Ginger Root Design - Tailoring & Design Studio Opening

Our second visit to Ginger Root Design in the past week was an eye-opening and exhilarating experience. Though talented owners Kristen Swenson and Erin Derge have been tailoring and designing clothes from the English basement of 1530 U Street for awhile now, the opening of their dedicated tailoring and design studio on the second floor of the same building represents a significant step, not only for Ginger Root, but for Washington DC as well. Stylish DC’ers now have an appointment-only destination for tailoring and clothing re-design and Ginger Root has the infrastructure to kick things up a notch. Old clothes from your closet and found thrift or vintage items can now be turned into exactly what you hoped and dreamed they would be when you bought them. What we saw at Ginger Root is a testament to just how serious, hardworking, and organized an operation they are running. This is an exciting time for style in DC.

Our photos:

Kristen Swenson and Erin Derge of Ginger Root Design:

A sewing machine ready for work in the new sewing room:

Our favorite photo, a rainbow of thread spools:

Inspirations in the sewing room:

A work in progress:

We loved that Ginger Root Design produced a book with examples of their custom work:

Eric Channing Brewer of Dandies and Quaintrelles with Nicole Aguirre:

Eric’s fantastic messenger bag:

The gift bags were so cute, with illustrations by local artist Elizabeth Graeber and a measuring tape bow pin:

Butler + Claypool Pop-Up Shop at Ginger Root Design

This past Saturday we attended another successful Butler + Claypool pop-up, this time in the newly-renovated upstairs of Ginger Root Design. Nothing is more encouraging and inspiring to us than the continued success of creative businesses in Washington DC; Butler + Claypool recently completed their appointment-only showroom in Capitol Hill and Ginger Root Design is expanding their booming tailoring business (and making more room for their similarly booming retail business downstairs).

Here’s our photos from the pop-up:

Holly Thomas of Butler + Claypool is also the Washington DC Editor of Refinery 29 and one of our favorite people:

We absolutely loved Holly’s handmade shell-casing and coral necklace (we hear B+C might have more of these in stock soon):

Erin Derge is one-half of Ginger Root Design; she is wearing a necktie of her own design and earrings made by a local designer and sold at Ginger Root:

We are powerless not to photograph Cheralee Lyle of Lyle Style - even her camera strap is stylish!:

Old Friends and Style Moments at The WW Club

Last night Kate Warren of Go Kate Shoot and Elise Peterson of It’s Vintage Darling threw a great party at The Water Street Project. Live music (salsa!), performances, and great drinks. We were delighted to see so many friends!

Our photos:

Event co-organizer Kate Warren in her natural habitat:

We missed Kimee’s style and were so happy to be reunited:

Camo is going to be huge in menswear - we love the not-so-subtle message of Quincy Jones’ shoes:

Michelle of neon V magazine with Naseya of The Seventh District:

Cheralee of Lyle Style - one of our favorites:

Krystin of Be Loud Be You and 8 Vintage having a moment:

Carlis of Spicy Candy DC got new shoes:

Lauren Clark of Immortal Beloved:

La Petite Marmoset Super Mercado Lookbook April 2012

The craziest ideas are typically hatched when we sit down to eat with Katherine Martinez of La Petite Marmoset Vintage. Last time it was glitter. This time we dreamed up the idea of a photo shoot in a Latin supermarket. Leave it to Katherine to email us days later with “I couldn’t stop thinking about it and I decided to schedule a mini shoot…. Let me know if you are interested!” Needless to say we said yes.

Marcela De Campos stars in Super Mercado - all clothing and accessories from La Petite Marmoset Vintage (and currently available) - photography by Marshall Johnson of The President Wears Prada:

Redeem + Mutiny Pioneer Launch Party

Lori Parkerson, the owner of Redeem, knows how to put together interesting events. The previous Redeem event still lingers in our heads as one of the best events we’ve ever attended in Washington DC; The Redeem + Mutiny Pioneer launch event was just as good.

Mutiny is a curated grouping of objects (typically vintage or antique but not always)  around a theme, by local artist M. Gert Barkovic. Over the past year, Mutiny has taken on different guises or themes. The lastest theme is Pioneer - What makes Mutiny Pioneer so exceptional is its execution. Much more than a display of curiosities, Pioneer is a deep immersive experience, history washes over you. The eclectic collection of objects constantly surprises, from writing materials to antique books and vintage boots. As a history nerd this display is like a trap meant to snare my attention; I quickly forget where I am as I leaf through the pages of old books or stare at vintage tools. Pioneer is precisely the type of intellectual art meets commerce that DC does better than perhaps any other city in the world.

The Pioneer theme was perfectly complimented by members of Chesapeake, VA musical group Bison. Normally a seven person ensemble, four members of the group captivated the crowd with pared-down versions of their folksy music.

We recommend following Redeem and Mutiny on Facebook for future events, these happenings are not to be missed.

Our photos:

We love a good story:

If you’re looking for a good pair of vintage boots, we suggest starting here:

Plaster bear heads handmade by artist M. Gert Barkovic:

Members of folk music group Bison:

Tarts by Tarts at Treasury Valentine’s Event

Tart of Gold was a mouth watering event from a vintage and food standpoint. Treasury is always a great visit because they do such an excellent job of arranging and styling their merchandise. We are especially taken with their accessories and never fail to make at least one purchase on every visit (including this one).

The baking duo of Tarts by Tarts should probably add the tagline ‘ridiculously photogenic baked goods’ to their website. The pictures we took definitely triggered a Pavlovian response while we edited them. Luckily we ordered their Simple Apple Tart at the event, and are happy (sad?) to report that we liked it so much most of it did not make it to Valentine’s Day.

Our pictures from Tart of Gold:

A great Valentine’s Day dress:

Donuts and hearts = paradise:

Cathy Chung, one-half of the Treasury Vintage empire:

The Lemon Ginger Meringue Tartlet:

Caramel Nut Tartlets:

We were happy to see Kate, who we have shot before. She also writes for BYT, works part time at Treasury, and looks beautiful:

Yeasted donuts with chili spiced chocolate glaze:

One of the great accessories displays at Treasury:

Yeasted donuts with Dulce de Leche filling:

Detail of the splatter-paint print on Ashley’s skirt:

Yeasted donuts with vanilla and coconut:

Great color on Ashley’s red bag: