself. I had been through so much with so-called "designers" in Atlanta and I thought I deserved a chance to make a name for myself with a designer I LOVED... So I chose Betsey Johnson. Its gonna be hard because Im gonna basically be on my own in a BIG city, but I know God has my back...so I have nothing to worry about....Thanks to everyone thats helping me make my dreams come true :-) Ill keep you guys posted...

Jewelry Sketches w/ "PurpleFlowerJewels"

So a while back I told you guys I was working on some sketches for Purple Flower Jewels by the wonderful, celebrity MUA Toni Acey. She is doing a collection of handmade accessories (headbands, earrings, necklaces and wrist cuffs) of different leathers and skins with accents of rivets, stones, beads and zippers!! The collection is awesome guys!! And trust me I saw the handwork first hand...its like a mini workshop in her house! I love it! Anywho, Toni and I have worked together on shoots in the past before and she knew that I could sketch really well. So I had the pleasure of doing sketches for her jewelry line! It made me feel so good because everytime I sent her the sketches she would say 'Kim. you are awesome!' or 'Kim, you're the sh_t!!!" LOL She's the best!! Here are a couple of the sketches I did for her!!!!
****visit her site @ www.makenitup.com or follow her on twitter @ToniAcey*******

Jewelry Sketches

Whats Up Everyone?!

Hey guys! Giving you an update on what Iv been up to...
Sheesh Ive been busy busy busy!!! But I havent forgotten about my wonderful blog...:
A. I attended the ME Movement Premier by Ebonne Holyfield (where I participated in body painting a model). It was a beautiful night! Lots of inspiration, positive energy and love! Congrats Ebonne!!!! *pics coming soon*

B. I started back working with a designer from Miami, with his urban, recycled clothing collection! Things are coming along really well... right now I'm working on graphics for some tees, a couple logos, and some other detail designs... So hopefully the line will be out within the next month to 4 months :-)

C. Jewelry sketches for Celebrity MUA Toni Acey! She has done makeup for EVERYONE you can possibly name and now she has a one of a kind, handmade jewelry line called 'Purple Flower Jewels'... they are custom made leather and various skin accessories embellished by stones, jewels, grommets and rivets...

D. Oh! Im still working with celeb stylist Ken Buford :-) i think its going on maybe 3-3 1/2 years now! Wow! Continuing to work with him in castings, shoots and events...

...let's see..is that it? No! Im still working on my collection (jewelry, shoe and clothing) ever now and then...I really want to do my own thing as well because I have so many ideas and the skills to do so... sometimes I wish there were more hours in a day. I have been through so much and met so many people in my life I have to say that I am quite proud of myself. Now let's keep it flowing! LOL

Update, Sketches & Costume Venture...

Hello all!!!

Just wanted to check in with you guys to give you all an update! Ive been a little busy lately with my freelance sketching clients...right now Im working on sketches for jewelry line by celeb MUA Toni Acey!! Very exciting pieces..be on the look out for that! I am continuing to try to work on the new collection as often as i can...so I'm doing little by little (with inspiration from the TCM Italian movie still)...

But what I really wanted to let you in on is....I had the pleasure of making costumes for the Miss Black Universe Drag Show!!! The inspiration was "African/War Dancers" Making costumes for the guys was very exciting..even though my room was filled with feathers, thread and pins...lol... But I do have a sneak peak of a couple dancers before they performed...more pics coming soon I promise!!

Kim

OLD GLAMOUR never goes out of STYLE...

Today was my day for research...
I have been going nonstop trying to make sure my portfolio looks professional and amazing, as far as the layout, colors and the pictures I choose. So I decided in addition to my new jewelry and shoe designs, I wanted to get into another clothing collection. But the focus has to be something that I love to find research and has lots of detail. When I was a little girl, I wasnt your a normal girl watching only cartoons, I would watch 1930s Turner Classic Films with Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, Susan Hayward...the list goes on. So I decided to rekindle the research and get inspired!
I found this gorgeous picture of a 1930s Italian film: Venera Alexandrescu in Resurrectio, Alessandro Blasetti, 1931... lets see what my creative juices can create from this photo!!!!!

SHOWCASE!!

On Tuesday, I received a call from one of my old teachers from SCAD...they were asking to borrow one of my dresses for a showcase that was that night...the artist's name was Sky, from MTV Sweet 16....I was excited for someone to want to wear one of my pieces! So I talked to Sky's hair stylist named Samuel, from Paul Mitchell, and he really wanted me to come and see Sky's performance in my dress! So I went to the event and she looked amazing!!! And she can SANG!!! lol! I met lots of people from Mercedes Benz, Upscale magazine, new talent and even Sky's mom (she was really sweet!). I had so much fun!
*and it was the first time I had my own business cards that I designed and bought...People would ask if I had business cards and I never had the money to get some made...I was proud of myself :-)
When I get the pics from the photographer, I will post them asap! But this is the dress she wore!

More Naja Conrad-Hansen Drawings!!!

Illustrations...

I found more illustrations!!! I promise I have hidden art in my closet and on my computer...but anywho I love to share this with you... These are more sketches inspired by Naja Conrad-Hansen! (Notice the little monkey guy lol...)

ME_Movement

Its been a minute since Ive updated but I havent forgotten about you guys. Before sketching and fashion design I was a painter...and still am. Ive painted murals on many walls and faces. This time I got to do full body paint! How exciting!!!!!!! I was asked by Ebonne Holyfield to be apart of her ME Movement, which is an organization to help people learn that its ok to be yourself! AMAZING! I was given a word: Innovation...and had to do body paint showing the word... So I thought long and hard and something that kept sticking in my head was a robot...a robot...a robot. So I had to find a way to incorporate a robot into the word INNOVATION. As everyone knows Innovation means something fresh; new ideas. I found a quote by CoCo Chanel:

"Innovation! One cannot be forever innovating. I want to create classics."

Then I got an idea to do half of the body as a robot and the other half as patchwork. Which symbolized 'robot' sticking to what everyone else does, while the 'patchwork' symbolized puting new ideas together...
Ill update you guys on the whole idea of Ebonne's ME Movement once I get the professional photos, but it is a great organization! Look out for it!!!! *my behind the scenes pics with the good ole' camera phone:-)*

AMAZING!!!!

Ok, so I just got back from 'The September Issue' movie...and I have one word... Amazing! Being an alumni of Savannah College of Art and Design and getting a chance to meet and introduce myself to Andre' Leon Talley, this movie felt close to me... It saddens me that some people think Fashion can be a joke or just done for play, but Fashion is a way of life for me... I enjoy learning and studying and researching all types and levels of fashion...I mean that is why I majored in it for my college career. Anna Wintour is the type of woman I look up to as a strong woman. And the way she took Thakoon Panichgul was amazing to me. Sometimes we think (I do) that people that high up in the world and with that much power, seem like they can be a bit stern. But they have to be... this showed a different side to her that if she believes in someone, they can go really far in their craft. This brought along a thought that keeps coming up in my mind... I, more than ever, want to be a great designer. Sometimes I ask people for their help and they end up not helping me, and at that point I do it myself. And this lets me know that I couldve done it myslef from the beginning. Dont get me wrong its great to have great connects but when people arent there for you sometimes you have to do it and get where you want to be on your own. I dont want to be another local designer... I want to be great. It will be very hard work but it will pay off in the end.

If you go for something make sure its something you love...

My next Goal...

There have been many things going thru my mind lately... Do I want to stay in GA and continue there or do I want to try LA or NY... So Ive just decided to go and try for it all and just take it day by day...
Ive traveled to Memphis for a couple weeks to relax and focus on getting my portfolio together, work on my jewelry line/research, as well as my business card...
My journey begins....

Inspiration #2

This is my second inspiration... (well duh!)...

My Inspiration...

This is my inspiration...(it gets my blood a boilin for jewelry lol)

New Title... Im so freakin excited! lol

Yesterday I had a slight breakthrough.... My business mind is now set and I am thinking of accomplishing all that I want to do...little by little, taking it one day at a time... My next goal is to design my own costume jewelry line. I came to this conclusion because EVERY (and I do mean every) -time I go in a store, I head straight for the jewelry and look for pieces that pop out to me, I look at them and wonder about what outfits I could wear with them. Its like a weird habit of mine, that I just noticed that I do EVERYtime...lol. Sometimes I find really cool pieces other times I don't. So why not sketch out my own jewelry....my dream jewelry line. So mark my work, my mission #1 starts today.....(Im so freakin excited! lol)

Hair Stylist/ Stylist=Me

I was also stylist... (but you knew that already, right?...lol)

My New Venture...

I have been able to do a lot of things, but this are my first official photos of my new venture I experimented with.... being HAIR STYLIST...wow...lol. And let me tell you, this model had the longest, most gorgeous, most difficult hair I ever done in my life! And she's such a sweet heart (love ya D!) Photographer: Dru Phillips; MUA: Nnebuchi N.

One Day....

I have sooo many ideas and goals I want to accomplish that its getting overwhelming. So I try to take one day at a time... All I can do is do my best and take it one day at a time. Ive been told that I have done so much in my life to only be 23, but I want to keep that momentum going. Of course its my dream to own my own clothing and jewelry line, but I want to take my time and do it right so I wont regret the outcome if I move too fast. So Ill say...One day Ill have my own empire...One day Ill be on top.....One day Ill be known to do great things...One day ppl will recognize me as an artist.....One day

More shots...

Hand Beaded and Embroidered Dragon Dress!

Chilled Day...

Hello all! Thanks for following...Im new to this so invite your friends if you want! Today has been a chilled day, running errands and whatnot. Now its time to get back to work...Working on a new project with my friend (...name's a secret lol). New project of an accessory line, so I have to get started on the sketches right away! So look out for that! But for now Ill show more pictures from my first collection with the inspiration from Memoirs of a Geisha...enjoy

YSL

YSL design, re-sketched by me...done in Photoshop...

What Would It Be?

This is a sketch I did...when Im illustrating dresses, I usually go with the idea of 'if you could design and wear any style dress, what would it be? It works for me....

More to come...

Illustrations #2: Inspiration: The Circus...

Sorry...Forgive me...

I know I just got side-tracked and posted a pic of my collection but I just got so excited to show you these illustration....Forgive me, I tend to be all over the place... :-) Ill go back to that later...

Illustrations!!!!

Hey I found some illustrations Ive done... Since Im an artist, I can draw/sketch/illustrate in soooo many ways! Despite what some ppl may think (...not naming any1...its all love around these parts) I do have skills and can draw just about whatever. Anywho here are some of my illustrations... This particular one is inspired by Naja Conrad-Hansen.

Whew!
Today was a little on edge...I seen to work great under pressure which I think is good...sometimes. Anywho, sketches for client #2 were completed, colored and sent earlier this evening and other illustrations were sent for a possible job offer...but Ill update with that later.

As I sent my sketches for this opportunity, I was thinking about that last job offer that was so exciting but the owner/designer felt I was too fashion forward for the job. Sometimes things happen for a reason. I was bummed that I didn't get the job when all along I had a feeling that I would. But when I didnt, it was like a real let down. Then to know that I was too qualified to do contour sketches and flats...I wasn't sure if it felt like a compliment at the time. But it was... Ya know things happen for a reason and at this point in my career/life I feel that what it meant for me as a designer/artist will happen and will be great and better than I ever imagined....one day....

My first collection....my inspiration came from watching 'Memoirs of a Geisha' beautiful movie......

These days have been crazy....upon doing sketches for clients, upcoming shoots, and looking for my career spot in fashion, I still try to find time for a social life and keeping in touch with friends

Beauty Styling Photography

Beauty Shot...styled by me photographer : Allen Cooley

Styling...

An example of my styling abilities photography by Dru Phillips...
Concept: Art.Fashion

'Im Dreaming of a Place...'

An acrylic painting...

The Work continues...& I love it!

What a beautiful day!! Today is the day that I focus on my new ventures...I have 3 projects I'm working on and they all inquire me to do research on fashion trends and do fashion illustrations... something that I loooove to do! And as I update what I do day to day, I will also be updating you on pieces Ive done... ya know sort of like my day to day portfolio...

Beauty

"Beauty' done is oil paint done on cardboard....

My 1st Love

Ok I guess Ill start from my first passion, which is painting! Ive done soooo many paintings in my life, and sold most of them, but I still have a few that I keep with me that I did a few years ago... It is of Lion King on Broadway...

Im proud...

The last as my beginning...my embroidered and hand beaded dress featured in Savannah College of Art and Design Look Book 2009! Styling by Catherine Baba

Welcome to my Life/Gallery

Welcome!
Well first let me introduce myself...my name is Kim!! I am a natural-born artist. I paint, sketch, draw, sew, design, freelance, consult, style...all of the above! As a recent grad of Savannah College of Art and Design, I am ready to start my new life as an 'all-of-the-above' lol...ENJOY!!!