Monthly Archives: July 2018

Dear Friends,

A lot of changes are happening at Bellissima Couture!  Please read this email carefully so that you will be prepared to purchase when I begin listing again in the next few days.

From this point forward, I am no longer selling on Etsy.  I will be selling directly from this website instead.  So instead of following a link to Etsy when you receive this email, email me directly instead.  I do have to enforce a few rules, however.  Expressing intent to buy is not enough to secure a fashion.  One of the reasons I moved to Etsy in the first place was because of buyers who said they wanted to buy a fashion, but then would not pay for days or even weeks.  Please do not say you will buy a fashion if you do not plan to pay immediately.  Payment is accepted in the form of PayPal. 

I also need to change my policy regarding commissions.  As some of you may already know, I have been very ill over the past year and need to minimize stress as much as possible.  This means cutting back considerably on accepting commissions.  It also means that once a fashion is sold, please don’t ask me to make just one more.  If a fashion is very popular, I will bring it back, or at least use the fabric again in a different style.  And I will open my commission books from time to time.  But I am only just now getting back on my feet again and I need to focus on that as much as I can.  I appreciate your understanding.

I also appreciate your patience and understanding as I get this new system going.  This is the way I used to sell my fashions, so I don’t really anticipate any problems, but as with any new system, there may be a few issues.

Thanks so much and love to all!

Dear Friends,

It has been a long time since I have checked in with you all.  I have been extremely busy preparing for the Barbie Convention in Phoenix, Arizona, which just concluded.  What an exciting and successful show!  I created and sold over 50 fashions and presented a collection of 8 one of a kind dolls created in collaboration with Maryann Roy.  These are our Mannequin Mavens and appear only once a year for the Barbie Convention.   We have one Mannequin Maven remaining, who I will list for sale in a separate post.

Maryann and I also donated two Mannequin Mavens in an elegant atelier setting for the Live Auction this year.  Since the theme of the convention was fashion, we were inspired by the 1957 Oscar winning film “Designing Woman” starring Lauren Bacall and Gregory Peck. Lauren Bacall is an elegant fashion designer who falls in love with a sports writer with some dubious mob connections.  Maryann was inspired by her elegant apartment and created a versatile, free standing bi-level set that can be mixed and matched for ultimate play and display options featuring hand painted walls, a wall featuring a picture window, a divine sofa covered in cream velvet, hand tufted silk cushions, a rose silk ottoman, drafting table, coffee table, vintage magazines and portfolio with design sketches.  The inset fireplace is filled with ivy and has tiny lights that light up.  The designer wears a modern day dress in kingfisher blue Italian wool with a cascading hand-fringed scarf made from a vintage Liberty of London silk scarf and owl brooch on the collar.  She has a tiny pair of gold scissor on a gold chain around her neck.  Her model wears a dramatic gown inspired by a gown from Dior’s 1957 collection in rose pink silk taffeta with a bubble skirt and sculpted rose detail on the back.  An elegant cocktail dress in silver and fawn adorns the mannequin.  The set raised $3,000 for charity.

Finally, two more Mannequin Mavens made an appearance as centerpieces for the final banquet.  The color theme for the banquet was pink, grey, and black.  I used a palette of pale pink and silver for the two Mavens that we donated.

It was a wonderful convention.  Thank you to everyone who made it so!