Kickstarter Supporter Plaque is now up in New Orleans!
almost 3 years ago – Wed, Jun 02, 2021 at 10:15:43 PM

A heartfelt thank you to all our Kickstarter supporters! 

Hi, I'm Annabelle – Boutique Manager of Dark Garden New Orleans. I can't quite believe it but last month, April 24 marked the 2 year anniversary of our boutique on Magazine Street! The past two years we've hosted parties, art openings, pop-ups and book signings, supported our local burlesque community through sponsorships, prizes and performances, built relationships with our neighbors, and learned, grown and refined the boutique offerings to suit our New Orleans clients. Realistically, we've also spent half of that time navigating the Covid-19 pandemic but we are still here, still strong and still growing! 

I'm so happy to share a heartfelt thank you as I show off (finally!) our Kickstarter Supporter plaque. We quite literally wouldn't be here without you. 

Yours truly,

Annabelle

↑ Wearing my Dark Garden Blue Satin Corselette. 

↓ The plaque in it's new home, at eye level just next to the fitting rooms. 

Exclusive Event for Supporters! Making a Fetish Corset for Midori
almost 3 years ago – Tue, Jun 01, 2021 at 10:27:36 PM

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This Saturday: NOLA 2nd Anniversary All-Star Zoom Burlesque Show!
about 3 years ago – Wed, Apr 21, 2021 at 07:04:28 PM

It’s amazing to think that we’re at our second anniversary... and our second pandemic party! It’s all thanks to your support, and of course New Orleans General Manager Annabelle’s amazing tenacity.

This Saturday we’re celebrating the close of our second year in New Orleans both in-store and online. In the boutique we’ve got a gorgeous gallery show of fine art corset/lingerie paintings, entitled ”Artifacts,” by local artist Ashly V Griffith. From noon to 4pm, Ashly will be at the boutique so you can meet the artist whilst admiring the art. On the porch, there will also be an herbal tea popup with Good Thyme Wellness (11:30-1:30pm). Please BYO cup! We’ll also have a live jazz duet, featuring James McClaskey and Andy Reid on guitar and upright bass, respectively (2-4pm). (Masks are required and we’ll be monitoring boutique capacity to ensure proper distancing.)

Then at 9pm New Orleans time (or 7pm for those of us near the SF flagship, 10pm for East Coasters, etc), we’ve got an amazing lineup for our anniversary show! We’re highlighting dynamite performers who just so happen to have some dynamite Dark Garden pieces to show off. Come watch Frankie Fictitious, Jessabelle Thundr, Gogo McGregor, and Katya Smirnoff-Skyy sparkle, shimmy, strip, and sing! Each of these performers has honed their skills to translate from stage to screen in the past year; from what we’ve seen already, these are acts you’re not going to want to miss! Learn more about the performers and reserve your $20 ticket on EventBrite.

I hope I’ll ”see” you in the audience this Saturday! Corset hugs,

Marianne Faulkner, multi-purpose corsetiere

Scarf & robe progress continues!
about 3 years ago – Mon, Mar 22, 2021 at 08:51:43 PM

Things have been progressing nicely with the production batches of scarves and robes!

The printed robes have officially landed and are at the SF flagship. We’re in the process of ordering trims to Dark Garden-ify them before delivering them to you — we value your support and want to make sure the robe you receive is up to our standards as a design house!

As for the scarf, we’re working with a local fabric printer rather than the print on demand company we ordered the sample from. They’ve been really wonderful to work with: not only were they willing to match the quote from the print-on-demand supplier, but they’ve been incredibly efficient with sampling, which has been an interesting saga!

They expedited mailing us a first sample, and we noticed two things. One, they used a nicer edge finish: a rolled hem rather than a merrow stitch... but it ate into the width of the border, so the design needed to be adjusted for the appropriate seam allowance. Two, the print settings were a bit desaturated as compared to print on demand sample.

Our contact has been incredibly responsive, and when I asked about the saturation issue, he said his first sample had actually come out too saturated, so he adjusted the settings down. We got another sample, which he hand delivered to the shop (I love working with local vendors)... this one was brighter, but too orange (most noticeable in the border). The next was too purple. At this point, I created a print file with many different color chips for the border color, which was printed using the same settings. From there I adjusted just the border, and the final sample was finally production ready! It’s also worth noting that we received each sample within a couple days of sending a revised file!

I received word yesterday that all but 3 of our scarves had passed their quality control check, so we should have the full batch soon. We can’t wait to get them to you!

Corset squeezes,

Marianne

Mulit-Purpose Corsetiere

Hello again my pretties
over 3 years ago – Wed, Jan 27, 2021 at 06:27:40 PM

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