Frankfurter Christmas Market

As promised in my last entry, here are some pictures of the Frankfurter Christmas market.  I went early (about 10:00 am) to be sure that I could get some shots in before it got too busy.

Ever been to a German Christmas Market?  If you haven’t then you should definitely make the effort to visit one soon.  They are great!  Frankfurt isn’t the best one, but it’s not bad at all.  Actually it’s much better than I remember.  I believe the biggest is the one in Nürnberg, south east of here, it’s beautiful city all year round actually.  Just about every city or town has one, the one here will last until 22 December (it started on Monday).  Here are some practical links if you’re interested in popping over for some Glühwein and shopping! Oh, and their pictures are much better than mine

Christmas Market in Frankfurt

If you like to try out new foods and drink, this is the perfect place to spend a day!  There’s all sorts of things to try, like Glühwein (warm wine with spices), it’s great stuff especially on a cold day! There are all sorts of sausages of course (this is Germany), then there are all sorts of sweets, like those great heart-shaped ginger breads (there’s a picture below). Those giant cookies aren’t just tasty, they are really sweet, as in romantic, too. They usually have nice sayings written on them, so when someone (like your boyfriend) gets you one, then you are meant to hang it around your neck for the rest of the day. Awwww!

So I must admit the atmosphere is much, much better in the evening, but then you wouldn’t be able to see anything in my pictures, not only because of the dark but also as it’s usually FULL of people come evening time. If you want to see night shots, go to the link above…

Crossing the Main from Sachsenhausen, on the south side of the river, this morning was cold and damp.  But oh, so romantic in the fog. 

 

Those great ginger bread cookies I was talking about…  And all the other sweets too! Mmmm

 

 

Oh and of course, other than food and drink there are all sorts of Christmas decorations (like these little wooden figurines) and presents.

 

Finally, if I’ve convinced you to pop over, them why not contact me, so you can come a pick a bag in person in my workshop!?!  You will then be able to choose from the bags on the Internet and all the others…  There are plenty!

My Christmas decorations are up!

What do you think?  I’ve changed the banner on the Blog and on my website in order to make it all a little more festive. 

Like it???

You in the Christmas spirit yet?  It’s still a little early for me.  To be honest I never really get into it unless we go back to my home (Quebec, Canada) so that I can be with my family… Although I think what really gets me in the spirit isn’t even them, though it’s always great to see them.  I think what REALLY makes it feel like Christmas is the snow.  Christmas in Europe or Germany without the snow is just never the same, even with the great Christmas Markets.

That gives me a great idea.  I was going to do a round of the shops selling my bags in town tomorrow… I shall bring my camera and take pictures of the Market and post them!

So make sure to pop around tomorrow to check them out!

Unique Things & Creative People

I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed but in the right hand column of my Blog, under the link to my website is also a link to my DaWanda shop.  For those of you who don’t know it, it’s a little like a European version of Etsy.  

‘DaWanda is the place for unique and individual products and people. Buy handmade and hard to find goods, share your discoveries with your friends and create your own collections.’

  Click on the logo to check it out!

Or go straight to my shop!  Alex Original Handbags by DaWanda

Anyway, for Christmas they are doing all sorts of interesting things!  Like their own ‘Advents Calendar’; ok, so when you open the doors you wont get any chocolate but you will find all sorts of interesting items.

“The Direct Line to Santa Claus

As of November 26 Santa Claus has included some surprises for you in here! All gifts from the Advents Calendar will be sent (care of Rudolph) with free shipping included (of course, as long as the sleigh is full!). When you sign up to receive Santa’s daily special mail, you are always the first in the know and can be the first to see what’s behind the door on each day of this special Advent. “

Some of my bags should also appear, so be sure to open all the little boxes as the time comes.

 

PRINZ: the article

Here is a translation of the article below, for those of you who don’t read German…

Designer Bags from Frankfurt

ART FOR THE SHOULDER

Bla, bla, bla, bla…  the beginning is about an other local designer that is bringing back the ‘gym bag’ into fashion, she makes them out of flowery material that she inherited from her grandmother.

Anyway, then we come to the important part of the article…  me! 

‘There is a second young Bag-Designer that we have discovered this month: Alex, Canadian, has been living in Frankfurt for just a short while.  In her small Sachsenhausener workshop she designs and sews beautiful bags full of details.  Each one is a one-of-a-kind! ” Art is not only for the walls, it can also hang on our shoulder” says Alex.  We find that too!

Then it goes on to say where you can buy the bags!!!

I am really pleased with the article, it might not be long but it’s right at the beginning of the magazine and the picture looks good!  Though that particular bag has been sold for a while, it still is one of my favourites.  I feel all important and popular all of a sudden even if there is no picture of me.  I know it’s silly but it still feels good!  Plus the reporter called me young…  I love her now! 

It’s also funny that she quoted me on the one sentence that I thought was a little over the top if you read my article about the interview I was actually worried that I had gone a little over the top.  I guess not as she has basically taken that concept as title for the article.  So I am rather proud.

Anyway, I guess I should get back to work.  Yesterday was spent applying to all sorts of directories…  Then I thought about doing the same with the Blog, so that’s on the agenda for today.  I’ll let you know if I find anything interesting.

More little mobile pouches

I was a very, very busy little bee yesterday.  

I made more little mobile pouches but these close with a little flap, they either have Velcro, a snap or buttons to keep this closed.  I think they are really cute, but I must admit that I prefer the draw strings ones. To each there own.

I am especially pleased that they are all lined and as cute from the outside as the inside.  So not only are they protecting your mobile from getting scratched while in your bag or getting too cold in the winter, they are also super pretty to pull out of your bag. 

I also made new make up bags.  I changed the shape of them and prefer the new size and shape a lot better.  The previous ones were 18cm wide and 17cm high, a little too high and narrow, which caused them to be a little unstable.  But my new models are 21cm wide and 14cm high, which is much, much better.  For example a new full size eye liner will fit in length wise, which couldn’t have in the old shape.  The bottom of the bag is approximately 6cm deep so it sits very stably, see the picture below.  The make up bags are, as before, lined with a plastic lining so if  something runs then it’s easily washout. 

    

Little mobile pouches

I was working on these little mobile pouches yesterday and this morning and I’m really happy with the result!

A couple of people had asked for them at the last fairs that I have participated in, so I thought I would give them ago.  Especially seeing as Christmas is just around the corner, I think they make cute, little presents.  Or could even be used to wrap a little something.  

I tried to use fun and funky colours, I think that I succeeded in making them very cheerful.   

I plan on selling these at the next fair on the 1st of December, here in Frankfurt.  But if you are interested in any of them and you aren’t anywhere near here then simply email me:

info @ alex-original-handbags . com

LINKS

ALL day yesterday I was looking for links to add and improve my website and Blog.  When I started my website I subscribed to one of those link exchange sites but I kept on getting ‘link exchange requests’ from plastic surgeons or real estate agents so quickly quite that!  Instead I decided to do it all on my own.  Basically I browse the internet looking for cool websites that also offer handmade items, when I find nice sites that I like and feel that are compatible to mine, I write to them and ask if they want to trade.  That’s what I did for about 11 hours yesterday… I must have written to hundreds of people, I really hope it will have been worth the effort!

 One site that I especially liked and was very pleased she wrote back is:

 Louise Cunningham, freelance illustrator

or check out her new shop

Paper Alligator on ‘Not on the high street’

So, if you have an online shop that sells handmade items and want to trade links then please contact me .  It would be great…  And save me lots of work! 

TAKE THE PLEDGE!

I did!  Go on, you know you want to as well!  I think that when you give or receive something that is handmade, either bought or made by yourself, people appreciate the present even more.  My sister has been doing it for years, I should have gotten the hint ages ago…  But I needed this pledge and some of the comments to really stop and think about it. At the same time it is good for the environment and for small businesses (like mine)!  

I hope you will take the pledge too!

GIFT VOUCHERS / CERTIFICATES

NEW! NEW! NEW! NEW! NEW! NEW! NEW! NEW! NEW! NEW! NEW! NEW! NEW!

 Just in time for Christmas I have created new ALEX gift vouchers. 

These are available on my SHOP page!

  

.
So if you’re not sure which bag your girlfriend/daughter/mother/sister/aunt would prefer? Why don’t you let her choose simply buying her/them an ALEX Gift Voucher. Neither of you even need to have a Paypal account, it’s fast, free and easy to sign up.
Features:
· Choose from fixed values from €5 to €1000 (though I must admit that I hope no one orders this amount until after Christmas! )
· Vouchers can be emailed, even on a specific day, or printed
· Vouchers have no expire date
· Unused vouchers can be cancelled by you if not used within 60 days
· Vouchers can be used for part or full payment of an order. Any balance remaining can be used on subsequent orders
To purchase, simply click on the button on the shop page and you will be taken to the Paypal website to complete your purchase.

Shipping costs

Basically it is not possible to charge shipping per article but then somewhere add in the code that it should only count it once…  I was on about this in yesterday’s post.  The only way would be start again from scratch and calculate the shipping on a fixed rate.  But as I sell and ship bags all over the world and that the costs for shipping varies so much, this wouldn’t work.

So I have lowered the prices a little and I hope that in the long run it shall balance itself out.  I also added a comment on the Terms & Conditions page that if you were to buy three bags or more you should contact me because I can then probably offer a better shipping price.

 What do you think?  Is it a good solution?  Have you also had issues with shipping costs???

I am happy with the result!