State Two

The elaborate new text stuff is delayed - boo! Though I have made some good progress on it.

This is a picture of some wallet prototypes I'm working on:


They look pretty good in the picture, but I need to troubleshoot some more. I'm happy with the patterns, but I need to either 1: change the leather, 2: use a different machine than my collection, or 3: both. These are some of the items that I'll have up on Etsy soon-ish.

On a related note, I'm going to visit the tannery when I get back from a trip to Michigan - I'll be looking at new leathers for the small goods projects and shoes. I'm also looking for leather for the bike shoes and the studio dyed/colored leather investigation since one or both projects will be coming off of hiatus.

So, I'm getting back up to speed, and the studio- while still a work in progress- is becoming functional.

State of My State

Just a quick post!

I am working on some new small items for sale, so keep an eye out for new stuff in my Etsy shop soon - some will be companion pieces for some existing designs, and some will be stand-alone items.

I have edited the text at my Etsy shop to clarify that I am happy to discuss custom items, and also renewed the expired listings.

Upcoming! I've started working on some new descriptions of what I'm working on, as well as the kind of work I am particularly happy to be approached about. I'm looking at the end of the week to have the updates up.

I am excited to be discussing collaborations with a couple of Chicago designers, and I hope to share some of that in the future!

Til later,

Cheers

A Coat

Before moving into the new studio, I made a few pieces - some personal projects and gifts/prototypes (see previous post).

I've been desperately in need of a new coat, but I wasn't in a position to go out an get something, and I didn't have time to start drafting something from scratch. I've been checking out the Burdastyle website for a while now, and I found a coat pattern that had some elements I liked. It was originally meant to be a spring-weight piece, so I needed to alter the pattern to allow for a lining, heavier fabric, and room enough for layering sweaters and such. I had some denim fabric I'd been saving for some pants that I decided would be put to good use for the coat. For warmth, I used a cotton flannel you might recognize from the original folding boot prototype:



When I was working at the cafe, my hands were really taking a beating, so the processes that are crucial to shoemaking were not pleasant, to say the least. I have been wanting to get back into some cut and sew stuff for a while, so it was a good alternative for the state of my hands. A lot of the knitwear pieces I've put together recently had, um, issues... I don't know how much was machine error, improper machine, or just me being out of practice. The coat was a good project for me, since I was able to remind myself of some of the particulars of using woven materials vs. leather. It certainly has some issues - awkwardly executed intersections in particular, but overall I'm pleased - and I have a new coat!

Prototype Bags and Gifts

For the holidays, I made gifts for my family.

For my Dad, Sister and Brother-in-law, I made bags. The original pattern was one I found on Burdastyle, but I made significant changes to it, adding in elements and finishing techniques I like to use. I was using these pieces for prototyping - I'd like to be able to make these for sale now that I've gotten a sense of what worked and what needs to be changed. I had to use a machine at the school to do the finishing, so if I want to continue to develop this bag, I'd like to invest in a new sewing machine, so it will probably be a while.

All of the materials were things I had on hand, except for some strapping (that I kept running out of) and some interfacing. I made one for myself, so I could get first-hand sense of how well they work. All leather with a fabric lining:


For my Dad, I used leather for the back and flap (in one piece) and a fabric with a similar feel to waxed cotton for the front body and lining:


For my sister, I used leather for the front flap, and felt for the body. It is lined in a purple cotton twill:




For my Brother-in-law, I used a navy blue garment leather I'd been hoarding for years and black trim. Since they were the colors of Cobra from the G.I.Joe comic, I decided it was time to use a patch I picked up from a comic shop many years ago:


All of them have a drawstring to prevent water from getting into the body when the flap is down, but they can open up wider for ease of access.

As they are now, the bags are one big compartment - I installed snaps for combining accessories like pockets (to be designed later).

For my Mom, I knitted this hat - it's another of the first hat I knitted for myself. I'm kind of obsessed with some of the elements in the design:


I've been continuing to knit. With my energy level low for a while, I spent a lot of time knitting various personal projects. I've really become addicted to it - I haven't started designing original pieces yet, but I'm getting confident that I can start putting to paper some ideas I've had floating around in my head.

New Year and New Stuff

It's been ever so long since I last updated here. I've had a lot going on- right now I'm home with an ick that's going around which may or may not be the flu. With three months of updates, I've broken this down into three separate posts that I will publish over the next couple of days.

I may have mentioned that I was looking for a job a while back, just something to pay the bills, since I haven't been aggressive trying to make money through the studio. Well, I did get a part time job at a cafe. It drained me pretty well, so I wasn't being too active at the studio. I've never really settled into the space with the pretty massive amount of stuff I crammed into it, so it felt like it took a lot of energy just being there.

At the beginning of February, my landlords asked me if I wanted to move into a different space - it suited me much better as far as space, layout and lighting. I jumped on it pretty quickly and made an agreement to move in by the February fifteenth. With the help of a couple of friends, I got everything shifted to the new space in record time.


I agreed with such short notice, that I didn't have time to consider placement, so it turned into a major project to move things into their proper positions. I finally have everything placed pretty well.




I'd like to build some shelves and dividers, but for now I'm trying to focus on making the space usable, so I can get back to work. I really, really need to get back to work. Just a few days after I officially came into possession of the new space, I found out that the cafe I'd been working at was closing down - just terrible, terrible timing for me. I'm looking for a job again, and trying to focus on a couple of paying jobs I have that got back-burnered. I have a few pieces I'd like to develop - non-shoe stuff that can be accessible and comparatively easier to produce.