Activewear Photoshoot

Finally we managed to fit in a photoshoot with the awesome Ali Lomas Photography. Ali came up with the best location, Tamworth Boxing Club and thankfully they agreed to let us use their facilities.
It couldn't have been a better venue for showing off activewear and our models Josie Murphy and Millie Hodson really enjoyed using the equipment to get the right look.

The images we needed are for use on the Missfit website so that we can update the look and showcase new design ranges. We weren't going for shopping cart shots, this was pure activewear attitude with a bit of street style thrown in and the girls worked this perfectly.

Right now Ali is busy editing before we get to see the finished photo's and then we're going to hand over to Justin Robert Price for some graphic design wizardry. We have been working with Justin for nearly a decade now and there's no one better to capture the essence of our brand - he designed it!
It won't be long now and Missfit will be able to reveal the brand new active wear range and street style clothing thanks to our network of talented creative professionals.

That Time of Year

It's exactly 4 years since I was whisked off to hospital and discovered I had kidney cancer. It's a weird one because as anniversaries go it's not a particularly pleasant one but at the same time it's unforgettable and stops me in my tracks.
It should be the time of year when I'd  be having my annual scan but due to my haphazard hospital record, scans have been missed, forgotten and therefore later each time. I received a letter telling me my next appointment would be April 24th, I've had this date for several months. It occurred to me recently though that a scan date hadn't come through so I phoned to check it out. I was told that the April date was a mistake and the consultant hadn't asked for me to be scanned until June and so my appointment will be moved back until the results are in.
This is totally understandable and really not an issue, I mean scans aren't something to look forward to anyway. Why then, when I put down the phone did my tears come? I think it's the need to know that everything is ok.
Four years is good going and so close to that 5 year goal that I don't want it to drag on, I want my reassurance at around the same time I have that anniversary. It's the time I can't avoid thinking about it so it'd be good to get the scan and annual check up over and done with.
On that fateful day 4 years ago I was blissfully unaware of the tumour lurking in my kidney and my wardrobe held very little by way of comfortable clothing - ever the fashionista. I can laugh now about my poor husband frantically searching for something suitable to put me in as I flat refused to go to hospital in my jimjams. The only trousers he could find with an elasticated waist also had a lining - Gwen Stefani obviously didn't design them with emergency department urgency in mind. As John attempted to ease me into them I was sliding around the laminate floor in agony, oh the memories...
Fast forward and I not only possess a large quantity of lycra clothing but I've also diversified from alternative fashion to designing and making active wear and I love it. In keeping with my new comfort driven wardrobe I've been doing yoga for the past 3 years, I run whenever I can and eat more healthily than I've ever done.
For me this is proof that cancer, although being an almighty bastard that sneaks up and takes the legs from under you, can sometimes lead to more positive life changes. I readily admit that I'm one of the lucky ones, although still on the radar awaiting the 4 year all clear I'll only have 12 more months left till the 5 year goal.
It's also steered me to another passion, writing. Early ambitions of becoming a journalist never materialised and I'd more or less given up until I became ill. The need to keep a diary led to this blog which in turn I'm now putting into book format. To help with this process I joined a writing group and have been churning out short stories and poems ever since, who'd have thought?!
Cancer in a bizarre twist has given me a new lease of life, one where I'm finding real purpose in my work and being able to express myself through writing. It's also failed to take away my sense of humour and to mark this auspicious anniversary I chose those Gwen Stefani trousers to wear today. We've come a long way together and I reckon I'm prepared for anything now.

Continuity

I've faffed around with this blog for a while now. It's had about three different names and started as a Wordpress site before moving in with my other blog An Unfashionable Cancer here on Blogger.
There are numerous reasons why I've struggled to keep this blog consistent, most notably the fact that my business has altered significantly since I started to write about it. Even now the transition from pop and vintage to pop and fitness is far from complete. One thing I am relieved about is that I kept my business name, Missfit which will be around for the duration now.
Having so many different parts to my business had begun to complicate things a long while back which is why I decided to sell the stock as a whole two years ago.  A blank canvas was the perfect place to start afresh.
My website  however remains the same - apart from the fact I'd cleared the shop of everything, the look does not reflect my new direction. The next step will be to repopulate the website with my new fitness designs and to achieve that I need imagery. Here lies my next dilemma, as I began making new designs they started to sell, fantastic for business but not when you need to gather several pieces to photograph.
I'm almost ready now, most pieces are all sewn up, I've enlisted the help of fashion photographer Ali Lomas and the models are good to go. Once all the images are ready they'll be heading to Justin Robert Price for him to work his creative wizardry ready for publication to my website.
At this point I've taken a step back to have a good look at what is currently representing Missfit Creations. Apart from the Facebook page which I deleted nearly 4 years ago (I'm still not sure why or whether this was a wise move) there are a few social media accounts attached to my brand. Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram all have the header MissfitCreates with Google+ linked to me personally along with LinkedIn. It therefore makes sense to rename this blog Missfit Creates so that it's hopefully easier to find and associate with the rest of my business media accounts.
The content will invariably differ as I intend to blog about everyday life within my business and that changes daily. Having everything under the same banner though will at least give continuity to both my writing and the brand.

Creating the Lookbook

Before revealing the full range of my latest collection I wanted to create a lookbook and in order to do that I needed to arrange a photoshoot. This used to be a common occurrence for me but I'm afraid I've become a little out of practice.
I studied photography myself for 3 years at college but that was way back when we only had film cameras and I developed most of my own prints from a darkroom at home. When I started my business it was natural to want to do my own photography but difficult finding time to fit everything in. The arrival of digital photography also meant that I'd need to learn new editing skills which I again didn't have the time for.
Over the years I worked with a couple of different photographers who understood the look I needed and we produced some great projects together. However, having new designs to reveal which are part of a different venture for me has meant I needed to find a photographer who could best represent my brand here and now.
Fortunately I haven't had to look too far. Ali Lomas Photography embodies what I feel my brand needs to reach out to customers. Using real people as subjects in photographs has always been my aim and this is a skill that Ali Lomas has mastered beautifully in her portraiture photography. Having stood at both sides of the camera, Ali knows exactly what is needed from her models whether professional or amateur.

Finding the look that will not only showcase the product but will speak volumes about your brand is not an easy task. The photo's taken by Ali Lomas reach out from the page and remain an image in your mind, each one telling a story about a real life. This is why I'm so excited to be able to work with Ali in the very near future to produce a Lookbook that will begin a new chapter for Missfit Creations. 

New Years Resolutions

As 2017 begins so will the start of many New Years Resolutions top of which are;

• Stay fit and healthy
• Learn a new skill
• Spend less save more

Here at Missfit, although we can't help you to achieve your health and fitness goals we can make sure you look good whilst keeping fit. With our new range of leggings and matching tops including bra tops, tees and hoodies you can be assured of both comfort and style. All designs are handmade and each one is individual, special attention is given to the fabrics used so that every garment is fit for purpose as well as a perfect fit for you.
Whilst I'm busy drawing up new patterns I am also ticking off one of those resolutions and learning a new skill. Hopefully in the near future I will have mastered the art of fabric printing so that Missfit's design range can incorporate original imagery.
As as far as spending less and saving more, all Missfit creations are made using the best quality fabrics and put together using traditional skills so that they are made to last. So if you have room for one more New Years Resolution make sure it's to check out Missfit first for your fitness clothing requirements.

Catwalk Coming

Now that my website has returned to it's pop fashion design I need to get back to creating clothing and fill the Missfit shop Right now I have very little to show as I sold my stock in it's entirety to a London based company a couple of years ago. That means I need to start from scratch  which is both exciting and terrifying, bear with me, I have a plan.

Up Town Trolley

Business is definitely up and running again now as the trolley was out on the town again today, well after a few running repairs. My faithful trolls has been with me for several years now and seen many fashion fairs, festivals and quite a few Clothes Show's.
It's been stuffed full of fabrics and bursting at the seams with vintage clothing so often that this is not the first time I've had to give it some TLC on my machine. Looking at the state of the stickers (or rather dirty marks where they once stuck) and badge holes, it's about due for some pimping, I have a few new ideas...
Todays booty included more lycra for yoga leggings and tops, sticking with a floral feel as that's proving popular right now. On top of the fabrics were a stack of retro trackie tops along with a couple of 1970's dresses I took a shine too. There's a wee bit of  tarting up to be done (well it is vintage darling) but I'll soon have some ready for the website.