I’m so excited!

I’m so excited and wish today was tomorrow.  

Tomorrow morning I will be flying to Sofia in Bulgaria to see my sister, Cynthia!  I haven’t seen her since last summer when I went back home to Quebec, Canada with my husband and his parents. As nice as that was, it’s not the same when there are so many people around, as we have to speak English together, which is still weird after so many years.  We were brought up speaking French at home and with family but English at school. It’s not very typical for Quebec but I’m glad we did.  Though I do now have this weird mental block that when I speak one language with someone it’s hard to change it.  I know it’s silly.  So anyway, it will be nice to spend some proper time together, in french.  

In our early 20ies we did a few cycling trips together so we were very close.  But as we now live so far away, both work a lot and bascially have our own lives we’ve not been as close.  So I hope that we can find this closeness again.  I think so, she is such a great person. I actually have two sisters.  I am the eldest, then comes Cynthia, then Pénélope, the youngest.  She is so different, she doesn’t like to travel, though she has come to visit us here and also once in Cardiff.  She has been working in the same hotel for about 10 years, has her little house and lives a quiet life.  I always find is to amazing that all 3 of us are so different when we were brought up the same way, in the same house by the same mom.

Cynthia in Arizona after a snow storm!

Me, don't even remember where this was taken!

Writing about Cynthia and our trips, inspired me to start looking for old pictures, most are in a box in my mom’s basement but I did find these two.  They’ve been stuck up on the wall or on pin boards over the years.  I had to scan these, hence the bad quality.  This particular trip was in 1995 (I think). We cycled from Vancouver, Canada to San Diego, to Phoenix to Las Vegas and back to Phoenix.  It was such an experience!  I had quite a good figure back then too, wow, and we could eat anything!  We were actually ALWAYS hungry!

Anyway, that’s enough reminiscing…  Cynthia will be in Sofia for 10 days working in a printing workshop and Gallery.  She will then come to Frankfurt for 10 days and work in a printing workshop here.   But I just couldn’t wait until she came here, so I had a look for flights to Sofia and when I found some for quite a reasonable price I decided to so go over for the weekend! I know that it’s quite a luxury but why not.  I’ve never been to Sofia, and to be honest never even thought about it as a destination but I’ve read up a bit about it online and it sounds really nice, really different as in its history it has had many different influences.

I will bring my camera and hopefully get a few good pictures to share with you all next week.  I know that my blog is supposed to be about bags and crafty things but a little travel thoughts shouldn’t hurt, now should they?!?

Goals

One of my goals for this year is to learn how to print. I would like to be able to print directly onto my bags.  I think that it would really give them something special. In the past I have used prints from my sister and Kerstin, a local artist.  As much as I appreciate having their prints, I feel that they have a very different style. Their images, though nice, aren’t ‘me’. Also out of practical reasons they always print them on small material samples that I can then sew on to the bags.  So the mixing and matching of colours is not always easy.  It also sometimes gives the bag a bit of a patch work effect that I am not so fond of myself.  By learning how to print, I can then print directly onto the flap or body of the bag as well as pick my own images.

My sister's style

Kerstin’s style

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It all sounds so positive and easy.  But now that I have actually stopped to think about it all; what images to I actually want? And how do I go about learning all this? And even how do I set this all up in my workshop along with everything else? Well, in my case I am VERY lucky, my sister is coming to visit! She has studied printing and even teaches it back home in Quebec, Canada.  So, when she comes in a couple of weeks, she will teach me!  My only responsibility is to find some screens, paint and images. 

 

Easier said than done!  I have been trying to ‘win’ some screens on eBay but keep on being bid out.  These things aren’t cheap, even second hand. Plus there are so many types and sizes.  So far I have learned that the aluminum ones are better, according to my sis, as they are less likely to warp.  Plus a larger one, though more difficult to wash and store, is more practical than a small one for the range of images that you can use it for.  Also, you want one that is has a stretched screen as it is very difficult to do it yourself. 

I’m learning already, even before Cynthia arrives, but still don’t have one!  So I’m putting it out there. If you are from the area and you have a screen that you want to sell or you know someone that has one to sell, please contact me!!!! I know that it’s kind of cheeky but you never know!

Once all this is sorted I will still have to think up, draw up, look up, find, some images. So my second question is, what would you like to see? Do you like the birds? Would you prefer flowers? I do have some ideas but any suggestion is be good and very much appreciated

Orange

I absolutely love the colour orange! 

It’s such a happy, warm and summery colour.  So, I’ve been working on some bright orange bags for the summer.  I hope they cheer you up if you need it. Or that they simply make you smile. Which is your favourite?

 

 

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As you know up until the 20th of May I shall be participating in the Blogparade so if you want to read other Fashion and Designer Blogs from Germany: click here 

Sunday

I got a little carried on Sunday when I went to my favourite material market to buy some supplies. I had even prepared a list so that I would stick to what I needed but instead I got stuff that I didn’t particularly need but I thought looked great, then ran out of money and couldn’t get what I did needed silly I know.

My husband came with me this time and although I new that it would be totally boring for him, so I asked him to take pictures for the blog.  I am very grateful but to be totally honest we have very different tastes.  I like close ups, details and colour. He likes to get the feel for the place so he doesn’t zoom in the way I had imagined…  I guess I should have explained what I wanted. Anyway, I hope you like the pictures, they do give you a good idea what it’s like there. We went near the end, so it wasn’t crowded either, which helps.

  

Here are also a couple of pictures of what I bought:

This is definitely my favourite picture:

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As you know up until the 20th of May I shall be participating in the Blogparade so if you want to read other Fashion and Designer Blogs from Germany: click here 

Denim

Denim and the British say or jeans as the Americans say; what ever you want to call it, it is one of my favourite materials to work with.  It is strong and robust, so especially good for bags. Plus it is so versatile, I mean you can match it to just about any colour and it will look good.

Here are my latest creations using denim.

 

Denim messenger bag with pink cotton and white polka dots decorations and white cotton with pink polka dots for the lining.

 

Denim messenger bag with blue and white checkered lining and ribbon as well as a cute woven ribbon with lady bugs and four leaf covers, for good luck. Super cute both of them!

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All of the next week I shall be participating in the Blogparade so if you want to read other Fashion and Designer Blogs from Germany: click here 

Custom Made

Here are a couple of pictures of my latest custom order. Click here to see other custom made projects.

 

It is a present for a man and I must admit that I’m rather proud of the final product.  Although I’ve used the same materials before, the other bags had always looked much more feminine.  It’s strange, I’ve been trying to think up a Man Bag shape for ages when in reality I think that this Messenger Bag shape actually works for either men or women, it just depends on the material and finish. 

It’s a pity that the colour doesn’t come out as well in pictures as in real life.  The exterior is a green and white tweed with little dots of colour like orange, red and blue.  These are very subtle though.  The lining is the same as the underneath of the flap, striped green.  Plus there’s a tab and circle of forest green cotton.  So all in all there are many little details but nothing girlie.

So, I’m curious, if you are a man, would you wear this bag? Or if the colour isn’t your particular thing, do you like the shape?

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All of the next week I shall be participating in the Blogparade so if you want to read other Fashion and Designer Blogs from Germany: click here 

Work in progress

I spent most of Monday cutting.  Not just randomly cutting, but cutting and matching and creating.  I always tend to work this way.  When I buy new materials I cut all the bag exteriors I need, then mix and match them with colourful linings.  I think that it might actually be my favourite bit of all, as this is when I come up with all the different ideas.  This is when I choose or think up what will be on the flap of the messenger or shoulder bags, or the front of the round and shopping bags. Will it be a strip of the same colourful material as the lining or a different one? Or shall it be ribbons? Or buttons? 

When creating them all at the same time I feel that I get more ideas.  Then once all the different parts of the bag are cut, I pile them up as in these pictures.  So when I’m ready to start sewing then I just work my way down the pile.  Once it’s all gone, I start again.  By doing it this way I also have an opportunity to make lists of what  I need to get, a certain colour thread or zipper for example.  Or some more cotton of a certain colour that will match a certain exterior.  Luckily this coming Sunday is my favourite material market.  I shall tell you all about it next week.

As I wrote about yesterday, for the next week I shall be participating in the Blogparade so if you want to read other Fashion and Designer Blogs from Germany: click here 

Blogparade

Startings tomorrow I shall be participating in the DIY Blogparade.  What is it, you may ask?  Well, it will be loads of fashion-bloggers, doing what they do best, writing about fashion and ‘do it yourself’ projects.  For me this will basically be a continuation of what I always do, as I create and produce all of my bags.  But this will give me a chance to link up with some cool and funky people.  So be sure to pop around often in the following week to see who else will be participating. 

As promised

As promised last week, here are a few pictures from last week’s fair, Lokale Helden in Wiesbaden.  As I said in my entry about the event ‘Disappointent’ I loved the location and thought my stand looked great, especially as I was just next to the DJs.  The only problem was that we had no visitors.  To be totally frank with you, I even complained to the organizers.  I wasn’t the only one who complained either.  I wonder if they will actually do something about it though. 

 

  

It’s actually thrown me much more that I thought it had.  If your read my comments I had said that I wasn’t going to fall into self doubt as no one had sold well that day.  But it still has made me rethink the whole thing. I think that I will concentrate more of my energies into getting some shops to buy at wholesale from me, rather than participating at all the fairs I can find. 

So if you own a shop, why don’t you contact me for a wholesale price list  

Or if you know a shop near you where you think my bags would fit with their stock why don’t you let me know the name of the shop

Coming Soon

I’m still hoping to get a spot at this springs Stilblüten #8, a great fashion fair here in Frankfurt that I’ve already participated in twice.  The application deadline was last Monday, so I hope to get a mail soon confirming my spot.  I know for a fact though, that they have received many more applications than actual spaces. They were looking for a bigger exhibition hall but as they want to keep it in Sachsenhausen, this part of Frankfurt, they are very limited.  It just goes to show you how good a fair it is, they have had applications from all over Germany and even Switzerland and Austria.  So please keep your fingers crossed for me

Awkwardly or luckily, I do have a spot at a freind’s Open haus, which also sounds great but falls on the exact same day.  They were nice enough to let me participate anyways.  Basically they are three people who share a workshop and they were each aloud to invite a friend or two for an open workshop and garden party.  So when my friend ‘Miss Tula Trash’ invited me as her plus one, I was really flattered. They did one last year and said that they had a great turn out.  

So if you live in Frankfurt or plan on being here that weekend then you are formally invited to pop around, have a brows, have a drink and maybe you will even find something you like. Bring a friend too, the more the merrier. 

One of the people who shares the workshop is a graphic designer and he was the one who designed the invitation card.  I think that are absolutely amazing! Super funky! I love the choice of colours and the whole look of it.  It communicates so much information in such a short time…  I simply love it!

So I hope to see you there, and don’t worry I will remind you again when it comes nearer the date.  I just received the invitations and wanted to share them.