bags and purses

I have been saving several pieces of brown leather — some of it is from a great old bomber jacket, other pieces from upholstery remants. All of it is lovely supple leather with lines and grain marks–this leather has character. This morning I decided to use some of it to make a small case. I envisioned this as a case for passport, iphone and  other essentials. I even used a recycled zipper. When it came to rivets, I remembered I had these great French brass rivets which were too heavy-duty for my normal bags–but turned out to be perfect here–they give this great old leather a functional or industrial look — very simple, maybe even classy!

The bag is 10″ x 6″, unlined, with a small slip pocket inside and a screenprinted birdbrain label. This case is the first in a series. If you can think of any refinements — please leave a comment or email me.

I have had several questions about my pencil cases. I decided to post them here–and shortly they will be in the shop along with the leather pouches. If you are interested in one of these before they get to the shop, please send me an email, or leave a comment here. There are five pencil cases here showing first the front and then the back–all from recycled or remnant leather. They are 9″x4″ with heavy-duty zippers and fine black lining; $22. plus postage. 

Making my colour therapy pouches makes me so happy.! These are the first of this year’s batch. They are all made from recycled leather garments or leather remnants. Each pouch has a different colour on the front and back, and sometimes two or three colours on one side. I use every tiny piece I have. Some of them are small pieces of my favourites–on  the front pouch is the very last piece of the cobalt blue skirt that has been in many pouches beginning with Wendie’s. Using recycled leather is always bittersweet–you can never find more of the perfect piece. Once the skirt or jacket is gone, there is no replacing it. At the back of this picture is a red leather pouch, sewn in diagonals, from an early jacket I bought at the local Salvation Army. It is like butter–and on the back of that pouch is the biker leather–my very first purchase of recycled leather, some biker pants from a thrift store on St. Hubert near my son’s place in Montreal. Ah I reminisce! But that is part of the therapy–reliving the day you bought the leather, thinking of the lovely things it has become, and the people who are enjoying them now. This is the joy of repurposing castoff things–the making and the remembering.  

 

I am back in the studio for a couple of days getting caught up on some orders.  First on the list was a fuchsia luna bag. This is one of my favourite leathers and styles: it is a bright pop of colour with two pockets on the outside and three inside. It is 14″x 13″x5″ and the adjustable strap is 51″ full out, so that it can be worn across your body or shortened to tuck under your arm.  

I will be at the post office tomorrow and this bag along with a couple of other small pouches will be on its way to Virginia!

Right now I am riding my bike as much as I can. A week today I leave for Italy–a biking and barging holiday–which will require more distance than I am used to. I have a city bike with baskets on the front and back and I bike everywhere I can in the city–to the market, the grocery store, my exercise class–but no great distance, ever. Belleville, my small town, has a wonderful network of trails along the bay and the river and these are my favourite biking routes. However,  I will soon be graduating to an italian beauty and 50 kms a day. I plan to blog from the barge–so will report on my adventure!

In the meantime I have been making small things. And I am learning abut my process as I go. In my head are some new bags for the fall. I’m doing my casual research, asking the people of style in my life the three top things they need in a bag, and eyeing the new leather I bought in Montreal and Toronto. I love making pieces from recycled remnants as you see here, but I also love a brand new large piece of Italian pebbly leather — and I have some great colours. There is no substitute for  the substantial weight and durability of this leather–great for big bags made to carry lots. But in the meantime, I am fooling around with little pieces, combining colour and texture. These cases will make their way to the shop soon too.