Little Bits

Prints Charming

I did a crazy amount of sewing this weekend. Among the spoils: Some super cute little zipper bags made with some of my stash that I'd been neglecting, some truly charming prints with adorable giraffes and narwhals that I ran across when tidying up last week.

The bulk of the table at my upcoming craft fairs will still be devoted to my upcycled upholstery sample bags but I wanted to make sure I had some really colorful stuff to throw into the mix.

My New Favorite

 

I'll be honest, just about every time I make something it becomes my new favorite. The capricious nature of my favor cannot be denied. Every day is the best day ever and every bag I make is my favorite. So the title of this post is just a little tongue in cheek. But seriously: These are my new favorite. No really.

Little eco zip wallets are super fun to make. I get to use some of the gorgeous small uphostery fabric samples in modern prints that I'd been collecting for a while into super smart looking coin purses, IMHO. They'd also be great to keep your earbuds, business cards, medicine (herbal or otherwise), etc. Get two for everyone!

The Best Day Ever

It happened! The spring Patchwork Modern Handmade Festival was on Sunday and I know that I am prone to hyperbole but it was the BEST DAY EVER. Seriously, I had a terrific time and I did sell more stuff than I ever have before.

It was truly the upcycled upholstery totes seen on the rack below that were the star of the show. I priced them at $39, worried that was going to be too expensive, but ended up selling eight of them! Everyone looked at the neon deer print bags but no one bought one. I sold both of those black and white ones, which didn't surprise me because I have one just like it and people compliment it all the time! Plus I sold some zipper bags and some hot pads, and two of the new leather clutches I made just last week.

Anyway, it's not just sales that make a show: The atmosphere and the organizers were top-notch just like last time and I enjoyed talking with my crafty colleagues, also as you can see from the last two photos my family even stopped by. They (as well as my husband, not pictured because he's camera shy, and my mom, who always comes to my craft fairs and tries to bring along some friends) have been a great support to me.

I was especially glad this show went well because last week I found out that I didn't get into the Renegade Craft Fair. It's a notoriously hard one to land but it made me pretty sad nonetheless and doubt myself just a little bit. But I'm OK now, thanks for asking.

See you in the fall, Patchwork!

Rainbows and Owls and Lots of Lace!

My 'Stache

Cat Fancy

Deja Vu All Over Again

 

So a few weeks ago I returned to where it all started, it being my love affair with craft fairs! My first-ever outing was in Martinez at the Support Women Artists Now (SWAN) Day Festival in March 2012 and my second time was just as good as the first, dare I say even better as I've learned a lot about craft shows in the past year.

Most important lesson: Don't put out every single thing you have! Especially if you're me and you went all crazy making a ton of stuff! Now I'm still working on this, but having a cleaner and more cohesive booth display really helps the customer zero in on whether there's anything there that they want to buy. It's also a much more eye-catching display to have fewer items well arranged, as opposed to a giant jumble of things. My photos above might still look like quite a jumble to some but I'm definitely improving.

Another thing I have learned is that you just never know what's going to sell. I made a bunch of pot holders because they've always gone quickly and I was completely out from last year's run of fairs, but only sold a few. On the other hand, all but one of my table runners was snapped up and I sold all but two of the roll-up tote bags, which I made about a dozen of before deciding that they wouldn't be popular. So go figure!

ALSO, and I can't believe I almost forgot this, I scored a ton of upholstery fabrics in bright colors and big pieces too! I was so excited I spent hours locked up in my sewing room going through it all despite being completely exhausted after spending all day at the fair. Don't worry, I gave the dumpster diversion project a generous donation even though they said that I was doing them a favor by taking them off their hands! I will be making some more colorful upcycled upholstery spring totes soon, you can count on that.

Zippity Doo Dah!

Somebody gave me a bunch of free zippers, so despite my resolve not to sew any more zipper bags for a while because I already have SO MANY ... well you can see my dilemma here. On one hand, I don't really need to make any more zipper bags. In fact, one could argue that if I keep making zipper bags we're going to have to get a bigger apartment to store them all. But on the other hand, free zippers!

One Part Inspiration

One of the great things about selling my bags is that is has brought me into contact with some really amazingly creative people who are an endless source of inspiration. Case in point is the mother-daughter team that runs Multiple Threads, a reincarnated clothing shop on Solano Avenue in Berkeley.

I've been bringing my upcyled upholstery bags to them for a while now, and I love stopping by the shop because I always see something amazing there. Diane and her daughter, whose name escapes me right now, have a studio set up in the back and just about every time I go in there they are sewing something new.

Recently, they told me about some jackets they were making out of vintage floursacks and suggested that some bags from the same material would be great. So I went to the Alameda flea market for the floursacks and here you can see what I came up with: Two totes and a zippered clutch, lined with thrift store finds and flanked with denim accents.

I have to admit I didn't love working with these sacks. They were tough, impossible to cut in a straight line it seemed, and they made a big mess! But they came out pretty well, no? I hope they like them!

Getting Scrappy

Note to Self: Buy More Zippers

Upcycled Zipper Bags

Owl Take 2

Sew Little Time, Part 2

These pictures will just have to be worth 1,000 words :)

Sew Little Time

Hey, long time no blog! I have been so busy lately that I haven't had time to post here so I thought I'd better remedy that. I've still been sewing, as evidenced by the photos above. I'm madly in love with all of these items and am probably going to keep them for myself. I made the blue and green tote from some complementary fabrics that I used for my friend Jasmine's iPad case way, way back. And speaking of which, the denim with red and green flower print is an iPad case. I've been experimenting and I think I finally got it the right size. The two smaller zip bags are from a metallic Marimekko fabric scrap I found at the Crate and Barrell outlet in Berkeley. I suppose I could part with one of those ... maybe.

In other news, I've been busy trying to move some of my inventory to make room for more (and earn a little cash for supplies). I went last weekend to a little consignment shop in Sonoma called Sandbox. I'd met the owner at the Sonoma Charter School fund-raiser and she turned out to be the friend of my friend Paula, who lives there. I brought a giant box of tote bags and zippered pouches to choose from and she took it all! Oh no, guess I'll have to make more. How sad. Not.

Next up is a house event in July that a woman from my book club, who sells jewelry, volunteered to host. If nothing else it'll be a fun afternoon of showing off my stuff, which is basically the only thing I love more than actually sewing it. More details to come.

I'm also working on an Etsy store but that's not coming along very quickly. It's fairly laborious, because you need three or four photos of each item, and a very detailed description with measurements and everything. I need more hours in the day!

Little Treasures

With the Treasure Island Flea almost here, I've been working on putting tags on all of my purses and tying zipper bags that go together with cute ribbons. I also sewed some more small bags with Jim's artwork on them and made some scrappy keychains, as shown above. Just three more days!!!

Two Great Things ...

Jim's art and my sewing: Two great things that go great together.

This is officially my favorite bag ever because it is the first collaboration the Jim and I ever did. Last week we remembered some iron-on transfer paper we'd bought forever ago so we gave this a try. You have to really iron the hell out of it to make it stick but his beautiful drawings and my mad sewing skillz (not to mention ability to pick out the perfect fabric to go with it) are resulting in some really cool bags. We made eight (four zipper bags and three totes) and five of them sold this past weekend at the craft fairs, but I snagged this one for my very own. I will love it forever, I'm sure of it.

Stay tuned, because Jim is working on another drawing so I see more zipper bags in my future. Yay!

Getting Schooled

Another awesome collage from Paula (thanks!), this time from the Sonoma Charter School Flea Market on Sunday. I sold six or seven purses, I think, and several zipper bags (a couple to some very adorable little girls). I was only one of two craft booths, and the people there were mostly looking for bargains I believe, but Jim and I had fun and I learned some things. Another smashing success.

A Fair to Remember

You always remember your first time. Thanks to my friend Paula, who took tons of pictures at the Martinez SWAN Day fair and made this lovely collage. I had a blast setting up the booth then watching as people admired my bags and other creations. There wasn't a huge crowd there but I made some sales nonetheless. Plus I got to see my aunt and uncle from Danville, my sister and nephew came out, plus tons of friends. It was a great day!