monogramming revisited

in my flurry to paint all the fabric for production, i almost forgot to try monogramming one of the fabric pieces. monogramming worked pretty well when i tested it months ago so i'll try monogramming my tote (since i probably will be my first customer :)).

i really like the idea of offering personalization by monogramming. however, i'm concerned it will end up being a logistical nightmare. at goyard and lv, it appears the bags are painted with initials at the very end of the production process. so, customers just have to wait for the amount of time it takes to paint their initials.

in comparison, my bags must have the initials painted on the fabric before it is even coated. so the customer will have to wait for coating + handbag production to get their bag... which could be two months or more! it really will be a bag made only for him/her from start to finish. once i get samples and production moving, i will test it out to see if there is demand for monogramming even with this wait.

consolation prize

i did not win the drying rack on ebay because the price went over my willingness to pay. the person who won it better be using it for something cool! oh well, it may not have fit through the door of my apartment anyways.

to make myself feel better (and because i needed them), i got these beautiful stainless steel pinking shears to cut fabric. little things that fit through the door make me so happy; they are pretty and work excellently.

my first project

this is my first leatherworking project by hand. at first, i was horribly disappointed by my rough stitching and stuffed it into a drawer. but then i decided i would use it for my kindle and it's grown on me. the leather is beautiful and soft; it is the leather that will be used on my bags. and it definitely looks handmade. no machine could do that stitch... if it did, it probably would be fired.

crime scene on balcony

beautiful weather in nyc & husband is allergic to fabric dust so am painting it outside on our teeny balcony. trying to figure out how to keep fabrics from blowing away but not ruin the paint job. and how to avoid looking down because i'm scared of heights.

snip snip

finally finished cuting the 100 yards into pieces for painting, then coating. whew!

drying rack overexcitement

i've been looking everywhere for a print drying rack to dry my 200 pieces of fabric after painting. but my fabric pieces are large at 24" x 34" so drying racks are super expensive... over $1500.

so, i searched craigslist and ebay and eureka! i found one in boston that i can pick up! i was so excited that i bid right away. however, as i was looking around my apartment to see where i would put it and then at the door, i realized that this beautiful drying rack may not fit through the door! ruh roh... i hope that some magic rotating or breaking apart will make it fit through if i win.

Prod Swatches - check!

Done with production-ready swatches, with two colors each . They were so big (24" x 34") that I placed them on the floor, then stood on a wobbly table to take a picture of them... resulting in a blurry photo!