Recent Work

It’s been a long time since I last did a blog post. Over the past month and a bit I’ve been making some new things are here’s a look at what I’ve been up to.

Coloured leather coin purses. Using a vibrant background colour and leather were both something I hadn’t done before.

This is a sketch I did based on a custom make up set that a customer requested, below is the finished product — a large box shaped cosmetic case and a brush roll.

The big tote is back for summer and in a light bluish-grey cotton with heavy bridle leather handles.

This was a commission I did for a bedroom in Toronto. Most people are putting the wall art in their bedrooms above the bed and this mauve colour scheme is the most popular.

I dyed some new colours of wool, mostly in shades in of soft pink which are part of the bridal collection.

And lastly, I was able to restock my supply of thick grey wool so the felt iPhone sleeves are available again (as featured in this etsy finds email below).

New Oversize Tote

The first “Shibang” bag was a large denim tote that I made and embellished with my first hand dyed wool and loopy first hand spun yarn. It was purple with an orange centre and in an abstract way looked a bit like a flower. I was a Textile Arts student at Capilano University in my first year and I wanted a bag that could carry all of the wool, fabric and books I was bringing to class each day.

What I liked about this bag was how it added some interest to any outfit and was different from anything I’d ever seen before. I began making large tote bags in 2005 and continued for a couple of years until I focused on creating smaller items.

This season I am bringing back the oversize tote in new version — made on heavy wool with structure, leather handles, rivets & metal feet. This is the perfect canvas to showcase a large colourful abstract flower and it looks good with a blazer and jeans, a casual outfit or for travelling.

The style is inspired by classic shapes with an influence from vintage luggage.

One perk of being back in the Vancouver area is that I am close to all of the family furniture and special belongings that date back many decades. The suitcase and trunk pictured above have been in the family for a long time.

The trunk was used by my great aunt Flora when she travelled to Scotland to visit family and brought it full of food. The brown suitcase belonged to my great uncle in Australia and he gave it to my parents to use when they were returning to Canada after their honeymoon in Australia and didn’t have enough space to carry everything back.

Process Photos

A few process shots and a Fall colour palette of jewel tones and muted hues. There’s something about the raw materials that I just love to look at and autumn shades are my favourite.