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 

Custom Made

I just finished work on some funky little bags. They aren’t ALEX – Original Handbags but they are never the less super cool!  They are definitely original and of course one-of-a-kinds.  I was actually asked by a friend of mine, Miss Tula Trash to sew bags for her that she could then decorate. And I must say that they came out even better than I thought they would. 

There are two sizes to choose from; small for kids and large for teenies and adults. They are of course black but they come in two different materials, cord and a really strong canvas type cotton. All are decorated differently, you logically have the front view of the spooky on the front and the rear view of the spooky on the back.  As you tighten the drawstrings it makes them longer to create shoulder straps if you want to wear it as a backpack.

If you are interested in seeing more of Miss Tula Trash’s work or even purchasing one of these then why not check out her MySpace. I don’t think she’ll mind!

Custom Made Presents

A good friend of mine’s daughter will be two in a few weeks and she wants to throw her a little birthday party. She will organize a picnic in the park so that the little boys and girls can play and the moms can chat.  Instead of getting sweets for the little ones she’s asked me to make all the little girls mini-handbags and a little handkerchief for the little boy.  I think it’s a great idea, as not all mom’s let their kids eat sweets but also as they will all have a little something they can use over and over again.

 

Happy Customer

I made these cute little matching bags back in November, as a special order for a friend of mine who wanted to offer them as a Christmas present to her sister in-law and niece.

                               

Today she sent me some cute pictures of the lovely mom and daughter team that received them. 

                  

I’m really glad that it worked out, they both look happy with their new matching bags and the sizes seem to have worked out as well. 

                                             

Isn’t the little niece, Juliette, a cutie?!? Though I was told that she was sqirming all over the place making it was rather hard to get a good picture.  I think she’s just the cutest little thing you’ve ever seen. So, thank you so much for the pictures.

If you’ve bought one of my bags in the past, I would love a picture of you to add to my blog in the Happy Customers Category.  I also hope to create a gallery of them on my website when I have enough.  It you are too shy it can be an artistic one where we don’t even see your face, just you walking away or the bag could simply be set in front of a famous place. I’m sure you can come up with an idea!

Custom Made

I was contacted recently about making a custom made wristlet for a wedding.  I was excited, I am always flattered about being allowed to make something for someones special day.  The only issue this time was that I was meant to use the same material as the dress.  When she arrived I thought that she had gone mental as the material I was meant to use was still in the form of an actual dress…  I felt like it was such a pity to take apart a beautiful dress.  But she explained that she had bought the dress especially to have something made out of it.  Worst than cutting through a beautiful dress though was the type of material, it was made of satin and a delicate polyester that stretches in all directions.

At one point I almost gave up, all I wanted to do was cry as nothing was working.  Last night after undoing my work twice I decided to take a break before I threw a tantrum.

This morning I picked up where I had left off, but I don’t know if it was the coffee, the morning light or the night’s sleep but everything seemed to fall into place.  I’m really pleased with the result! We had discussed maybe making a little bracelet out of the remaining beaded sections.  In the end I used most of the beaded sections for the wristlet and didn’t think there would be enough left.  I used the rest to make a broach for her jacket.  I hope that she will like it, it’s obviously not something for everyday but I think that it looks really beautiful and will make her jacket look really special.

Before

After

 

 

Custom Made

A special Christmas present for mother and daughter. 

These were actually ordered by a friend of mine for her sister in-law and little niece.  I thought that it was a lovely idea.  And such a personal touch; to have something custom made is so much more special! (hint, hint to all the men out there! )

I hope they will like their new matching bags. Mom obviously gets the Round Handbag as she will need more space.  The strap is also nice and wide so it sits nicely on the shoulder.  The daughter gets the little rucksack, the straps can even be shortened if it’s too big at the minute, then let out later when she gets bigger.  The lining of the handbag matches the straps of the rucksack, so they really do match. They’ll be the envy of all the mothers and daughter in the park!

Custom Made

Last week I was contacted by a very considerate guy who wanted something special for his girlfriend’s birthday.  (very sweet!)  He asked if I could make a smaller version of my Shoulder Bags in the same tone or style as the brown messenger bag for sale on my website.  He reckoned that she would prefer this shape as it’s original and different, but that she preferred small bags.  I’ve made it smaller before, so that wasn’t an issue. But I didn’t have any more of the brown polka dot material, I did have this pretty flowery one instead, which suits my new brown material better anyways.  So I sent him a picture to see what he thought. When he agreed I started on the bag and sent it off straight away, as yesterday (Monday) was her birthday. 

Lucky for her, or rather him  DPD were very quick as she got her present in time. 

I personally really like the effect of the flowery material on the striped tone on tone one.  I even got a matching brown polyester strap as I thought that it would look better than the standard black one.  What do you think? Do you like it?

I’ve asked them to send me a picture to add to the ‘Happy Customers’ category…   If you’re a happy customer it would be great if you sent me a picture too. 

Or if you would like something custom made, why not contact me?!?

Custom made

Some really friendly girls came to pick bags at the weekend.  Well, it was supposed to be just the one as a birthday present but in the end they both found something they liked. The birthday girl had her eye on one of the round handbags, the grey one to be exact.  But at the same time she was hesitating as she said she wore a lot of grey and was worried that the bag wouldn’t stick out enough; that it would go by unnoticed. We definitely didn’t want that!!!  So I offered to make her one in dark purple with the same ribbon.  She was very happy with the idea. I think that it came out really well. What do you think? Do you like it?  At her request I also added some on the pockets and she said she always fills them with cigarettes and lighters and  other stuff, and wanted to be sure nothing fell out.

 

I find it really interesting watching which bag people will pick out.  It’s often possible to guess which type of bag they will pick by looking at what they are wearing.  With these girls it was even more obvious than normal. I don’t want to name them, not to embarrass them but the birthday girl was wearing beige trousers with a back top and dark jacket, so I knew she would pick something more subtle, some soft colours maybe something brown even, but nothing too funky or colourful.  Her friend was wearing a bright green top and jeans, actually it was rather funny as my sweater on the day was the exact same green. So here was someone who liked colour just like I do and would prefer something more casual.  She picked the bright purple triangular bag with orange print and bright lining.  it suited her perfectly! I shall ask them to send in some pictures. 

 

Custom Made

I must admit that I am very pleased with the result of this custom order, but then when am I not  I really like this very feminin yet casual bag.  I think that it will meet all the points; beige cord, with stitching and the cute brown material.

What do you think?

Do you like it?

Custom Made

This was a special order for Handkerchiefs or rather Bandannas, 50 of them! Sewing was the easy part of this contract.  The hard part was finding material in the right colour.  I went to all my normal shops and came back empty handed, then went to a huge Material fair that only takes place twice a year, I would through the whole place twice until I found a couple of stands that ha similar colours, but still I was not sure.  It’s part to make a decision when it’s not for you. Luckily when talking with one of the sellers, he said that he also had a couple of catalogues with him, and sure enough we found the right colour.  But he did warn that samples out of catalogues can sometimes be deceiving. He promised to send me a sample from the roll he had a home.  It was the best match I had been able to find.  And although the material is a little thick it will be very resistant, which I think will be a plus as they will most likely need to wash it often.

Finding the material was long and frustrating but once found ,came the job of cutting it all, which was not easy considering the size on my table and that my longest ruler is about 41cm.  But It went faster than I thought it would. Then I had to decide how best to sew them.  The first one I ended up undoing; I had done one long seem doing all four sides, but I thought the corners looked a little funny for one.  But also that if you pulled too hard, to tie it for example that you had more of a chance of breaking the tread.  In the end I decided to sew each side seperatly, it took a little longer but I think that it will make them stronger. It makes the corners look nicer too.

Here are a couple of pictures with the logo on the t-shirt. Looks good doesn’t it?!