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Designers showcase #6

Hi, I'm Suzanne, the owner and designer of SuzanneBag.  I use vintage fabrics and buttons to create one-of-a-kind handbags that are bright, colorful and far from ordinary.

After spending 20 years working in the legal industry in the Dallas, Texas area doing a job that was incredibly stressful, tedious and soul-robbing, it was actually a relief when I was laid off in 2009.  It gave me the opportunity to enter a new phase in my life.  I have always been considered creative, but have never used that particular talent as a career choice until now.

SuzanneBag allows me to seek out and find vintage fabrics and buttons that many people might overlook because they are perceived as “old” and present them in a fresh new way.  I focus on Hawaiian and mod fabrics of the 60′s and 70′s because of their amazing colors and textures; you just don’t find gems like these anymore.   Fortunately, I have been the ability to visualize how these fabrics will look in the form of a handbag before I ever cut the first piece.

In this disposable world we live in, isn't it nice to know that some fabrics are so spectacular that they deserve a second life?

Links:

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Bunnies Can Dream - http://nikisha.etsy.com
Bunnies Can Dream features everyday jewelry that combines colors and textures through metal findings, gemstones, glass, ribbons and macrame techniques. With this collection, I want to create versatile jewelry that would brighten up your wardrobe, inspire imagination, and put a smile on your face in everyday mundane life.

Harlequin&Lionhead - http://harlequinlionhead.etsy.com
Harlequin&Lionhead features fashion jewelry made with precious metal or are 24K gold plated. It is a line that is sophisticated, elegant and romantic. The driving spirit behind this line is to capture the transient beauty of our everyday life in metal. The process involves wax and metal sculpting and various metalsmithing processes at a New York studio to bring my designs to life.



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Welcome to our little Etsy shop called Wurde Sein [German for “To Be”] that that I (Eugenia) run with my best friend of 16 years (Melissa). We began posting in April, and are still trying to familiarize ourselves with the Etsy community.

We have been collectors of vintage and antique items for years, and one day decided it was time for us to share our finds with others, and turn one hobby into another (all while making room for new finds!). 

We wanted to pick a name that describes how we felt about our finds… Our profile sums it up:
“Sein” (Be / To Be) [German]
"Wurde Sein" (Would Be)
“Mag Sein” (Could Be) (which is our email:  magsein@live.ca)
Why?
All things vintage and antique have, in their time, served a useful purpose, for more than one person, over many many years.
It has been....
What it could be and would be for someone at this time is up to the buyer; however, the possibilities prove to be...
http://www.etsy.com/shop/WurdeSein

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I'm an RN by night in a maternity ward on the coast of Maine, but by day, when I'm not sleeping, I craft.  I've always been a knitter, and over the years I've taught myself many different crafts – crochet, needlepoint, rug hooking and braiding, sewing, weaving, and spinning. I often made Christmas gifts for family and friends, but certainly never anticipated trying to sell what I made. I just always had the need to keep my hands busy, plus creating handmade goods fulfilled something in me that nothing else seemed to.


It wasn't until I started weaving a few years ago, that I started thinking I could maybe sell a few things here and there. My husband had given me a rigid heddle loom for Christmas, and I had no idea what it was, or what one could do with it.

Being a relatively new weaver, I’m really inspired by other weavers’ works. I’m amazed at the talent that is out there! I’ll take ideas from their finished projects, and sometimes alter it in some way, or look at that class of weaving and come up with something related. I'm also inspired by nature.  Living near the ocean as I do, I've always loved blues and greens.  Colors are something that I’m finding are endlessly fascinating. I’m a pretty Type A person, so thinking that I’m going to weave a project with Color A and Color B and it will come out a certain way, well, I’m usually totally surprised by the result. The ways that the colors combined withing the threading and treadling patterns is always exciting.


Each new thing that I try is my new  favorite,  When I had a 4 shaft loom, I wove some towels and some tencel scarves. The scarf design was a twill pattern that I created, then wove with a combination of black and variegated colors. One was called “oceans,” one “rose garden…” based on the colors within the variegated yarn. Even then, I was drawn to the more complex designs of other weavers. Since I got my 8 shaft loom, I’ve done work in iridescence, both in purples and blues, with an intricate design in the center of the scarf. Those were my favorites until I just wove a tencel shawl in an incredible snowflake pattern, using eggplant and a red-purple. I almost can’t believe I made it.

My Etsy shop is located at:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/ThreadbareDesigns?ref=ss_profile

My facebook page is:  http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/profile.php?id=1851678275

I can be reached at Threadbaredesigns@gmail.com

And my blog is: www.threadbaredesigns.blogspot.com

Comments

Suzanne said…
Thanks so much for the opportunity to be featured on your blog. It looks great!
Debbie Liu said…
Thank you for the feature of my 2 shops on your blog :D
Robyn said…
What a great aray of artists! I applaud everyone's stickwithitness!

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