New Clutch- Reversible Leather

Meet O.G Reversible Clutch. 
This clutch gets it's name because this is one of the first styles of clutches I ever made.  My friend still carries the actual original version.
Made of rugged black leather on one side, perfect for a professional lunch. With a quick flip, you have purple and pretty on the other side, perfect for after work cocktails. Check it out here.

New York Magazine

I picked this magazine up, sort of by accident in an airport the other day. I am happy I did, there are many great articles in this Spring Fashion Issue. It was the perfect last read to end a couple of weeks of traveling. It touches on some topics that I have been thinking about a lot.  Check out the article about Kate Spades company, a great background story there, and interesting article on Gilt.com the luxury outlet site, this article really makes you question pricing.

For the past two weeks I have been in Paris and New York, both for work related projects. Getting out of Toronto and out of my regular routine was great and I learned so much. 

All of the things I have experienced keep bringing me back to the same question, "what am I doing with this business"? Starting a business is tough, keeping a business is even harder. One thing I have learned is that almost NOTHING starts with out funding! This makes me feel good and bad. Good because I have made it quite far with out getting into debt, but bad because I realize that with out decent funding it is pretty tough (near impossible) to start a business. You need to give a brand time to mature and grow and with out $$ thats pretty tough. If you do your research, you will be amazed to find out how many large luxury brands function for years with out ever turing a profit, but with wise investors, who see their potential they are able to continue.  A few times during the trip I found myself wondering if I would have more creative freedom if I worked for a larger company who had a larger budget. Larger budget means more access to resources, more resources lead to more creative freedom, in theory. I often get emails from ladies who are starting their own company, asking for some advice. I always used to say "work hard, be organized, do  your research".  Now I think I would say, "you have to REALLY REALLY want this, it's tough and there are a TON of obstacles". I still REALLY REALLY want this, so I am going to keep going. 

One Sunny Day.

I have only witnessed the sun once over the past couple of weeks, so I thought I should document the day. Made the best of the sunny, but cold day by walking Lou and eating croissants and coffee in the park.

This is how I make a handbag.

This week I am making some bags with dyed/screen printed canvas and recycled leather.

1. Dye the canvas

2. Screen printed the canvas, hang it to dry

3. Cut it

4. Attach the hardware

5. Pair it with leather

6. Sew it up.

I making some little clutches and shoulder bags and maybe some belts????

Cha Cha at the Gladstone in Toronto this week end.

How to make a Handbag

I picked this up at a show I attended last week. I love this explanation. Incase you wanted to know, this is pretty much how you make a handbag.

A few more Paris pictures just for fun.

Paris was one of my favorite trips ever. It was just so beautiful and the shopping was AMAZING!! Next time I would love to go back when its a little warmer and with a suite case full of money.


Picture 1. Looking our from the Louvre
Picture 2. Notre Dame
Picture 3. The Eiffel Tower, thats about as close as I got to it.
Picture 4. Myself with a little wine to go at the Arc de Triomphe

Working on New Bags

I have some new bags ready to go. I am just getting all the pictures together to put online. Computer work takes me so LONG! I don't have the attention span to sit in front of the computer all day and get this stuff done but I must. This year I am doing things a little different. Every piece will be made to order. Each order will ship within two weeks. I decided this is a great way to keep waste down, not making extra bags ensures that I only make the pieces that people love.  I hope to start posting new bags later today or tomorrow.

Just another day in Paris

Hope everyone is having a great week. I am really enjoying my time here. I have so much to share but only  10 min. allowed on the internet. So for now here are a few pictures and a link to the trade show that I have been visiting. Premiere Vision. Lets just say I am like a kid in a candy store here!!!

Barbara Walters and I are off to Paris.

Tomorrow afternoon I leave for Paris. Im excited and a little nervous all at once. This will be my first show out of the country. I think I have all the work related stuff ready, now I just have to go home and pack my personal stuff, this is Paris after all, I have to represent Canada and have a cute outfit for everyday of the week!  I bought the Barbara Walters autobiography last week for something to read on the airplane. Since then I have already read half, so I may have to pick up another book. Barbara is one interesting women, I recommend this one.
I will try my best to post pictures while I am away. Bonsoir!

More Leather Shoppers!!

More leather shoppers on the way. The new bags will be in the shop in a week or 2!!

Cinnamon Heart Clutch now has a chain strap!

The popular Cinnamon Hearts Clutch now comes with a removable 14"inch chain strap. Check it out HERE.

Old Scanners and Pretty Ladies

This morning I was excited to find out my ancient scanner still works! It must be at least 10 years old, and in technology years thats practically 100 years old. So if there is a surge of photos from books and magazines for the next while it's because I am happy to have the scanning ability back. Im sure the novelty will fade.

I was shopping for books over the weekend. I will spend quite a bit of time in airports over the next month so I need something new to read. While searching a discount bin I found "Vintage Handbags" by Marnie Fogg. Often these books are cheesy, but I like this one. I love looking through books of old fashion, women were so pretty and feminine back in the day. I love that a lot of the handbags had short straps, to me that is a really girly look that I love. I get emails all the time from women wanting extra long straps, and I understand it is convenient. But something about the short strap is just appealing to me, I like holding a bag,  I don't always want my stuff strapped to me.