Monday, December 29, 2008

New Photos and Bags!

I've spent literally all day redoing every photo in my Etsy shop. This has been a long time coming! I finally splurged (invested) in a Canon SD 880 IS Digital point and shoot camera, and I'm in loooove! It's so stinkin' easy to use and has all the right features for taking cool and covetable pics. There's a setting for everything, even foliage and snow! 

After being in biz for 6 months, all the pieces of a successful shop are finally coming together- good pictures, witty descriptions, short but concise shop announcement, etc. It's been a fun ride so far, let's see where it takes us. 

So what do you guys think?





For the full spectrum, visit my shop at Proletariatbags.etsy.com

Friday, December 26, 2008

Coming Soon.....Hazardous Material


I'm really excited to get these new totes together with my new stencil, the biohazard symbol. I love taking something usually sinister seeming and make it pink; I have some pretty gas mask totes coming with this idea, too!

This is how the outside pockets on my bags start out. I cut a whole slew of pockets out so they are on hand when I'm ready to paint the stencils. I paint at least 5-10 pockets at a time, let them dry, then heat set each one for 5 min. ( I use this time to get some reading in!). It's the fun part of the entire process, making stencils and painting. I love that I still get to be traditionally artistic as well as a fabricator on the same piece of work!

Stay tuned for the final product.....

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Stencils

The images on my totes are inspired by stencil graffiti. I love the artistry and poignancy of artists like Banksy, who is the most well known but also unknown artist. His art speaks to your irreverent funny bone, and makes very extreme statements about our sometimes messed up western civilization.

I wanted to create stencils of my own, but use them in a legal way! My most popular ones so far have been the Sexy Legs, and my Read! TV images.



About half of my stencils are an original design, and the rest are commercial free ones found online. Making these reusable and finding the right paint was a whole other learning experience for me that involved first manila paper and an airbrush kit.(did not work)
I finally realized that .004 weight Mylar sheets, an exacto knife, and pebeo professional fabric paint were the winning combination. Yes, I hand paint all my stencils with a sponge brush! These are not screenprints!

Some Banksy inspirations:


Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Intro




My totes are the product of wanting to be more environmentally responsible without sacrificing style. Since moving to Seattle from Houston, my original mindset of being fashionable and cool has morphed with the more eco-conscious lifestyle of the pacific northwest. Now that the idea of living green has moved into public awareness, city dwellers and stylish people aren't going to be driven to carry a burlap or natural canvas bag around town for shopping, I'm sorry.

In response to this, coupled with the ease of hosting a shop on Etsy, I decided to start my own line of totes that reflect my unique point of view (and hopefully yours!). I hope to give those of us who pay attention to what we wear and sport around an urban setting an option in reusable bags.

I'm a fashion design student at the Art Institute, and in my third level sewing class we learned the profesional finishing techniques of making handbags. This knowledge along with the new charge for paper or plastic bags in Seattle lit a spark, and Proletariat was born.

The process in making a tote incorporates all the skills I've learned so far in my program. Every style is an original pattern I drafted. I then cut all pieces for multiple bags assembly line style, then sew each one, along with nylon webbing, on my Juki industrial machine.

More on the stencil process at a later date!


Proletariat bags on Etsy