Recycled Materials

While I am striving to sell my bags, because hey I need to make a living too, I always have at the back of my mind the need to be a responsible maker.

I try my very best to choose the right fabric. This means considering the manufacturing methods, the chemicals used, the ethics of all the companies I source my fabric from. I make sure there is very little waste in my own production system. Which is why I hardly ever use circles or curves, ahem, and the fact they are darned tricky to sew as well! Ha. No, I really hate throwing away the negative of a circle…it’s very difficult to make anything from the leftovers of a circle! So I rarely make a duffle bag for instance.

In recent months I have been giving the local charity shops a bashing, meaning I have been visiting them often and buying loads of lovely fabric that would otherwise be thrown away. Currently on the table and very near completion are three lovely Emma Totes in some lovely orange corduroy fabric I sourced from The Oakhaven Craft Shop in Lymington. This shop has now sadly closed just last week! (I hope they DO find another property soon because that place was a treasure trove!)

There is something thrilling about looking in the charity shops and finding something either hilarious or really bloody useful or lovely at a bargain price. I love it and it seems much more normal that it used to be and dare I say it more trendy too…there is way too much stuff on the planet. (but not too many bags….cough cough)

I was encouraged to use Vinted by my 10 year old student who I have been teaching the tricks of the trade (bag making) for a few months….anyway she suggested I try it because I wanted some more shoes but couldn’t afford brand new ones. And she was right. I managed to find some perfect ones for a fraction of the new price. I have gone on to buy several pairs of shorts, a pair of sunglasses, a pair of slides each for my kids and a pair of jeans. I am all set for summer and I have saved a wodge of dosh and helped some people save for their hols too probably.

My other distraction is trying to find props and display items for when I do a market or festival (watch this space for more news on THAT!). So far I have found some vintage suitcases of varying sizes and a mannequin that needed mending but thanks to my lovely and currently over stretched husband she is like new. A sturdy and normal height display body for my cross body bags! She’s gorgeous!

So that’s what I’ve been up to in recent weeks. I have a few events coming up so I will keep you updated with them when I know for sure what I am doing. Be sure to follow me on IG and FB for more updates and let me know what you think about second hand shopping!