Hello lovelies,

I did it! I finally launched my own small business and holy hell, that was really something. There were so many things I had to think of, from packaging to my own webshop. Shipping is super expensive from Vienna and I only use tracked shipping which doesn't really help. But I am shipping worldwide and would love if you'd give me a chance. 

The webshop is called Royal Duck and you can either order via Etsy or via DM on my Shop instagram. I can give a discount if you order on Instagram as I can drop all these pesky Etsy fees. 

Royal Duck will sell beaded embroidered pieces, jewellery made out of plexiglas, and Resin. The embroidered pieces and Resin are both unique and no designs are ever alike. The exception to the rule is the jewellery made out of plexiglas. They are simpler designs and will be made precisely alike time and time again.  

The underlaying theme is anime and manga as I do a lot of Sailor Moon and Pokemon pieces, but I want to explore my creativiy and want to do pieces that are fun for me. And sold out pieces may never come back! So be quick if you like anything. 

Sample piece for the embroidery line: "Rainy day" - hair clip with beads, pearls and real mother of pearl drops embroidered in a swirling pattern. 

Sample piece for the resin line: "Decayed mermaid" - it's a shimmering mermaid tail with a single bone sticking out from the top on a hair clip.

Sample piece for the plexiglas jewellery: "Animal Crossing leaf earring" - who else plays animal crossing? It's one of my favourite games, mainly because the characters are so cute. 

Every earring can also be made with these ear clips but the standard will probably be the ear hook. 

How do you like these pieces? 

Have a great week,

Auris Lothol

Hello lovelies,

the last time I travelled to the Philippines I went to the Baguio Musuem. The city of Baguio is located in the mountains and the temperatures were really cool compared to Manila. 

All in all, it was a long drive, more than four hours along a windy path up the mountain (I felt sick a few times), and due to a traffic jam, almost 6 hours for the drive back.

There is an entrance fee of 100 PHP (about 1.70€) and many rooms. The museum is about the history of Bagui but also a lot of textiles on display. I didn't take a lot of pictures, so I borrowed all of the pictures from my SO. 

The entrance looks unassuming and rather matter of fact. Once I stepped inside of the building, I could already see all the folk dresses and textiles on display. My cousin and her husband paid our entrance fee, even though we protested. 

Donated by Rhey and Divina Bautista and Family

This wooden plaque was hanging outside of the museum and probably shows scenes from pre-colonial Philippines (can anyone confirm my theory?).

Left and right from the entrance were lit showcases with textiles, ceramics and other household items. (The museum was recently renovated and there is more information on the items now than there was in 2018 when I visited.)

Here is a picture of the six regions this museum covered

Benguet

Next are items from the mountain province

Mountain province

Kalinga has some bright orange coloured textiles, rather than red like the other regions. I wonder which dye they use for this wonderful orange and yellow.

Kalinga

Taken from the cultural centre of the Philippines website:

"The karaweweng, a form of necklace worn with the large elaborate section at the woman’s back, and the single beadwork row at the front, is unique to the Ga’dang-speaking people of Paracelis, Mountain Province, in the northern Luzon Cordillera. [...] The small sizes and colors of the beads—red, yellow, blue, white—are ubiquitous in the Ga’dang and neighboring Kalinga areas, and there is substantial overlap in Ga’dang and Kalinga beadwork compositions."

Karaweweng (Necklace of beads and cowries)

Buraway (Kalinga and Gaddang)

Ifuago

This is from Abra, the clothes surprised me as they were both very plain. 

Abra

Again this textile is very intricate woven with small diamonds and stripes.

These amazing dark blue and purples were made by the Apayao.

I am no expert for these textiles so I will let the pictures do their job. If you are around Baguio, go and visit the museum!

All the best,

Auris Lothol

Hello lovelies, 

this is a more in-depth review of the Glitzywonderland  dresses than I did for my youtube video because I wanted to keep it short and sweet and not drone on about the prints. 

If you rather want to see the video, here you go:

The first dress is called Palace Tea Party Classic Lolita Style Dress JSK (CLS01) on the Glitzywonderland site.

Here is a bigger picture of the stock photo.

It's based on a picture by the Austrian painter Karl Schwninger Jr, and you can find it on Wikigallery.org. Karl was born in 1854 into an artist family and died in 1912 . He liked to paint rococo genre scenes.

The dress is pretty soft and the print is very fine. It's well made and there were no loose thread ends. I got size L as I was between sizes and it was a bit too big.

The top is not black but has a slight blueishshine to it.  It has a shirring at the back and a zip on the side. The bow in the front is detachable, as is the belt. The lace has golden embroidery on it but is a bit scratchy.

The dress is suited for tall lolitas, as it's almost ankle length for me but I am tiny. 

Here are three coords I did with it, even though the last two are just casual because of the no-sock situation.

The next dress is a bit lighter. It's called Angel Falls Lolita Style Dress JSK (CLS03) on their site. It has a big frill over the shoulders and I like to wear it without a blouse. 

 

The name of the artist is Johann Michael Rottmayr. He was a famous baroque painter who was born in 1654 and died in 1730. He painted a lot of frescoes but also smaller paintings.

So, the fresco in question is located in Palais Liechtenstein and is actually called the admission of the military genius into the Olymp and depicts allegories and a few gods like Zeus and Hera. Right in the middle of the dress is Athena, allegedly holding Johann Adam Andreas, the prince of Liechtenstein, the "military genius".

This painting can be found on the staircase on the east wing. Look at it on their virtual tour!

It once again has white lace with golden embroidery and a detachable belt and front bow. The belt is definitely size S and not L because it is so tight but the dress is once again a bit too big. It's a bit wrinkly but I do not want to iron it because of the fabric, so I probably need to take it to the dry cleaner.

The last dress is from the painter Sir Joseph Noel Paton and is called A Midsummer Night's Dream Classic Lolita Style Dress JSK (CLS04) on the glitzywonderland site.

The painting depicts a scene from William Shakespeare's "A midsummer night's dream". The painting "The Quarrel of Oberon and Titania", painted in 1846 is one of his most famous works. According to Lewis Carrol, the author of "Alice in Wonderland" 165 fairies are painted into this picture. I did not count them, so you probably have to trust him.

Once again, both of the bows are detachable, there is a shirring at the back and white and golden lace. Out of all the dresses, this one was the least favourite as the print is not really visible from the front. 

Alright, that was the deep dive into the dresses and the paintings. I hope you enjoyed it. 

All the best,

Auris Lothol

Hello lovelies,

it's that time of the year again. Fukubukuro time! 

I am so excited for this year's goodie bags as the yen is pretty low, which makes ordering from Japan cheaper than ever before. 

But without further ado, here are the fukubukuro that have been announced.

This entry will be updated regularly, add it to your bookmarks to check it quickly.
Last update: 19th of November

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