bags and purses

 

I wanted to make a small bag that would carry all you need to go our for an evening. This is the Elizabeth, 10.5 inches wide and 5.5 inches deep with a secure zipper pocket beneath the flap and two large slip pockets inside. It is made of the softest bottle green leather and lined with a bright cotton pattern from Kenya. The flap closes with a magnetic catch and the shoulder strap easily clips off and to transform the Elizabeth into a great pouch.

I was delighted to find this pebbly leather in purple. It makes a great durable bag with lots of pockets to organize all your essentials. On the front it has two deep slip pockets and on the back a zippered pocket. Inside there are three leather slip pockets. It has an adjustable shoulder strap, metal protective feet on the double leather bottom. Inside it is lined with cotton screenprinted with birdbrain graphics. Width 12″, length 11″ and depth 4.5″. It has solid metal fixtures including the zippers and is double stitched throughout for strength. 

Hello again, finally. I’ve missed you all. I don’t think I’ve been away from the blog so long since I started it in March 2011. I’ve been fighting a nasty cold for the last week or so. The picture above is of my older son surfing on the St. Lawrence in Montreal yesterday . Evidently, he enjoys this weather! It makes me shiver to look at him! Here inside wearing three sweaters I’m back to about 70% and want to show you the few things I’ve been making. Yes, the making continues, no matter what.

We are planning a few changes to the blog so that you will be able to check out the various styles of bags and pouches in a leather gallery. I hope to introduce that very soon and to give you some info about the on-line store. But in the meantime, here are two new red bags in familiar shapes.

The first is the Sherbrooke, this time in red. This is a great everyday bag with a zipper pocket on the outside and three slip pockets on the inside.  It has a lean profile, easy to take anywhere. The strap is adjustable, the zippers high quality metal and the lining cotton in a great jigsaw pattern from England. W 10″, H 9″.

And here is a new Keller bag in a heavy red pebble leather. This is your go-to bag which is strong and roomy enough to fulfil all your daily tasks. To keep you organized, it has two secure zipper pockets, one exterior and one inside, and three more slip pockets inside, including one for phone and one for cards. It has an adjustable strap and metal ‘feet’ on the bottom.  Inside it is lined with bright cotton from the Bondo market in Kenya. W 13″ H 11″

 

 

I’ve been under the weather–living through the usual bout which comes from fatigue, too much time on planes and in airports. There are still sketches and photos of Oaxaca I would like to share, but for now, a series of pieces I have made this week, inspired by the colours of Oaxaca. The colour spectrum pouches are designed to stand on their own or pop into a larger bag; some  have wrist straps and credit card pockets. The small change pouches below are an homage to the local craftswomen who weave tiny pouches on their back strap looms. All these pieces are all made from recycled leather, are lined with cotton prints and have durable metal zippers.

I am leaving for a couple of weeks–but will stay in touch here. In the meantime I wanted to show you two more new bags which will be available when I come home. The first is another part-time backpack, this time in slate leather. The camera finds it hard to capture this lovely leather–it has a shimmer which lets you know it is not black, but its own neutral shade. This PTBP is larger than the first one: 12.5″ wide, 11″ tall and 4″ deep with a double leather bottom, wide leather strap, exterior zipper pocket and interior zip/slip pocket in birdbrain canvas and a leather phone pocket. This bag converts easily from cross-body to backpack and can be worn with the pocket against your back for added security.

The second bag is a Sherbrooke bag in tobacco leather. I have been using one like this and find it a great size. It has a zipper pocket outside and three repurposed leather pockets inside. Height 9.5″, width 9.5″ with a long adjustable strap. A perfect day bag which can easily slip inside a tote if you like. High quality zippers and hardware.

This is Thanksgiving weekend in Canada. We were very fortunate to have most of our family with us to close up the cottage for the winter, to make and consume the traditional foods including GG’s turkey stuffing, and to enjoy the spectacular weather in southern Ontario. And GG was there at 95 to enjoy it all.

Carissa modelled some of the recent bags which have been on the blog. Here we are set to go for a walk and she is wearing her own green Part-time Backpack. Carissa tries out some of the new designs in her busy life and makes suggestions for changes. For this design we have added a clip to hold the straps together. But overall she reports that this bag converts easily from backpack to cross-body and is great to go from bicycle to board meeting. I have enough of this gorgeous leather for two more bags and the next will be slightly bigger than this one–a medium size. Here is the Full-time Backpack and a pair of the new mittens:And finally,  another Part-time Backpack worn both as a backpack and a cross-body bag. And notice the pink mittens with sheep skin cuffs!

I have been saving this leather remnant. It is milk chocolate with a lovely hand and a great look. I thought it would make a good backpack, so I combined it with a pair of recycled brown leather pants to come up with this.

I’ve been exploring backpack designs since I had a request for one last year. I like the idea of a convertible backpack because of the versatility. This bag came together pretty quickly, but I was stuck on how to attach the straps. I tried various pieces of hardware to adjust the strap length and none looked right. Finally it came to me, when I really studied the leather and the design, that knotting the straps was the very best option. It allowed for a backpack mode as well as a shoulder bag and a cross-body bag. This is a casual everyday bag and the knots are a perfect solution.

This bag is 15.5″ tall, 13.5″ wide and 6″ deep. It is doubly secure–the strap snugs things in tight and then the flap closes with a magnetic clasp. It is lined with khaki denim and has three pockets, a zippered pocket with birdbrain graphics, a slip pocket behind and a leather phone pocket. At the backside of the bag is a small zippered pocket perfect for things you want to keep at hand like your phone or keys. This design is a prototype; there are some features I will modify, but many I like and will use in the next PT backpack.

I’ve been thinking of making  a full-time backpack for some time–and here is the first one. It is made from the loveliest black pebbly leather which had a former life as a large man’s winter jacket. I like to look for a long time at the pieces of leather once I have the garment cut apart and let it direct the design. I used the top of the sleeve to make the wonky zippered pocket on the front  and the rest fell into place. Inside it is lined with bright red cotton and has three pockets, a birdbrain canvas zip and slip and a leather phone pocket. It has adjustable straps which are thick enough to be comfortable even if the bag is full. High quality hardware including a European zipper adds to the simple elegance of the bag.

12″ wide, 11.5″ tall and 3.5 ” deep.

I have been wanting to make a back pack for some time. This is the first, and while it is a backpack, it can also be worn, by shifting the straps, as a cross-body bag.  It is made of some beautiful leather, a green-bronze pebble. I think you would wear this bag mostly as cross-body–it is a great shape and sits easily on your hip.  But if you were going on a bike, or needed hands free, you could quickly convert it into a backpack. Very handy, very versatile. Big enough to carry all you need.

The PT (part-time) is 11″ wide, 10″ tall and has a base of 5″. It has a double leather base, is lined in striped cotton canvas and has a zippered exterior pocket and two interior slip pockets, a leather one for your phone or passport and a larger one in birdbrain canvas. Durable metal zippers and hardware. A perfect every day bag.

This is the beginning of my backpack explorations. I’m going to try my hand at a bigger one soon–no conversion just a full-time backpack. I have some recycled black pebbly leather that I think would be perfect. This is new territory for me, but that is what keeps it interesting.