FASHION ALERT: Eggs-actly what you don't have yet in your fashion collection-A Bespoke Ostrich-Egg Purse by Mitzi Perdue Herself!
You already know how AMAZING Mitzi is if you have been reading us and she made yet another stellar ostrich egg purse, this time honoring General Petraeus-see more of our coverage here:
Everyone was admiring it; now you can too, and keep in mind she MADE this
Mitzi tells us:
The Military Ball EveningEgg(™) took 30 hours of work to transform a plain ostrich egg into a piece of wearable art. It begins with cutting the ostrich egg in half, so I can attach a specially made hinge ring that's the basis of turning the egg into a purse. The next steps include strengthening the egg inside and out with a special resin that makes the egg about as hard as steel. You can stand on one on my EveningEggs(™) and it won't break….although I sincerely hope you won't! But it is that tough.
Next comes the most tedious part which is measuring. If the design isn't symmetrical, if it's off by as much as 1/64th of an inch, it looks homemade. Every loop of Swarovsky crystals has to be in just the right position or it will look "off" and no longer beautiful.
An EveningEgg(™) uses a surprising amount of these crystals. If you were to string them together, it would form a chain ten yards long. (I know because I've done it.)
The most tense part of making an EveningEgg(™) is getting the outer coating right, the part that looks like enamel. I tried 36 different formulations before I got one that would dry hard and yet take color. For each section where you see the color red on the Military Ball EveningEgg(™), I had to worry that it would dry smooth and not lumpy, and would be even without the material flowing too far to one side. It takes almost Zen-like concentration because it's so easy to get it wrong. And if you get it wrong and it turns out lumpy, you've just lost 25 hours! I've sure had that happen in the past.
The final part is sewing the velvet lining, and then voilà , something really fun and unique. I used to love it that while Frank Perdue was known as "the Chicken Man," I got the nickname "Egg Lady"!
$3000 is the cost of one of these gorgeous works of art, and the buyer needs to tell Mitzi the color and the theme he or she would like. The top of the EveningEgg(™) is either a working clock or better, a photograph of something important to the individual, such as a house, a favorite flower, a pet, or often, people want their grandchildren! And, drumroll please, all is MADE IN THE USA!
Mitzi's contact information is included below in her interviews, which we would encourage you to read!
