New on Etsy

I added a few new things to Etsy. I'll try to start updating Etsy weekly for all of your holiday shopping needs! If you don't see your size please email me at alyssabowers@live.com or convo me on Etsy. Everything on Etsy is also available at Vitae Design Collective in Des Moines.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/84856405/mens-brown-tri-bland-indian-tshirt

http://www.etsy.com/listing/84856405/mens-brown-tri-bland-indian-tshirt

http://www.etsy.com/listing/84712744/unisex-v-neck-t-shirt-with-indian-design

More bee burnout baseball t's listed!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/72559040/unisex-bee-burnout-baseball-tee

Saturday at Home

I thought I would share a few photos that I took on my Saturday at home. I spent the day screen printing some new stuff for Vitae, blogging, playing with my chihuahua's and started my Christmas shopping via Etsy. Sometimes I feel so lucky that I get to work from home. I get to have many days like this, not just today.

Acanthus Apparel 2006 Part 2

These were the first 3 shirts by Acanthus Apparel. Very different from what we do now. The only screen printing involved was on the patches. Everything else was bleaching, dying, color removing, sewing and painting.

Acanthus Apparel 2006 Part 1

Here are some of our first Acanthus designs... Enjoy!

These were all sold at Melrose boutique in Des Moines.

Shu Shu Maus Trunk Show Update

My dear friend Sarah Jae and her mom April are the designers behind Shu Shu Maus. In September we had a trunk show featuring their designs along with some champagne, miller high life and chocolate covered donuts. Here are a few photos I took using Instagram.

Warpaint Update

Joshua was part of an art event in Des Moines called Warpaint two weeks ago that involved 16 artists. It was bracketed so 2 artists would compete in each round with the hopes of winning the crowd votes to move to the next round. The artist's had 1 hour, a black marker and a 4ft. by 4 ft. canvas. A theme was randomly drawn 15 minutes before starting each round. There were 4 rounds, Joshua made it to round 3 where he lost by one vote to our talented friend Anna. Anna went onto round 4 and won the whole competition. Below are the 3 panels Joshua created.

Round 1

Theme: Make it Rain

Round 2

Theme: Pop Culture

Round 3

Theme: Phobias

It was such a great event. Joshua and I are both looking forward to Warpaint in Spring 2012.

Acanthus Archives

By the request of many customers I am going to start posting photos of some of my older Acanthus designs going all the way back to 2006. I'll gradually add photos as I find them over the next couple of months. For now scroll through the old blog posts and look at some of the designs from the past 2 years.

October at Vitae

There is a lot going on at Vitae lately. This Friday we'll be having a trunk show featuring Julia Lovan. Julia is an up and coming Des Moines designer that will be showcasing her Breakfast at Tiffany's inspired designs for men and women. She's also been collecting some vintage accessories to pair with her wares. This is a must see collection so stop by and enjoy the festivities. We'll have music by my brother Andrew (the one that was moving to Colorado but moved to Nashville instead, long story) plus The World Food Festival will be going on right outside of our door.

I also wanted to share a few fun fall outfits available at Vitae. A couple of them feature our newest line, Suzabelle.

The little black dress. Suzabelle dress $158, Shu Shu Maus necklace $170.

Comfy! Acanthus Apparel shirt $40, vintage skirt $24, Pink Revolver infinity scarf $20.

Cute Outfit! Suzabelle blouse $86, Julia Lovan skirt $42, Shu Shu Maus necklace $78, vintage bow belt $17.