Here’s a little Christmas surprise: pictures of work in process here at Quellebelle!

I’m preparing some new products for spring (and maybe even earlier). This is round one of samples and I’m already excited about the way things are going. The colors are rich and saturated, and the chiffon is incredibly soft and light.

I’d like to thank all my customers this holiday season for the trust you placed in me to deliver a high-quality product. I hope you are pleased with your purchase (let me know in the comments!) and ~ if you gave a scarf as a gift ~ that the recipient is delighted with it.

For the next week or so, I’ll be refreshing, regrouping, and laying plans for my continuing adventures in retail. May 2011 be happy, healthy, and prosperous for us all!

See you in the New Year.

Crepe de chine is a fine, light-weight, soft, and lustrous fabric. It can have either a glossy or matte satin surface. It drapes extremely well, and is therefore often used for garments that hang perfectly, move with the wearer, and follow the contours of the body.

Dupioni is a slightly more textured silk, with tiny horizontal lines and the occasional slub (irregularity) in the weave. It is a favorite among high fashion designers for its sculptural quality and light-weight volume. Dupioni has an innate character and elegance that makes it, and the wearer, stand out.

Both types of silk come in all sorts of varieties of weight, surface, and texture. I chose the ones used in Quellebelle™ scarves for their wearability and beauty, and above all how they feel on the skin and how you’ll feel wearing them: wonderful!

First things first: Quellebelle is pronounced “kell•bell.”

There’s a fairly common idiomatic French phrase “Quelle belle histoire!” which means, literally, “What a lovely story!” and has the sense of “That’s quite a tale!”

But Quellebelle is also a wink-and-nod toward the name of my incorporated business: Something Beautiful LLC.

I chose it because it’s fun to say, fun to write, and fun to type. I also hope you find it distinctive and memorable!

Today is Quellebelle’s soft launch, and I’m thrilled and a little terrified.

Please have a look around, explore the shop and read all about this new enterprise. Above all, please leave a comment and let me know what you think, especially if you find something that seems broken on the site.

Thanks so much for coming by!

As Quellebelle hovers on the brink of launch, I’d like to take a moment to thank all my loved ones for their support. It’s been a long transitional period, and your patience and generosity have meant the world to me. I know full well that without your kindness and help I would never have gotten this far.

I especially want to acknowledge the fabulous contributions to this site of two wonderful photo models: my friends Crystal (of Big Bright Bulb fame) and Althea.

Inside this box there are sixty yards of silk fabric. But it contains much, much more than that.

It contains my hopes and dreams for the future. It holds the promise of hard work: physical, creative, intellectual, and entrepreneurial. It bundles up my belief that self-reinvention is always possible.

This modest-sized, ratty-looking cardboard box is my treasure. I look forward to sharing it with you!