Monthly Archive for September, 2009

You’re Gonna Die for This, I-Dye!

Published on September 25, 2009 in New Products. View Comments
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idye3You’re Gonna Dye For This, i-Dye!

Even wardrobe professionals who pride themselves on their “teching” prowess bemoan the entire time consuming process with the light as dust granules floating everywhere, including up your nose and speckling the whole work area making for a painful cleanup. Well, it looks like, for many dyeing projects this tedious, polluting process can be relegated to “In my day…” stories. The reason for this leap into the 21st century is a new product by Jacquard called i-Dye. No, Steve Jobs is not involved, though the simplicity of this product reflects his style.

The dye comes in a soluble packet that you simply drop into a washing machine filled with hot water. Wardrobe supervisor Mark Burchard was one of our first customers to try the product and he was wowed by it. He advises you wait the recommended full ten minutes for dispersal before adding your clothes (each packet will dye a two to three pound load). Cheryl’s personal trick is to add two to three drops of dish soap to aid the dye dispersal regardless of the product you use.
The directions call for the addition of salt when you add the dye, Mr. Burchard chose not to because he wanted to be able to tweak the color after seeing the finished product. He was teching tee shirts; we’ve all been there, ugh! The salt, as all you pros know, sets the color. While offering an otherwise great posting on this product, the blog, Totally Smitten Mama’s Lex, added synthrapol to facilitate color setting, using the package recommended salt does the same much more organically. When Mr. Burchard saw the finished product he “found the color a little too intense,”. Another run through a full cycle and voila another quick cycle with the salt and he had exactly what he wanted.

As for cleanup, Mr. Burchard says, “I simply put in a load of dark clothes and ran it through. No muss, no fuss.”

Unlike most other companies, i-dye carries a polyester dye. While there are currently only eight colors, it presents a readily available, easy option for your polyesters. Remember too, you can open the packages and custom mix among the eight choices to increase your options. Of course, this opens up the whole messy process, but it is an option.

Of course, every product has its limitations. The very ease of use limits your ability to get truly custom colors. There are 38 color choices that can be tweaked only so much without breaching the package. For professional dyers or if you want an exact shade…”the 39th color”, I’m afraid, for these jobs you’re back to the traditional methods. For the basics, though, this is a case where we can now let out a cheer of “Ain’t progress grand,” for our time, health and the health of our environment.

TOMMY (with Roger Kimpton)

Thinking outside the Tub. The many uses of Wet Ones.

Published on September 12, 2009 in Tips and Tricks. View Comments
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Here’s something almost every Film and TV Wardrobe person has in their bag of tricks, if you’re a Mom or Grandma you probably have it in your bag as well: Wet Ones. Yes, those towelettes you use to clean and sanitize your children’s face and hands can also get that grease stain out of your blouse. The secret lies in the active ingredient Witch Hazel contained in the product. My Mom always had a bottle that she used as an astringent for those minor scrapes my sisters and I got as well as other little household tasks. Though it is a low growing shrub native to North America, our British cousins have long recognized the plant’s efficacy as a cleanser and spot remover.
Wet Ones 40-Count Tub

Wet Ones 40-Count Tub

When using you should gently rub the spot as soon as possible, but I have had success applying it within two hours. My husband stopped for a grilled cheese sandwich on his way to the gym and saw that he brought some of that bacon fat with him on his new tee. It was over two hours before he got home and successfully got the grease spot out with the towelette; obviously, the sooner the better. While Witch Hazel has anecdotally been proven to help with everything from hemorrhoids to the kids booboos, it isn’t a panacea. Do NOT use it on silk, it will “ring” (wardrobese for that ugly circle left behind); It is, however, effective on cotton, tencel, wool, rayon and polyester.

Playtex does not acknowledge this use in its’ literature, my colleagues, and the British Empire, however, have seen it work. I’m waiting for a company representative to return my calls. I’ll update as soon as I here from them. (CHERYL with Roger Kimpton)

Meet Your Hosts

Published on September 12, 2009 in All About Us. View Comments
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“I’m getting too old for this…,” is an often heard grouse from film crews shooting late into the night. For Cheryl Kilbourne-Kimpton and Tommy Boyer, the remark opened a conversation about creating an alternative business. Working on apple boxes on the back of the wardrobe truck while filming “You’ve Got Mail”, they wrote a business plan for an enterprise to offer “one stop shopping” for the wardrobe community. No longer would valuable time and manpower be lost going from store to store for thread and detergents and hangers; one call to Manhattan Wardrobe Supply and your shopping list would be satisfied.
After graduate studies at Florida State University, Cheryl headed to Atlanta where she worked in Theater and Styling for commercials, eventually segueing to film work in 1978. In 1987, after doing a job based from New York City, she decided to take the plunge into the New York market. She quickly assimilated and was soon a sought after Costumer. Today, Cheryl is a Wardrobe Supervisor as well as Manhattan Wardrobe Supply co-owner.
Tommy Boyer, a singer and dancer, began performing in plays and recitals as a child. After a show Tommy was performing in closed he was given the opportunity to be a Star Dresser on Broadway. Enjoying the challenges and security the wardrobe department offered, Tommy hung up his dance shoes and went on to dress Broadway stars including James Naughton in City of Angels and Keith Carradine in his iconic performance in Will Roger’s Follies. In 1989 he left the basements of Broadway and touring companies for film work. Tommy rose through the ranks from Costumer to Wardrobe Supervisor where his partnership with Cheryl began. Since the business opened he has returned to his first love, star dressing, most recently being a key member of Richard Gere’s Team.
With the creation of MWS, both Cheryl and Tommy have reined in their film careers to accommodate their responsibilities to the business. One of them is always at the store.
The doors opened one month after those late night, apple box, brainstorming sessions, on August 1, 1998. In the beginning the store was four bookshelves, a single desk and computer housed in a 300 square foot 10th Floor space on West 29th Street. For the first year there was only Tommy and Cheryl manning the store.
Today, Manhattan Wardrobe Supply is housed in the same building at 245 West 29th Street, only now they occupy all 6,000 square feet of the eighth floor and employ a staff of six. MWS is the preeminent purveyor of wardrobe care products for film production internationally as well as Broadway, Regional Theater, Las Vegas, and academia.
Within this Blog, as well as Facebook postings, they will be sharing their experience and expertise, offering tips and insights…enjoy! (submitted by Roger Kimpton)