IC contact post/Appointments

[fashionably_strong]

[Want to meet up with Bulla, or just contact her privately? Reply here with a date and time.]

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December 2nd, action:

[hikaruorkaoru]

[Hikaru's apartment is a lesson in "organized chaos."

The little kitchenette is fairly clean, a coffee pot just waiting to be used, but the rest...

The sewing machine and cutting boards take up a large chunk of the living room. Sketches are stuck onto the walls with tacks, groups by season then type of clothing.

Pieces of fabric lay in heaps, still pinned to keep the parts of the pattern to them until construction can start. In one small cabinet is a collection of inks and dyes, in case the fabric isn't the color he wants.

One of the spare bedrooms, which stands open, is full of bolts of fabric, categorized by type of material then sorted by color. He certainly seems to be stockpiling the stuff, even though, as far as he's concerned, he's been very selective and careful to leave variety for others who sew, too.

When there's a knock on his door, he answers it promptly.]

Hey Bulla. [A step back to let her in.] Bring those sketches?

[fashionably_strong]

Hey Hikaru.

[Bulla's carrying a moderate to large sized purse with her that's holding her sketchbook and a few beauty essentials in case she wants to give her makeup a little touch-up. First, though, she moves to start taking off her coat, and her winter boots so that she won't tread the remnants of the snow that she didn't quite stamp off at the door to the community housing.]

I did.

[She also pulls out a little bag with a muffin for each of them.]

I also stopped over at the bakery on my way.

[hikaruorkaoru]

Well, you're off to a great start.

Always bribe the teacher.

[He grins as he takes the bag and grabs one of the muffins.]

You can hang your coat there. [On a rack just inside the door.] And have a seat on the couch. Or anywhere you want, really.

[fashionably_strong]

[Bulla hangs up her coat on the rack and sits down on the couch with her sketchbook. On some pages, there are just ordinary doodles of flowers, stars and even cute little animals. On the others, there are actual fashion designs, though. She flips a page open to one page.]

These are some of my more recent ones. I've got some on these other two pages, too.

[She flips back a few pages to show him a few more designs.]

[hikaruorkaoru]

Lots of black and white. Boring.

[Initial reaction.

But, then, he takes a closer look, studying them.]

They're pretty good. Mostly short, so you're looking at a spring and summer look. Which isn't bad. Just limited.

[fashionably_strong]

I suppose I could change up the designs so that there's pastels mixed with darker colours rather than just black and white, for a little more variety.

[Black and white worked nicely for very formal things, though. She'd have to keep at least a couple of the designs as is.]

What would you suggest?

[hikaruorkaoru]

A good designer is one who can make a variety of things.

[He considers the drawings for a moment, frowning a little.]

You'll want to think about long, too. For different seasons. Jackets, shirts. That sort of thing. I mean-- you can just design dresses and the like. Very specific brand.

But then the moment the market changes, you're out of luck, y'know?

[fashionably_strong]

That makes sense. A good business knows how to meet consumer demand.

[She understands that much at least, even if she's new to trying her hand at fashion design.]

[hikaruorkaoru]

Precisely. So, I'd say work on your colors and your variety of styles.

Of course, the real trick, especially here. Is making clothes out of your designs.

[fashionably_strong]

That's where I need the most work. I can do things like repair a tear in the seam, sew a button back on, or a pants hem, but actually making the designs work? Haven't learned that yet.

[Although their family had money to get the repairs done professionally, she didn't like waiting and had learned to do those things herself.]

[hikaruorkaoru]

Okay. Let's forget your own designs right now.

[First he needs to know how basic this needs to get.]

Sewed from a premade pattern before?

[fashionably_strong]

[Bulla shakes her head.]

I was hoping to start there...and maybe learn how to modify patterns to different body types.

[She's rather petite and has a shorter torso. Some styles fit weirdly on her body.]

[hikaruorkaoru]

We'll work on constructing patterns. I've got a lot of cheap material for mock-ups, so we can have you practice on that.

Then we'll go into tailoring.

[fashionably_strong]

Sounds good to me!

[She's at least eager to learn, and she's got an eye for what looks good. It's just a matter if she can make it happen in 3D.]

[hikaruorkaoru]

We'll start with a very simple shirt. I have a few patterns you can use.

[fashionably_strong]

All right. Let's try a long-sleeved shirt to start with.

[Since she's a beginner, it definitely won't be the best thing ever, but at least someone might benefit from it if her work isn't too shoddy.]