I Love A Good Tool and Fashion News

I have a great love for tools, and I own WAY too many of them, but yesterday I knew I needed a tool that would allow me to punch holes far away from an edge. I could use a drill, but that would take too long and leave a ragged hole in paper. I wanted a punch of some sort. I have hole punches of a variety of types that will allow me to punch a hole in an item within an inch or two from an edge, but I needed deeper (to be honest, I WANTED deeper). I could make do with less, but I wanted more. 

This is a Big Hole Puncher from Crop-A-Dile, my latest tool
purchase and a really cool tool. It punches holes in items
up to six inches deep, but it also sets rivets, It's multi-purpose.
I just HAD to have it.  

Taking a few minutes to travel to my nearby Michael's, I found exactly what I wanted - a "Big Hole Puncher" by Crop-A-Dile. Now ... I already own a different Crop-A-Dile punch that I have used for bookbinding. It's more of a pliers-style, however, and has a shortened jaw. It works great, but I wanted something that could hit a fold of paper from the edge - a distance in of a minimal 4", but hopefully closer to 6". 

I bought one of these Crop-A-Dile punching pliers several
years ago when I was doing some book binding. It's a wonderful
tool, but I wanted greater throat depth for my new punch. 

I quickly went to their website for a coupon. Would they have a good one for me to use on this? Would it even qualify for a coupon reduction? Oh yes, there I had a "50% off any non-sale item" e-coupon. In the end, my $42+tax purchase was cut down to a grand total of $22 after my discount and my Michael's club membership were taken off. SCORE! The turquoise bruiser came home with me and is traveling to the shop to be put to use today. 

Zac Posen is a fashion designing wonder, brilliant,
clear-spoken, and not afraid to take fashion to a new
level. His latest "statement" fashions featured embedded
LED lighting, 3-D printed fabrics, and sculpted pleats. 

On a totally different note, did anyone else notice that Zac Posen shut down his fashion house on Monday? Zac, a fashion design icon and judge on Project Runway for many seasons, closed the doors on his business operation as well as his "House of Z" and "Z Spoke" lines. He had been trying to sell the company after a major investor had announced they were pulling out, but he and his Board of Directors hadn't found an appropriate buyer and all negotiations had fallen through. He will continue in his position as Creative Director for Brooks Brothers Women's Line.  

Stars wearing fashion by Zac Posen have been numerous over the years.
Here we have Katie Holmes on the left and Naomi Campbell on the
right. He also designed for Royalty, with an after-the-ceremony
dress for Princess Eugenie's wedding earlier this year. 

Zac launched his brand in 2001 and quickly became a sought-after designer on Red Carpets and Runways in both the USA and Europe. A fashion prodigy, he entered Parson's School of Design at age 16, continuing his education in England before opening his own studio 20 years ago. The announcement came as a shock after his Spring 2020 line had just walked the Runway at New York Fashion Week. He declared that the Spring 2020 fashion line will not be shipped to buyers. 

So there we go, another fashion icon shutting the doors. (If you recall, Calvin Kline shut down in May of this year.) Zac Posen produced and oversaw as many as 20 different lines which were released throughout the year under a variety of brands, as well as designing bespoke fashions for stars on red carpets and runways throughout the world. I'm sure his decision was difficult, and it's a fact that the fashion world was rocked by his closing. 

On that note, I'm dressed in a spectacularly unfashionable set of dual-layered sweats and shirts. It's a cold one out there this morning and I don't want to freeze just getting over the the gym for my workout. Have a wonderful Thursday and be kind today. Spread some joy, and give some unexpected happiness to a stranger. It'll brighten your life too. I'll be back tomorrow if I don't freeze today.