A Rock & Royalty Fairytale Romance

Here is the story of how Rock met Royalty and lived happily ever after....

 New web design coming soon...


A ROCK & ROYALTY Fairytale

In a land of beauty and privilege, there once lived a young woman who was heir to the Royal throne. Miss Alexandria Kensington had everything she ever wanted yet felt her life was missing it’s true meaning. She was expected to marry a young man, chosen by her Royal family, and carry on the legacy to one day be queen.

The Grande Masquerade Ball was quickly approaching, as was the night she would be engaged to Sir Jameson. Dozens of couture runway gowns were presented to Miss Kensington and she didn’t spot a single one that sparked her fancy. Alexandria rushed to her wardrobe and pulled out a black Vivienne Westwood gown and began cutting it to shreds. Embellishments of ruffled lace, ribbon and crystals were carefully added with fine detail, making an exquisite piece of her own. The clock struck midnight and Alexandria felt as if Tim Gunn were going to walk through the doorway and announce “Designers, time’s up.” Luckily she made it work, and was ready for her night on the runway, or rather her procession on the Royal Court.

The evening would seem magical to almost any girl, but Alexandria wanted something more. Happiness wasn't about wealth, power or privilege. It was love and freedom to live the life that eluded her. Alexandria found herself fixated on grandiose sounds from across the ballroom. She slipped away for a closer look and felt the music and lyrics resonate in her. The band was playing Coldplay's Viva La Vida, which somehow reminded her that the monarchy was ruling her life. Rock chords and classical strings blended a magical potion of love, romance, and inspiration to live life. Alexandria disappeared into the darkness, hoping to find a way to avoid the inevitable engagement. She found herself in peril among the deep forest until a light shined upon her. Up rode Ashton Kingsdale, the rock star and now her knight in shining armor, to rescue her from a kingdom of high society. He whisked her away on his white motorcycle through the streets of London. Like a rebel without a cause, Alex felt like Cinderella had just tossed her glass slippers into the Thames river, trading in prince charming for rock's own royalty.

The encounter with Ashton swept Alex away on a journey that would forever alter her life. She had to disguise herself when she would sneak way to catch the band's gigs in London. It was time to trade elegance for edge. As she entered the dark and noisy underground music scene, Alex felt out of place but enjoyed the freedom she never had. Ashton was already on stage rocking the night away. It was a romance that would be forbidden. Like the battle between Montague and Capulet, Alexandria knew her Romeo would never be accepted by her Royal family.

The secret rock & royalty romance continued for some time, then one day Ashton proposed to Alexandria. Love was in the air. She finally decided it was time to wear her heart on her sleeve, even if her family banished her from the Royal throne. After she returned home, her mother noticed the key, belonging to her heart, was no longer worn around her neck. At first her mother was astonished by her confession. Then a smile and tear appeared, for she only wished she had been strong enough to follow her own heart a long time ago.

It was then soon announced to all of the land, that a union of Rock & Royalty would one day reign with style and beauty.  It was time to live. A time to love. And a time to rock. Long Live the Rock & Roll Queen.

Rock & Royalty at ComFest 2011!

I hope everyone is having a great summer! ComFest gave me a renewed interest in continuing forward with Rock & Royalty. I took a break from my little side business since last summer, but the excitement around it at ComFest has given me the motivation to get back to business.

I've done a total of 3 large festivals over the last 3 years. I had applied to ComFest the previous 2 years and never had any luck getting in. With over 200 booths each year in the festival, and maybe 1000 applications, the odds  were stacked against new businesses wanting to get in. Then luck would have it that last year at Gahanna's Creekside the director of ComFest visited my booth and was impressed at the set up and product and personally requested my participation at ComFest and other local festivals. It was a pleasure to be a part of the festivities this year. We had a very successful weekend and seeing and hearing everyone's reaction was an amazing thing for me as a designer. It proves that there is a huge interest in the brand and that it is worth investing in again. People were telling me I had the best booth at the festival, posing for pictures with my dress form wearing the Alison Wonderland Couture Tee and Royal Ball TuTu. I also had people telling me that it was the talk around the festival and their friends that they had to come check out the booth. 3 long days of this type of reaction was nothing short of wonderful.

I originally had a larger retail brand in mind when I first started this business. After all, my professional career has been submerged in designing for large retail brands over the past 8 years. But what I've learned that I love most is designing unique product with attention to detail that you just aren't going to get from any mass produced product. This means I spend hours upon hours with a thread and needle, or pliers and jewelry supplies to hand craft each product that I design along the way. I try to buy enough supplies to make multiples between 3 and 6 for each design so if something is successful I can create more. A lot of what I made for the festivals were one-offs, and once I sold it it's gone. I do still have several pieces left that are not on the web. I working on updating the website with the new items and replenishing some items that sold through. I've told people to contact me through email if they remember an item that they would like to custom order. Until then, I'm just posting a few photos of items to give a little newness for the brand.

Long Live Rock.
annie

Rock & Royalty™ Takes the Throne

I would like to announce that Modern Material will now be represented by a new brand name called Rock & Royalty™. Over the last 2 years the brand evolved into a clear direction inspired by rock & roll and European royalty. I felt that it was time to create a name that could gain more appeal and understanding for the brand image. Modern Material will still remain the business behind the scenes, but Rock & Royalty will take the throne on the consumer side. I am working on the process of trademarking the name, as there certainly is a market for apparel and accessories inspired by this theme.




New Name. New Domain. www.shoprockandroyalty.com. The former Modern Material website will also remain active as we have developed a strong customer base around the world in the last 2 years. Both domains route to the same site, which has been completely updated to reflect the new brand name. I decided not to start from scratch when creating the new brand image, so there could still be some recognition of the Modern Material brand. The colors and logo look very much the same, however I've added some ornate elements to the design. The brand will now focus on clothing and accessories, while beginning to remove the paper category. Customers can now shop by collections including women's and men's.


Tis the Season to Rock the Night Away. A Holiday giveaway is now underway with a gift set valued over $100. The link to the entry form is on the home page. The items are mostly from the women's collection, but could make a great gift. Please be sure to register and pass the link onto your friends. (Note: my family and personal friends are not eligible).

A Collaboration of Music & Style. The Indie Rock Collection has also been an amazing addition to the brand, which will also go nicely with the new name Rock & Royalty. I am so impressed by the amazing musicians who are featured in this collection. There is a great mix of music from beautiful songs by singer/songwriters to songs that make you want to rock. There are several songs that have been used on hit television shows, including: Grey's Anatomy, One Tree Hill and 90210. The goal of this promotion was to spread the word about these great artists, while offering customers an amazing value. I appreciate everyone who has contributed to this project. It took a lot of hard work to get things pieced together, but I think the concept is something that will continue to revolve around Rock & Royalty. The current collection will be available until June 15, 2010, or while supplies last.

Several new pieces will be added in time for the holidays! Of course the thing I love to do more than anything is design accessories and embellish apparel. I have several great new items that I have yet to put on the website, as well as some great new designs in mind! One of the most exciting additions I am working on is a collection of ties, for both men and women! They will certainly have the Rock & Royalty flair, consisting of embellishments that will set them aside from anything the rest of the pack. Think rock & roll not business attire. A few limited edition clutches and totes are also in the mix.







Rock & Royalty™ Couture. This will continue to be the line of embellished apparel and accessories that require more time and expense. I personally put a lot of time into these pieces to offer something unique. The Alison Wonderland and Mad Hatter Couture Tees drew a lot of attention this summer. This is a theme I hope to expand on in the future, especially with the Tim Burton remake starting Johnny Depp sure to become a smash hit at the box office.







Inspired by Rock & Royalty Romance. The entire brand is a mixture of hard edge rock and roll elements and elegant ornate details. I'm inspired by the 150 + concerts I've attended to the exquisite costumes from the modern day Marie Antoinette movie and Gwen Stefani's video for What You Waiting For. It feels like a fairy tale romance between the heir to the throne and a rock star from opposite sides of society, destined to be together. A short love story of what has created the style of Rocker Romantic can soon be found in the About section of the web store. Long Live the Rock & Roll Queen.

Introducing Couture Tees...Pre-Order NOW

This idea came to mind late one night while I was watching Gwen Stefani's Harajuku Lovers tour on HDnet. I had just received my spot in Gwen's celebrity baby gift basket and I wanted to be inspired to design some new products to send her. I started thinking about how much I enjoyed creating my Gwen Halloween costume a few years ago. It was a costume but I loved it so much it was hard to shove it in a box, never to be worn again. So I started thinking....how could I translate this costume into daily wear? The answer...Couture Tees.



I started designing a shirt based on an aqua American Apparel tee I had in my closet and some left over lace and ribbon from my costume. After a few days I felt I had runway material. The next step was order the materials. I ran into many roadblocks along the way. American Apparel had discontinued every style and color tee I felt could work for this design. There were limited sizes and quantities available, so I knew I would never be able to make this a permanent addition to the Modern Material line. But then I realized that would make this tee special. Once they are gone, they're gone.

As soon as I got my materials, I sat down at my sewing machine and let my imagination run. I have to admit, I was quite impressed when I was all finished. The next step was to see what everyone thought. I slipped on a black pencil skirt, black heels and accessorized the shirt with a wide black patent belt and chunky chain link necklace. I decided not to mention that it was one of my designs. I figured people would think it was either some weird crazy trend I was sporting that hasn't caught on yet...or they would love it. I was hoping it was the later. That day, I seriously received more complements in one day than I thought was possible. People I didn't even know very well were saying how much they loved my outfit. One of my friends realized I designed it, and couldn't shut up about it. I wore it out on the town that night, and my husband said he noticed a bunch of girls checking me out. I'm pretty modest, so it was hard for me to accept so much attention, but I knew I was on to something that could set me apart from the millions of other tee shirt designers.

So if you are looking for something amazing to add to your wardrobe or want a special gift for a friend, you'll know where to find it.

I am accepting pre-orders now, before this design is introduced to my web store. Keep in mind that sizes and quantities are extremely limited, so if you want one, please let me know. For more information, including price, please send an email to annie@modern-material.com.

Be Bold. Be Daring . Be Different.

- a n n i e -

http://www.modern-material.com

Blog Feature

Just wanted to share this with you. It's really cool when you discover someone out there has discovered you and decides to feature your site on their blog.

I found this blog after viewing my website visits this week.

http://aridesigns.blogspot.com

Keep Rockin.
- a n n i e -