Interview with Andrea Miles of A Miles Designs

2015 update!  We just got a note from Andrea asking to have her images removed from our blog so that they could submit them to Martha Stewart!  Best of luck Andrea!!
When Andrea Miles of A Miles Designs approached us about her wedding we were excited and eager to help. She had a distinct vision and color palette, but used our ideas and suggestions to elevate her design elements to a level we could have not imagined.  Needless to say, we loved the finished product so much we asked her for an interview about the process. Read on for more about the details of Andrea’s wedding and her latest use of our products in her own line for children!
How did you discover Of The Earth? 
I found you on Etsy and fell in love with the hand dyed silk ribbon in Tickle. I ordered a few yards and basically designed/dyed the bridesmaids dresses around it. It was the first thing I bought for the wedding and it inspired the bridesmaids dresses that our girls (our daughters) wore that day.
What were your initial product needs for your wedding?
It was decided that I could use some interfacing to make it more rigid in the area that went around their waists, so it became their belt/sash. The length that tied was left soft. When  I ordered the roll of 2.5″, there was quite a bit left over and it was the perfect thing to tie around all of the bouquets. I noticed that they had various widths and bought a roll of a thinner width to replace the white satin ribbon that was stitched on the edge of my veil. Again, there was a large surplus of this thinner width, so I used the extra on the invitations. We had our invitations rolled up and inserted into glass bottles. wrapped around these bottles was a square that looked like the Brady Bunch (9 squares, mom in top middle, dad in bottom middle, my children in the left squares, my husband’s in the right squares and in the middle square in the same font as the TV show it said “bridal bunch”). The thinner silk ribbon was tied around the bottles to hold these in place.
How was our input helpful during your planning process?
After I got my first cutting of the 2.5 silk ribbon, I decided that I wanted the girls’ bridesmaid dress to be dyed in a pink ombre. I contacted Kevin because I was totally ignorant on the subject of dying. He was super helpful and pointed me in the right direction. I had to use a different type of dye because I was dying tulle instead of silk, but I could not have done it without his help. I recently contacted him about ribbon for another project, and once again, he went out of his way. My experience with Of The Earth has been one of the best, if not the best, that i have ever had with a business. And trust me, I’ve  done a lot of shopping/buying in my day.
Tell us about your Etsy line, A. Miles Designs?
AMiles Designs, my shop on Etsy, has monogrammed and appliqued towel wraps, hoodies, bikini bottoms and stockings right now. but I am adding pom pom shorts (really excited about these!), bandeau swim tops, 4 baby items, and pillows in the very near future.
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How do you plan to use the custom ribbons from Of The Earth in your designs?
I love the ribbon because it is hand dyed and has the qualities that go with that. With wear, it gets a slight fray on the edges which I’m crazy about. I knew that I would incorporate the ribbon into a product in my shop on Etsy from the beginning, but I just have not had the time until now.
Thank you again and CONGRATS, Andrea!