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During my design process, I tap into my creativity. I have always been a creative person, dabbling in a lot of creative things over the years. From nail art design, to ceramics, to photography, to website design, I loved seeing the results of my creations and seeing the reactions of people faces when I had over a finished product.
Without question, my creative and hands-on approach derived from my parents. As young as I can remember my mother was on a sewing machine and my dad was constructing/deconstructing something.
My mother made all our clothing as children, and dressed in her own collection of designs when she walked out the door.
My dad was the king of “make it work”. We didn’t have a lot of money so if anything broke down my dad was always there to take it apart and try his best to put it back together.
I am not much of a pattern maker or seamstress, so I relied heavily on my sister’s knowledge when it came to making my first pattern. I didn’t start this way; I wasted a lot of leather just jumping in and cutting pieces, only to be disappointed with the end results. But I finally listened and started with a
simple pattern.
I wanted to make a tote that was simple, elegant, could go from day to night, and that would last for years to come. Before cutting into any leather my sister suggested using felt paper to cut out my pattern; something I never thought of but worked out beautifully.
The felt paper is like using material and you save so much money in not wasting good leather. Using the felt, you can see areas of your pattern that you need to re-work, which areas aren’t long/wide enough, as well as areas of the pattern you want to change.
By making my pattern and constructing the bag using the felt material, I realized that I wanted to offer a smaller version, so I went to work making a smaller pattern.
Having started this journey wasting a lot of good leather, I decided to take a step back and look at the hides I had and ask myself if what I had was the right leather for the product I wanted to offer. Leather hides aren’t cheap, you can spend lots of money to only end up with hides that won’t give you the results you seek, so research is key.
I’m fortunate to have a business in my area that sells all things leather. I have spent countless days there just looking through the different selections they offer and having workers that are knowledgeable was a huge help as well.
You will go through ups and downs in this business, but the key is to keep learning and keep constructing.
I am fortunate to have a lot of sisters who have been my guinea pigs along the way. Several totes have been sent for them to try-out and offer feedback for things I may have missed along the way.
From the size of the bag, to the handles, to the snaps, having another perspective is always a good thing.
You may find yourself re-working a design over and over; but that’s okay, that’s part of the process.
