From the Fashion Incubator

Ah, how I love Kathleen Fasanella's blog The Fashion Incubator. Sometimes I'm not sure I should even continue with my blog, since all I usually want to do is cut and paste her entries... but I refrain. Here's one I had to share though, because it made me laugh, because drinking does seem to be involved in a surprising amount of sewing and patterning activities, because I'm still amazed by all the fabric store salesmen chainsmoking indoors, and because I love the idea of 9 fingered flirts finagling passes to the YKK party.

"According to Mr Mahon (of The English Cut), cutters and tailors tend to drink heavily and while he makes no mention of smoking, we do a lot of that too. In fact -and until quite recently- one of the unmentionable memes of the trade was that you did not -or should not- trust anyone who didn't smoke. Seriously. Some still feel that way -often vendors- those who continued to smoke quite heavily in and out of their booths at the previously annual Mecca-trek (The Bobbin Show) in Atlanta. This in spite of copious signage advising criminal penalties for non-compliance. In fact, if you needed a cigarette, all you needed to do was find some guy missing a finger or two and he'd happily help you out -the folks missing fingers came up through the ranks having cut their teeth figuratively -or fingers literally- on the cutting table. Drinking was always an issue of moderation although the minus-appendage-guys (all of them shameless flirts) were often good for a snort from a hip flask. However, most vendors and attendees were able to postpone alcohol consumption having finagled an invitation to that evening's YKK party (YKK always threw the best parties)."