Archives for September 2013

Meet the hadley, the first cousin of the luna. Great ruby red leather. The hadley has the luna’s double front pocket, but on the back there is a an extra pocket with a magnetic closing. Your phone will fit safely in here on its side. And, the hadley is lined with the best fabric–the euro squares. I only bought one yard of this and I am so sorry. The hadley has all the regular birdbrain features–double leather bottom with dome-shaped rivets for protection, adjustable long across-body strap with clips, metal zipper and double stitching throughout. Two pockets inside and two outside–a double and a snap. A very functional and attractive bag.   14″x 12.5″ x 5″ and in the on-line shop now.

 

The prudence b is a design collaboration. We wanted a big generous tote that would carry all gear, but that could fold down to a smaller size when needed. We wanted it to hang easily from the shoulder or to fit comfortably across body. And we wanted pockets outside and in. The first pb worked out well, so when I was looking at the pieces of leather in my recently acquired remnant pile, (fast dwindling!) I thought I would try the design again. This one is made from a beautiful mahogany coloured leather with a lovely sheen. It has the standard features: a double leather bottom with rivets, an adjustable strap, an outside pocket and two inside, one for phone and one larger,  and double stitching throughout. And this pb is lined with a great Kenyan wax print.   15″ wide, 16″ tall and 5″ deep. In the on-line shop now.

I spent the afternoon sketching. I sat on a bench outside the Carnegie Library in Picton and sketched the buildings across the road and the library entrance right in front of me. I have always loved this building–so many of Ontario’s small towns have these lovely old Carnegie libraries. This one was built in 1907 when the town received a grant of $12 500 from the Carnegie Foundation. You can find a listing of all of Ontario’s Carnegie libraries here.

The sun was warm and the sky clear. A perfect afternoon for this. Several people stopped to chat and offer comments, including a local artist in residence, but all were kind and generous. For me it’s not really about the product, but rather about recording the moment — and while I am concentrating on the angles and the shadows, my brain sorts through design ideas and I come home refreshed and ready to tackle the sewing machines again. I’ve just started on some new red leather.

My friend Penny asked me to make her a red strap for a small bag she had. I told her I had used all my red leather on my recent totes. However, when I went searching in my bins I found that by combining various scraps of leather, I had not only enough for her strap, but for a small Keller bag. Meet the Penelope. This is a great handy tote, 11″ wide, 12″ tall and 4″ deep with an adjustable strap and two pockets outside and another two inside. Two different types of durable red leather, one smooth, the other pebbly give this bag a unique look and  inside the lining is a great wax print from the market in Bondo, Kenya. The double leather bottom with feet add to its durability. This is designed to be a great everyday bag with pockets to organize the details your life. The Penelope will be in the shop tomorrow morning.