giveaway

Everyone should check out this great giveaway by Cleveland's a Plum.

cleveland's a plum 1,000th post giveaway extravaganza!

Sailcloth Hand Bag

I am really pushing to use as much of the fabric in my shop as I can. I have lots and lots of smaller pieces of fabric and I am always trying to come up with ways in which to use them. I have also been spending more time making totes and hand bags and the such and fell in love with this little number as soon as I was done!

Asymmetric Backpack

Bizarre Bazaar is over, the holidays are past, and custom bag orders are getting caught up on. That can only mean one thing, prototyping. I have been struggling to find a backpack design that I am completely in love with. I have, however, found myself in like with this new, more traditional two strap bag. It features a single vertical zipper that serves as a more messenger-style access port giving the wearer access while still on the shoulder. It is also covered in scotchlite reflective tape, features a waterproof zipper pocket and a nice big pocket with flap on the front.

Ride of Silence, Access for All, and Hops Hops Hops

In an effort to honor the life of a friend and fallen cyclist, Sylvia Bingham, a group of cyclists rode clad in white along the route she had taken that tragic day. We stopped briefly to pay homage at the ghost bike that was placed on the intersection by the Ohio City Bicycle Co-Op one year earlier and left the bike covered in a bouquet befitting the fallen.
Not two days later, a group of cyclists committed to normalizing bicycle safety and complete streets in NE Ohio's regional development discussions hosted a great event trying to raise interest in passing complete streets legislation in the city of Cleveland. There were several bands, reduced food and drinks, plenty of information on what is in the works and how to get involved, and a great chance to see the beautiful Progressive "I really mean the Jake" Field without a baseball game. I donated the Cle bag as a raffle for those who signed up to receive emails about upcoming cycling events and volunteer opportunities.
Finally, a coworker of mine and musician/home-brewer was in need of a new bag for carrying around music and other bits. The result is a pretty big bag that features a giant hop bud and the symbol for resistance. I really like how the muted colors came together.

Late Summer

While summer was flying by and the bar was keeping me from my shop, I did manage to do a little work and was able to complete a really fun project for Cub, a little man with a big love for bikes. His father, a courier, has the little guy flying around town and the two of them enjoy a daily ride to school together. The final product is a two part bag. The main bag is a traditional courier bag and is large enough for a full-sized human carrying a full days worth of books while the second bag is a tiny bag for him now that can hold a book, maybe two, a folder and some pencils. This one is appliqued with characters from the Scooby Doo series and features the 10,000 Volt Monster, the Tar Monster and the Creeper. This smaller bag has a unique design in that the strap is removable and the bag can be strapped onto the larger bag, acting as the front pocket. In doing this, Cub will be able to enjoy both bags as he grows out of the smaller one. Thankfully, it wasn't all work and no play and I was able to spend some time on the Goodtime III on the Cuyahoga River for a friend's birthday and was able to get some great shots of downtown Cleveland from a somewhat unique perspective.

Lynn's Backpack

Summer was continuing to be hectic with family trips to Boston, MA and the Berkshires where we ate and drank like kings and queens and enjoyed the beautiful landscapes of rolling hills, a pond, an apiary and an epic garden. Somewhere amidst the travels and the bike rides I was able to work on another new product: the traditional backpack. Having already designed and tested two much larger and more burly "messenger style" backpacks, it was time to tackle new territory and Lynn had been looking for a backpack she said so I took it upon myself to try to help here out. While I have some pattern adjustments to make so as to decrease puckering around the zipper, I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. The design is minimalistic but functional and I think the overall bag can be a success for those interested in a water resistant sack without all the bells and whistles of the larger offerings. Now I just need to get it to Lynn who has been patiently awaiting the delivery for some months now. It seems that as Summer turned to Fall, I ramped up my time in the studio and this little huni found its way into the corner as she so gingerly pointed out this past weekend!

Pannier Prototype 1

First of all. I'm finally back to the blog, (let's hope for good), and am excited to announce the launching of http://www.forestcityportage.com! It still has a few bugs to be worked out, some text needs to be changed and some more pics added, but all in all I'm just excited that its up. Now that that announcement is out of the way I shall proceed in updating everyone as to the events of the past six months.

Made in the 216 was a really great time, Room Service and the Pop up Space were packed to the gills and the weather couldn't have cooperated any better. Then summer broke into high swing and between the lack of staff at Melt Bar and Grilled keeping me at the restaurant more than I would have liked and the call of patios, I was a bit scattered in my appearances at the workshop, (the persistent 95 degree days in a room with a wall of windows didn't really help much either). I did find some time, however to make a fun city pannier for my friend Nina. The simple design features only webbing and velcro for mounting as I tried to focus on ease of use, cut down on costs (a nice Ortlieb mounting system can run $30-40/pr alone), and cause I didn't have a bunch of pannier hardware lying around when she asked.

The final product, while somewhat rudimentary, turned out really nice and I think that I would make some more (although probably with a decent set of mounts as the ease of use was not as high as I had hoped). The sailcloth exterior is super durable and the post consumer waste vinyl liner is light and keeps things waterproof. In the end, a pretty nice bag for a twelve pack and some clothes on a crummy day.

Sorry I've Been Gone!

Hey People of the Blogosphere! Sorry I was absent for so long... Between winter lethargy, the lack of a full-time computer, and the ease of Tumblr, I have been lax in updating this little huni. To follow is a litany of what I've been up to at the shop. I'm keeping it in chronological order to make it easier to follow in the future. Thanks for your understanding. Look for the website in less than two weeks, Jon Bobel is doing amazing work! Also, hats are in the works, pics to come soon(ish if my updating gets crappy again!).

Wallets/Coin Purses

These little babies are awesome. They have a clear vinyl ID window that will hold about 5 cards and another pocket on the reverse side for more cards or money. The middle is a velcro secured pouch for coins or cash and has a little leash with a key ring for your house key or bike lock key while you're out making for a light load.

Made in the 216 2010 Hip Packs

These are some of the hip packs that I've done for the even at Danielle's store! You may recognize the patch from an earlier post!