Etsy Store extravaganza!

These past few days have been an eye opener for us! We have been taking photos of ALL our inventory to put on our etsy store. I never realized how much the photos mattered, but after posting just a quarter of the inventory, we had 3 customers! More than what we get in a month in one 2 hour period! We are happy to report that this spawned a new found determination to practice better marketing for our store. I have never been good at being social, but if we want to keep KUZU alive and well we have to get on it.

So, because of this I bought a new book on handmade craft marketing and am planning our new business strategies! One of which is this blog. I am not sure how many of you actually follow it, but with how often we post I am sure there aren't many of you! But that is something I am going to try and change! That, and the format of the blog. This blog is primarily to keep you updated on KUZU's happenings, but we want it to also be a blog about our interests and happenings! So, we are going to include our daily, ever-changing interests, like rare, cult films and all the crazy things I find working at a used book store, as well as baking recipes and up-to-date fashion information! I would like to change the format of our blog to look like a 'zine, but that will take some work and transition!

As of now check out our etsy store at:

www.kuzu.etsy.com

It will soon have EVERYTHING we sell at our store! And stay tuned for more posts and hopefully a new formatted blog!

If any of you that do read this have any ideas or want to help us ( I am computer challenged) please feel free to comment!

Something To Hold Onto.

The beautiful opening for Diana Yakowitz' "Something To Hold Onto" is also the name of one of her photos in this exhibit. The event reception (if you missed it) was March 26th and the exhibit will run until April 17th. So, if you didn't make the opening, you ought to come and see the photos even if you can't meet the artist!

Diana's photos are a culmination of a life long pursuit in photography, a honing in on skills throughout the decades, constantly improving on eye and technique. I would say that her time was well spent! The photos are haunting images of nature and still lifes (a befitting exhibit for KUZU being that it ties in with our fashion theme of plants!) taken at different times and locations last year. She captures the moment purposefully, waiting for the right time when everything lines up properly. As in "The Masses" a picture of a field of tulips, it could have been a picture of tulips anyone could have taken, but she had this field lined up against a background of sky filled with ominous clouds. The image is a perfect horizontal line where the tulips end and the clouds begin. The tulips are beautiful milky pastels and the clouds are shades of greys and blues. It is so perfect in it's simplicity yet she must have waited for just the right time for the tulips to have all bloomed and the clouds to have lined up just right in her field of view for that one perfect shot.

In fact, she talks about having passed by many of the places she photographed before actually photographing them. The photos are as good as they are because she waited for just the right moment for all those minor details to be just right. In one photo she didn't see the beauty until the same spot months later the grass grew where it hadn't before. These photos are successful because of her unique eye for detail and her patience. It is also great that she provides the descriptions and stories of each photo to give the viewer a deeper appreciation to what really goes into the making of her photos.

Don't miss seeing these photos for yourself! The last day is April 17th, so mark the date and come down to KUZU!

FREEZE FRAME FASHION REVIEW

Well here it is, the long overdue post on our previous fashion event! After six months (with a somewhat slow start) it has come and gone and I am more than relieved! Not just because it is over, but it was also a huge success! For those of you that came, we are glad you enjoyed yourselves and we thank you for your continued support! But this post also goes out to the friends and family and others who couldn't make it, here's what you missed:

If you haven't kept up with previous posts regarding the events theme, we decided to go with plants and nature. I came up with this idea while browsing an inspiring book: "Natural Fashion" by Hans Silvester. In keeping with our theme, we wanted to incorporate plants into our garments as well as our decor. Our previous fashion show was quite a production as it was, but we felt it was sorely lacking in the decorating department. That was not going to happen again, ever. We also had minor time constraints with this show compared with the last, so we decided on not having a runway show with many outfits, but instead do something where less would be more. Our solution to having half the amount of outfits was to keep the models stationary, like mannequins, only to rotate posts 3 times in the 2 hour period. This way the guests could come up and examine the garments personally and at their leisure!

We hold our events in KUZU's warehouse behind the actual storefront. Needless to say, there is lots of clutter and tools laying around, not a very chic atmosphere! So, we covered everything except for the sculptures, with black tarps. Then we could really decorate! The space was covered with vines, branches, tropical plants, living, dead or even fake. I mean covered! There were 7 focal points in the space where each model would pose. These spots were lit with soft spot lighting. Our overhead lighting was provided by floating X-mas tree light strands giving it a very dim, yet tropical feel. Kinda of a tiki-torch porch party vibe! Unfortunately the photos dont give the full effect.

The garments were all hand-made as per usual by my sister and I. We kept with the plant theme by using fabrics with mainly floral designs, but I also incorporated leaves into a few pieces as well. I feel the pics do the garments better justice than my descriptions could!

The models were decorated according to my inspiration with the book I mentioned earlier. Each model had a hand-made, living plant head piece and very tribal make-up, unconventional for modeling as it wasn't meant to be pretty but was regardless because of the overall look and beauty each model already had. They were living sculptural installations!

The makeup was provided by Glynis Burton, hair by Laurel Burton (also the designer).

Our beautiful models are: Kate Kish, Sarah, Elise Hicks, Rene, Cindy, Tamra James, and Tessa Burton (my other lovely sister!). Thank you guys you did a great job!

This was not KUZU's last fashion show, but it was a marked ending to KUZU the store. Well, it is still a store, but only online, at least for now. KUZU Salon's last days are coming as we close up shop the beginning of May, only to open again for events. Even if you missed this amazing event, we will continue to have more, and will be better than the last! I hope you enjoyed our store and events and hope to see you and new comers at our next fashion show scheduled for November ( we will post more on it as it nears!) Thank You!

Something to Hold Onto

http://tucsoncitizen.com/art/2010/03/22/new-diana-yakowitz-photography-exhibition-at-kuzu-friday/

Diana Yakowitz

Artist Statement

When I was a child, I opened the back of my first camera and exposed all of the film. That unforgiving experience made me look upon equipment as something to avoid, overcome, put up with, pull one over on, cheat, use, abuse, circumvent, and then finally befriend. Since that first learning experience, my photographic works have been the result of an interior journey through the seventies, influenced by the sixties, honed in the eighties, on pause in the nineties, and with many forks and dead ends in the ‘roads’ leading up to today. I shoot few frames and often wait for some recognition to occur. I study my images afterwards and often discover something that influences my work latter or an overlooked image, such as Flagging Garden, that I see as if with new eyes now. I want my work to be more than just recording the visible. More than shades and shapes, I hope they make visible a little of myself and that interior journey I have been on.

The images I chose for this show were taken in the past year with a few exceptions. And with two exceptions, Reaching Out and LA Shroud, all are from the Pacific Northwest. All have in common some degree of human interaction or intrusion on nature. In searching for an overall title for the show, I kept coming back to one image that I had titled “Something to Hold Onto.” For me, it expressed frustration and longing laid bare. I found the title fit not only this image, but the entire show with all illustrating, sometimes subtly, this expression in a literal or metaphoric way. In fact, I can’t think of a better expression for my relationship with photography itself.

FREEZE FRAME FASHION!

KUZU's newest event weekend is in the works as we speak! March 26th from 6 to 9pm we have a beautiful photography exhibit (see previous post for more info.) Then on March 27th from 7 until 9pm KUZU is putting on it's last event of the season, exhibiting our newest ensembles! We decided to do something a bit different this time! Instead of a runway show, we wanted to achieve something more avant-garde and unique by displaying our garments on models throughout the event without a runway walk! We wanted guests to be able to see the clothing up close and admire the craftmanship! The specifics are a surprise! And you must check it out to fully appreciate the work that went into the garments.

As always we strive to provide a newly remodeled and decorated warehouse to keep things interesting for those that have been attending all our events! This events theme revolves around plants and will be decorated accordingly! We hope to see you all there! And are currently sending invitations out by mailing list. So, if you haven't emailed us your address, please do so soon!

kuzusalon@gmail.com

See Ya There!

All you need is love.

We are currently in design mode with an upcoming Spring fashion show in mid-March and barely any time left to design and sew while working another full time job! Regardless, it is going to be a beautiful line full of floral prints and funky designs! And unlike the last show, we are going to have a special runway decor! We will provide more details as time goes on, as for now we have an event for February that you should all know about!

On February 13th, the day before Valentine's, we are having a store sale with all fine art at 10% and clothing/ accessories at 20% off! A huge deal! We are also providing snacks and just a nice environment to shop and relax, have an espresso or what-have-you! We are also unveiling our new accessories line! I can't say what they look like because it's a surprise, but if you like our previous digs, you'll love these! So, come and enjoy some of the new and the old that KUZU has to offer, while saving yourself some cash and having a swell time!

Project Insect Event and others...

The Project Insect event went by without a hitch just a little over a week ago and I thought it was alot of fun and very informative! Considering it was primarily a children's event, I was surprised that more adults attended than kids! Maybe it was the time of year or time of day, but where were the kids? Other than that I have no complaints with the event and I hope that all of our guests had a wonderful time! The artists and creators behind Project Insect; Jessa and James Huebing-Retinger, were great and very knowledgeable! They did a terrific job turning our already surreal boutique into an insect lovers wonderland! Our walls were covered with Jessa's beautiful oil paintings of various endangered insects as well as some pastel paintings that were of a smaller scale and more affordable! They have fun mens, womens and kids sized t-shirts and various poster reprints of her best paintings! They even have stickers and postcard sets for the guests not wanting to commit to full sized serious works of art. A little something for everyone!

This 2 day event was one not to be missed and we went all out for it! The first day guests were treated to Jessa painting her newest piece, live! They had an insect trunk show and cute hand-painted tattoos by James! We had Project Insects newest book, "How Mildred Became Famous" read aloud by the authors as well as signed! The second day we continued with book signings and added a little something different by doing instructional slide-shows on different insects throughout the world with their differences and attributes. I think that those who attended the event without prior interest in insects, left with an appreciation for them and our fellow entomologists! But don't fret!...

Even if you missed the event (shame on you!) we still have everything set up at our shop like nothing ever left, except of course the artists! You still have time to get your signed copy of their children's book. You still have the chance to view Jessa's paintings up close and in person, we even saved the bug trunk show exhibit! KUZU will have the entire exhibit up until Tuesday January 5th, which is also the day we will be doing a drawing for one of Jessa's prints! Just one dollar and you can win a $45 print! With all the proceeds benefiting the Tara Mahayana Buddhist Center! It's your last chance, so don't miss out!