YazBerry Donates Handmade Merchandise to Girl Scout Silent Auction

You may or may not know I was a Girl Scout from Kindergarten through High School. I was a hardcore cookie salesperson and achieved both Girl Scout Silver and Gold Awards through service projects I conducted. Accordingly, when I was approached to donate merchandise to the Girl Scout Council of River Valley (my Alma Mater) Silent Auction.

Proceeds from this Silent Auction go to fund scholarships for girls unable to afford membership, uniforms or activity fees. Rock on! I think Girl Scouts is a valuable place for girls to build leadership skills and confidence. Helping girls gain access is an amazing cause.

Participants can expect to find a one of a kind purse, a one of a kind tunic, numerous pairs of handmade earrings, feather hair barrettes, a few record bowls, record cuffs, necktie belts, a change purse...all handmade with love by yours truly.

To attend this event check out the Facebook Event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/449035478510835/?ref=3

Inventory Clearance Sale Take an Additional 25% Off Lowest Price!

I am having an inventory clearance sale both in store at The Local Joint, Northfield, MN and online at www.yazberryfashion.etsy.com 

I'm moving and need to majorly reduce my inventory before my big move. You can help and save some money while you're at it: use discount code CANADAORBUST25OFF at checkout for 25% off your total purchase. INCLUDES 50% sale purses! 

My goal is to have you own some of my creations and vintage treasures at a heckuva price and for me to liquidate my inventory so a new round of creating can happen up nort'. Will ya help a girl out? 

This is a RARE opportunity to get YazBerry at the lowest prices I will ever offer! 

Virginia Has News!

Pardon my radio silence of late, I have been overly busy working 40 hours a week at my day job, keeping up with inventory needs at The Local Joint and planning my wedding! There are new vintage listings on www.yazberry.com, I've been able to find some time recently to add new vintage finds. Best wishes to your and yours in 2013!

The Local Joint: Meet Virginia Berry!

The Local Joint: Meet Virginia Berry!: My bio on the store website. Check it out!

Virginia Berry is a textile artist with training in drawing, painting, sculpture, textile arts and costuming. Berry's design work r...

YazBerry Spring Candle Holders - Right on Trend



Star Tribune

Periodically I get important phone calls from my dad about newsworthy info of which I may be interested. This article was one of those calls. Found last week in the Star Tribune Variety section, a DIY on candle holders made from salvaged furniture springs. The full article can be viewed online here.

Just a couple weeks before I made some YazBerry salvaged spring candle holders. Mine feature very heavy springs and thick teal blue salvaged antique telephone wire insulators as the candle holder. I agree with Designer Kim Yeager of Lark Nest Designs, they can double as bud vases!

YazBerry Fashion Salvaged Spring Candle holders/Vases

Stop in The Local Joint in Northfield, MN to buy a YazBerry Fashion candle holder/vase and save yourself the hunt for the parts as springs aren't as readily available as t

+he article makes them out to be. These springs are the first I've seen in my years of flea marketing.

*Images from the Star Tribune article are copyright their respective owners.

Needlepoint - A Home Decor Staple Making Appearances on the Runway

Elle magazine cover, July 2012, top by Balmain

Detail of top by Balmain from the Fall/Winter 2012/13 collection. 

Needlepoint is a classic handicraft in the embroidery family which traditionally would use thread to cover a stiff woven canvas; often for framed art and durable furniture accents.

Inspired by the gorgeous (multi-thousand dollar) tunic by Balmain featured on the cover of the July 2012 Elle, I grabbed my camera and tried to capture as many of the eye catching needlepoint pieces I could track down in The Local Joint today.  

The offerings range from throw pillows to framed art, to brooches (a YazBerry Vintage find) and furniture! There are several of us pickers that have an eye for amazing needlepoint. We bring a delicious variety into the store and it sells quickly and changes often. 

YazBerry Vintage has already seen several of my needlepoint finds fly off the shelves into the homes of fashionable people. 

I've assembled this photo essay to share with you some needlepoint options that are more attainable and practical than the gorgeous Balmain tunic I wish would show up in my closet ;)...

Shop on dear friends. Come visit The Local Joint in Northfield, MN to get your hands on some of these amazing needlepoint pieces!

Needlepoint throw pillow bouquet in dark green and oranges. 

Floral spray seat cushion.

Sweet daisies.

Delightful footstool in pale blue and rose.

God Bless our Home in gilded frame.

Sweet children with dog, duck and umbrella. 

Small pin cushion, black background and bright greens.

Pair of dusty pink runners with fruit and flowers.

Framed black background with bright pink roses.

Petit point brooch with tiny roses. 

Unframed needlepoint lilies with needle and thread still attached

*Images from Balmain & Elle magazine are copyright their owners. 

Rescued materials, travel inspired design, functional fashion

(Exerpt originally found on my Etsy.com "About" page)


YazBerry will leave people asking you where you got it!

I was the kid growing up selling dried wild flower bouquets to the neighbors from my wagon. I've always been most content working on creative projects. Sewing, drawing, painting, coloring, building things...One of my favorite games was "business"; I had a wooden box filled with fax cover sheets and blank receipt books.

While in college I had my first run with clothing design. Working in the costume shop at the Skidmore Theatre, my creativity was put to the test creating costumes from thin air based on an idea from the director. I then produced two collections for student fashion shows.

BA in hand and a day job to boot Etsy crossed my path. *light bulb* the perfect outlet for the creative working person. Of course I dream of quitting my day job like most Etsians, but for now the bills must get paid and Etsy is the perfect forum to run my business while I sleep.

I have been transient the last *ahem* nearly a decade; each space I have lived in I have always made room for a studio. My current studio is a dark walk out basement filled with yellow lights and borrowed furniture. My living and creative space are woven into and on top of one another. It works. I thrive in organized chaos.

My favorite materials are discarded clothing found in secondhand shops. Textiles inherited from retired friends and family. Found objects from flea markets and the beach. My absolute favorite thing is to determine the limitations of a discarded item, discover its potential and work it into a functional piece of wearable art.

YazBerry is in essence, a grand recycling experiment; manifested in the form of wearable art. I am a first generation "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" student and have found it is one of my guiding mantras in all that I do in life. Always finding ways to reduce my impact on the ecosystem and preserve the beauty around us for those to come after.

At the moment I am mostly flying solo on the YazBerry frontier. At times my generous fiance will help with the online shop. My number one fan and best sales person. My mom also helps at art fairs.

I always carry a small notepad and pen with me. I never know when something will catch my eye, inspire a design and need to be captured before my short term memory allows it to float on the wind. I am particularly inspired by architecture, eye catching color combinations in ethnic textiles and the artisan craft of peoples around the world.

I rarely make the same item twice. It feels like a chore and I want your YazBerry creation to be singular in this world. I stand by the promise that YazBerry will leave people asking you where you got it!

Enjoy!

Virginia Berry

Designer * Creator * Picker * Maker