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A glimpse of the shore at San Clemente

Before the weekend officially kicks off, I want to thank Holly over at decor8 for mentioning trustyourstyle and also for writing about Natalie Chanin. Nobody deserves recognition more than Natalie, so I hope that tons of people saw Holly's post and will blog about Natalie's fabulous couture and luxury home line that now goes by the name Alabama Chanin.

So many of my friends have commented that spending time in Laguna feels like being on vacation. True, but not really during the work day. Work is work wherever you are and this was actually an incredibly stressful week, catching up with my columns and design life/manufacturing after 10+ long days of all things moving-related. Now my jewelry line is ready to show and there are appointments and all kinds of things to attend to.



The good news is that I actually got to sneak off early today and instead of going into Laguna, I decided to cruise over and spend the afternoon poking around San Clemente, the nearby little beach town where I remember spending one of the best summers of my life.



I was probably around eight years old and my dad couldn't get away for the whole vacation so he rented us a place right by the water and my mom took my brother and I down to the beach every day with a picnic. We'd spend hours doing very little except running to the surf and back. By the end of the afternoon we'd all be burned and I couldn't wait to get out of my bathing suit--it had some sort of attached lace skirt and would be weighed down with water and sand--but I always forgot about that when we hit the local ice cream parlor for a scoop of peppermint ice cream. Then we'd move on to the nearby toy store where I would make a plea for what else? Miniature furniture. I would spend hours rearranging little wooden chairs and pink plastic kitchen appliances in the sand. Man that was a good summer.



I haven't been back since. Amazingly it's still a sleepy little beach town, though the locals feel it has recently come into its own. Right off the main street is Avenida Del Mar, which is chock full of little home furnishing stores, each unique in it's own way, plus tons of cute cafes, wine bars, and a few souvenir stores right out of the 70s. I especially loved a store called Luxe Home Furnishings and plan to go back as soon as I can. This weekend is the annual Arts and Craft Fair in San Clemente, so if I can talk my weekend guest into going, I'll be there for another lovely afternoon. Either way I'm sure I'll be back soon--there's a fab cooking school and one of my resolutions is to continue with my cooking education, slowly slowly, but surely!

natalie chanin: happy right here

A few weeks ago I wrote about designer Natalie "Alabama" Chanin and her company, Alabama Chanin. (Click here to read the posting). As promised, Natalie has graciously stopped by to talk about her wonderful limited-edition jewelry, clothing, home furnishings, accessories, furniture and fabrics as she gears up to show her line in New York September 5-10.


Using a mix of new, organic and recycled materials Natalie's handmade designs are constructed with care by artisans who live and work in the local communities in and surrounding Florence Alabama.



mj: Could you talk a little about your new Home line. What inspired you to start this and what are some of your favorite pieces?



natalie: The home line is really just an extension of the work we started doing with clothing. Taking old pieces that might be thrown away and giving them new life by adding artisanal craft to the existing pieces. There is a pie safe with screen doors where the doors have been appliqued with our traditional cotton jersey fabric. I love the combination of wood and fabric...metal and wood and I have always found collaborations between materials (and people) are very exciting.





mj: What is your inspiration for fall and how do you feel your line is evolving?



natalie: I feel very moved by my simple, elegant shapes and feminine details at the moment. My life is very full--consequently, I think that I am striving for simplicity.


Natalie's daughter Maggie + Alabama Chanin pillows

mj: I love your whole concept and dedication to sustainable/organic clothing and lifestyle products at the luxury level. What made you move in this direction, was there a person who inspired you, or something motivating you in this huge task?

natalie: It was not really a moment of inspiration that motivated me but rather a gradual realization and change. I was using the recycled shirts because I liked the "feel" of them rather than for the ecological value. I know that it may seem strange but it seemed that I was on the path and did not really realize it and it came later that I understood the importance and then realized that I had been on the path for a long time.



mj: Besides designing do you do any other art work such as photography, sculpture, etc?

natalie: I have always said that I am a filmmaker at heart, posing as a fashion designer and I spent the morning finger painting with my daughter... does that count?



mj: What is your favorite piece/project that you've created so far?

natalie: The favorite piece is always the one you are working on at the moment.



Here are A FEW THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT NATALIE CHANIN


A) THE FOUR MOST STYLISH PEOPLE THAT INFLUENCED ME:

Louise Dahl-Wolfe
Richard Avedon
Dorothea Lange
Diane Arbus


B) FOUR WAYS THAT STYLE MAKES THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE

Whew... how can that be limited to 4?


C) FOUR OF MY FAVORITE DESIGNERS:

Claire McCardle
Martin Margiela
Dries van Noten
+many, many others...


D) FOUR JOBS I HAVE HAD IN MY LIFE:

Soda Fountain Girl
Cook
Mother
Designer


E) FOUR MOVIES I WOULD WATCH OVER AND OVER (AND DO):

How could I ever begin to choose 4?


F) FOUR PLACES WHERE I HAVE LIVED:

Florence
New York City
Vienna
Chapel Hill


G) FOUR TV SHOWS I LOVE TO WATCH:

Grey's Anatomy
Oprah
National Geographic
The Tonight Show


I) FOUR WEBSITES I VISIT DAILY (Or at least Weekly):

www.weather.com
www.ebay.com
www.style.com
www.alabamachanin.com (we built the website so, we monitor it each week &
try to find ways to improve!)


J) FOUR OF MY FAVORITE FOODS:

Tomato Sandwiches
Sweet Tea
Field Peas
Cornbread


K) FOUR PLACES I WOULD RATHER BE RIGHT NOW:

I am happy right where I am... thanks.



Thanks Natalie for stopping by! Stay tuned because tomorrow I'll be back with some great photos from a little pre-opening party from the John Van Hamersveld show I stopped by on Saturday night.

Update While You Wait...

Since we're on the subject of waiting, I thought I'd mention how excited I am that Wayne Thiebaud: 70 Years of Painting, a sweeping survey from the first painting he ever did up to his most recent work, is coming to the Laguna Beach Art Museum in October. I can't wait!

The last 48 hours have been consumed with getting internet and my router working, my emails reconfigured to arrive from my new server, and lastly to read in my blackberry. Not being a computer whiz, there has been more technical support than I care to recount. I'm still working on getting the flat screen tv to work--ugh--which doesn't really have anything to do with blogging, but I wanted to let you know that I am not disappearing, just trying to get everything running smoothly again.

If you need to email me, my pal Carl Schaad of Schadd Design helped me out (thanks Carl!) so that I can now receive emails from mjm@maryjomatsumoto.com as well as at my new email trustyourstyle@cox.net.

I will be here with the lovely Natalie Chanin on Monday, I promise!



Since it is Friday, I guess that means it's also the day for a style question. Sarah Morrill just wrote in about finding the right shade of yellow:


Why doesn't Uma doesn't look washed out in pale yellow? Read on...

If it's too pale that fun uplifting feeling goes away, but if it's too bright, someone gets blinded. Sometimes it just seems to clash with a person's hair or skin color; so here it is: How do we find our best shade of yellow?


Jessica Alba tan and gorgeous in marigold

I know already talked about this a couple of months ago, so please forgive me for the repetition, but in case you missed it, here's the link to some easy ways to make yellow work for you: MJ's Tips On Wearing Yellow!

Have a great weekend and hope to see you next week!

alabama chanin: loving thread

Detail of a recyled quilt by Alabama Chanin

Long before I started Trust Your Style, I was a huge fan of Project Alabama. When I first saw small glimpses of the work that Natalie Chanin was doing back in 2001, using women versed in the dying art of American quilt-making to create a couture line while helping to keep this unique American cottage industry alive--it inspired me more than I can express. At the time I was designing and overseeing all aspects of my high end handmade handbag line, so I deeply understood the extra care that a made-by-hand in the USA line requires. I should also mention that my mother is from the south, and the one and only possession I have from her mother is a handmade quilt that means the world to me. When I heard about Natalie and how she coached her team of sewers to love their thread and think kind thoughts as they sewed, imbuing both the sewer and the wearer with love, I knew that this was someone I was going to have to meet.


Natalie and Maggie

About a month ago I couldn't believe my good fortune when I ran into Stacie Stukin, a journalist who happened to be working with Natalie Chanin, finishing up the forthcoming "Alabama Stitch Book". Stacie told me that Natalie had started a new line called Alabama Chanin and was still using her same artisan stitchers who live and work in Natalie's local community of Florence, Alabama.



Alabama Chanin employs a mixture of new, organic and recycled materials and has expanded to include gorgeous jewelery and home furnishings. I thought it would be a perfect tie-in today with the Friday TYS style question.



Thanks to fellow writer Julianne Gorman who sent in this great question to herstyle*hisstyle:

Is there a fashionable source for environmentally friendly clothing that doesn't look like you just hackey-sacked your way in from the drum circle? (Ie, something you can wear in the evening or to the office?)

mj: I'm loving this question on so many levels I almost don't where to start, but the answer of course, is yes! That said, making a beautiful upscale line of organic, sustainable clothing is not an easy task.


Detail of an Alabama Chanin corset

I decided to concentrate on Natalie's line today because I think more than almost anyone out there in fashion, she incorporates not just the latest organic fabric developments, but also focuses on sustainability, which according to the environmental experts I've interviewed, is the most important emerging element of "green" design. It also doesn't hurt that Natalie is just a great designer, who along with being a former CFDA Nominee, has garnered success at the highest levels of NY fashion.



This hand-sewn, reverse applique corset comes with molded fabric flowers along with a Platinum/Sterling sewn-in Rose from the new Alabama Chanin jewelry collection.

While creating high end and couture fashion, Natalie also stays conscious of the need to keep the local population employed--she's not sending out to French lace and embellishment houses to do her work, it's all done in her own backyard so to speak. And finally Alabama Chanin gives back to worthwhile causes. I can't think of a more stellar company to exemplify a fashionable source of environmentally friendly clothing, jewelry, and home furnishings!


Cuff from the Alabama Chanin jewelery collection

I spoke earlier today with Natalie, and she explained that the problem with doing an organic line is not so much the lack of organic cotton mills as it is the cotton fiber itself. "There is a higher demand for organic cotton than there is a capacity to grow it. When the larger corporations start making the switch and begin using let's say 5% organic cotton in their massive production, it causes a derth in the organic cotton supply." After many years this is the first time that Natalie has secured a steady supplier of organic cotton, "I've been trying to do this for years and I'm really excited and proud of this." Natalie was telling me that for fall she is doing pieces made from organic green and brown cotton (they are grown this color) knitted with natural organic cotton which makes an unbelievably beautiful pattern in the fabric. These pieces will be available at Saks in the "Green" section and I can't wait to see them! I'll have photos soon to show you as I'll be doing a more in depth feature on Natalie here at TYS as well as in my column at Affluent Magazine.


All of the profits from The Alabama Builds Shirt from this reverse applique piece go to benefit Architecture for Humanity in their work with the Gulf Coast Region projects. Natural Organic Cotton and Made in the USA.

Alabama Chanin is now available at Bergdorf Goodman, Jeffrey's in Atlanta, the Saks "Green" section, and there will be upcoming trunk shows at 4510 in Dallas as well as Susan of San Francisco. Spend some time on her website alabamachanin.com if you want to find great links to fantastic handmade reference books and get a lovely taste of the south.