Hello, ghoulies!

I haven’t updated you in a while about the upcoming release of Skulls & Roses, so I wanted to write down what’s happening and when the series is finally coming.I want to start with saying that I might have been quiet about the details and behind the scenes on the series, but I certainly haven’t been slacking. The original concept was actually put down last year, when I was on my way to Hellocon (so June, 2016). Here’s the initial sketch of the idea:

Since I started working on Eat Me Ink Me I’ve always wanted to try and merge two of my favorite aestetic things – lolita and tattoos. I had other ideas (that will be coming in the future), but I thought I would start with the basics. The most popular elements in tattoos – skulls and roses, that worked perfectly with how I’m trying to portrait EMIM as a brand – feminine, yet strong (even scary strong). Classic meets Gothic. Delicate, but can kick ass, if necessary.
For the silhouette – I’ve always wanted to try and to a waistless design since it came on the horizon. I thought it bought back a bit of the old school lolita vibe without actually being an old school design. It’s hard to explain, but I think it’s a wonderful example of how the style is evolving even though it might seem a bit restricting in it’s silhouette choices.

I was still working on the Magical Mermaid series and I had already planned on bringing a revised version of Midnight Rhapsody, so I knew that there was a good amount of time before I ever started cleaning up the design and deciding on the details. When Midnight Rhapsody II pre-order was in works I had already started fine-tuning the design and including all the details I wanted for the release to try and top my previous ones. Here was a later, more cleaned up sketch of the OP that would be the main piece of the collection:

Accessories like bonnet, headpieces and jewelry were also in the works – I think it’s the most planning, time, money and work I’ve invested in creating a complimentary jewelry to a collection. And I still can’t show much for it, since many pieces have not yet arrived for the necklaces for example. But I can show you the rings, that are done and ready to go as soon as the line goes up:

Aren’t these darling? Even though the base metal finish for the collection is planned all brass, I added silver option for diversity. I love how oversize they are!
On another note about the accessories, some of you might have seen the failure of the roses I was planning to use for headpieces. I had ordered the big and small sized roses separately, which resulted in them not matching in color. I was running out of time, so I had to opt for replacement flowers and they might even be better than the original ones, imo (the ones on the left are “old” ones, right ones are “new”):

The previous options were fabric ones, the new ones are foam. Even though the foam ones are smaller all together, I think that the shape of them is nicer and they match in color better.

In the official design artwork you might notice some detailing with the EMIM branding (on the chest and cuffs for example). I am so excited to say, that the parts will be embroidered! This will be my first time using embroidery on a piece, so I’m very anxious to see what you guys think about it!

I had drawn up a print pattern by this point, that featured criss-cross background for the roses, but I was not happy how amateurish it looked, so I revised the print again to make it more elegant and to my liking:

With the time running out and “Looking for Alice” closing in (I was planning on releasing the pre-order by that time and previewing the sample in the fashion show), I had started organizing the photoshoot, so I have some nice photos to show you guys. It’s due this Sunday and I am yet to make all the samples! I have to say, that I am partially responsible for it with my poor planning skills, but I will “make it work”!
I am still waiting (almost half a year!) for some of the supplies to arrive, so today I took matters into my own hands, made a quick (or not so quick) trip around the city to find replacements for the missing items (may have cost me double and may not have been perfect, but they will work) and will be working late to make sure I get everything (including photoshoot props) done before Sunday. Fingers crossed!
(Just wanted to add, that I’m not trying to look for sympathy by telling all of this, just wanted to let you in a bit on how things sometimes run with releases behind the scenes.)

As for the release date – as I mentioned in this wall of text (and I commend you, if you actually took the time to read everything! <3), I am (still) planning to preview the first sample on Hellocon ry event’s “Looking for Alice” fashion show on 18th of February (it was lucky enough that it fit the theme!) and I will open pre-order then, but it’ll be open for longer time than usual (or I might split it in two pre-orders as for Magical Mermaid release), so I can (hopefully) show actual details of the items.

Thank you so much for taking the time to look into the rabbit hole!