The wild coast of Bohemia

How DO you persuade a really lovely but unconvinced distributor that:

1. Our bags are of such different quality to LS's (sorry LS, but you are all men you know, and you don't understand textiles even a bit) that there is no comparison. I mean, they are really aimed at very different audiences.
2. That our bags DO sell - and very well.
3. That nowadays many people would rather buy bags than decks. Ouch, but it's true you know, I think maybe a lot of people feel their deck collection is fairly complete, and bags are fun to collect. Plus you can use them for lots of things (I have one for glasses, one for "bits" in my bag, and one of our cats is using one of mine as a miniature sleeping rug even as I type this - multi-purpose for sure).

I think I did get there with this conversation on the phone - we would love to begin some proper distribution of the bags now that we have the production thing a bit sorted. So, hopefully we will start to get distribution into place.

I haven't sent this out in a newsletter because it's only two designs. But as they are brand new and we're really pleased with them, I thought I'd do a "special" for this month. I hate to use the word "cute" - but I do think they're cute! At 20 Euros they are probably a bit too cheap - but well, it's February and in a recession, so why not?

Sort of - but after all the fiasco with LJ possible closure I did look into moving posts and realised that there is a very nifty bit of free software that will move posts between LJ and Blogspot (Blog2Blog by Cooley, I'll fish out the link if anyone is interested). I've also realised that pictures on Blogspot show up far higher in a Google search than those on LJ - and this spring for me is about working on our SEO. So...

http://babastudioprague.blogspot.com/

It's going to have a much higher proportion of pictures and less of me and my opinions on things. So it's a good one if you want more of a studio and design blog - the bag pictures etc are likely to be a bit bigger too.

SOLD
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The last of the stiffer-interfacing samples. This is an Alice in a taupe silk (please note, not the pink silk shown). Again, silver-grey silk lining. One only of this.


Again, same price, $10 plus $4 postage - but postage can be combined if you buy more than one (we can hold any bags you buy until you see what else is on the way)

Please pay via PayPal:

Orders at magic dash realist dot com

That's the sound of huge boxes of silk, bags, sample bags, more sample bags, and sample cushions finally arriving - Alex had to go to the airport and queue for an age and fill in numerous forms - things here are never simple.

Oh, and sample scarves - which are lovely but are not quite "us". I'm looking at them and wondering how to incorporate our prints. This is going to take a lot of thinking.

I have a terrifying amount to do now. Some of the sample bags are wonderful, some are disappointing and some are in between. At moments like this I have to tell myself to do it step by step by step.

We are developing new bag shapes and patterns for 2009 right now, and I thought I'd give you a glimpse into why it all takes so long. I had the "brilliant idea" a while back of making a small shoulder-bag version of our drawstring pouches. The kind of thing you could wear when you check your main bag into a cloakroom at a gallery or museum, or when you just want to carry the bare minimum when you're going out. I also thought it might be a good little airport bag to keep passport and papers in easy reach. I know that's something I could do with when I'm travelling. But then, hmm, travel means keeping everything safe so...Zips, I thought! And a nice adjustable strap so it can fit snugly.

I got together a rough example of what I was thinking, and Alex did some drawings for me, and we chatted to our sewing people about possibilities, fabrics and so on. Then there was a lot more discussion as we thought of metal fittings and they said they would not work with the bag. In the end we settled for a kind of fabric/bead fitting for the strap (which now means I need to find the right Czech glass beads as NO WAY would I use anything else).
Anyway, it is happening. But you see why it ends up all taking months?

Here is a photo from the sewing people today, The bag on the left is flat, the one on the right has a bottom (so it will hold more). There is a zip at the very top and another zip above the picture (so in other words there is an extra little outside pocket made up by the picture. Nifty eh? The interlining is stiffer than in the drawstrings so there is a bit more body to the bag. The fabric is 50-50 silk/synthetic mix. Partly to keep the final price down but also partly simply so it's a wee bit tougher than pure silk. Today these photos also tell me that if we are going with the bigger version (which I think is much better) we will need to put a bit of something on the bottom edge of the print - having the white showing won't do (as the sewing people pointed out). But extend every print? Nightmare job! So maybe we will just have to do some generic border. Or something.

< Think zip above the picture. And zip at the top.


We'll sell these when we finally get it all worked out for under $30. I am hoping well under - though it depends on whether that's possible as there is a fair bit of making in them. If it all works, we'll have these in just about all the pouch prints - and even a few more as I am about to work on some new Victorian-type images.

So - just a small insight into process in the hope it may be interesting.

Final thought. As Alex said, "Er, is there some reason all the samples are PINK?" I have a feeling these may be one lot of samples I won't end up wearing. Anyone in the mood for a pink cats' bag?

This is something quite new for us - and like all new things, it's taking time to develop. I wanted this combination of a very flat top (under the frame) and a flouncy/puffy bottom. But being a slightly three-dimensionally challenged designer I didn't realise that the result is that you can't open the bag all that widely - so getting things in and out is slightly awkward (not very, but enough to be irritating). Sigh, back to the drawing board.

So - meantime I need to buy some hooks that match the frame (hooks shown are steel, frame is brass) and make a couple of handles so that at least this doesn't end up thrown away - the pure-silk embroidered fabric is far too good for that. I think I'll keep one and gift one.

It's quite a large bag by the way, which Alex thinks spectacular. I think I like the size - I'm beginning to come around to the huge bags that are fashionable right now. Well, no, in fact I don't like the huge ones - the thought of lugging around that much stuff makes me feel faint - but a BIG bag like this seems suddenly quite appealing.





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The-blog-that-was-about-textiles-and-politics seems about to revert back to textiles. A lot less drama on the whole (hmm, although maybe not - these clutch bags are providing a fair bit of drama as I try out different approaches).

The demon is from an obi I bought because I loved the front (it shows a swallow - hopefully I'll get it in some form on to a messenger next spring). Then I looked at the back and - found this guy. Funnily enough he reminds me a bit of the Czech/German Krampus.







The dragon is just fun - great expression, he looks quite bemused.





As ever, they have made it to the Etsy shop before the main shop - I'll try and get them on to the main shop by the end of the week.

I asked for input about bags on Aeclectic Forum some months back. One thing that came out strongly is that people want Pre-Raphaelite and Medieval options. We like those images too, so we've been working on them. Here are a couple of examples.

It's really hard to find either type of imagery in high quality copyright-free form so Alex had to do a lot of work on both of these. I do think they look good:
Sorry - our sites just went down as I was putting these in (the host has an announcement up so at least they know). So here is just a small upload of one image for now.






 

She is a natural model really - great fun to work with. This time it was all a lower-key affair with Alex, Aida and some nice summer weather. We wanted a slightly more relaxed look. I think these worked out incredibly well, so you'll see them gradually appearing on the shops - and a few as updates on the slideshow on the front page of baba-store.



This is at the John Lennon wall - and I love the sentiment written there.



The Faith, Hope and Chocolate bags look so good when they are actually photographed being worn - I still want one but am temporarily banned from "testing" more bags.

The poodles were courtesy of an art event - here they are in glorious scarlet close-up -

The first full samples of our new shoulder-bag/handbag designs arrived today. Again, we are having these part factory-made to our specification, then we will do the printing, sewing on the flaps and the finishing here. These will gradually replace our current silk shoulder bags (they are much smaller and dressier than the messengers) and we've put an awful lot of thinking into getting them just right.

I realised the other day that the buzz-phrase for this is of course "mass customisation" - I'd never quite termed it that before. Then I realised (hey, two realisations in one day!) that it's something I've been interested in for many years. I think it's the way much good product design will go next - instead of mass-production versus small-scale hand-production it provides a potentially fantastic way of combining the two.

The samples are beautiful - this is a whole new level for us as these are up there with 150GBP ($300) designer bags - in fact better than some I've seen. It means lots of hard thinking about the kinds of imagery and fabric to use for the flaps. Hugely exciting but also quite demanding.

Price? I don't want to go for real high-end designer prices. I'm more interested in being accessible - I like the notion of people being able to just enjoy these bags - than being exclusive. On the other hand we may think about doing the odd really lavish "special" with lots of antique fabrics and components and embroidery. I'd love that.

I won't post pictures as we have a lot of small tweaks yet (the strap is not quite right, and one internal pocket is too big) and also the bags are of course only part-made. However, expect - with luck and a good shipping service - to see these appearing on our shop in early October.

Meantime, well, I suppose I am just going to have to get a couple of samples - one in black, one in silver - made up here and complete with flaps. Then I will have to wear them to test them out. A hard task but you know, I'm dedicated.

I thought I'd put these up - just for interest. I'm always saying that we do a lot of work even on the imagery that we use from other artists. So here is Rackham's Alice (scanned from a turn of the last century book) before and after being cleaned and adjusted for fabric prints:






Arguably, I think we have sometimes overdone this in the past - in a way it's nice to leave a little of the "age" and fading showing.

This print will be used on shoulder bags, tarot bags and messengers (when we make side panels that fit). I'm pleased with this - it's an image I've loved for years.

The from-old-fabric flaps are not quite ready, they've been quite hard to get right. However, these two - from pre 1910 Rackham-illustrated books - finally are done.







It's really quite soothing doing these flap designs compared to the emotional ups and downs of making a deck of cards. I'm enjoying it.

This afternoon two art students suddenly appeared on our roof doing a fashion shoot for college. So, as you do, we went out and chatted and asked them to do a couple of shots for us. They refused payment but accepted a book. Nice people and they said they would try to find some friends interested in modelling for a proper fashion shoot next month.

It was odd for me to see the bag in this context - I like it!

More on these bags soon. We are having them factory-made but we do the flap prints and all the finishing by hand. Result is a really tough shoulder bag that can be worn as a messenger or a rucksack. BUT - we don't have them yet, this first one is just a sample.

When we do have them we will have a really good range of prints available so you can put together your own print/colour combination. This has been six months in the planning so I'm glad it's nearly there now.

We've already been asked a couple of times about these, so finally yesterday evening Alex printed some. These will be in the new, larger size, with one of the new prints on satin that goes right up into the handle. When it's combined with antique/vintage brocade (black and black with purple - I am also looking for some red for Strength) - and black cotton velvet it's going to be exceptionally gorgeous I hope.

update: This one is now sold. But we will be making more, including perhaps some with black silk body.
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Our shoulder-bag version of this print is here at last. Laughter is powerful...



It's at baba store

- and I'll try to put it on the Etsy shop
too as soon as I can. I definitely want one of these for myself.

In fact I made the last entry private since yesterday. Why, I have no idea.

Anyway, I feel oddly touched to see that one of our bags is on the wishlist of someone in Russia:

http://mywishlist.ru/item/49531?page=6

Alex used to be very sceptical about our work being popular in Russia, but he's proved, happily, to be wrong. Now I see that as a challenge - I have to find a distributor in Ireland to keep my end up!

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On another and totally bizarre note, Banzai has now begun to protest loudly not only when we cough, sneeze, whistle or - believe it or not - sing, but he has just today developed a strong objection to Queen. Now fortunately I don't listen to Queen all that much, but having the cat wailing in indignation right through "Under Pressure" is, well, odd. I do wonder if he used to be John Peel in his last life.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3955369.stm (you know, the expression is the same, it really is).
He has a sort of Peel-like laidbackness. Perhaps I should do a "Past Life" reading for him. With Bohemian Cats of course. I may try playing him "Teenage Kicks" Peel's favourite record, just as a test. YeGods, I feel like someone looking for the new Dalai Lama. Though of course he is never reincarnated as a large white cat with grey splodges.