One Part Inspiration

One of the great things about selling my bags is that is has brought me into contact with some really amazingly creative people who are an endless source of inspiration. Case in point is the mother-daughter team that runs Multiple Threads, a reincarnated clothing shop on Solano Avenue in Berkeley.

I've been bringing my upcyled upholstery bags to them for a while now, and I love stopping by the shop because I always see something amazing there. Diane and her daughter, whose name escapes me right now, have a studio set up in the back and just about every time I go in there they are sewing something new.

Recently, they told me about some jackets they were making out of vintage floursacks and suggested that some bags from the same material would be great. So I went to the Alameda flea market for the floursacks and here you can see what I came up with: Two totes and a zippered clutch, lined with thrift store finds and flanked with denim accents.

I have to admit I didn't love working with these sacks. They were tough, impossible to cut in a straight line it seemed, and they made a big mess! But they came out pretty well, no? I hope they like them!

Oh Baby

My dear friend Shannon is just about to pop (with a baby, not too much cake). For her recent shower, I made this "taggie" heart pillow from some Marimekko scraps and small pieces of ribbon I had lying around. Apparently babies often become fascinated by the tags on blankets and clothes, something about really liking the tactile quality of them, so this should be a fun toy. And it came out really cute, IMHO.

Shiny!

So I showed this bag to my sister, who has historically been the only person to really give me any real criticism, or "honesty" about my bags. She's pointed out a few stinkers, and I appreciate it.

But on this one, I think she's wrong. She was turned off by the reflective quality of the bottom on this one, and says she doesn't like the print in the middle. But I'm standing by it.

This bag is a crazy patchwork marriage of FIVE different upcycled upholstery samples, so yeah, it's going to be a little wackadoodle just by its very nature. But I like it. I think it works. To quote Firefly's Capt. Reynolds, "shiny!"

What say ye?

Replenishment

A first: One of the stores I consign with, Multiple Threads in Berkeley, called me last week! Turns out my upcycled upholstery tote bags have been a big hit and they asked me to bring in some more.

Of all the bags I've made over the past 16 months, I think they garner the most excitement. That combined with the fact that I love recycling makes them my favorite bags to make.

Anyway, I packed up what I had left, a grand total of eight tote bags, leaving me upcycled upholstery bag deficient. So I set my mind this weekend to making some more and came up with these three. I am pretty happy with how they turned out!

In other news, this weekend I visited the Alameda Point Flea Market. It was super crazy, way too much stuff to see in one day if you ask me, and my feet are killing me. BUT I scored two great things that made it all worth it. (I had a good time, too. There really was so much amazing stuff to gawk at.)

The first is a lovely vintage wooden sewing box with some treasures inside (a few fabric scraps, some threads, buttons and rick rak, and a bunch of great patterns). But I did make an important tactical error by choosing to carry this around instead of going back to get it when I was done shopping. Oh well. The second is some vintage flour sacks, which I am going to use to try to make some bags. Stay tuned!