A Bag that took a Month and Some Change to Create, and a Year after having formally made its Predecessor.
This was the first remade bag on this journey, with the chevron pattern being one of my favorites and most fun to replicate. It came out of the necessity of uniformity, with the first bag lacking a few formal elements of the current iteration of the bags.
I had the interior of the bag done at the end of January and finished this bag in the first week of March. The reason for the gap? Professional Development on another axis of my life! I chose to devote the entire month of February to updating my Architectural Portfolio, revamping a few past projects to match my technicolor aesthetic, and incorporate the Fa(b)rick Bags into my practice. (A worthwhile endeavor outside of me desperately wanting to get back to the Sewing Machine every day.) Upon completion, I got back behind the needle and pedal and picked up where I left off. (with a new and improved production timeline, as a market I have been accepted to begins its circuit in April, meaning I need to make stock). This bag was meant to fix a few bugs with the first chevron, with its attached central strap, its overly big mouth, and its lack of heft. This one is in neutral colors and weaves, and the best parts, as with the last are its alignments.
One of the small details about this bag in particular is the way in which all of he exterior pockets also have chevron or zigzag accents, something akin to a cameo in design to where you can tell the interior pattern before you look inside. It is small intricacies like that that has made designing the bags so much fun.
Time Marches on and so shall I.
As April Looms, the challenge of the Month of March and creating more bags was one I didn’t take lightly, and there are a number of individuals and entities I would like to extend gratitude to. An extremely special thank you to Scrap Creative Reuse in Ann Arbor, Arts and Scraps in Detroit, Anne’s Drapery and Design in Allen Park, Haven & Company in Northville, Esquire Interiors, Delux Drapery & Shade, and Wendy Ryan Interiors. Without your materials, none of these bags would be possible. I will be giving shoutouts to each in turn on my other social media, but this mission is one of sustainability, and even if it is something minor like a discontinued sample book, it still means so much to be a part of the change. I spent the time after making this bag taking tags, glue, and grommets off of many of the samples, to prime them for their transformation, and the next couple of entries will be highlighting the fruits of that labor. Cream Cheese, my ever loyal shop cat was appreciative of the growing pile of paper and fabric pieces, as they provided ample material to lay in, play on, and bat around. Your contribution is appreciated and I look forward to further future partnership and expanding the network so more potential waste can be diverted.