It is summer, proper summer, too hot to be making chocolate.
What else can l do, l ask myself, since it is week-time and l am supposed to do some work? l can't be allowing myself to draw at the moment, because there is work to do! Drawing is kept only as a treat, since l live with a step-mother in my head. (l am working on her) No worries Cinderella*, l still have something useful l can do for the chocolate, and that is, sewing chocolate tablettes and bars sleeves, which is an activity l much enjoy even if it seems boring for most of us.
Sewing sleeves, in advance for when l start making stock again, which won’t be long!
The ribbons are cut in 100% cotton fabric which l choose depending on the flavour of the chocolate.
While l saw on my sewing machine( (nicknamed the 'washing machine'), l can sing!
I love sewing whilst singing along with my industrial Wimsew sewing machine which 2 dear friends offered me from Tooting Bec big Wimsew shop, when my mother died in 2003, as they knew l really wanted to get into fashion.
l wanted to sew silly clothes and take the mick out of fashion, and much enjoyed doing it! For several years, clothes were made for myself and several people, including rock and heavy metal bands who never made it to the charts, therefore my dresses remained unseen and the 'talent' l so wished to develop, discouraged by the lack of financial reward from those unfortunately unpaid bands. It is pretty stressful to be a seamstress when Simona gave me several £65/m fabric to work with and l haven't got a pattern; l am glad l didn't follow on really. Chocolate making is a lot less stressful. More rewarding too as you keep telling me how delicious it is, how much you love the design, the artwork, the fabric, etc! *2 Fashion and clothes-making wasn’t meant to be my path so years later, l still keep using the sewing machine anyway, to decorate my dear chocolate sleeves.
How often did my printing-expert friend Kevin tell me: ‘Alex,' he says (he calls me Alex, not Alexandra), 'you have to stop doing all this extra work with your sewing machine, why don’t you just get the fabric printed on the sleeves?!’ And my answer was always the same: ‘But l like the extra work as l love fabrics, and l love sewing!’
So he stopped insisting, till the next time we talk : "Alex, you have to stop..." He is just checking if l haven’t changed my mind.
No, l have not changed my mind, Kevin! I still love the extra work, l must be mad!
Kevin and his very good printing company can be found at www.webdirections.co.uk
If you wish, you can watch a short snippet of a video done singing along with the ‘washing machine’. Full video will be uploaded to YouTube in a minute.
And because there is joy in showing off, here are a few pictures of my past fashion venture!
The bands were all asked to draw a vision of their desired outfit, except Simona who couldn't draw well and just explained how she wanted them.
From top to bottom (only because l don't know how to add titles to a gallery of photos yet)
Lisa from 'Mab' -
Vicky from 'Spit Like This'
Jeremy from 'Mab' -
Simona and Jason (both outfits) from... l forgot the name of the band, sorry
Me with my favourite dress ever (the only one l have left!)
Me with a copper coloured dress and silly hat
Me with pixie outfit with even sillier hat
Me with my first ever made period dress and "corset", a meagre attempt done (without pattern) on a mannequin a friend had made for me! (so it isn't quite right but l was very proud and went to showcase it at Hampton Court - we didn't pay to get in)
and l won't bore you with any more...
All photos are copyright Neil @ Wildblanket.co.uk (Thank you Neil! l must email you about it but l am trying to finish editing my blog so l can post it..in case you ever find this)
Well, back to reality, and reality is a little dream come true of creating something to make others happy, the Continuum Conceits chocolates! l much enjoy your comments on the chocolate packaging, its flavour, its design, etc, and am very grateful for all your communicative efforts, which take time!
Thank you every one of you, for reading this,
Alexandra
* - Cinderella syndrome... Many of us have that apparently! l wish l didn't, l want to enjoy life! Many of us wait till we are retired to do what really matters to us and what makes us joyful and happy.. But what if tomorrow never comes? [at that point, author sits up and starts running around the room screaming at the top of her voice, in her imagination of course as it would disturb her good landlady who is nicely sitting upstairs watching the TV and doesn't know her tenant is writing about her] (Was that phrase a bit long?)
*2 - If you would like to make me even happier, and you do have time, please leave a review on Google reviews (look for Continuum Conceits/French chocolates ) and it should come up with the review page. There are 5 comments at the moment, lovely!
PS: to those who read this till the end, l will be increasing the price of the bars/tablettes very soon, probably about a month time. If you are short of disposable income, l would recommend you bought now as l will up each tablette of about 50p - 6/7%) due to rise of inflation lately, kindly decided by 'world elites' just so they can play at war with each other and distract us with fear and suffering. The following is not compulsory to read. Why can't they just leave prices just as they are? Why has everything got to go up always, since l was born, and before*3? Some products do go down, but l can only think of the petrol during C*vid as nobody used their car for a few weeks. They were so desperate for money and lured people to come out with cheap petrol? ..Since then, haven't they put their prices up! We become greedy don't we. We should only be greedy with the Continuum Conceits chocolate. And other delicious produce from hard-working, integrous artisan makers near you. Why to multi-nationals who don't invite us to their lunch? There is something curious with the way my illusion of this world is being managed. One day l will write a book about how someone is playing us, and that someone isn't God even if they think they are. (there are probably already 100 books with that subject, but you never know!) In the meantime, l enjoy thinking about exuberant theories about what may be going on. It is pretty exciting to open my horizons and read every opinion out there on world events. Read it all, the 'misinformation' too, I had a little think, what would make sense? l would rather not believe there is something behind all this. I wish l hadn't read it, now l have doubts! *3-Look, what if the Aliens are at it again, and had done for thousand years, the idea of making currency and having it going up and up - stressing all previous generations before us. Making us up for slaves. Since in the novel they would live at least a few thousand years each, it would make sense! 'Enough dreaming, back to work Cinderella! What do you mean it is 6.55pm? You still have an hour of work before you can even think about cooking your dinner! And l make sure you have a very late night sleep too, and no premonitory dreams nor dreams when you are conscious either!' says the step-mother, who certainly doesn't want me nor her to have a jolly, loving, affectionate, relaxed, intuitive and guided life lived with the purpose of making others and myself with no discrimination, happy. Joyful. Vital. Kind. Loving. Purposeful. Creative! Expressive! Acceptant! Compassionate! Every other feeling that makes us feel so connected and breathe with joy!!! We keep an eye on the step-mother. No offense to real step-mothers, of course, particularly those who relish Continuum's artisan chocolate and Agen prunes, who can only be very nice people, and they tell all their friends about it but have forgotten to tell them it would go up soon. These are properly marvellous persons. l am grateful of all your discerning tastes. PPPS: Note to writer: Please don't write any more - my eyes ache with the entertainment written in here. Chocolat Resistance.
Who was really meant to win?
i think l know whom. And he lost. Evil always loses in the end.
End of suffering
in me
Please let go of this computer, Alexandra.
Pppppps: 'No'
This is getting way too narcissistic and attention seeking.
You want to blend in the crowd. Really.
Become no-one, no-body, no-where, in no-time
As says Dr Joe.
Disappear round that star which has protected you once
Just shine, as who you were born to be.
Whoever that is.