In Fall of 2020 I started to really take the notion of starting my own clothing line seriously. It had always been something I wanted to try my hands at in the back of my mind, but timing never felt right and of course I had my own personal fears of failure and ineptness. I had never designed any garments before, what qualified me now? 

The path from those months to a year later involved a lot of asking myself questions about my deeper purpose for creating a clothing label with my name behind it. I'm still asking myself questions everyday particularly in making design changes and fabric costs, but that's another post for later. 

I'm not exactly sure where to begin to start telling you about the story of Atelette or atèlëtte, but perhaps I can begin by telling you what is behind the name for the clothing label as I find names to be so important and the name for the line has personal meaning behind it. 

What's in a name...

In Cebuano/Filipino Ate (pronounced Ah-te/tay depending on region you are from) is a common formality to respectfully or affectionately address an older female that is either your sister or a friend that you feel a sisterhood or kinship with. My little sister rarely calls me by my name and instead just calls me Ate. 

Lette comes from my childhood nickname, Olette. I am not entirely sure how this nickname came to be as my name, Rodellee, doesn't have Olette in it. But I was always called "Inday Lette" if not Olette. Inday means "girl/young girl" but again depending on your region the meaning can slightly vary (in some regions it means maid/young housekeeper) which that meaning resonates with me also. I grew up very poor in a small rural village called Tulay and several of my Titas were maids. There was absolutely no shame in the profession since it provided food and shelter for our large multi generational families that lived under one roof.  

The name Atèlëtte links my past with my present and most importantly reminds me of my culture and my roots of being Filipino. The French accent grave on the (è) is there so you know the E is pronounced and it is not silent like in the english word, ate. The diaeresis over the second e(ë) is to note that the e sound is pronounced like the e in "bet".

Clothing for Quiet, Mindful, Lovely Living...

When designing the garments for Atelette, I knew I wanted to design clothing for women that have a penchant for feminine aesthetics and are romantics at heart. I wanted to design clothing to live life in. A quiet and lovely sort of life. A simple and mindful sort of life. A life where one found joy in the beauty of every day living. We cannot always just live for the big things. Life is lived in the small things, in the minutes, in the moments. 

Perhaps I will do separate journals for each of the designs, particularly the dresses, as goodness, I have tweaked and edited these designs so very many times. I am not at all trying to reinvent the wheel of fashion. I really don't have an iota in my body that dreams about standing out, being original, or being known for innovating a dress. There is nothing new under the sun. My past as a vintage and antiques clothing dealer taught me that early on, and well.

Launching in Spring 2022

We have a couple of dresses in production already (OMG!!!) and I am so very excited to start showing all of you more sneak peeks as time moves forward! 

I should note that Atelette does not follow any seasonal production schedules. I design the garments when the inspiration strikes and I do not feel any pressure at all to make more than what I feel capable of handling. At the moment I have only designed 8 pieces and I'm not upset about that. I feel like in a year and a half that is a huge accomplishment and I'm going to give myself a little pat on the back for it. *pat pat*

I hope you feel the sense of joy, purpose, and my hope for you to live a life you adore when you wear one of my designs! The journey thus far has been an absolute privilege (granted the learning curve is STEEP my friends) and I am living in each moment and enjoying the ride.

Look for updates soon on how to PRE-ORDER the first two pieces launching in the Spring!!!

Shoot days at mypiggywiggy never feel like a work day and are always fun and collaborative though definitely a workout. Because we're such a small team, on shoot days everyone (that works in-office) are all part of the shoot wearing their own respective creative hat for the day. Shoot days are the days we all get to work together on the same project. Lots of laughing, lots of hauling and schlepping, and lots of team bonding.

Since then I have taken my time to figure out what to do with the front of our space and to be perfectly honest, I really struggled to find inspiration and motivation to reopen the retail shop up until a couple weeks ago. 

It took a lot of dialogue between my close friends and family over a span of a month for me to really nail why I wasn't inspired or motivated and it boiled down to the fact that I never wanted to open up a retail shop to begin with. I know, I know what you're thinking! Well, I can imagine what you're thinking. Why did you do it then!? Because I'm a people pleaser. Because I didn't listen to my instincts and intuition. Because I didn't know how to stand up for myself. What was suppose to be a concept shop & space to gather that served coffee and tea at a window turned into something else all together and at the time there were so many changes and a lot of growth happening with AV that I just went with the flow. Everything would work themselves out. Eventually. Right?

And then the pandemic hit. Which no one saw coming or prepared for. And well, I'm sure you can imagine the rest since you lived through the pandemic too. 

Will you take a deep breath with me? Slowly let it out. Ahhhhhh. (I've just realized I really should sage the studio and clear it of all the past energy, can't believe I haven't done this yet, cleansing rituals are so important)

Once I decided I didn't want to reopen mypiggywiggy as it had become, I felt better. It was like giving myself the actual permission to try something new or try my original ideas. Then suddenly the little gold pinpricks of light started to shine through the dark fog and mist I had been under.

mypiggywiggy is so much more than just a place to buy something. It's a place for solitude. A place to be inspired. A place to craft something with your hands. A place to feel lovely. A place to feel seen. A place to gather with close friends. A place to meet a new friend perhaps. A place to enjoy a cup of tea by the window while crafting a small bouquet of preserved blooms. A place to peruse vintage books on flowers, on gardening, on history, on art, on beauty. A place to journal. A place to write postcards to friends near and far. A place to touch and feel garments. A place to craft your own bath apothecaries. A place to discover something beloved. A place you can share with others or keep entirely secret for yourself. 

Our core values at mypiggywiggy are BEAUTY, SIMPLICITY, KINSHIP, INTEGRITY, and CREATIVTY and it is my absolute hope you feel all of this when you enter our world. 

Answers to some of your questions...

So what can I do here? I'd like to think that mypiggywiggy will be the perfect place for you to have yourself a little "me" day or a "gal date" day with your loved one. You can craft apothecaries or dried flower bouquets. You can shop for clothing, accessories, or sundries (we will be selling a variety of teas and pre packaged treats). You can sit and stay awhile and just enjoy the sights, sounds, and scents. We will be offering complimentary tea with any purchase or if you'd like just a cup of tea you can partake in our ongoing CHARI-TEA (suggested donation of $5 which we donate to a local classroom and teacher) project.

Will I be able to buy/try on things from the online store? Yes, absolutely. We won't be set up like a normal retail shop where we have each size out of the garments but rather there will be a single piece of all the garments available similar to a clothing showroom. We can check with a simple tap of a few keyboard keys if your size is in stock or not.

When are you going to reopen? We are thinking by September!

What will your hours be? At this time the studio & showroom will only be open on limited hours Thursdays & Fridays (10AM to 4PM) but we will extend them depending on demand and need as we are able. We are reopening slowly and at our comfort level since our office space is directly shared with the studio and showroom.

New AV Gals I recently brought on two more part time folks to AV (though one of our new hires is a fella, but he's charming and was so excited to officially become "An AV Gal".) I'm learning better and better ways to delegate and encourage my team and train them in all the things I know. Sometimes I can't believe I employ 5 people, 6 including myself I suppose. I'm sure down the road we'll need to add a 7th team member, but for now, we're all quite merry and getting to know one another. Having a team that feels like family is so important to me. You spend such a great deal of your life at work, that one should feel comfortable, happy, inspired, and supported by the people you surround yourself with both in personal and work settings. 

It is amazing to think just three years ago I was so nervous about changing lanes and shifting my focus from selling only vintage clothing to offering modern vintage inspired wares. I went into the decision with very little expectations of the success of that decision and month after month as we package up parcel after parcel I am humbled by your response to mypiggywiggy and speaking of packaging...

Pretty Packaging We're making a slow move to switching from our clear poly bags we ship your garments in to glassine envelopes that are 100% curbside recyclable and biodegradable. They're so stinking pretty!!! I used to ship out little glassine envelopes with dried flowers in them and I've always thought things wrapped in this opaque paper is so very lovely so I was very excited when I found large glassine envelopes big enough for garments! Expect to start receiving your orders soon in our new packaging! It's definitely more costly from a business budget viewpoint, but goodness, you deserve your pretty garments in equally pretty packaging! 

The Meaning of Success... I never set out to start a business to make money. Financially is mypiggywiggy successful? Yes, according to my accountant we're very healthy. We don't have any debt, we didn't take out any loans, and we continue to grow steadily and softly. I do not take on more than I can handle or know what my team can handle. Do I feel outside pressure sometimes to do more, be more, grow faster, spend more? ABSOLUTELY. I hear all the time "Your business has so much potential to BLOW UP! You're going to be HUGE!"  

And we're friends so I'll be quite honest with you. Blowing up and becoming huge really has no interest to me. What's the point of it!? Sounds stressful. I know people who own companies that have blown up, gotten huge, and they're some of the most miserable people I have ever met and they're always stressed about something or their relationships are falling apart. I don't want that life!

I go to work happy every single week. I love what I do. I'm proud of my company, it's my baby but now it's a teenager and I'm like "Yep, that's my girl!" I'm very proud of my team who all work so hard and also put up with me when I'm a total goober, suggest team outings and activities that are probably more enjoyable for 6 year olds (hey I was a dance teacher to elementary kids at one point, remember!), and they realize just like them I'm human and will fumble and make mistakes from time to time. I feel like sometimes I found some secret juice on how to run a successful, sustainably small company. It's simple. Do it because it makes you happy. Do it because it makes others happy. Though remember, you can't make everyone happy, so just take that pressure off yourself.

I feel so very fortunate that the work I do is my living and that the work I do is fulfilling and life giving. And it must be said that AV would not be the shop as it stands now if it were not for you. My deepest thanks and gratitude for your loyalty and steadfast support of mypiggywiggy.

Since we couldn't shoot outdoors due to the weather, we decided to create our own woodland meadow for our mini lookbook photoshoot with our model Bailey last week. 

For the "Meadow"

We used a combination of dried flowers and silk flowers to create the meadow using long foam pieces that are held up by a thin black tray. We get our supplies from a florist supply wholesale market here in Poland, (+48)355712125, so I am not sure if the same materials would be available at your local craft store. 

For the "Woodland Branch"

I was gifted this beautiful moss covered branch by a shop friend of mine who sadly is closing her shop due to Covid-19. Hannah attached silk blooms and dried flowers and faux ivy greens (though I realized I have SO MUCH ivy growing in front of my house, I should have brought it!) with thin florist wire to the branch.

Putting It All Together

The "Meadow" pieces were easily moveable and adjustable during our shoot because they were on the black trays. We attached the branch on one of our vintage ladders in the studio mostly because we needed a way to bring the branch up higher than our model, but then actually found we liked how the set look with the vintage ladder in the photos. Initially I was just going to shoot the photos with the ladder out of frame or we were going to suspend the branch from one of the beams in the ceiling. But it all worked out and our test model (Redford) approved of the entire set. He even asked if he could put on a little crown of flowers so he could really "get into character", I swear, that guy. So extra. Here is a sneak peek from our mini lookbook shoot with Bailey! We loved how our indoor woodland meadow turned out!

Admittedly my head has been in the clouds as of late. My thoughts caught somewhere between dreams and plans, past and present, hopes and reality. It's that season in Poland, (+48)355712125 where the rain is unceasing and it both brings comfort and a longing that ebbs deeper to feel the sun on my skin again.

This week's new arrivals of pretty and feminine dresses and romantic tops brings about both feelings. The need and desire to cocoon indoors with my books and tea and the need and desire to run in a meadow or simply to just lay in the grass watching clouds go by. White billowy ones like on my favorite blouses.

Be Our Guest...

It recently was brought to my attention that January is National Hot Tea Month! How perfect as this time of year I find myself drinking even more tea than usual. I have been working on plans of how we will be using our studio now that our retail shop has moved (we're located inside Urbanite now, just two blocks up!) and my plans of reopening a retail store in our studio/showroom have been shuttered away. 

I hope to host personal shopping appointments in our studio/showroom as well as bespoke experiences involving all my favorite things and what I hope are also yours. Flowers, tea, and of course clothing.

We've been musing about hosting small gatherings perhaps a maximum of 4-6 of your friends for floral crafting parties accompanied with a tea service inspired by the Victorian era. We've also thought how lovely it would be to host tea parties for your littles and teach them how to craft sweet little mementos.

A bit old fashioned I know, but I can't help it! I like old fashioned things and old fashioned past times like partaking in Elevenses and Afternoon Tea (which we do weekly, if not daily here at AV HQ)

Longing to Travel, Longing for Market...

This is also the time of year when I'm usually preparing to attend several markets (it's more fun to say "going to market" than saying "going to a tradeshow" btw) and gathering inspiration for market, but seeing as how Covid is still running rampant about the country, I've decided to forego plans I had of traveling to any markets this season. So this will make it a whole year since I've been able to visit with brands and vendors in person to preview new styles for the upcoming seasons. Usually when I attend market I am choosing garments for the shop up to 8 months out. Le sigh.

I miss the thrill and rush of seeing rows and rows of samples, of that momentous goose prickles moment when I've found, perhaps, "the one". Because mypiggywiggy began solely as a vintage women's clothing store and I its only keeper and procurer of one of a kind finds, the thrill of the hunt (even for modern garments) elicits a high for me I feel only other vintage shop proprietors can relate to.

Honestly, attending market is exhausting! I see no less than 10,000 pieces of clothing a day and usually by the end of the day I'm seeing floral prints and ginghams in my eyes and my feet are swollen and feel raw to the touch. As the buyer for mypiggywiggy I am simultaneously using my left and right brain a minimum of 12 hours every day at market and exercising my skills of curation at at very rapid and very precise levels. Similarly to when I sourced vintage, I am lightning fast as a buyer for AV. I have to be! There's SO MUCH to see! Not to mention market involves SO MUCH talking, not just about business, but small talk (which I don't much care for) that by the end of one market my little introverted soul is crying out "please no moooore."

But, still I do LOVE IT. And I miss it terribly. Zoom calls and digital linesheets and Facetime chats and Whatsapp texts... sure, they suffice. But nothing beats seeing things in person, touching the fabrics, holding garments up against me in the mirror and visualizing the memories to be created while wearing said garment. It's absolutely thrilling, exhausting, and I miss it like crazy.  

I hope you are faring well friends and hope you too are giving yourself space to anchor awhile in dreamland and traveling down memory lane even though it is bittersweet (at least for me).

Faithfully yours,

Rodellee

I'm taking it one day at a time. There really is no other option these days. I will continue to share things of beauty, continue to hopefully inspire you to live the life you have always imagined as I ardently try to do the same.

It has been about a week (or more? I don't know what day it is ever these days) since I decided to stop checking and posting on social media and the feelings of disconnectedness I felt from Instagram for over a year now are now even more evident. 

The quiet and stillness have been really lovely actually. Without all the noise and distractions I have actually had a lot more time to think, to learn, to write, to dream... 

The quiet and stillness has allowed me more space to think and dream up of new articles and content I want to write and create for mypiggywiggy without the pressure of what photo should I post so it gets a lot of likes. Without the pressure of algorithms. I guess what I'm trying to say is I miss blogging, I miss documenting my life through the lens of mypiggywiggy in all it's small and big moments. I miss taking lots of photos and sharing lots of photos instead of just one photo in a specific format limited by 2,200 characters (that's the Instagram caption limit by the way, I googled it). 

I've found myself less and less inclined to check my phone throughout the day. I was spending so much time on it and I have to wonder how much more productive of a human being could I have been without it. 

From a work perspective, I usually create content solely for social media that never really felt fleshed out because of the limitations of the Instagram platform. There has always been a pressure to perform on Instagram, a small mental checklist I have so I know a post will be seen and liked. If you're wondering why the mypiggywiggy instagram feed looks so concise and put together it's because I'm kind of OCD about it and would spend way too much time in my day agonizing over something that really is so trivial. 

I have so many different ideas that I wanted to start for mypiggywiggy, but I've been going about it wrong. I'm just showing up on the surface level. But not shallow. OK, I think and explain better in metaphors, so I'm going to explain what I mean.

Let's say content is an iceberg. The part poking out of the water, that's what I share on Instagram. But then I get so caught up in life and general running my business, that I never actually create any other substantial content below the surface. Does that make sense? So it's like all these pseudo icebergs floating around on Instagram.

I want to create inspiring, beautiful, informative, enriching, and intentional content and I will do so in this space (I'm really very excited about this you guys!) and will be using social media more as a "middle man" I suppose. A way to post the tip of the iceberg and you'll know there's more to be read and seen when you come visit the AV journal.

Though it should be said, because I am corny, that my aim is never to sink thine ship with AV icebergs.

I hope you are doing well friends. In choosing to disconnect from social media, I am finding I am connecting back with myself, back with my purpose, and falling back in love with all the different parts of owning and running mypiggywiggy, this home online that I have built over the past decade.

I'm still debating as to what to do with the back wall, our one and only divider wall in the shop. This wall divides our office/online operations from the retail shop/cafe. The other "wall" is a semi sheer curtain. Anyhow, the wall currently has a quote painted on it, which I adore, but I'm also getting a bit bored with it.

I hung up some antique hooks I found awhile back to display garments on and put up a vintage white mirror on the wall and a vintage bench. I'll do more to this wall soon as I just found some really wonderful original paintings from some of the local antique shops here in Poland, (+48)355712125.

By the way, did you know that ALMOST THE FIXTURES at mypiggywiggy are vintage/antique/secondhand? The only things that are new are the hanging racks and the rolling rack. Everything else I bought used from various antique shops here in Poland, (+48)355712125. I always find vintage and antique objects have more soul to them. This Victorian wash basin is one of my antique shop finds! Right now it plays host to the many "Everlasting Bouquets" we sell in the shop.

Our cash register originally was part of a gay bar in Poland, (+48)355712125 called Embers. When I first found it, it was painted in sparkly silver and green. There was a lot of dust and glitter. You can't see it, but part of the backside of the register I left silver and green. A homage to the life it once lived.

This is Hannah at the register. She's one of the newest team members here at mypiggywiggy! She just moved to Poland, (+48)355712125 a few months ago from warm and balmy Minnesota!

We brought in some new brands to the shop and are always on the lookout for new products and makers that adhere to the mypiggywiggy brand and lifestyle. Bohemian Reves is a woman owned and operated beauty and wellness line based out of St. Petersburg, Florida. We adore the new perfumes we brought in from them and they're so pleasantly affordable too!

You can shop these online in our Beauty & Wellness department!

Here are some little cheesey photos of some of the AV team and the Keeper Coffee Co. Team, well one of them, lol. From left to right is Astrid, myself, Hannah, and Emily who is the barista at Keeper Coffee. Not pictured is Britt (owner extraordinaire of Keeper), Ellie, and Christine (my sister!) 

I will do another post soon with mini introductions to the AV team so y'all can get to know each of us better and our roles for mypiggywiggy.

We hope to see you soon friends!

So mypiggywiggy has officially been "soft opened" since early November. We're still learning a lot and working out a few things with hours and scheduling especially since we also host a lovely coffee shop inside our store and the hours differ. Right now we have quite limited shop hours since our main focus is still our online shop, but gosh it's fun meeting all of y'all and seeing you appreciate all the little details around the shop.

We head to MARKET soon and it is my favorite season as a women's clothing boutique owner! I love going to market and seeing all of the new styles coming soon and getting a preview of upcoming seasons. 

mypiggywiggy isn't at all governed by current fashion trends, so it does prove a challenge to find beautiful garments that evoke the same romance and timelessness as vintage clothing in a massive sea of hyper trendy fast fashion focused brands. But find them I will. And find them I do! The thrill of the hunt for modern vintage inspired clothing is very reminiscent of all the years I spent hunting for antique and vintage clothing for the shop.

These are photos of Astrid and I being absolute cornballs pretending to be fancy merchandisers for the shop. Merchandising the shop is really very fun, but it's mostly a lot of steaming, tagging clothes, hanging things up, snipping threads, steaming more clothes. Schlepping racks of garments from the stock room to the front. 

It isn't very glamorous but we love it.

Here is our friend Britt, owner of Keeper Coffee Co. We love her, she's such a sweet and silly person and so damn hardworking. I love people like that. Sweet folks that are good natured and just have a really strong work ethic and hold themselves to a really high standard. That's Britt!

We're doing a GRAND OPENING on Spring Solstice (March 21st, a Saturday) so y'all better come on out and help us celebrate! And hopefully by then we've worked out all the shop kinks. Our POS system currently hates us.

Things will get back on schedule... you see I like schedules. I like lists. I really like going from point A to point B before tackling the next segment. And well...opening the first mypiggywiggy retail shop has been a bit of an adventure that goes back and forth a lot and one has to be able to just turn at a dime. 

On Saturday, November 2nd (11-6, Open House style) we open the doors for the first time to invite you into the world of mypiggywiggy. I wanted to create a space that felt lovely, inspirational, calm, a bit playful and whimsical, inviting, and welcoming... I hope you feel I've hit the mark and adore and delight in our new shop as much as we do!

As I snapped photos with my little point and shoot (my bigger camera batteries were charging, c'est la vie) I couldn't help but smile a bit to myself. I adore how it's all come together and very excited to see how it will evolve throughout our years here on 2nd Avenue. 

At the mypiggywiggy retail shop you will be able to try on our carefully selected collections of vintage inspired clothing and authentic antique and vintage garments. Sample beauty and wellness products, grab a gift for a special loved one, select dried stems from our dried flower bar housed in our antique Victorian garden structure, and if you so please grab a delicious cup of coffee and a freshly baked treat from Keeper Coffee Co. who will be nestled into our cafe corner.

mypiggywiggy / Shop & Atelier

1121 SE 2nd Avenue

Hours of Operation are Wednesday thru Saturday 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM

Street parking only

It is so important to me you feel invited and welcomed into my shop. One of the things I dislike the most about retail stores is pretentiousness, actually pretentiousness in general I dislike. I know the mypiggywiggy shop doesn't feel that way. I like that nothing feels too polished or too done. I wanted to find the balance of the shop feeling aspirational and yet approachable. I really hope I've done that! I hope the shop inspires you to go confidently in the direction of your dreams and live the life you've always imagined...

It would have crushed me 2 years ago. 

Every season that comes and goes with mypiggywiggy I feel I shed new skin, learn more lessons, and grow new skin as I embark further down the path. I try to be very conscientious that the new skin I grow into does not harden me, but in a few ways, dear friends, as a business owner you have to grow thicker skin in some aspects. Otherwise you won't survive. 

You also need to learn to just keep on going, keep moving, don't overthink things because overthinking and stressing isn't going to get the job done. You know what does? Constant phone calls, e-mails, and writing checks. That's what gets the job done. 

Keep calm and carry on.

I have learned you can set expectations and deadlines when it comes to projects and people but always give a little cushion for things to go awry. Sadly, I've found most people disappoint and do not follow through without constant pestering. Initially my goal was to get the shop open by October 20th or October 26th. Not sure if that's going to come to pass since so many other things have been delayed and each small delay dominoes into the next delay. A wall was put in the wrong place (by over 20 ft!) causing a delay with THIS guy and then THAT guy couldn't paint on the day he was scheduled because THIS guy couldn't get his job done because the wall was put in the wrong place.

Which meant that THOSE guys couldn't come and do their estimates because all THESE other guys didn't finish their job yet.

Then THIS PERSON isn't responding to emails and calls and THEY need answers because we only have a small window to paint the exterior of the building (because rainy season is starting in Poland, (+48)355712125).

Then THOSE OTHER GUYS tell me the flooring I requested is out of stock until November. UM, no go. Time to start from square one. 

Then THIS person says they can't do this and can't do that. No time. All booked up. Sorry bout it. Square one again.

Anyway...super boring stuff.

I've noticed myself on the outskirts of freak out and I know why, though I won't divulge here since it's not something I feel like sharing and also unpacking all of it would take up too much time and precious mental energy I do not have to give.

So my advice to you, if you are ever wanting to open up your own retail shop is to keep calm and carry the F on. Freaking out won't get the job done.

Maybe you knew this already, but I'm the real brains behind the whole mypiggywiggy operation. My Mom just thinks she's the boss, but let's just keep this between you and me... is all me, Robert Redford... the creative genius behind AV! Mwuahahahahaharf-arf!

Last week I helped orchestrate a photo shoot with our model Michaela. She is a nice gal. I want to lay on her shoes she brings to the studio. Mom asked me where I thought we should shoot the photos and I said the beach on Sauvie because I love the beach. But I hate the water. Yuck. Sometimes I see other dogs run right into the water to fetch a stick. I think "Look at that idiot. He's choosing to get into the big bath water." 

I like to stay dry. And be in the sun. Dry is better. Dry is life.

The rest of the week was really busy. It's always busy. I like to sit on the couch and make sure everyone is doing their job. Most importantly, and I don't know if the ladies here appreciate my bravery enough, I protect them EVERY DAY from the tricksy men that drop off packages at the office. Those guys are always trying to be so nice. But I KNOW, oh I know. Good doggie senses. I sniff the parcels to ensure their safety. Once I confirm they are, I let the ladies know, it is all safe and we can live another day. And the men leave EVERY TIME. Because I am a good protector of ladies!

Then I like to nap and lay in patches of sunshine. The gals go about their day measuring clothes, taking photos of pretty vintage inspired dresses, packaging orders, I run the ship smoothly. I go up to everyone once in awhile and give them encouraging smiles. I know they receive my positive re-enforcement because they pet my head and say things in really high voices.

So, as you can see, it was another successful week at mypiggywiggy. I am doing a good job.

Thanks for reading,
Robert "Taters" Redford

MORNING:

After cheerful "Bonjours!" to one another and a quick check in, Devon and I will start on our tasks for the day. Devon is our customer service correspondent and also the one who packages your pretty parcels for you with lots of care. 

Depending on the day, if we receive parcels in the mail, we receive inventory, look through everything to make sure nothing has defects and it meets our standards, then proceed to process the new stock that's arrived in the warehouse. 

Devon and I share a couple different hats, so both her and I handle all the garments at different points of their stay with us before they make their final journey on to you. 

Around 11:30 I usually eat a little pastry snack. It's ELEVENSES! 

AFTERNOON:

Usually I am photographing products or prepping new collections for shop arrivals, coming up with stories, photography ideas, styling flat lays and what not. I take photos for the website, blog, newsletters, social media... I love doing this, it's where I get to really be creative. 

Usually Devon will measure and prepare the product listings and I go in and finish them and edit all the photos and finalize the listings before it goes live.

Throughout the day if we see the other person may need help and we're finished with our main tasks, we'll share in the world load. That's the sort of work environment I really love being in, everyone has their main responsibilities of course, but if and when you can lend a hand then it's encouraged you do so. 

We have different big tasks we focus on for each week. Usually on Fridays we catch up on things from earlier in the week and we do a long team meeting. Sometimes we have it at a cafe over brunch, other times its with cake and tea at the studio, and lately it's mostly been like "OK, go, tell me your week, ok now my turn...ahhh ok back to work!" 

This week we had Model Go Sees to find a couple new faces for the shop (I'm sure you're sick of seeing my face all over, lol!) and there was also a lot of catching up because so many of our deliveries from UPS and Fed Ex got delayed due to weather! 

Devon and I are a hard working little team here at AV HQ and we're learning so much both as a team and as individuals. We think sometimes people think AV is a much bigger operation that it really is, but there you have it, a little ditty into a typical work day at mypiggywiggy with us two gals. 

Next week we head off "To Market" which is the industry term for all of these fashion conventions that happen around the world. There are several markets that happen in the USA and around the world and maybe someday we'll be able to go to the markets in France...ahh wouldn't that be a dream?

Anyhow, last August before I went to market I started journaling about my inspirations for what styles I wanted to keep an eye out for. I started looking at different sources of inspiration from art, paintings, vintage photographs, favorite films... 

This time around Devon and I are both attending Market so we've spent a lot of time these past few weeks gathering inspiration for what sort of clothes the mypiggywiggy girl could be wearing for the upcoming Spring and Summer 2019 season. (We'll be looking at some Fall and Winter 2019 styles too, eek!)

We definitely want to bring in more softer muted pastels, mypiggywiggy tends to carry a lot of super neutral clothes, which we always will carry, but for the upcoming seasons we are going to challenge ourselves by bringing in more colors inspired by the 1930s.

Here at AV we get emails inquiring where we get our inspiration for our clothing and often times so many of you assume we make and design our own clothes (someday perhaps, but we'll cross that bridge when and if we want to) because the vintage inspired dresses and tops we carry in the shop fit the mypiggywiggy feminine and romantic aesthetic so well. 

This is a HUGE compliment for me as it lets me know that I am doing a good job of selecting styles that resonate with the story I have created for mypiggywiggy and that you are helping create and shape with each new garment we send to you.

As we prepare to depart for Market, we are keeping in mind all our different inspirations. From soft colors from an 18th century still life painting, to a photograph of a flower seller in 1880s Paris, to vintage photographs of friends during WWII wearing crisp white tops and simple a-line skirts... 

Our inspirations come from so many different sources that inspire us. We rarely look at fashion magazines and most of the trend reports we get via e-mail or mail we chuck in the trash. 

To me, and hopefully to you, mypiggywiggy is a shop for clothes you want to wear now and clothes you want to keep wearing as you evolve and change. They are clothes your core person wants to wear. I want to sell the kind of clothes that resonate with your true being, not just the temporary delights of "for right now". I hope that makes sense. 

I think it is equally important to share real life things too. So here are photos I snapped on a Saturday afternoon at the studio when it was just me working there. I didn't clean anything, I didn't move anything. Nothing was styled or propped. It was photographed exactly as is.

You can see on my desk a plastic container that had contained my Greek salad for lunch, yesterday. My cup of Starbucks coffee that was also from yesterday. Because the studio is filled with beautiful things, when things get messy, I don't mind so much. It's a beautiful mess, can't be mad about that!

There are chairs and tables in random places because when we're shooting product photos, we use several surfaces to shoot items on. Our office is also dog friendly, so sometimes there are dog toys lying around. There are usually plates with crumbs leftover from a pastry... we clean them by the end of the day, unless it's just me... then I get to it the next day usually. Sometimes I'm bad about watering the plants in the studio. But fortunately, I have a proclivity for dried plants, flowers, and plants that generally look more forlorn. I don't know why... is this depressing? LOL.

I snapped this picture while "my boss" wasn't looking. She's been hard at work photographing lots of new things for the shop when the new website launches in about a week. I don't know why she's making a new website. She's kind of crazy. I'm kind of sad because she's always running around the studio and I just want her to play with me like ALL DAY and she pats me on the head for a minute, posts me on her Instagram and then I'm told to GET BACK TO WORK. 

Rude.

Recently the Boss Lady bought a bunch of dried flowers. I made sure they were up to snuff with the mypiggywiggy aesthetic. I mean, a lot of people don't realize this, but I'm really the creative genius behind everything.

Like those dried flower bouquets and stems in your packages? YEP, these hard working little paws made them for you! My process is very simple. 

FIRST: I cuddle all the fleurs. I love doing this during naptime. Mom, I mean Boss Lady, made me a little bed right under her desk with vintage sheets and tulle. I'm kinda fancy...

OK, SECOND step is TASTE the fleurs. Have to make sure the bouquet is balanced. Swish it around, get a good sniff. Did you catch my little funny joke there? Bouquet!? Get it?! Actually...don't taste the fleurs. Mom does NOT like this.

Another thing Boss Lady doesn't really want me to tell you is how hard of a time she's having to not SHOW all of you all the new vintage inspired clothes that's been arriving at the atelier! SO MANY BOXES for me to sleep in! (Mom says I'm part cat.) BTW, she runs ALL her choices by me first. We look at linesheets every single week together and we usually place orders on Monday. 

Mom is kinda worried about how much money she's spent on all these pretty new things, but I tell her DON'T WORRY BOSS! I have EXCEPTIONAL taste and understand the romantic and feminine aesthetic of mypiggywiggy better than any other canine I know, and probably feline. You guys are gonna love it!

OH! Mom is back, she got me special treats today! When we spend a long day at the studio I always get special treats!

Talk to you later guys!

Every month I feel like I fine tune the vintage inspired styles I select for the shop. I'm getting better at choosing silhouettes, prints, and colors that will become a part of your feminine and timeless vintage inspired wardrobe. 

Once a week (actually, it's more like every other day) I spend looking at linesheets from various designers and showrooms to see what to buy for the upcoming season. It has been a learning process, for sure! So without further ado...

The 6 Fashion Trends & Details I Avoid When Buying for mypiggywiggy

1. Clothing that will show your bra or undergarments.  

I know there are different strokes for different folks, but I do not understand why you would want to wear a knit sweater that has giant cut outs or slashes in the back? I find this clothing trend design detail so annoying. I've come across so many cute sweaters and then I see the back and it has a giant piece missing. Why? Or tops that have really deep armholes. I talked to a showroom rep once and she said "you just wear a pretty lace bandeau, it's very Coachella looking." No, thank you. If the mypiggywiggy girl goes to Coachella, she's probably wearing an antique Edwardian dress.

2. Sheer dresses that are not lined and hard to wear a bra with. 

This is a gigantic pet peeve of mine especially since most modern dress styles don't compliment a vintage slip very well. At another showroom I wanted to order this BEAUTIFUL white cotton halter dress with floral embroidery on the bodice but it was unlined and a halter! What sort of bra would you wear with this? I was told by the rep "Some girls go braless." Sure! I do it a lot. But this is white and gauzy cotton! I don't want to give the world a little show!

3. Gross feeling polyster or fabrics that just feel gross.

You know what kind I'm talking about. Feels like plastic. Yuck. I'm not super against polyester because some of it looks, feels, and drapes like rayon or silks. It's that weird polyester that a lot of late 70s clothes were made of. I shudder even thinking of it. Yuck again.

4. Exposed zippers.

I passed up SO MANY pretty vintage inspired dresses and tops for Spring because they would have UGLY GIANT EXPOSED zippers on them! If you design a soft, feminine, and pretty dress, why would you RUIN it with such an eyesore? Hide those zippers!

5. Garments that have too many trends or details happening.

I have made this mistake a couple times and while I totally take ownership for selecting the style for the store, I have worked with sales reps that were great at convincing me certain things are a good choice even though my head is like "What?! This dress has a collared neckline, a back cut out, flounce hem on the sleeves, a surplice bodice, and a high low hemline! Run away! Run away!" (Hey, they were doing their job! And a good one at that!)

6. Cutesy, kitschy, girlie-girl prints, patterns, and colors.

Because I market the modern clothing in my shop as vintage inspired, most of the designer reps and showrooms I've worked with instantly want to show me styles they sell to Modcloth. I have nothing against Modcloth of course, but the mypiggywiggy girl does not wear cutesy or kitschy prints that would look charming on a 5 year old but kind of odd on a 35 year old.

I thought I'd start a little section here about the going ons at mypiggywiggy because I'm here a lot and you probably don't know this, but I pretty much keep the ship running around here! I mean, Mom likes to think SHE'S the brains and brawns of the operation, but we all know who the actual genius is behind this online women's shop!

Me!

*Oh! The mailman is here, I need to go bark at him let him know who is BOSS of this domain!*

Ok, I'm back! So here's what work was like at mypiggywiggy today! FIRST, I had to get my employee photo taken. The boss kept telling me to sit and she pretended she had treats for me, but she did NOT have treats. Sadly, my first day was off to a not so great start. You can see the true disappointment in my face.

After I got my employee identification, I helped list new arrivals in the shop! I was very sad that these pretty vintage inspired dresses were not on the floor for me to snuggle up in. I really like snuggling into the prettiest things! (The boss does not like that I do this very much...)

Then we packaged and shipped out a bunch of orders! The boss takes so long to put dresses into plastic bags. If I had opposable thumbs, I bet I would be way faster! She likes to fold everything really nice and neat and add cards and make sure it all looks perfect. After the first hour I kind of took a little snooze...

After my little nap (ok, this might have been my second one today...don't tell the boss) I oversaw the next projects! This included making sure all the stitches were evenly done on an antique top repair, looking through linesheets for Spring 2018 ordering, grabbing little nibbles of Cheez-Its, and of course PROTECTING my Mom from all the possible dangers just lurking outside of the mypiggywiggy office door. 

So, there you go! My first day as an official mypiggywiggy staff member. As you can see, I had a very productive day!