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The past week or so has been stressful and strange for everyone. My university classes have been moved online, which means that I have a great deal of time in my room that can be used for sewing! It has been a bit difficult getting used to the new format of living, but I am very lucky to have lots of hobbies that can be done inside. About a month ago, I decided to start a new collection, so I have been hard at work on that. Thankfully, I have almost all of the fabric that I need! Creating a collection needs a lot of time and work, starting with the designing. I want somewhere between 15 and 20 looks, which can be up to 40 pieces depending on how many pieces each look needs (piece=one piece of clothing, such as a shirt or skirt. Look=multiple pieces put together to create a whole outfit. Can be one piece, can be multiple). I am focusing more on dresses, for two reasons: one) because I love dresses, and two) because that cuts down on how many garments I will be drafting and sewing. I have firmly decided on 10 of my designs so far, and am currently searching for inspiration for the remaining ones. I have had people ask me how I come up with designs, and honestly I don't have a great answer for that. The inspiration comes from absolutely everywhere - Pinterest, people on the streets, beautiful buildings, movies, music, quilts, books, and everything else that I come in contact with. Most of the process is daydreaming, with bits of frantic drawing and writing to ensure that I won't forget the idea. Drawing isn't my strongest suit, and it isn't my favourite thing to do. Half of my designs are drawn out, and half of them are just written down with lots of description so that I know exactly what I was thinking about. Writing down design ideas is actually helpful when I don't have a pen and paper with me as well, since I am just able to write it down in my phone. The next step is drafting. One of the best skills that I learnt last year at fashion school was pattern drafting! I have so much fun with it, and it is so satisfying to make something completely, utterly from scratch. I often alter the patterns that I use when they are pre-made, but I have so much more freedom just being able to make my own. Pattern drafting includes lots of math and rulers, so it can be a bit tiring on the brain. I try to spread out my pattern drafting so that I don't get sick of it, so I often have a pattern on the go while I am cutting out a different garment and sewing another one. This also makes the process more fun for me, since I can choose what I feel like working on for the day depending on my mood. However, not every part of the pattern can be drafted. I love being able to drape parts of patterns, since it gives me a lot more creative freedom (and lets me do a little less math). Draping is also fun to get videos of, since the garment changes so quickly when it is draped. There are many other steps that are included in the process of making a collection (loads of planning for various things, organizing, fittings, adjustments, constant ironing, etc.), but one of the most important ones is the actual sewing! All of the sewing for this collection will be done on my lovely, antique White sewing machine. She is a hand-crank machine, so my right arm is getting very muscular... Obviously this makes the sewing take longer, but I feel like I have fantastic control on it to do some picky work, and the stitches are beautiful. It also makes the collection feel just a little more special to me:) So here is a sneak peak at the new collection! I will be putting up more information about it as soon as I have more ready to go, and I am video-taping the entire process so you can see it all come together once I'm done!
The collection is made mostly of eco-friendly materials, and using couture methods. What are you doing to keep your spirits up during self isolation? Any good movies I should watch? ~K
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Last week I focused on two pieces that are a part of my eco couture collection for Future Oceans. If you want to read more about Future Oceans (the fashion show, the garments I made for it, or some of the process while I was preparing for it) you can see more here. This week I wanted to look at some of the detail and design process for the dresses that I made that were inspired by some of the best decades in fashion - the 40's and 50's. I have always loved the fashion of the 40's, and I've already made quite a few pieces inspired by the era. The thought process behind this dress included much more than just what design elements I liked from the era though, since I had to take into account what type of fabrics were available for me to use, how much time I had to make it, and what kind of shape would be the most convenient to make when I wasn't sure who was going to be wearing it. One of the most difficult aspects of designing and making garments for fashion shows is not knowing who exactly is going to be wearing them. Quite a few of the pieces that I chose to make for fashion shows have been designed to be more suitable for many different shapes, and sometimes sizes. This dress was one of the later pieces that I added, meaning that it got tacked on after I finished most of the other ones. I had some time and the material to make something else. Originally, I wasn't sure if we would have time to show it in the actual fashion show, so it was a backup that I might have worn behind stage. We did end up having the time for it, and I'm so glad because I was thrilled with how it turned out. This dress is made using an organic cotton sateen with a tiny bit of stretch to it. Having that stretch made it much easier to fit to multiple different models for the show and the photoshoot the next day. I chose not to have sleeves in the design, since sleeves can restrict who can wear it and make the sewing process much longer. I adore the apron style dresses of the 40's, so I based my idea off of those. I simplified the idea a bit, and I love how it looks. The cotton sateen has a gorgeous sheen to it, and I'm glad that I didn't add any of the ruffles that are often on 1940's apron dresses. It's finished with buttons on the crossover back and top stitching. The fourth dress was the first one that I designed way back in January. This is a 1950's inspired summer dress with a front button closure and a tiered skirt. I made a dress that had a bit of a similar style for my Summer 2018 collection that I got photos of in Drumheller (see photos here), and I thought that it was so flattering that I wanted to use that silhouette again. This dress is sleeveless for ease of fitting, has darts and gathering to shape the bodice, and has a fully lined bodice. The hem is hand printed in coral to tie it in to the colour scheme that the rest of the collection has. The silhouette of the 1950's is absolutely iconic, and so flattering to pretty much every single shape and size. I wanted that, but I also wanted my design to be a little bit different from the classic shape that most think of when they think of the 50's. I also wanted this to be the sort of summer dress that was comfortable and easy to wear. I used an organic cotton gauze for the dress, and the fabric was an absolute dream to work with. It ironed great and is soft on the skin. The dress is finished with hand made clay buttons. I was so spoiled in Victoria for the fashion show and all of my pieces were photographed by professional photographers the day after the show. If you want to see some of those, check out my instagram here. I will also be posting some of them here once I compile enough of them. Next week will be my last details post of the 1960's and 1970's dresses from my eco couture line. Stay tuned! ~K
Last month I was lucky enough to be a part of the Future Oceans Fashion show, which was held at the Victoria International Marina in British Columbia on Canada Day. I had an amazing trip (which you can read more about here) and enjoyed working with Future Oceans so much. Future Oceans is a company that focuses and Eco Friendly fashion, which is something that I am very passionate about. The fashion industry is a huge polluter, and knowing that made me lose some of my passion for my sewing. This opportunity came at the perfect time, and I loved the challenge of trying to make beautiful garments that are as eco friendly as possible. I have some very exciting news about the next step with Future Oceans: I will be having 'Fashion on Demand' garments at the Future Oceans Boutique in the Victoria Bay Center through September! The Fashion On Demand will be four pieces that I will be making to measure for anyone who orders one. Each garment was inspired by a different era and hand stamped by me. This first one was inspired by the 1920's, with a low waist and deep V back. Garment number two was inspired by the 1930's. This also has a deep V back, as well as a gathered over skirt. This was the only one that I didn't stamp, and was a bit of a last minute addition to the collection. This is inspired by a 1940's apron dress with a crossover back. Inspired by the 1950's, this dress has a front button closure and a tiered, mid calf length skirt. This is the first dress that I made for the show, and it's also the most comfortable one! I looked to the 1960's to design it, and it's finished with side seam pockets and is fully lined. And the final garment in my Eco Couture line is this 1970's styled mini dress, complete with puffed sleeves. This is just a sneak peak of each of the garments I made for the show, so keep tuned for more photos and information!
~K I was lucky enough to get a message about collaborating from LAL Couture, a company that makes custom sized and handmade lingerie. It was very difficult to chose which sets I wanted (all of them are stunning, and have such a vintage vibe to them!), and I am so thrilled with the two that I picked. The first set that I got is the Diane Pajama Set, and the second set is the Susan Lingerie Set It was so exciting to get these in the mail, and they are so beautifully made! The materials that were used are high quality and feel amazing on the skin. I also had so much fun getting photos of them, since they both have such a retro look to them. ~K
After much consideration and the realization that I have way too many clothes (the ability to make whatever clothing I desire really adds to that problem...), so I decided to do a huge update on my Etsy account. Going through the photos for each of these made me quite sad to be selling them, but there is no more room in my sewing room closet! I hope that they all go to good homes:) All of the basic information about the pieces are below the photos, and you can buy any of these, plus more, on my Etsy account here ![]() Enjoy! If you are interested in purchasing any of these, they are up in my Etsy account here ~K
I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the 10 designers to create a small ready to wear collection and one art dress for a fashion show that will take place on Canada Day in Victoria, BC, at the Victoria International Marina. I had so much fun coming up with the design ideas since I could do whatever era's and whatever styles I wanted to, as long as I used eco-friendly materials to make them. I am currently working on the ready to wear pieces and having a great deal of fun playing around with the materials and designs. So far I have gotten all of my fabric through KenDor Textiles, which is a Canadian company that specializes in eco-friendly and sustainable fabrics. I have so far printed two of the fabrics, drafted two of the patterns, and cut out those two dresses so they are ready to be sewn together. Once I got my fabrics in, it has all been coming together pretty quickly! I can't wait for the actual show so I can show everyone exactly what I have been working on, but for now here are some sneak peaks! If you would like to hear more about V.I.M. Future Oceans, you can check out their website here, Instagram here, and their Facebook page here. ~K
For the next one in my Umbrella Academy series is The Handler! The Handler is very different in the comics than in the show. She has a fabulous 1950's style in the show, with a fascinator, fingerless gloves, and a beautiful A-Line coat. I immediately fell in love with her costume, hair, and makeup when I first watched the show, and I have the urge to make her dress. Underneath the coat, I wore my pencil dress from last years little Fall Collection (photos here), and the rest are all pieces that I had in my closet already. The coat is from Reitmans, the fascinator I have had for a few years, and the gloves were hand made (not by me). I ended up wearing this little outfit to the Comic Expo in our area since I liked wearing it so much, and I love The Handlers personality. ~K
Netflix recently released Season 1 of The Umbrella Academy, a TV show based off of comics by Gerard Way (from the band My Chemical Romance) and Gabriel Ba. I immediately loved everything about the show after watching about 2 minutes of it. The music is fantastic, the set design is beautiful, and I absolutely love the characters. If you haven't heard of The Umbrella Academy, it is about 7 kids who were all born on the same day and have different 'super powers', and have been adopted by an eccentric billionaire to be superheros. The show is set when they are all adults and have left the Academy that he set up, and talks about their dysfunctional family. I am a sucker for stories about dysfunctional families, so this show was right up my alley. I also love the retro style that pops through that is mixed with a bit of steampunk vibes. After watching the show many times and reading the comics, I have decided to do each of my favourite characters. I just recently (as in a few days ago) finished my courses, so I wanted to do something that was just for fun! I also had a dress that I finished sewing a few months ago that I never got photos of, so I decided to do a bit of a Grace cosplay. Grace is the kids 'mom', a robot created by the billionaire who adopted them. In the show, she has the most fabulous 1950's dresses. I thought that the pattern on the fabric of this dress was very fitting for Grace since it has sewing pattern pieces on it. This was made from a Vintage Vogue pattern and is a wrap dress with a V back and patch pockets. ~K ![]() I have always enjoyed stopping in Nanton, Alberta as a kid when we were in the area. They are a tiny town with the best antique stores, and my favourite has always been Sentimental Journey Antiques. They are connected to Iron Crow, which is where I got my photos for last years Fall collection. The building has a very interesting history- it was first opened in 1909 as a hardware store. The upper story was used as a meeting and social hall for different groups in Nanton. It changed hands in 1935, and the new owner added more items in the store and converted the top story into apartments. Pretty quickly after that, the building was used for officers residence during World War Two - there was an aircrew training base close by. I have always fantasized about living in one of the beautiful upstairs apartments, and learning about its use during the war made me love the quaint rooms even more. I still daydream about where I would put all of my furniture in the apartments if I were lucky enough to live there. We took all of our photos in our favourite rooms in the building upstairs. The clothing that I am wearing in these photos are the lower torso garments that I made last semester in school. The pants are a 1940's inspired pair of trousers with a yoke, pockets, and front pleats. The skirt is a faux-wrap with a side zipper and a pocket on the other side. It is fully lined with a brown striped lining. Both of the garments are made using %100 wool. I did not make any of the tops that I am wearing, all of them except for one are from Aerie (and they are all incredibly soft and comfortable). The WAC shirt is from a fundraiser for the SoCal WAC's. ~K
![]() I am a Huge Fan of Wes Anderson. From the first time that I saw Grand Budapest Hotel, I was completely hooked. I enjoy his deadpan sense of humour, the pastel colours, retro vibes, and quirky cinematography. I started watching the movies when I was about 14, and they have hugely influenced the way I dress and my sense of humour. I am a lover of the colours mustard and dusty rose, and every time I see any piece of clothing in a store that could be worn in one of his movies, I am sold. That also means that I am the proud owner of three of his movies (my three favourites: Grand Budapest, Darjeeling Limited, and Moonrise Kingdom), the record of the Darjeeling Limited Soundtrack, and both of the coffee table books that are available through Indigo. Because of this obsession (yes, I am aware that it is a slight obsession), I thought that a Moonrise Kingdom inspired photo shoot would be amazingly fun to set up. I was right! We gathered up my est retro props, drove into Calgary, and found an adorable green shop to get photos in front of. It was actually pretty freezing, but I loved all of the photos, so this post will be very long! The dress is made out of a coral cotton with white top stitching. I started this dress almost a year ago, but with so many things happening in a pretty short amount of time, it got put to the side for a few months. It has been incredibly close to being complete for a few months now, with just the hem left to do! I finally finished the hem last week while watching (you guessed it!) a Wes Anderson film. We have been planning this photo shoot for months now, and it felt so good to get to do it! Wes Anderson films are definitely my comfort movies. When I was in grade 10 and our house was broken into (something that was extremely upsetting to me, for some reason), I watched The Grand Budapest Hotel. At this point, I have seen every single one except for the first (Bottle Rocket). I love the quotes especially, and the reoccurring actors! It is so satisfying to know that Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman are going to be in the movie that you are about to watch. I am insanely excited for The French Dispatch to come out as well. ![]() The area of Calgary where we got these photos is very close to Peters Drive In, and if you know the area, you will know that it is the best burger joint in the area. So, after getting all of the photos, we Had to pick up a burger. This was a fantastic way to spend a Sunday! The props that I brought with me are from various sources- the beautiful vintage suitcase was a Christmas gift, and we got it from Iron Crow Antiques. The Nancy Drew novels are both original editions, and the camera was a gift from a friend quite a few years ago. I am very lucky to have all of these things just sitting around the house. Are you a Wes Anderson fan as well? Which movie is your favourite? I always find it interesting about who everyones favourite characters are as well, since so many people have such different reasons for their favourites! ![]() Thank you for reading, ~K Edit: I caved and also bought the coffee table book for Isle of Dogs... expect to see more Wes Anderson inspired quirky things in the near future.
After putting up a few of my costumes for sale, I realized that it wasn't just my costumes that I had made and not worn after photo shoots, a lot of my vintage styled garments had the same problem! I get excited to make different patterns or try out new things, but they aren't always things that I actually want to wear. I am the type of person who really enjoys comfort, and that usually means soft fabrics and not too fitting of bodices. I absolutely love all of these garments, but I can always look back at the photos when I miss them! First up is my 1950's styled blue shirt dress! I love this fabric so much, but the dress is slightly big on me. Check out the listing here. This is a blue 1950's styled shirt dress with red button accents and a notched collar. This dress is not for $65.00 Next is my Bee Skirt! This is the cutest pattern (if I may say so myself, since I actually printed the cotton myself haha), and an A-Line skirt that falls just past the knees. Read my post about making it here, and purchases it here. This skirt is on for $50.00 This is possibly one of my favourite cottons that I have ever worked with! I love quilting cottons (they don't wrinkle so easily, and they iron nice and crisp. They also feel amazing on the skin), and this llama and cactus one is so cute and summery. You can check out my posts about this dress (it is a part of my Mexico Collection) here, and see the listing here. This dress and apron are on for $85.00 Another piece of my Mexico Collection, my matching shorts and halter top are also for sale! Check out more photos here, and the Etsy listing here. It is up for $65.00 I am very sad to be letting go my 3 piece suit, made up of this 1950's style sheath dress, the boxy blazer, and cigarette pants. These are a part of my Crooked House Collection, and made of a beautiful plaid wool blend. Each of these are for sale separately for $55.00. You can get the dress here, the pants here, and the blazer here. See more photos of them here. Up Next: My Man From U.N.C.L.E dress (inspired by the movie with Armie Hammer and Alicia Vikander). This is a cotton, mid-mod styled summer dress. To see the Etsy listing, click here, and to find more photos (and information about the Cold War), click here. It is on sale for $65.00. My muslin peplum blouse with a shawl collar and mother of pearl buttons is on for $55.00. This was a part of my Berlin Collection, which you can see here. Purchase this blouse here. My 1940's styled wool dress with short sleeves and a matching blazer! These are both for sale (the dress for $75.00, and the blazer for $65.00). Check them out here, and see more photos of them here. Enjoy!
~K I love this time of the year. As someone who greatly enjoys cleaning and fresh starts, the New Year is always exciting. I also find it helps to look over the last year, to show myself how much I have accomplished. It always feels like not much happened until you look through your day planner or calendar. I ended up having a very busy year, and have another one planned! My apologies in advance - this is going to be a very long post! I started off the year with an easy project- a cute little bee skirt. I look slightly miserable in some of the photos since I was battling an unnecessarily long cold, but I still wear this (and brought it to Germany with me!). After that, I had a bustle era obsession, and made a bustle cage and my Through the Looking Glass dress. We took photos of this dress in a blizzard (most of our photo shoots seem to be in terrible weather...), but I loved how it turned out! It is actually for sale in my Etsy here. And started making a second bustle dress to go with the first... which is still not done (first goal for the New Year? Finish some of theses projects) In March I went to Germany! I spent two weeks, starting in Berlin, and making my way over the Koln and then Hannover. I had an amazing time, got tons of inspiration, and met some of my family that lives there! Once I got back to Canada, I finished quite a few things in a pretty short amount of time, starting with my Moth dress. We had a great day taking these photos in Inglewood, in Calgary. My favourite photo shoot from the entire year! The Berlin Collection is so far some of the favourite garments I have ever made as well. I wear all of them, and the WW2 military style will always be my favourite. We were so lucky to ride in a vintage plane as well. This is up there with Germany on my best memories of the year list. Lots of 50's styled things this year! After making my In the Mood for Love Dress and enjoying wearing it so much, I decided to make another one in a different fabric. I have always admired vintage corset covers. They are so delicate and detailed! So this summer I made myself one for underneath the (still unfinished) bustle dress I was working on. And it was perfect timing! I ended up being able to get photos at a Calgary Stampeded Pancake Breakfast. The Mexico Collection was my Summer collection this year (can you believe it? 3 Collections in 1 year! I am quite proud of myself). We got fabulous pictures at Drumheller on a very hot day. In August we got new photos of my 1930's skirt at Heritage Park (one of my favourite places to go every summer), and made myself another dirndl. Dirndl's are one of my favourite garments, and I have so much fun making them. I also got 2 tattoos in August, which was lots of fun! September was probably the craziest month of them all! Not only did I start school (I am taking Costume Cutting and Construction through the Olds College Calgary Campus), but I also was a Team Lead for MakeFashion. Last year was my first time doing MakeFashion, and I absolutely loved it. I was so excited to be a part of it again this year! I also started my Etsy account in September, as well as got photos of my Man From UNCLE dress. Plus, at the beginning of the month I released my Fall Collection, Crooked House, where I collaborated with 2 local businesses - DSign Step and Iron Crow Antiques. Thankfully, October calmed down a little bit and I only finished one garment- my 1950's romper, which is also up on my Etsy. In November I actually finished two outfits, but I only have photos of my Canadian 1950's Shirt and Skirt. I also had lots of other things going on in October and November, which cut into some of my sewing and inspiration time. I got psychological testing done in November, and was finally diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. I also turned 19 in November, and participated in the Natural Talent Alliance Model Walk And finally December! I had some pretty big ups and downs this year, both with personal life and my sewing. I had some amazing opportunities and fantastic memories, such as going to Germany, flying in a plane from 1946, and taking part of MakeFashion again, just with my own design this time. I also spent a lot of time questioning exactly where I want to go in my future (which caused a lot of grief- I really like having a goal to work towards). December ended up being an amazingly calm end to the year. I finished my two final projects in school (a skirt and pair of pants that I will be getting photos of soon), and did a Peaky Blinder photo shoot to celebrate finishing my first semester of school. I also started working out again, and became a brand ambassador for Just Strong athletic wear! I also worked on a few things that I don't have photos of yet during the year (such as a 1960's coordinating coat and dress, and vest that I made for a gift, and a few other things), and I made a few patterns for a local athletic wear company, Intuitive. To sum up the year in logistics: I sewed over 30 garments, released 3 collections, started school, and was in 11 newspaper articles. Not too shabby!
I am so excited for 2019! ~K I had a bit of a sewing frenzy last weekend, and ended up finishing not one, but two garments in the two days. I was finally able to use a lovely pattern that I got by Patterns by Gertie. The fabric is from Michaels. I decided that this ensemble was very wintery, so we made our way to Big Hill Springs National Park (which is not far from where I live) to take photos. Even though there was lots of snow on the ground, it was a lovely day with warm sunshine and no wind, so it was not difficult to stand there in a skirt without a coat (although, my feet were pretty frozen by the end). I am lucky to live in an area with so many different landscapes! It makes finding places for photo shoots very easy. The blouse is a wrap blouse from the same pattern as the skirt. I chose a plaid flannel to make it, since I have been running out of warm and pretty shirts to wear to school lately. The skirt is the sweetest cotton print, with animals on it. It ended up being very Canadian! I think this skirt will be worn on Canada Day this summer. I have been wearing a ton of 50's styled outfits lately, so I have already worn these pieces out. The skirt needs to be taken in slightly (you can't really see in the photos, but it will be a quick fix), but other than that I am thrilled with how it turned out! ~K
I recently started school, so I have been a little bit busy. While I am loving school, and learning tons of new and helpful things, it has been quite stressful getting started so the blog has been paused. Now that MakeFashion is done, and I have gotten used to my new schedule, I have lots of plans for the winter season! After a trip to Fabricland a while ago, I am filled with inspiration! The first thing on my list is something that I have been wanting to make for a long time- a kitchy, 1950's wrap dress. I picked up the McCalls pattern M7354, and a fabulous printed cotton. I will be binding the dress with cream bias tape, and picking out two cream buttons to finish it off. The second pattern that I picked up is a pattern that I have admired for a very long time, and now that I am confident enough in my sewing skills I am ready to make it! I am going to do a trial run with a plaid flannel to make myself a night gown, and then I will make myself a few slips to go underneath my dresses. I have always been a huge fan of Patterns by Gertie, and I have used a few of her patterns before, so I did not hesitate to get a few more of her patterns! The first one here is a skirt and blouse pattern. I am making the skirt out of some left over wool from a 1940s styled dress, and I haven't decided what to make the shirt out of quite yet. I also got a stunning boat neckline dress pattern with a V back. This dress can be made as an A-line or as a pencil dress, and I am thinking of making the pencil version first. I may make it out of some left over wool from my Bomb Girl Trousers, but that is yet to be decided! I have so many different fabrics that I think it woulds be fabulous in. Another Gertie pattern that I grabbed is for petticoats! This is thrilling, since I have been wanting to make myself a petticoat or two for ages. The more interested I get in 1950s fashion, the more that I need (okay, maybe not need... but really want!) a petticoat to underneath all of the full skirts that I have. The last one I am extremely excited for (okay, I am excited for them all, but this one is pretty good). It is a Sabrina style dress with a pencil skirt and full back. I am planning on making this out of a burgundy silk dupioni. I was originally saving this dupioni for a natural form era dress inspired by Crimson Peak. I still would like to make a dress like that, but it will be out of a different fabric. The last pattern that I picked up is the 1890s pattern from Angela Clayton! I absolutely love her blog and youtube channel, and I was so excited when her first pattern came out. I am hoping to make a jacket for myself with this pattern, and at some point I think I will be needing an 1890s ensemble... Thank you for reading, and I hope that you are as excited about all of these ideas as I am! ~K
I have a new item on my Etsy shop, so we decided to do a bit of a photo shoot for it. If you are interested in buying this piece, you can get it here:) We took these pictures at the Balzac Gas Station, which is a very cute, vintage styled gas station. I styled this romper with some Calvin Klein heels, a thin black belt, and Besame lipstick. This is a mish-mash of a 1960's pant pattern, a 1950's shirt dress pattern, as well as adjustments that I have made to the two over the years. It is made from white cotton, with simple white buttons. ~K
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