Simply XSBaggage

Welcome, Spring!

Welcome, Spring! {New Chevron and Pastel Wristlets here.}

Building Inventory, Prepping For Summer

I shared this photo on Instagram the other day. It's my dining room table covered in Art/Craft show applications for the upcoming year. It's just part of the preparations that need to be made to keep my little business humming throughout the year. Decisions have to be made. These events can cost anywhere from $65.00 to $1000.00 per show, just to participate for a weekend. So the decision about which ones to apply for can't be taken lightly. 

Another part of preparing for the Summer show season is making sure I create enough product.

That's one of the FUN parts for me! 

I'll be updating my sidebar, on this page, as I receive acceptance to the shows that I'm applying for. If you're in Washington state, please do come back and check out my event list. I'd love to have you come by and say Hi! at one of the events.

Today's Fabric Choice: Red

One of my favorite parts of my job, as a home-based business owner and handbag designer, is pairing fabrics. It just never gets old!

Red + Ivory + Black? Yes, please!

I'm usually kind of a pastel / muted / soft color kind of gal. But there's something about black + red that makes me happy!

You can find these new, (Red!) items for sale in my shop here.

Crossing Off The List

I had a wonderful, fun trip back to my hometown, Port Angeles, last week. I was able to spend time with family and friends that I don't see often enough. It also served as a much needed break from work. Don't get me wrong - I love that I get to sew and design for a living. But once in a while, my brain needs a rest. And girl time!

 

That's me in the middle, with my girlfriends, Nancy and Julie.

 

I could have put my online shop in 'Vacation Mode', where it's closed to new orders. But I chose not to, as I always want my products to be available to my customers. The consequence of that is that orders get a little backed up for the 4 days that I was gone. 

I'm getting caught up this week. Cutting, sewing, wrapping and packaging orders. 

It feels great to be back in the shop, crossing off my long list of orders, and shipping them out to customers! 

Sometimes a break from the normal routine is a great way to get motivated and creative!

Sewing Messes and Coffee Trucks

The Holidays are coming! Can you believe it? I had a little freak-out yesterday, when I looked at my calendar and realized my first Holiday show is in just three weeks.

Even though around the end of August has me planning and starting to ramp up production - normally! This year my life was a little interrupted by some health issues that caused me to lose way too much sewing time.

I did a ton of production sewing over the summer, just trying to keep up with my sales at the Puyallup Farmer's Market, and I have some of that stock still in my inventory. But I know from previous experience, that I'll need a lot more than that to have a successful holiday shopping/selling season.

That's my excuse for why my workspace looks like this today:

 

Notice Spencer sleeping on the floor, in the middle of the room, oblivious to the chaotic sewing going on around him. Oh, to be a  dog. *sigh*

 

And this (notice the essentials there, iPhone, granny glasses and TV remote - gotta have 'em):

And the ironing board like this:

Handbag pieces spread everywhere! I'm getting lots done, though. Like these Mary Engelbreit handbags:

I'm going to have to stay focused and drink huge amounts of coffee. Speaking of coffee, why doesn't someone start a business of driving through neighborhoods selling coffee? You know, like the ice cream truck does in the summer?? Isn't that just the best idea you've ever heard? I can see myself running out to the street as soon as I heard that annoying jingle music playing.

Okay. Focus. Focus. Focus.

A Day's Work

5 Laptop Sleeves, 3 iPad Sleeves, 1 XL Pouch, 1 Gadget Keeper, 2 Wristlet Key Fobs all headed out to lovely customers today in U.S. cities, Norway and Australia.

Half of these were custom requests. Did you know you can request a Laptop Sleeve or iPad Sleeve in the fabric of your choice? As long as it's one that I have in stock, and I have enough to make the item you'd like, I will gladly make it for you! All you need to do is visit my shop, find a fabric that you'd like there, and then contact me using the 'Contact Seller' button. I can then set up a 'Reserved Listing' for you to purchase. Easy, painless, and you'll soon have a Custom Laptop Sleeve heading your way!

My Sewing Companions

These two are with me every day as I work in my studio. Meet my sewing companions:

This is Spencer. He's an old guy, but you'd never know it when we take him to the river for a walk. He runs around like a pup, sniffing and exploring to his heart's content. He's an extrovert and thinks that everyone he meets is his best friend. Also, he LIVES for dog bones. Seriously. He has some sort of internal clock that tells him it's 5:30 (dog bone time) and he is relentless in begging for that bone until you give it to him. But, we love him anyways. He's a really good doggy.

 

This is Tanner. He's just a big lump of love. A big scared-y dog. He is content to lay around casually observing everything that goes on in the house. Unless we have company. In that case, he'll run immediately upstairs and hide in our bedroom for as long as the company is here. He's a very gentle, loving dog who's afraid of his own shadow. 

 

On Christmas Eve, Tanner was laying under the coffee table and my hubby reached over him to blow out a candle. Tanner freaked, jumped up, knocking into the table and green candle wax went everywhere, including on Tanner.

You can still see remnants of his little Christmas Eve 'wax-ident' in his fur. hehe.

 

Those are my two sewing companions most days. We also have a cat, Bogey, who graces us with his presence occasionally. But usually just long enough to harass and irritate the dogs. Cats are funny like that. 

Summer Sherbert Dots

Hello bloggy friends! I've been busy at the sewing machine creating some delicious little pouches. I hope you'll hop over and take a look at them in my shop. Perfect for summer!

What's going on in the shop?

Well, I had my last outdoor show a couple of weeks ago. And, I don't have another event on my calendar for a couple of weeks. So I've been spending my time sewing and getting ready for the fall/holiday shows that I'll be participating in, and which, by the way, will be here before I know it! Sometimes I feel like I'm always playing catch-up to get ready for the next 'thing'. Which not only includes 'making' but also being sure that I have enough supplies to get me through the next season. Keeping track of, and ordering in my supplies is a constant juggle. I've already started ordering some of the things I'll need to keep my production going through the Christmas season. Like this ginormous roll of interfacing:

That's 125 yards of interfacing. I feel sorry for the UPS man. He had to haul this and 2 giant boxes of pre-cut interfacing up my (approximately 20) front steps to deliver it to my front door. I felt like I should have at least offered him a protein bar or something.

Anyhoo, as usual, lots of sewing going on here.

And I unloaded all of the inventory from my van that I've been hauling around all summer, and brought it up to the studio so I could really figure out what 'holes' I needed to fill in my inventory. 

I like having it all hung up in my studio again. It's a feeling of accomplishment to see it all together. I made all of this!

I listed this new Bella Bag in the shop today:

I'm hoping to get more new items listed in the next few days.

To go or not to go?

It's Saturday and I'm usually at the Sequim Open Aire Market, setting up my booth for the day, but I made the decision (after watching the weather report) to stay home and work in my studio. 

I'm always torn when making that decision. What if one of my customers comes looking for me there? Or, would I have had a more productive day there, or in my studio? 

The wind here in Port Angeles has been gusting up to 25 mph today, but was it that windy in Sequim? If so, it would have made for kind of a miserable day there, trying to keep my handbags and pouches from blowing everywhere. 

By making the decision not to go I was able to:

1. Spend time with my girlfriend and her granddaughter who I don't get to see enough.

2. Attend a fund-raising breakfast to benefit the local food bank.

3. Finish some new handbags for my winter line. (I'm showing you some sneak-peeks. What do you think?)

All in all, I'm happy with my decision, and the new handbags! 

(I'm thinking I might call these 'Twilight Moon'. What do you think, any ideas?)