Archive for the ‘Design Lab’ Category

Fall Duet: A Sneak Peek

Fall Duet: A Sneak Peek

A lot is going on here at Substance… new collections are in the works, new items are arriving regularly, and a large volume of coffee is being consumed.  Here’s the run-down:

  • Number one on the list, our awesome designer and super-seamstress Betsy is off getting married!  Look forward to getting bombarded with some great photos in the next few weeks – all her bridesmaids are wearing Floral Fete dresses.   It’s a hand-crafted affair, from the brides’ dress down to the decorations.  Congratulations, Betsy!
  • Second, Maddie is hard at work on our upcoming collection, Fall Duet.  Using our favorite hand-woven Ethiopian cotton fabric, she’s making reversible shrugs.   Pretty much everyone on staff has picked out a color combo that they can’t live without… so this looks like a collection we’re going to have to keep around for a while, if for no other reason than to outfit ourselves.  To pair with the shrugs, she’s taking some heavier weight cotton trousers from last season and cutting them down into the perfect pencil skirt in 3 great colors.  Look for Fall Duet in the next few weeks as well.  We promise to not wear our shrugs all at the same time.
  • Next up… we’ve gotten new fall product in, and a lot of it is eco-conscious.  Our first shipment of Stewart+Brown for the season arrived in the form of organic cotton knits, including the “I Love You” tee which is just about sold out!  Soft drapey bamboo knit blouses and dresses came from Two Star Dog, as well as a few new re-purposed leather handbags from Gilbert and Leona.  We love our little group of beautifully tailored grey-and-mustard cotton sheath dresses from Nougat.   Finally, an amazing transitional collection of tunic tops and cropped dresses in cotton/silk blends from Trinity came yesterday.   Airy and light yet in rich fall color combos, they’re perfect to layer over your summery pieces.
  • Last but not least, Art Al Fresco is this weekend in the Short North.  An entire day of free public art – what’s not to love about that?
Voile Floral Headband

Voile Floral Headband

We’ve got a couple new items up on the website… one of our favorites is the headbands that Maddie (above) lovingly crafted from leftover bits of the Voile Voila collection.   Adorable on everyone, and only $18!

May 30th, 2009

Being the Design & Merchandise Manager at Substance, Ayisha is usually loaded with responsibilities.   It’s seldom that she gets to spend time making pretty things.  The last couple of weeks we’ve tried to free her up so some of her bottled up genius could flow into design preparation for an in store event we’ve got coming up next month.

The pile of things she’s created make me smile – exciting color combinations, upbeat stitches and tactile features, all fun to look at and touch.  They are cheerful designs and so great in their representation of new and lovely uses for our cotton tee material.  Great timing!  Our newest shipment of tees will be here next week.  The new tees are all organic cotton and so begin our transition away from conventional cotton tee production.  Why?  The short answer is because we can and it’s better for the environment.

June 6-12th is our Tee Shirt Trade In event.  Bring in one tee you’ve purchased from us in the last few years.  Trade it in for 25% off the price of one of our new organic cotton tees.  The tees you bring in will not go to waste.   We’ll continue to give Ayisha her creative space to make pretty things out of tees.

- Christina

March 19th, 2009

Ok so firstly I thought it only proper to introduce myself to avid blog readers. My name is Maddie and I am the newest member of Team Substance. I started a few weeks ago as an Intern and I am currently working on the April Design Lab Collection of vegan re-purposed Espe bags. Because of my recent up-close and personal work with these bags, I thought it would be a nice opportunity to talk about the Espe products and what makes them special.

Espe is a Toronto, Canada based company that produces 100% cruelty-free, animal free, purses that feel and look just like leather and suede, for about 1/4 of the price of a leather bag. You might be wondering, since these bags are polyurethane, aren’t they bad for the environment? Wouldn’t owning a leather bag be more environmentally friendly? Not with these! Espe doesn’t create or release any of the toxins that leather tanning and coloring releases into the environment.

So whether you are a vegan, or a rare steak kind of a girl, you can know you are buying a product that is cruelty-free, green, and stylish for all the years to come. Be sure to check out the website for the new April Design Lab Collection of bags coming soon! OH! and if you love the idea of green, vegan products, check out our new Melissa Shoes below!

- Maddie

February 20th, 2009

When it came time to start thinking about bridesmaid dresses for my August wedding, three criteria came to mind. I wanted my girls to have gowns that were unique, comfortable and they could wear again without having to alter.

Last November’s Design Lab Collection, Floral Fete, fit right in with this criteria. Believe it or not, I was not considering my own wedding during the design and production of this collection, yet it will be perfect against the outdoor backdrop of our Hocking Hills wedding. It wasn’t until one of my bridesmaids came into the store to try on another dress for consideration that Floral Fete became “the one”. I asked her to try it on for fun after she tried on what I thought would be her bridesmaid dress. She came out of the dressing room and both of us were in awe. Talk about elegance! And originality!! Who would have thought a cotton floor-length dress made of overstock blouses and salvage tee shirts could be so stunning!

Even better, each gown will be custom-made to fit each girl. They are all handmade, so you can customize details such as the colors and petal pattern (i.e. I was thinking or incorporating some silk petals among the cotton and linen in my olive gowns).

One more thing…you wouldn’t believe the price. The gown sells individually at $398, but for a big enough bridal party (and mine is only 4 bridesmaids) you can get them at a special price of 50% off! Not to mention you won’t be paying for alterations since each gown is custom-fit.

- Betsy