I think I forgot to show the laptop bags here. Better a little late than never!

Our first corset for our upcoming fashion shoot

This was really designed as a foil to the wraps, which are the main point of the shoot. But it's proved to be so interesting that we may go on to do some kind of corsets or tops later. It's sewn by a very talented British seamstress who specialises in corsets.

New Alice bags are here.

These will be on the shop this week. I'm very pleased with them. All our Alice bags seem very popular, so we thought we would add just a few (three in fact) new prints for spring and summer. I'll post the other two and the shop link as soon as I have them listed.

Just a heads-up that we have the two new Alice wristlets on special offer

I haven't sent this out in a newsletter because it's only two designs. But as they are brand new and we're really pleased with them, I thought I'd do a "special" for this month. I hate to use the word "cute" - but I do think they're cute! At 20 Euros they are probably a bit too cheap - but well, it's February and in a recession, so why not?

Some of the new drawstring pouches

These can of course also be used as tarot bags - they are the perfect size for that. But we find many people now buy them to store cosmetics or other small items in their handbag, or to use as decorative storage bags in bathroom or bedroom.

One more

SOLD
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The last of the stiffer-interfacing samples. This is an Alice in a taupe silk (please note, not the pink silk shown). Again, silver-grey silk lining. One only of this.


Again, same price, $10 plus $4 postage - but postage can be combined if you buy more than one (we can hold any bags you buy until you see what else is on the way)

Please pay via PayPal:

Orders at magic dash realist dot com

SALE bags

Three of these sold now. Just one left.

Minnie ("tabby with attitude") is sitting in front of the screen. She is getting excited - the new tower fund has begun! She wants one with one of those fur fabric boxes on top. I know, I know, I always said I could not live with one of those things - but cats LOVE them.

I really ought to be putting sale items on the shop but I just haven't got time for now. So I will offer a few from time to time here in January as well as getting a shop sale page together. Our flat and studio are FULL of slight seconds or samples or discontinued images so I have told myself that I'll sell all these off and put the money towards a new climbing "tower" for the cats (they have pulled their old one to pieces - it looks disgraceful).

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Okay, first up. Two rather stiff tarot bags. These are made in our (lovely - they really are) workshop in Vietnam so the silk is gorgeous and they are silk lined. The linings are a silver-grey silk. However, these were two of the early samples and we think the cotton interfacing is too thick. The bag can still be gathered and closed, but it's just a bit harder to do this than we like.

Prints are done by us, as always (no-one else does our prints but us with our own hands - which means Alex really - and I am allowed to do one once in a blue moon when he trusts me - hah!)

Our contact in Vietnam says that the interfacing used on these bags mean that they will last for many years! We had to say that while we appreciate that, we do prefer the softer interfacing that we are using.

One is Alice and the Pool of Tears in pale blue silk (this is not the actual bag as that hasn't been photographed - but similar to this though the blue is much lighter):.

Both are half price at $10 plus $4 shipping. We can of course combine shipping if you would like both.

By the way, if the PayPal button does not work, please let me know, I am new to this. If it does not charge shipping (it sometimes doesn't ) I will send an invoice for the $4. Or send a refund if you buy both, as we can combine shipping.


SOLD


The other is The Fairy Queen in a very pretty pale green and the background of the picture is more yellowy cream than white (again, the photo is not the actual bag).


SOLD

Two Death the Bride bags with a small fault in the printing. Each has a hairline (literally, because it's the result of a loose thread lying on the print when we were doing it) of white going across the image. About 1-1.5 inches long. It's slight but you can definitely see it.

This is the bag - the faulty ones are identical but with the small white hairline fault on the picture. I don't have a photo of them as they are down at the studio, but I can always send a picture to the buyer to check that you're happy before we post.

Same price - $10 plus $4 postage.


ONE LEFT

New Alice in Wonderland wristlets

Alice in Wonderland wristlets

Alice cushions - mark two. With hand embroidery, beautiful, beautiful embroidery

So, our new Alice in Wonderland cushions are at sample number two stage.We've changed the fabric from linen to silk (a really good quality silk with cotton interfacing, nice and crisp) as we like the sheen - though we may do some linen also eventually.We've changed the design so that the cushions work well on their own as well as in pairs. Though the original "paired" design will probably be done, in slightly modified form, too - as I love it.The cushion now comes with a pad - a rather ingenious pad of which more later.Oh - and by the way - we now have hand embroidery on the design. I actually want to jump up and down and shout that very loudly, but I will be quiet and restrained. DMC threads too - I LOVE how this looks.These are just snapshots for now, and done in bad light but they still look good, don't they? Actually, I am very, very pleased with how these are turning out. It's been worth the work. Though I do need to redo some photos in sunlight.A few more tweaks and a few more designs, and we'll be there I hope.

Alice cushions - mark two. With hand embroidery, beautiful, beautiful embroidery

So, our new Alice cushions are at sample number two stage.We've changed the fabric from linen to silk (a really good quality silk with cotton interfacing, nice and crisp) as we like the sheen - though we may do some linen also eventually.We've changed the design so that the cushions work well on their own as well as in pairs. Though the original "paired" design will probably be done, in slightly modified form, too - as I love it.The cushion now comes with a pad - a rather ingenious pad of which more later.Oh - and by the way - we now have hand embroidery on the design. I actually want to jump up and down and shout that very loudly, but I will be quiet and restrained. DMC threads too - I LOVE how this looks.These are just snapshots for now, and done in bad light but they still look good, don't they? Actually, I am very, very pleased with how these are turning out. It's been worth the work. Though I do need to redo some photos in sunlight.A few more tweaks and a few more designs, and we'll be there I hope.

Alice cushions - mark two. With hand embroidery, beautiful, beautiful embroidery

So, our new Alice cushions are at sample number two stage.We've changed the fabric from linen to silk (a really good quality silk with cotton interfacing, nice and crisp) as we like the sheen - though we may do some linen also eventually.We've changed the design so that the cushions work well on their own as well as in pairs. Though the original "paired" design will probably be done, in slightly modified form, too - as I love it.The cushion now comes with a pad - a rather ingenious pad of which more later.Oh - and by the way - we now have hand embroidery on the design. I actually want to jump up and down and shout that very loudly, but I will be quiet and restrained. DMC threads too - I LOVE how this looks.These are just snapshots for now, and done in bad light but they still look good, don't they? Actually, I am very, very pleased with how these are turning out. It's been worth the work. Though I do need to redo some photos in sunlight.A few more tweaks and a few more designs, and we'll be there I hope.

Alice cushions - mark two. With hand embroidery, beautiful, beautiful embroidery

So, our new Alice cushions are at sample number two stage.We've changed the fabric from linen to silk (a really good quality silk with cotton interfacing, nice and crisp) as we like the sheen - though we may do some linen also eventually.We've changed the design so that the cushions work well on their own as well as in pairs. Though the original "paired" design will probably be done, in slightly modified form, too - as I love it. The cushion now comes with a pad - a rather ingenious pad of which more later.Oh - and by the way - we now have hand embroidery on the design. I actually want to jump up and down and shout that very loudly, but I will be quiet and restrained. DMC threads too - I LOVE how this looks.These are just snapshots for now, and done in bad light but they still look good, don't they? Actually, I am very, very pleased with how these are turning out. It's been worth the work. Though I do need to redo some photos in sunlight.A few more tweaks and a few more designs, and we'll be there I hope.

Alice adventures in Wonderland

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBUZhNZE4yU
THE most wonderful Alice film ever?I've finally decided to buy the DVD, I've been meaning to for years.

Alice in Wonderland - White Queen Court

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUUCY1fReWA
This is great. Miranda Richardson is just so good in this kind of role.

Looking Glass cushions pair

Well, we got the first samples of the Tenniel cushions today. They are very well made - it's the workshop who we work with regularly and they are good - but there are a number of things that need to be changed. The most obvious is that the print is too large - the text sort of vanishes off the bottom once the cushion pad is put in. That we can sort out right away. Less obvious perhaps is that the "stripe" of black (it's black Irish linen) down the side, should be on the RIGHT on one cushion, and the LEFT on the other - Looking Glass world and everything is reversed right? They are supposed to work as a witty pair.We also think that the background colour (it's actually a pale inky blue) just seems like white. In fact, this version was meant to do with indigo linen anyway - another thing that was done the wrong way round (this black linen should have been with a sepia/black print).Anyway, these are fairly easy things to put right. What does bother me a bit is that they really ought to be able to do a sample more accurately than this, given that we sent mock-ups. I know, I know, I should just accept this. But the great thing about working with Romana is how she deals with lots of very complex variations with amazing ability to get it right. But she does not want to make cushions. Oh well - we'll get there. The basic idea is great and I suppose at least this way I get to keep the samples and dot them around the flat.

Alice offer ends tomorrow

Just a reminder that the offer of 20% off all our Alice bags (excluding the messengers) ends tomorrow.http://baba-store.com/

Summer Newsletter

Just about the best special offers we've had on bags I think. Well, it's summer and so summery new bags are particularly nice.And if you haven't yet subscribed via the new shop PLEASE, please do - all you need to do is enter your email in the field on the right-hand side of the home page, http://www.baba-store.com - it's much more reliable so I want to move everyone over asap.

The old software, like the old shop, was great in its time but just got very creaky in the last 18 months or so. It's good to have something a bit closer to state of the art - ish!

More "Alice"

By the way, sorry if this seems "sales-y". It's not supposed to be. (In fact, surprisingly for this time of the year we seem to be up to our ears with orders -almost as much so as we were before Christmas). But I am just SO absolutely pleased with the way these photos are coming out.It's also a relief to see Simon - the photographer, more of him later - and Alex managing to produce three such great photo shoots. All with such different feels. From having very few photos I was really happy with I am now like a child in a sweet shop! Don't these look good on the Etsy shop?! And I am having such fun putting them into the new shop - which is going to be splendiferous (can I use that word? Oh well, why not. I like its slightly silly quality) I think.Link to the Etsy shop listing. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11156282

New Alice shoulder-bag

By request - link to the Etsy shop listing. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11110513We only have one of these bags right now (though we have Alice and the Cards in this colour also, and one Alice and the Caterpillar in an amazing blue/purple silk). We just made one of each for the photography, but we will make more asap.These came out SO well.

New Alice shoulder-bag

By request - link to the Etsy shop listing. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11110513We only have one of these bags right now (though we have Alice and the Cards in this colour also, and one Alice and the Caterpillar in an amazing blue/purple silk). We just made one of each for the photography, but we will make more asap.These came out SO well.