Ube Love – The Birth of Ube Love, by Elisa Marigold. Ube – pronounced “oohbay” – is an intensely purple, yam like, root vegetable found commonly in the Philippines. It is so popular it has been recognised by Philippine based American food franchises and placed on their menus! Imagin ube -flavoured doughnuts with richly coloured purple fillings, deeply purple ube cakes, and ube ice creams!

(Though who knows how much of the actual ube was present in the fast food recipes?)

Many years ago, I had the pleasure of discovering this unique ube product in several marketplaces of the Philippines. Seeking out various ways different villages would prepare their favourite ube recipes became a mild obsession.

At the time, I was working with a few friends on a Kung-Fu movie (which shall at this point remain nameless.) I played a scientist named Ume Boshi, who was kidnapped by the evil “Big Boss” and blackmailed into sharing her knowledge about harnessing the energy of the erupting volcano! Luckily Ume – bearing a name eerily similar to that of the actors growing obsession – was spotted the day before her disappearance by an Australian surfer on holiday. As a man in love ‘this surfer dude’ stopped at nothing to track Ume down, facing kung-fu villains at every turn and surfing the molten flow of a volcanic eruption to save the day! YaY!

“Would you mind,” I politely asked the producer, ” instead of putting my name in the credits, could you present me as “Ube Love?”

He refused. But the Ube Love story had begun, and I decided to put the name to the garments I’d been making whilst studying Visual Arts at RMIT in Melbourne.

At first I struggled with the thought that everything had to be purple! One night, after asking various people “how would you pronounce this? ” and showing them the words Ube Love, the following response was made:

“You be Love”

By then I was truly hooked, and continued on to design it’s logo – which currently is hand screen printed and stitched onto finished garments. Another symbol – a shell more or less- used to also appear on garments, along with wistful phrases, and lines of poetry plucked from the air, like rich ripe fruit. (Well that’s how it feels to have a good idea, and to later hold the results in your hands.)

For a while I made raver type clothes and jackets and leg warmers, and sold them in a St Kilda store in Melbourne called “Jezabelle’s”

-Check out the “old school ube” photo gallery at flikR, and read the story:
http://www.agentcostume.com/2009/01/ube-love-in-the-beginning/ -

Then, one fateful day, I walked into a costume Hire Store in Melbourne’s CBD, and the costuming industry miraculously began to make itself apparent.

It was time to get some training in costume construction, and learn to create theatrically inspired clothing!

After studying costume at “Swinburne” in Melbourne, and -by the mysterious machinations of this ever expanding, unwinding universe- finding work in the same costume store that provided the initial defining inspiration (that’s a whole other story), I travelled around Australia for a year, resettled in Sydney, and took up working with costume in various forms, including basic party costume hire, window dressing for Womens wear in Myers, costume making for Opera Australia, Sydney Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company, major theatrical productions, movies and the odd commercial and music video film clip, including prop making and sets, forsaking the ube obsession. Only recently, with the kind generosity of various dear friends, the Ube bug has bitten again. Suddenly, I’m making ube products again.

Soon to be uploaded and purchasable from these pages.

enjoy!

Fairytales are alive and living around us today.
Of course they are!

Dreamtime continues, from ancient times to present day, creating and recreating, continuously evolving.
Just as the python like roots of a Morton Bay Fig tree grow steadily before our eyes, ever lengthening and expanding, and we don’t even see it moving. The life force steady, yet slow, unrecognised by those who must carve their own names into it’s living stretching skin.

The creation story continues with every new breath.

Agent Costume is starting on a shoe string. Supported by people who contribute with varied resources.
We dream of the day when all our dreams may be lived in their fullest potential.
The jackets in our minds may one day come to life. One day, the original designs in our imaginings may be bought freely, the creative flow of our designers supported by people who know and love the free flowing nature of Agent Costume and Ube Love.

It’s easy to think “I’ll buy this fabric, and those labels, and spend this many hours and weeks sewing this many items, and go to market, and spend this much time, buying this much petrol, and thread, electricity, and…..etc”
but to do, without financial backing is another matter….

Meanwhile the cupboards overflow with unfinished projects. Fabrics acquired over years and donated by loving friends lay waiting half cut, half stitched, great potential gathering dust.

This is a turning point.
No more excuses.

No more fabric purchases until the cupboards are free to stock them!
Until each piece of collected fabric has been lovingly turned into something useful and marketable.

Each piece of fabric collected over the last few years will be turned into something new and original.
There will only ever be one. They will be recorded and put up for sale on these pages, in our etsy store!

May the contents of the cupboards be turned into loved and wearable pieces of art and sold at market for reasonable prices.

Just as Rumpelstiltskin spun straw into gold, the rags in the cupboards shall be turned into well valued items of clothing and accessories.

…pure transformation…

1st Dec 2008.

The first day of summer!

Today I felt oddly like a little elf, cutting and sewing several sets of fluffy ears and tails to end up as Christmas presents under the Christmas tree for lucky little boys and girls.

Each set is unique. The tails are all cut free hand, using bits and pieces of off cuts.

Always the beginnings of a project has the most love imbued at every step.

I really enjoy making funky little presents and feel hopeful that they will end up in the hands of someone who will enjoy wearing them as much as I did making them.

This Rumpelstitlskin project rocks! In that, one is forced to make good with what one has. To make good, we need to become a more innovative. The results are then something unique and other people recognise that!

Ears and tails, a versatile accessory

I have been busy working hard at my Botany studio.
Here is a small selection of designs Marta and I have decided to develop further.
We were all packed and ready to go to Manly markets on the weekend. But, it rained!

So instead we paid an unexpected visit to an old neighbour of mine. He kindly took snap shots of our work and here is a selection. Not bad for an unexpected turn of events.
It wasn’t a wasted day after all!

All these items are for sale. Please feel free to comment, or ask about them.

www.ubelove.etsy.com

Early days, sitting on a desk, working from my bedroom, before the luxury of working from a separate warehouse in Botany.
The job concerned there, involves altering penguin suits, for a television commercial, to allow performers to breakdance with comfort.

…

Agent costume is not even a year old, and we are still learning what it means to live on a shoe string.
Here is a do it yourself option for would be pirates.

Do it yourself!