Thursday 25 July 2013

Missed By That Much.

Missed By That Much

Or: Why One Should Be On Top Of Their Social Media


Last year I created a costume for P to match his Evel Knievel bicycle helmet.  

 I made the costume using a combination of three different Oliver + S patterns as well as tips and instructions gleaned from a couple of others. Somewhat unwittingly I finished it around the end of October, and while we don't really get into Halloween here in Australia, I landed my costume on the internet at the peak of American costume frenzy.


Liesl of Oliver + S invited me to guest post on her blog about the costume and how it was created. I had no internet presence at all at that stage and was thrilled to bits to guest post on such an auspicious blog. It remains the highlight of my short blogging 'career'. Evel Knievel Guest Post


I then realised that both the ByK bicycle (the inventor/founder of which used to sponsor the Flipper and I when we raced. Not on kiddy bikes mind you, but real, proper grown up bikes) and the Nutcase helmet were being showcased pretty nicely. So I fired off a couple of "you might get a kick out of this" emails.


The result of which was that the pictures bounced around a few Facebook sites and I was feeling very proud of myself.

Fast forward 10 months and a graphic designer commissioned to produce material for a kids Ride Safely campaign, in conjunction with Knievel Days, spotted the pictures and contacted Oliver + S for permission to use them.

First gumby error on my part: I really should start using a watermark on my pictures.

Todd of Oliver + S forwarded the request to me.

My Hotmail email address dates back to 1996, which I'm rather proud of. However, as a consequence there are addresses in my address book which I no longer have any idea who they are: Was Maria the woman I met on a boat in Turkey, or the Finnish man I met while cycling through France who was going through a "transition". Who knows. Anyway, like other people collect Facebook friends I'm keeping my Hotmail account with all it's history, but setting my Junk Mail filter to exclusive. (my secret sewing personality uses a gmail account which I check compulsively, so don't think I don't love your comments)

Second gumby error: Todd's timely email sat in my Junk box for 3 days...


Turns out we missed the deadline the artist had to submit the campaign material by the narrowest of margins.

P missed out on being the face of helmet safety at an Evel Knievel festival.
How friggin' awesome would that have been?!

Oh well. At our house we say get back on the bike, ride hard, jump something (or perhaps just a little rear wheel skid if you're like me) but most importantly, wear your helmet!

Ride (and sew) safely folks!

18 comments:

  1. Holy cow, that costume is ridiculously awesome! Love love love! And your little boy couldn't be any cuter! (And my husband is currently looking at the ByK website for a new bike for our 8 year old, so thanks for the link :)

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    1. Thanks. I had a lot of fun making it and the photoshoot at the skate park was a blast. The ByK bikes are awesome, and there's a quite a few of them in our neighbourhood now. Sure beats those Bicycle Shaped Objects the toy and department stores sell.
      We think pretty hard about bike purchases at our place and P's first balance bike was bought from a UK website and imported to Australia so I'd completely understand if you had one of these sent OS. It'd be a pretty unique bike to have outside of Aus!

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  2. Oh how frustrating. I am quite bad for checking my emails too, you are not alone!

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    1. Yeah, life really gets in the way of both sewing and surfing the net sometimes.

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  3. Oh No! That sounds like me. I have a what has turned into junk hotmail account. I check it, you know monthly. These are awesome pictures and a fantastic costume, to bad about the near miss!

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  4. The good news is your E.K. costume photos are making the rounds and who knows, perhaps another ad creative will come looking for permission to use them for a project in the future. Just the same, it's frustrating missing out on a sure thing.

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    1. True Deb. I'll add a watermark in future to make it easier to find me.

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  5. This has to be one of the best costumes EVER and your little man totally rocks it.
    Great work

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    1. Thanks. It's a bit tighter now and not quite so white but he still loves it.

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  6. I nearly fell out of my chair when I first saw this pop up in the O+S flickr group way back when, and loved when you posted for their blog too! Freakin wonderful. Such a bummer you missed the deadline this time, hopefully they contact you in plenty of time next year!

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  7. oh what a bummer! Sounds like you're handling the disappointment with great perspective though - and it doesn't detract from how seriously awesome that costume still is. And may I add, P is just about the cutest kid around. Even my husband, who came in the room when I was looking at the modeled tank pictures, commented on how adorable he is.

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  8. That costume is beyond brilliant! Hope it gets to visit another Evel Knievel festival one day...

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    1. THanks. I just looked at your blog and worked out the Flickr connection (I've ogled a few of yuor lovely things before) and then discovered we live in the same city! So, hello!

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  9. this costume is so, so amazing. i still vividly remember reading about it on the oliver + s blog and being completely wowed over it. so bummed you missed the deadline! that would have been awesome! but i love your attitude... and your family motto! :)

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  10. interested in selling this costume?

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    1. :) sorry, no. Both of my kids have now worn it. It's pretty faded and stained and we'll keep it or gift it to a friend's kid. Happy to help you with tips if you decide to make one yourself, just email me.

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