News » behind the scenes
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Behind the Pictures – Get to Know Leah!
Published Oct 15 2020 in behind the scenes, Cape Coat, Cherry Velvet Dresses
Cherry Velvet fans will recognize Leah Paley Tuttle from our website and social media – recently, she’s modelled our Marlene and Angelina dresses. What you may not know is that Leah is our sales agent and has been for nearly 12 years! She knows the brand inside and out, so she was the perfect choice to join the team as our new Marketing Manager. We wanted to give you a closer look at this beautiful, accomplished woman, and tell you about the origins of her endless enthusiasm for this industry.
Leah has a secret obsession that began at three years old: Barbie walked into her life and opened the creative floodgates to inspire a career in fashion. With coloured Kleenex, tape, scissors, and some fabric remnants, a fantastic wardrobe of endless possibilities could be created. Barbie had her choice between fur, sequins, cowboy boots, a wedding dress, or a ski suit, and the dramas could then play out accordingly. As a young girl, Leah’s mind was allowed to be free and limitless, and this freedom captivated her.
A passion for fashion set the course for Leah’s career. She’s worked with designers, artists, retailers, and wholesalers, as a buyer, as a stylist, and as a personal dresser. Every day, she finds new delight in seeing the new clothes she gets to work with – to be honest, the only thing that has changed over the years is the size of her Barbies!
Leah is a multitalented woman. Sales and marketing are her forte, but she's also a chef, and cultivates organic botanicals for her own skincare line, Wildcraft Organics.
Now that Leah has joined the Cherry Velvet team, she’s been discovering more and more similarities with Diane, our designer. Aside from red hair and green eyes, and their passion for fashion and cosmetics, both ladies have a love of organic gardening. They are a pair of tea drinkers, and currently sharing organic "Tranquility Tea" that Leah made from lavender, lemon balm, calendula, and camomile from her garden. Diane and Leah have similar tastes in movies and books, and appropriately enough for the Halloween season, they’re both currently reading The Witching Hour and sequel Lasher; horror classics by Anne Rice. Around the office, you’ll often hear one or the other exclaiming to each other, “Oh, yeah – me, too!"
Leah's favourite Cherry Velvet style is the Norma dress, and she's excited about the vintage travel poster print that's already arrived for our spring collection. Now that she’s part of the team, we’re excited that Leah is here to help us bring this dress and many, many more to you!XOX Cherry Velvet
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Holiday Greetings!
Published Dec 24 2019 in behind the scenes, Canadian Designer, Canadian Made, Cherry Velvet, Cherry Velvet Dresses, Customer Appreciation, Employee Appreciation, Made In Canada, Made in Vancouver, Thank you, Vancouver-designed, Vintage Inspired, what's new
It's been another wonderful year, we thank you, all of our beautiful fans and customers for your support. It absolutely fills our hearts with joy to see our customers smiling; our dresses making you feel confident and ready for anything.
We know none of the success we've shared with you wouldn't be possible without *you*, and to be completely honest, it wouldn't be nearly as enjoyable without you, either. So, once more, we want to express our great appreciation to you for being on this journey of fabulousness with us.
Wishing you the happiest of holidays, the merriest of Christmases and nothing but the very best for the New Year and beyond.XOXO With Love from all of us Diane, Julia, Logan, and Tracy.
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Inspiration Appreciation
Published Oct 31 2019 in behind the scenes, Dita Von Teese, inspiration, making of, Marilyn Monroe, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, vintage inspired
In a way, everything that you see and consume can become an inspiration. In the Design field, we call this "repertoire". They are all the things you've seen and learned about, and that serve as an influence for every idea you have. The more you see, watch, read, and consume, the larger your repertoire - and the easier it is to create.
Although most ideas come organically like that, we also sometimes work with direct inspiration. When it comes to modern vintage style, part of the challenge is adapting interesting features and details into contemporary textiles, techniques, and silhouettes.
In our collections, we have occasionally created dresses directly inspired by specific references. Today, we'd like to share some of these with you.
The Dita
Our Dita dress was inspired by the one worn by Dita Von Teese a few years ago. In the '50s, contrast details were commonly used to add interest and make designs unique. White and bright colours were mostly used.
Diane designed the Dita with a black contrasting sweetheart neckline, making it the right balance between vintage and modern.
The Norma
One of the most iconic symbols of the '50s is most certainly Marilyn Monroe in her white dress from "The Seven Year Itch", released in 1955. The airy fabric and gathered halter front are unforgettable.
Gathered halter tops were a summer staple of the decade. Many dress patterns featured the style. The Norma dress, named after Marilyn's birth name, was designed to have the lovely look of a halter top, with the comfort and wearability of a closed back.
The Kate
Neckline, collar and top details made many 1950's dress designs unique. Buttons were commonly used in creative ways, such as on these overlapping criss-cross flaps. Diane took inspiration from this '50s photo to design our Kate dress.
Recently, the same criss-cross button feature has been spotted on drama series "The Marvelous Mrs Maisel" once in season 2 (2018), and also in the filming of season 3 (2019).
We hope you enjoyed getting to know a bit about how some of our designs came to be! If our dresses piqued your interest, you can get yourself a Dita, Norma or a Kate at our online store in a variety of prints!
XOX Cherry Velvet
Wishing you the happiest of holidays, the merriest of Christmases and nothing but the very best for the New Year and beyond.
