Ikat evening purse

Ikat fabrics are stunning for the effect they create, but they are also technically amazing as the design is dyed onto the threads before they are woven. One day I would love to see this process in action as I can't even imagine how they being to create a design like that.

The weaving process naturally creates this characteristic blurred effect to the design. I was drawn to this fabric for its interesting colour palette. Magenta pink sits against a grey/beige, using a scroll motif.

I bought this fabric on a trip to Istanbul. As a fabric-lover, it was heaven to trawl through the bazaars, meet the shop owners and drink tea with them whilst they showed me through their array of fabrics.

This fabric was perfect for making into a stunning clutch bag and I lined it with a pretty purple cotton fabric.

This bag is big enough to fit phone, keys makeup and sunglasses in. Check out the stunning green tassel detail on the zipper pull!

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Blue ikat clutch bag

 On a trip to Istanbul a while ago, I stocked up on some stunning ikat fabrics. They are perfect for making into clutch bags and really make a statement.

This clutch bag makes a great gift for someone special.

It’s lightly padded and fully lined with a matching blue tassel attached to the zipper pull.

I love the colour combination. Rich royal blue and turquoise mix with a calming beige tone.

Gorgeous green!

I was coveting this fabulous green suit in Grazia magazine recently and

realised what a great match it made with a variety of bags in my store.

I love this green and white ikat tote bag. The fabric comes from a bazaar in Istanbul where I spent ages talking to the stall holder and drinking tea with him whilst I chose my fabrics. The bag has strong canvas straps and a complimentary green lining.

The clutch bag below is made from a Japanese obi fabric that I bought at a shrine sale in Tokyo. The obi is the 'belt' that goes around the kimono and often comes in bright colours and bold designs. I love the vibrancy of this fabric and gave it a turquoise lining.

The green and black handbag below is made from a decorative haori jacket which is the jacket worn over the kimono in cooler weather. This fabric was also bought from a shrine sale in Tokyo.

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Magenta madness

I love the colour magenta and there is a lot of it in the stores right now, from fabulously sky high stilettos and damask dresses from Marks and Spencer, to a bejewelled suede clutch bag at Dune.

It reminded me of all the pretty pink items I have in my store.

The coin purse below is made from a lovely thick linen fabric.

The clutch bag below is made from an Indian sari that I collected on my travels in India. The sari has touches of green in it so I decided to make the lining green to match!

The fabric for the handbag below was bought on a trip to Istanbul. It's made from a stunning ikat fabric, where the design is dyed onto the threads before they are woven.

And if you're looking for something a bit smaller, this card case below is perfect. It can be used for storing credit cards, business cards or travel cards and is lightly padded.

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Balinese Beauty

I've recently been adding some stunning ikat bags to my store. Most of those have used fabrics that I bought in the bazaars of Istanbul, but the most recent addition is an ikat fabric I bought in Bali a few years ago. I was lucky to spend a week on the beautiful island and was intrigued by the amount of local crafts that were produced there. Being a fabric lover, I was most intrigued by the textiles produced and I came home with some stunning pieces.

Ikat fabric has a characteristic blurred effect and this is created by dying the design onto the threads before they are woven.

 The beautiful turquoise colour caught my eye and I decided to use a contrasting mustard fabric for the lining to add a flash of colour when the bag is opened. The lining is made from a vintage Japanese kimono fabric. I love the idea of mixing the fabrics of two different cultures in one bag.

This bag has a short detachable chain handle that can be held in the hand, worn over the wrist or worn over the shoulder. You can find it in my store here.

Happy Monday

I hope a good weekend was had by all! Mine was fab, and after filling up on a hearty ramen meal at Shoryu on Friday night I headed down to Frome in Somerset on Saturday to catch up with my dear friend Roz. We've known each other for a long time, through the college years and into our time living in New York, and there was a lot of reminiscing to do over cups of tea and glasses of cocktails.

I also managed to rustle up another clutch bag made from the ikat fabric I bought in Istanbul. This one is made from a stunning silk pink and purple combination.

The colours are so fresh and vibrant and I decided to give the bag a deep pink cotton lining to match.

 This bag has a detachable chain handle which can be worn over the shoulder or across the body. If you'd rather use it as a clutch bag, simply remove the chain or just drop the chain inside the bag.

You can find this stunner in my store here.

Incredible ikats

Last week I posted an image on my Instagram account of some beautiful ikat fabrics I bought a while ago in the bazaars of Istanbul. I already have a few stunning clutch bags made from these fabrics, but recently decided to create some handbags too.

I love the characteristic blurred effect of the deign of the ikat fabrics, but also love the stunning bright colours that can be created. The blurred effect is caused because the design is dyed onto the yarns before the yarns are woven.

This pink bag is made from a stunning magenta pink design and I matched the base colour and the lining to the colour of the ikat silk colour.

I included a hidden magnetic closure on each bag to help keep items safe. The magnet is hidden inside a cotton flap on either side of the bag.

This blue bag has hints of turquoise in the ikat design and I matched the cotton base of the bag with that turquoise colour. The lining is the same colour turquoise and the canvas straps are a blue to match the blue in the ikat design.

Both bags are lightly padded using a wadding called Dream Green which is made from recycled plastic bottles!

I also have this stunning ikat clutch bag in my store which matches the handbag. It has an antique gold clasp and detachable chain handle that can be worn over the shoulder or across the body.

You can find more incredible ikat finds in my store here.

Ikats from Istanbul

This time a year ago I was in the beautiful city of Istanbul. I loved its vibrancy, its food, the locals and of course, the choice of stunning fabrics. I spent a great afternoon in the bazaar choosing fabrics and drinking tea with the stall holders, and I came home with some stunning fabrics which I made some beautiful clutch bags from.

The three bags below are some that I made a while ago.

I love the bright colours and each has a vibrant lining.

I now have two new additions to my store.

The clutch bag below is made from a stunning blue and grey ikat design.

It has a turquoise lining to match the outside.

The clutch bag below is made from a simple green and cream chevron stripe.

It has a stunning hot pink lining for a flash of colour when the bag is opened.

Fabric Friday

This Friday's fabric choice is an ikat fabric that I'm thinking of using in the spare room of my new home. I decided to use a fresh blue and white colour scheme for this room as I already had the blue bedside tables and quite liked them. Sometimes it's nice to have some sort of colour reference to start with and the blue of the bedside tables matched perfectly with an ikat-inspired bedding set that I found in John Lewis. 

I recently inherited a bed for the spare room from a friend of mine and it came with a padded bed head. The only trouble is that the bedhead is covered in a red fabric which doesn't match my new colour scheme!

After much foraging through my fabric stash, I came across a beautiful blue and white ikat fabric that would be perfect for the job! Now I just have to be brave and give it a go. If anyone has any tips on the best way to do it, please let me know......

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday to all! It's a grey and rainy day here in London town, and I'm very glad to be working from home today. The weather over the weekend was gorgeous and I had a fab time catching up with good friends, doing a spot of dancing at Abigail's Party, and had a scrumptious lunch on the terrace at the Bingham Hotel on Sunday, overlooking the river Thames. I had to share some food shots of my starter of beetroot marinated smoked salmon and my very stylish Eton Mess dessert with a scoop of strawberry sorbet on top. Lovely colours and very tasty too!

On top of doing some fab outings, I was very busy on the sewing machine and managed to run up some lovely items. These included a trio of fabulous green clutch bags, some made from Japanese obi fabrics and one made from some of the gorgeous ikat fabric I bought in Istanbul. Green clutches are often the favourites with my clients (and indeed with me!) and I'm always searching for that perfect green. You can find them in my store here.

I also added to my padded decorative hearts collection, which have proven to be very popular. Each one is made from a vintage kimono fabric and has a hand written word or phrase sewn onto it. There is also a ribbon loop, so that the heart can be hung somewhere inspirational in your home. I'm also planning to make some of them into key rings or bag charms. You can find them in my store here.

It's now countdown time to the Bags and Bubbles event that I will be holding at my home on 20th October. Something that I'm really looking forward to! After that, I will be heading to Tokyo at the beginning of November to attend the International Bazaar at the Tokyo American Club. I can't wait! It will be a fab week of selling my bags, catching up with old friends and buying new fabrics.

A ray of sunshine

My last post mentioned the beautiful Spring/Summer '16 collection of Paul Smith. I loved the use of yellow in some of his outfits, but realised I have my own ray of sunshine in my Cheeky Leopard collection. It's in the form of a beautiful yellow and cream ikat fabric clutch bag that has a fab complimentary bright green lining.

I bought the fabric on a recent trip to Istanbul and fell in love with the happy colour. Ikat fabrics are painstakingly fiddly to make as they require the pattern of the fabric to be dyed onto the yarns before they are woven. This creates the characteristic 'blurred' effect. I bought many more beautifully bright ikat fabrics while I was in Istanbul and they will slowly be added to my store over the next few weeks.

You can find this wondrous yellow creation in my store here.

Fabric Friday

Anyone who follows me on Facebook or Instagram will know that I made a little trip to Istanbul recently. I only got back late last night and I am still processing it all and thinking back to all the amazing things I did in the four days I was there. I will be adding photos and accounts of my adventures onto my blog over the next few days, but today I want to focus on the amazing fabrics I bought while I was there, seeing as it's Fabric Friday and all!

Needless to say, I had a wonderful time scouting around the famous Grand Bazaar, a crazy rabbit warren of shops selling everything from textiles, to leather to trinkets and rugs, and everything in between. You get a lot of hassle to buy things, but it's all done in a  friendly manner and the Turks are very friendly, if a tad charming too.......!

When I finally decided to delve into a shop, there was always a drama with a little negotiation on prices, and then the fabrics were unfurled in front of me.

There was an amazing selection of fabrics and it was quite difficult to be selective!

Once inside the shop, you are often offered a glass tea and a seat to perch on.

As I eliminated some of the fabrics from my choice, I lay the rest out on the floor to see what I had.

Most of the fabrics I homed in on were ikat fabrics. This is a technique that sounds painstakingly fiddly, where the pattern of the fabric is dyed onto the yarns before they are woven. This creates a characteristic blurriness to the design and is a result of the extreme difficulty the weaver has of lining up the dyed yarns, and is what I love about them!

 Ikat fabrics are produced in many cultures, from India to Central Asia, Southeast Asia and Japan.

I think a majority of these ikat fabrics were actually produced in Uzbekistan on hand looms.

As you can see, my favourite colours tend to be pink, blue, purple and green. I'm looking forward to adding some appropriately bright linings to compliment the outer fabrics.