I find that designing a bag is like putting a puzzle together where you have to design and then search everywhere yourself for all the pieces. Fortunately, I am enjoying the journey and the search. The hand-drawn lining my friend Kyoko designed years ago in our FIT class finally repeats both ways. Hand-printed lining has a really nice quality to it because it is never perfect - kind of like people. :) It's the reason that Hermes scarves are so beautiful and expensive; every color on their scarf is a separate screen that has been created and printed by hand.
Also, the hardware for the bag has been mostly designed and sourced. There will be minimal but high quality hardware so the bag will be lightweight. I never understood the 5 lbs of hardware on some bags. If you wear heels, that weight makes it 10x as painful to walk! I'm also finalized on the leather. Leather tanning is usually very toxic for the environment. But, I found a supplier that uses natural plant oils and waxes to tan and treat its leather. The leather has a nice hand to it as well. And, I'm narrowing down my choices for fabrics, coatings and manufacturers.
Through the journey of designing and sourcing, I've gotten to travel often to vibrant areas of NYC that I would not usually see... [above] is a pic courtesy of my iPhone of an industrial part of town, with a scrap metal yard in the background. I've also traveled through other parts of Brooklyn and to the familiar Garment District, which I love. Any place where things are being created or work is being done is interesting and exciting.
