Spring is back along with some very “campy” fabrics. Nothing looks better on a summer clutch as a vintage fishing lure. Each bag gets a very unique finishing touch!
I found these amazing Italian military sacks in Texas last October. They were very dirty but had the most amazing character & stenciling on each one. I only found 3 & ended up keeping one for myself because I thought, “this is one of the coolest fabrics I’m bound to ever find.” The bottoms were pretty wrecked so I took the seams apart & patched on leather bottoms with additional pockets. The old worn in belts were perfect to keep the flaps down & the shoulder straps were well worn horse bridles. This combination was just perfect together & gave it a very vintage feel. They definitely appear to be from the WWII era & if I’m extra lucky, maybe I’ll trip over more someday.
This month has been a complete whirlwind! I had to lay out my priorities & with making all the goods for the Holiday market, school obligations, husband traveling, after school sports, family with flu & getting ready for Christmas, I just had to draw the line somewhere & it was with the blog & computer use in general. I have always set such a firm schedule for myself when it came to this blog. I mean, this is where “it all started” in a way. It was an outlet to show what I like to make & to share creative ideas. It allowed doors to open & opportunities to come my way that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. I’ve been at it for just over a year & a half. What I didn’t expect was that I would actually end up with this small handmade company “by elke” that I adore. If I could have my way, I would be all day, every day up in my tiny studio with the radio on & my hands working. My production has gone way up & is taking more & more of my time which means less & less time on the computer & taking pictures in general. I still prefer to work in a way that allows me to be free in the afternoons with my children. I like to wear the 2 hats & I don’t want to give any of them up.
My goal for the new year is to do my best with keeping up this blog. Post projects that I have worked on & announce new things that are in the works. ……. Enough of this chatter- I’m not one for a ton of words & this already has way too many so lets just look at some new shiny things!
I never thought I’d be one for patent leather as I tend to be attracted more to the veg tan leathers & natural finishes. My friends who have a great antique pop-up shop, Highstreet Shoppes, here in Boulder had some rolls on hand that they wanted to part with. The colors were really classic & just right. I decided to take them off their hands & see what I could come up with. Here are just some examples of styles & goods. Because of the shiny, slippery nature of the leather, I came up with perforated designs as it seemed like a clean way to spruce it up a bit. Each design was drawn on the back of the leather & the holes were punched one at a time by hand. This ended up being a bit time consuming since I carried this technique & “signature stamp” throughout the line.
After I used up the first batch of leather, I went & got more from a leather source. I was smitten. I think I’ll be adding a bit of shine in the line going forward. Stay tuned!
I think the fold over clutch with the zipper would be a real snazzy bag to carry for New Years & all winter for that matter.
What a great color for a fall tote bag. I love how the gray waxed canvas (from a vintage tent, of course) got really crackly looking after it was washed. The thick black leather & the textured canvas go hand in hand. A touch of shiny lures finish off the sporty look. The lining is a nice natural linen. Simple is best.
I found this very sturdy blue duffle bag & managed to make 3 unique , one-of-a-kind bags from it. Because of the limited amount of material & the placement of the stenciled letters, I thought 1 tote & 2 fold-over clutches were in order. Each bag has it’s own look, from the horse bridle handles to the leather bottoms. It’s finds like this that keep me digging!
I found these beautiful suede pants in amazing condition & had them sitting in my office for a quite a while before I made them into anything. When I finally pulled them out, I paired them with a really great old & broken in bridle, lined the bag in linen & made it so it could be worn comfortably across the body. The final touch was a red & white vintage fishing lure dangling off the side. This bag found a very good home, very quickly at the weekend market.
The biggest market of the year (for me) is over. I have to work pretty constantly for 2 straight months to turn out enough product to fill a 10′ x 10′ booth. I felt like I had bags hanging off everything from old ladders to trees. I was hoping to take lots of pictures but as soon as the doors opened I hardly looked up for the first 4 hours. By the time I was able to take a breath, I found that my booth looked picked over & half empty. It took the rest of the weekend to rearrange the goods to make it look more full & inviting. That is a good problem to have so I am most definitely grateful. By the time I packed up on Sunday evening I had 5 bags hanging & looking quite lonely. I have them on a coat rack in my office as I type. Summer is officially over- Now for new fall bags!
Sharpie pens are kind of like the duct tape of the pen world. They can DO ANYTHING! Including embelish a little canvas bag with your own original print….. very quickly. It’s a bit of instant satisfacion. When I did these little bags I decided to do different patterns on each side just to shake it up. I’m thinking of having a sharpie bag party……
Pattern design with Sharpie Markers
This was a first proto of a dopp kit made from vintage tent fabric. The measurements were a wee bit off & it ended up very chubby indeed. I do like the handle & the reinforced leather on the eyelets. I will definitely work on the shape so it is more functional for traveling. With all that said, a woman came by last week to my studio & spied it hanging on my wall. She snatched it up for a travel storage for her yarn! What a great idea! It was never meant to be a dopp kit after all. It was destined to carry beautiful balls of yarn for knitting on the go.
I found this amazing fabric canvas at an outdoor flea market. While everyone was poking through tables of costume jewelry I head straight for a gentleman who was selling outdoor gear. I felt like I hit the jackpot! I was able to get 2 nice tarps from him that were used to cover a part of an army truck. The canvas weave is super tight & it’s not too heavy. The fabric by itself was very military looking & I just kept thinking bright white was the perfect compliment to the neutral color of the canvas & the leather. The lining is 100% linen with 2 pockets.
When all was said & done & it was hanging on my wall in my office, I just kept thinking something was missing. needed just a pop of color. The following week at an antique show I found some old, bright orange, fishing lures. Wa-la! They were meant to be together. Stay tuned for the matching clutch….
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