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.

"Destiny" Pre-Raphaelite shoulder pouch

Sometimes, I sit here wondering why something I like a lot is not selling and then I realise...
... it's because I haven't listed it on the shop. Er hem.

It's there now. But we only have enough kimono for about two more bags in all so stocks are very, very low.

The Magic Cup - new shoulder bag

We've been asked for many different new shoulder bag prints, and this is one of the first of them. It's SUCH a pretty bag - should get some attention when it's worn, in the nicest possible way. I've shown the apple green back, but it also comes in copper, rust/green and taupe/green. Or anything else you like really - though to me, those are the colours that work best.

New shoulder pouch samples - part two

Well, just so that you know we are progressing, here are the snaps of the samples in Vietnam. You can see the nice little metal zip pulls in these pictures - I'm pleased with these as they just give a nice finish.
Six samples will be with us this week. Meantime, we have to finish the calender and then print and print and print to get all the pictures ready to be sent out.




I had a very nice note recently from the guy who organises all this saying that in these times it's very important that they keep the work coming in for the women who do the sewing. I know that there are ifs and buts about making where you can't visit the workshops (although we hope to some day) but I do feel that it's good to know we are providing decent work and buying as direct as possible. We'll stick with these same people now - we like them and we love the quality of sewing they do.

The way this will work is what's becoming the main process for us - we do the prints, they do the sewing, it all comes back here for finishing. In this case we will make the straps here because they are being specially woven locally. So it's quite a lot of stages, but worth it because we end up with gorgeous quality and a great retail price. And deep down, something in me quite enjoys some aspects of organising all this - if I'm honest. I've always liked collaborating with a wide range of people - quite simply, it's interesting and I learn a lot.

These are both now in our batch production, so they're excellent value - good colours too so they feel quite special.

and another one - the same shape/pattern but just to show how it looks in a different colour.

More of the "standard" bags at $18.75 or whatever that is in Euros!

We are getting these completed quite quickly now. It is GREAT to be able to offer bags at this much lower cost in these times. Though you'll notice we've also put up the price of custom bags as we want to nudge people, gently, to go for the standard bags unless they really, really want a special colour or fabric.

Today I will have the happy task of pulling out our very old Bohemian indigo fabrics - I grabbed a load from a friend before he finished his antiques business here - and working out how to use them in the new shoulder pouches. But that's for later.

So - one of the all-time favourites now in his slightly new incarnation:





On Etsy for now, on the shop later. Don't ask me where is the cheaper to buy. I really am at my wit's end with currency changes and will just try to keep both sites more or less in line. Buy where is best for you!

Three of the new Flower Oracle "standard" bags

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?

A couple of new shoulder bags

These are another custom order that came out really well. We're trying to cut back on custom orders but we are still happy to do them when we think that the print can go into our normal line. I think both these bags will be popular - when I get that "I want one of these" myself, it's usually a good sign. In fact, the Thumbelina shows very well at this size as you can see the details.

We tried doing one of these satin fronts in a dupion satin-backed silk. I like it, Alex is not sure. But it's interesting to try. I sort of like the little hint of texture in the dupion. I may post close-ups later so you can see what I mean.

At last - the Brave Tabby messenger bag

We've been asked for this before, but it was one very determined (good for her!) Etsy buyer that finally pushed us into getting it done.

Great bag, if I do say it myself! For brave tabbies everywhere.

One more

SOLD
_____________
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

New Alice in Wonderland wristlets

Alice in Wonderland wristlets

New samples

This is something quite new for us - and like all new things, it's taking time to develop. I wanted this combination of a very flat top (under the frame) and a flouncy/puffy bottom. But being a slightly three-dimensionally challenged designer I didn't realise that the result is that you can't open the bag all that widely - so getting things in and out is slightly awkward (not very, but enough to be irritating). Sigh, back to the drawing board.So - meantime I need to buy some hooks that match the frame (hooks shown are steel, frame is brass) and make a couple of handles so that at least this doesn't end up thrown away - the pure-silk embroidered fabric is far too good for that. I think I'll keep one and gift one.It's quite a large bag by the way, which Alex thinks spectacular. I think I like the size - I'm beginning to come around to the huge bags that are fashionable right now. Well, no, in fact I don't like the huge ones - the thought of lugging around that much stuff makes me feel faint - but a BIG bag like this seems suddenly quite appealing.____________The-blog-that-was-about-textiles-and-politics seems about to revert back to textiles. A lot less drama on the whole (hmm, although maybe not - these clutch bags are providing a fair bit of drama as I try out different approaches).

THE most beautiful bags. Though I did have to sacrifice a shawl.

I bought a Liberty's varuna wool vintage shawl in "Hera" pattern some time back and then - typically - fell in love with it. However, it had some quite bad moth damage in one part when we bought it so I finally accepted that it really should be cut. I'm actually really glad as the bags turned out to be just drop-dead gorgeous. One had a moth hole (Romana spotted it too late once it was sewn) so I grabbed that one. It's become my new small bag for carrying things in my messenger.

It's hard to do these bags justice in a photo, They are just luscious. You know, some things just work out SO well.









They are only on Etsy for now as I need to upload a whole heap of things to the main shop. By the way, they're a little more expensive than our usual bags as the fabric in itself is quite pricey and collectible now.

New prints

We are doing a whole heap of new prints right now - based in part on all the feedback we got on Aeclectic Forum at the beginning of the year about the kinds of things people want. They are all old images that we have cleaned and altered to make them suitable for fabric printing.So far we have ONE of each - we did these as a try-out. But we're making more now and should have plenty in stock in a week or so.











All - and some other new ones that I'll save for the next post - are only on Etsy for now. Until we have the more standard colours ready it doesn't make sense to put them on baba-store.We're also working on some of our own images, but these may not see the light of day for some months. Basically we have a large project to do over the autumn - it all sort of arose and grew and suddenly became quite a big task. It's on commission from a publisher and should be extremely interesting. So - we thought we would put some time into really getting a nice, big selection of bags (and - cushions - more of that in a week or two) ready for autumn, and then we can settle down and do our own illustrations. A nice balance I think.

Another bag with a print from Utagawa Kuniyoshi

I can't quite decide if I would ever wear this one or not. We notice that our Japanese "Gothic" bags tend to sell more to men than almost any of our others, and I have a hunch this is a bit of a "boy's bag".Great fun to do - and more Japanese bags on the way soon we hope.Not yet on the shop - but it is listed newly on Etsy here http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13839983

Another photo shoot with Aida

She is a natural model really - great fun to work with. This time it was all a lower-key affair with Alex, Aida and some nice summer weather. We wanted a slightly more relaxed look. I think these worked out incredibly well, so you'll see them gradually appearing on the shops - and a few as updates on the slideshow on the front page of baba-store.This is at the John Lennon wall - and I love the sentiment written there.
The Faith, Hope and Chocolate bags look so good when they are actually photographed being worn - I still want one but am temporarily banned from "testing" more bags. The poodles were courtesy of an art event - here they are in glorious scarlet close-up -

New bags arrive

The first full samples of our new shoulder-bag/handbag designs arrived today. Again, we are having these part factory-made to our specification, then we will do the printing, sewing on the flaps and the finishing here. These will gradually replace our current silk shoulder bags (they are much smaller and dressier than the messengers) and we've put an awful lot of thinking into getting them just right.I realised the other day that the buzz-phrase for this is of course "mass customisation" - I'd never quite termed it that before. Then I realised (hey, two realisations in one day!) that it's something I've been interested in for many years. I think it's the way much good product design will go next - instead of mass-production versus small-scale hand-production it provides a potentially fantastic way of combining the two.The samples are beautiful - this is a whole new level for us as these are up there with 150GBP ($300) designer bags - in fact better than some I've seen. It means lots of hard thinking about the kinds of imagery and fabric to use for the flaps. Hugely exciting but also quite demanding. Price? I don't want to go for real high-end designer prices. I'm more interested in being accessible - I like the notion of people being able to just enjoy these bags - than being exclusive. On the other hand we may think about doing the odd really lavish "special" with lots of antique fabrics and components and embroidery. I'd love that.I won't post pictures as we have a lot of small tweaks yet (the strap is not quite right, and one internal pocket is too big) and also the bags are of course only part-made. However, expect - with luck and a good shipping service - to see these appearing on our shop in early October.Meantime, well, I suppose I am just going to have to get a couple of samples - one in black, one in silver - made up here and complete with flaps. Then I will have to wear them to test them out. A hard task but you know, I'm dedicated.

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/