monica ostby

Monica Ostby with Husband, Hawk Ostby and Their Two (Handsome) Sons

This weekend, at Comic-Con11 in San Diego, Inlu’s own, Monica Ostby walked the red carpet with her husband, Hawk Ostby for the premiere of the Cowboys and Aliens film, wearing a hand made, crocheted dress by Amity Joy of Portsmouth, NH (see press release). The dress was a collaborative effort resulting in a fabulous-one-of-a-kind stunner that embodied everything “Monica” .

Monica Ostby with Hawk Ostby and Writer Mark Fergus and wife Julie Fergus at the Cowboys and Aliens Premiere, Image via Zimbio

Monica has always supported local, hand made and one-of-a-kind artists, which is partly why she and co-founder Jamaica Jenkins, started inlu.com. “We wanted everyone to have the tools to easily pool funds and find spectacular treasures from artists like Amity Joy. You can’t find that hand-crafted-with-love-experience at a big box store. Items found in Amity Joy’s Etsy shop are inspirational and creative, unique and treasured (just like the perfect gift!).”

The dress began as a conversation three years ago at Amity’s Portsmouth, NH vintage boutique, The Odd Showroom. Fast forward to spring of 2011, when the conversation began to look more like sketches, yards of yarn, swatches of silk and a vision inspired by the calm, cool tranquility of the sea. From there, Monica and Amity began to work closely via the phone/web to shape the “down to earth” yet breathtaking dress.

Amity Joy working on Monica Ostby's Dress

Amity said the dress took about 40 hours of solid, focused time to crochet the fine yarn into the masterpiece. The material had to be light and airy, fit for a summer evening in San Diego. To compliment the dress, Diedre Stapleton, owner of A Little Something, found a lavender silk clutch that worked perfectly to finish the look. Local Vermont Photographer, Jenn Clifford photographed the dress at the wild cLOVEr studio in downtown Burlington, VT.

Monica Ostby in Amity Joy

Monica Ostby wearing Amity Joy

Monica Ostby in Amity Joy

After talking with Monica, it turns out– the red carpet was exciting, the movie was P-H-E-N-O-M-I-N-A-L and the after party was slightly rock star, with some rubbing of elbows with the cast and crew of Cowboys and Aliens. What a night and we all wish we could’ve fit in that little purple clutch. But for now, we’ll just admire the dress and give a huge shout out “thank you!” to everyone who helped pull it all together.

Inspired? Get your own down to earth, red carpet look from Amity Joy. (Pssst…or it’s the perfect gift for a fabulous someone).

Visit Amity Joy's Etsy Boutique!

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