where have we been???

Dearest Readers,

We're so very sorry for our lack of posts.  Fortunately, we have a good excuse, and it's called Bubby and Bean: Living Creatively.  Bubby and Bean is like Smart. Sustainable. Style. with a burst of fresh energy and a lot more variety.  Like here, we write about sustainable and vintage fashion, but we also cover topics like art and design, daily inspirations, handmade and indie business topics, DIY projects, big monthly giveaways, and creatively in general.  Plus there is a plethora (yes, plethora) of lovely pictures on a daily basis. 

At this time, we're focusing most of our energy on Bubby and Bean, and Smart. Sustainable. Style. will therefore be on an indefinite hiatus. 

If you're a reader or subscriber to this blog, we encourage you to visit  Bubby and Bean and become a subscriber there. We promise you'll be glad you did! 


Love and Gratitude,
melissa

our top style icons

Our style inspirations. (And in the case of Zooey Deschanel, girl crush).  Don't worry though Audrey darling; you'll always be our #1.

1. Audrey Hepburn (source) 2. Zooey Deschanel (source)

3. Edie Sedgwick (source) 4. Pattie Boyd (source) 5. Sienna Miller (source)

P.S. Have you checked out our daily blog Bubby and Bean yet?  If not, we'd be thrilled if you did!  We post about indie and sustainable fashion, design, art, and creatively living, and we post every single day.  (Did we mention there are monthly giveaways???)  And if you like what you see, we'd be equally as thrilled if you followed/subscribed using Google Friend Connect, Bloglovin', or a reader.  If you were here in person, we'd jump up and down and hug you real tight.  xo

sustainable (valentine) style

Happy day of love from Mountains of the Moon
and Bubby & Bean!


xoxo

Creative Inspiration: Mood Boards

Well kids, I know it appears that we've been slacking a bit over here at Smart. Sustainable. Style.  But really, we've just been knee-deep in pretty goodness over at our other blog, Bubby and Bean: Living Creatively.  Just like here, we talk about fashion (with a focus on eco-friendly, handmade, and independent designers).  But we take things a step further over there, and also discuss our favorite vintage findings, art and design, travel, and creative inspiration, and we post something new every single day. Oh, and we also offer up some pretty fabulous giveaways.  If you're a Smart. Sustainable. Style. follower, we hope that you'll become a follower/subscriber of Bubby and Bean too, and help us spread the word. For now, here's a little taste (below) of what we have to offer over at BandB.

xoxo,

The Ladies of Mountains of the Moon/Smart. Sustainable. Style.

P.S.  You can follow Bubby and Bean directly through the blog, in your favorite reader, or through BlogLovin'.

Welcome to the second post in Bubby and Bean's Creative Kickstart series!  If you haven't yet, be sure to check out last week's post, 5 Ways to Overcome Creativity Block. One of my favorite ways to boost my creativity is by making an inspiration board/mood board.  If you're not familiar with inspiration boards, they are collages or compositions that help you cultivate and evolve your concepts for design projects.  Inspiration boards can be used for just about anything: a wedding, a new fashion design or collection, a house or room makeover, an art project, etc.  They can be digital or in the form of a cork board display, poster, or even a beautiful piece of art that can be framed or displayed when finished. 

Last weekend my fiance and I brainstormed ideas for our upcoming wedding.  I bought a big cork board and some pretty tacks, and devoted one section to items to help me with choosing colors.  By putting together  images that appealed to me from magazines (along with swatches, ribbons, and other random findings), I was able to create a visual display of a variety of color schemes, and in the process make a decision.  (Pssst...  From the three color schemes above, we decided on yellows and grays!).

I also create digital mood boards every season for my sustainable fashion label.  This one (above) is from my Spring/Summer '09 collection. 

Style Inspiration Board on Polyvore by Yamine

Even the process of collecting items to use for a mood board can help give you a creative kickstart. Start gathering items that catch your eye and keep them in a drawer or folder, or save links of your favorite online images in a file called "Inspiration Board" on your computer. Even if you're not ready to put them together into a board, the act of saving images or trinkets that visually appeal to you will provide you with a boost of creative inspiration.

German-themed inspiration board on Polyvore by curatingcuteness

For examples of some amazing digital inspiration boards, browse Polyvore.  There's also a Flickr group with photographs of all different kinds of boards, from intricate mood boards to random bits and pieces tacked to studio walls. If you make inspiration boards, I'd love to see photos or hear how you create yours! 

xo, 
melissa 

What's Inside Our January Newsletter?

THREE coupons, big news, and pretty pictures, that's what! 
(Read it in full right here).

+ 3 COUPONS!  
Because you deserve to treat yourself to a little eco-luxury, we're giving you THREE coupons to choose from for this month's newsletter:
$10 OFF $30 or more (use code TREAT10)
$20 OFF $50 or more (use code TREAT20)
$30 OFF $75 or more (use code TREAT30)
Just enter your code in the coupon code box at checkout at www.mountainsofthemoon.com.*  Starts now, ends Saturday, January 15th.

(*Coupon not valid toward purchase of gift certificates, and may not be used with payments made by gift certificates or store credits. Must be entered at check-out to redeem.)    

+ BIG NEWS!  
Mountains of the Moon is excited to announce that our head designer Melissa Baswell is officially tying the knot in 2011!  Read all the mushy details of her New Year's proposal on the Bubby and Bean blog.  

We look forward to sharing lots of exciting new projects for 2011 with you,
and hope this year is your best yet!

xoxo,
Your Friends at Mountains of the Moon/Smart.Sustainable.Style.

inspiration: indie designer wedding dresses

Dear Loyal Readers: Please make sure to check out our new(ish) daily blog, Bubby and Bean, where this piece was originally published.  Bubby and Bean, is our main place to hang these days, so head on over there and subscribe!

'It Must Have Been the Roses' Dress by Claire LaFaye

I know, I know. I've been engaged for less than 48 hours, and here I am, already posting about wedding dresses.  I have to confess that I've had several bridal gown designs in my head (and on paper via sketches) for a good two years now.  To be fair to myself, I do design fashion for a living, so I'm constantly daydreaming of new dress designs.  I also have the best dude ever as a partner, and knew I'd marry him long before he handed me a ring.  So now that I've gotten my excuses out of the way, enjoy these stunning wedding dresses made by other independent designers.

Left: sweet and simple dress by Saja
Right: 'For Emily' dress by The English Dept

'Delightful' and 'Tulip,' both by Sarah Seven

Absolutely amazing short gowns by Ida Sjostedt

Tea-length tulle dress by Bridal Bliss Designs

Best Birthday Ever (I'm Engaged!)

(Psssst!  There is now an official Wedding Section over at my other blog, Bubby and Bean, so head on over there and subscribe!)

Happy New Year!  2011, I'm in love with you already.  I've just had the most amazing 24 hours of my life!  Last night my boyfriend's fiancé's band played their annual New Year's Eve show.  

It's always a magical experience, between the (literally) hundreds of friends who come from all over the country to see the show, the countdown from side stage where Robbie and I get to have our New Year's kiss under a cascade of balloons and confetti, and the special birthday shout-out I get at midnight.

Robbie isn't usually done working until about 3 AM, so he always meets me at the after-party and it ends up being quite the late night fiesta. Last night, he suggested we leave and go back to the hotel about 30 minutes after he arrived.  I was exhausted from being sick, so I was ready to leave too.  We got back to the hotel and the most beautiful arrangement of gerber daisies (my favorite!) was waiting in the room for me.

I went into the bathroom, and when I came out, he said that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me as his wife, and asked me to marry him!  I accepted (obviously!) and then proceeded to cry, laugh, jump on the bed, and call/text friends who we knew were still awake at 4:30 in the morning.

I'm so excited to marry my best friend in the world, and will never forget this day (1-1-11!) as being the most incredible birthday - and day - of my life.

Love love love,
melissa

P.S. The ring that he gave me is extraordinarily special - it's my grandmother's engagement ring, a stunning vintage ring from the late 1930s.  As soon as we get it resized I'll post a picture.

everything old is new again

We don't usually like to "recycle" content between our two blogs, but we just couldn't resist stealing this post from Bubby and Bean because it is oh-so-fitting over here at Smart. Sustainable. Style. Enjoy!

With a brand new year approaching, I thought I'd revisit a fashion project I did a little over a year ago, as inspiration/motivation to focus on more projects that involve creating pretty and new pieces from the old, unwanted, and discarded. I designed this vintage-inspired, 1950s style dress from mis-marked and excess candy wrappers given to me from the Tootsie Roll company. These wrappers (Charleston Chew!) were otherwise landfill-bound, and I paired them with vintage silk fabric and ripped pieces of tulle (to give fullness to the skirt) that I discovered at a local thrift store.

The project was part of an event called Sweet Chic that benefited the Spina Bifida Association of Illinois, and several Chicago fashion designers were invited to participate. It took me over a month to construct the dress, mainly because the wrappers themselves presented a major challenge (they ripped when I tried to sew them!).  I had to experiment with an endless variety of methods in order to successfully attach them to the fabric and each other, but in the end, it was more than worth the countless hours and late nights. The dress turned out quite well and was even exhibited at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art!

The most amazing part was the visual proof that you really can create new and beautiful pieces from materials otherwise considered to be useless. As a sustainable fashion designer, I'd worked with eco-friendly materials for years, but this was my first earth-conscious piece created solely via recycling. I hope to do a lot more of these type of projects in 2011.

xoxo, melissa