BPR: This is Laura Kluvo from Blogging Project Runway and I'm on the phone with Patricia Michaels. Hi Patricia!
PM: Hi Laura, how are you?
BPR: Congratulations on your strong showing in the finale!
PM: thank you. I appreciate that. It was with much honor that I was able to participate in the finale. I am very very grateful.
BPR: Which was your favorite look from your collection?
PM: The one on my muse with the paillettes and the blue headpiece.
BPR: I have a question about the headpiece. What is it called, exactly?
PM: We call it a circular "roach." It's kind of awkward, but the native American man wears this when he dances. I wanted to have fun with it and transition it to a woman's piece. It is horsehair.
I was also inspired by Carlo Scarpa and Paolo Soleri. So these are very organic shapes and forms. I looked at canopy and gardening illustrations and originally I wanted to sculpt the horsehair into shapes. But when I saw how it looked I decided not to trim it.
BPR: Well that was obviously a good decision. They were very memorable.
PM: I would have loved to do more, but I had to stay within my budget. I have many more ideas for these.
BPR: It must have felt wonderful to have a $10,000 budget and four months to create your collection.
PM: I held on to a lot of my budget until after TIm's visit. I had so many ideas and I needed him to pull the reins on some of it. He put me in the right direction. I had plenty of samples and illustrations and patterns ready, but he helped me focus.
BPR: It seems that there is no end to your creativity, Patricia. What are you working on now?
PM: I am working on my Spring Collection. What is really nice is that I have purchased some new dress forms that will really allow me to showcase my fabrications. I had two dress forms. One I call "Eileen" because she leans, and the other is called brick because she is built like a brick. It is great to have new professional forms. I ordered them from Mood.
BPR: Did you watch the previous seasons of Project Runway?
PM: I did when they sent me the application. I watched season 8 with Mondo and Season 7 with Seth Aaron. I watched them in three days.
BPR: So you knew what you were getting into?
PM: Yes I did. It's wonderful to be part of the family. I also loved sewing on the Brother Machines.
BPR: It was really fun to meet your family. How old are your children?
PM: Margeaux is fifteen. We are very close. Gabriel is 23. He just graduated from Vancouver Film School. Actually his real name is Mozart. We wanted him to have a lyrical name. His father and I are not musical at all, but he plays the guitar and is very musical so we named him right.
BPR: What was it like to have Tim Gunn in your home?
PM: I was very touched. It was wonderful. When he saw my studio he said, "Oh, I finally get it." All of my books, my art auction catalogs and my fabric painting table which is 6 yards long and 70-inches wide, all my fabric. My home is actually 90% studio.
BPR: Are you a full-time designer?
PM: Yes I am.
BPR: Will any of your work be commercially available?
PM: I will have a line of accessories that will be commercially available on my website and at Legends Santa Fe Art Gallery.
BPR: Who is your best friend from the cast?
PM: Kate. She is doing so well.
BPR: Which was your favorite challenge?
PM: Definitely the first one.
BPR: Going into the finale, did you feel that you were the underdog?
PM: Yes, definitely. I didn't win any challenges, and the other designers are so talented. I didn't dream that I would be runner up.
BPR: Patricia, we are almost out of time, is there anything else you would like to say to your fans?
PM: There is plenty more where this came from.
BPR: Thank you!
PM: Thank you everyone!
