Missty's DYOB project

[dcblam]

Originally Posted by missty4

I thought about the traditional japanese wave pattern too, but it might be too ornate for me. Since the bag so far has a lot of traditional influences (braided strap knots, crescent swoop) I'd like to balance it out with something more contemporary for the front. That top right corner sketch is the trophy applique basically, lol. I just wanted to see what it would look like. :P Luciana, it'd be a great color combo For a while, I didn't feel attached to the bag. After some deep thinking, the white color, reminds me of my grandmother. She always wore white (clothes she would sew for herself). She was like my second mother and I saw her more than my own mom when she went to school/work. I remember I use to give her massages every night and we would have long talks. She liked using white flower brand oil. It had camphor, menthol, wintergreen and eucalyptus. In Vietnamese culture, after a family member/loved one passes away, you would wear something white in remembrance of them. I remember I had a white bandage cloth around my wrist for a while when I was on my rotations. I'd like to dedicate this bag to her. It feels like a white color is more fitting. Especially with the eucalyptus. :) I was thinking maybe have some sort of white flower image on the front if it works out, but we'll see In any case, it'll be white with eucalyptus. Now I feel more connected with the DYOB

missty4
your DYOB has turned into such a fantastic experience and it has been so lovely of us to share this with us.
I too think the color combination of the white and eucalyptus is so striking, but what truly is beautiful is the connection to your grandmother.
what a special tribute to her and you'll feel so connected to her when using your own unique HH item!!!

[fafnir]

Missty, what a sweet story about your grandmother. I'm sure the bag will become your favorite.

btw, I got my pens from Jetpens already! They are great (both the pens and the website). Super fast shipping!

[Jordanopolis]

I got some pens too! They are amazing!!! Thanks for the tip!

[Sybaryte]

Originally Posted by missty4

Fafnir - whenever I visit Japan I make sure I grab a bunch of the UM-151 pens, since I couldn't find them in the states. This was when I was back in early college. Now, with the great internet here, you can get them online!: http://www.jetpens.com/product_info.php/products_id/306 Mine is the 0.38mm. The 0.28mm draws much finer lines, but my personal preference goes to the 0.38mm for its smooth lines - just glides across the paper. Plus, I find the 0.28mm easily clogs. Definitely recommend these pens, they're the best I've come across.

I'm curious as to how these are different or better than the Uni-ball Micro pen (made by Mitsubishi) which is widely available in the US?

Thanks!

[missty4]

luciana, kdo, cciele, stylin' mom, dcblam - thank you for your warm comments I'm happy how things are turning out slowly - I think my grandmother would laugh at the idea, but would say something as long as it makes me happy. I found more inspiration and meaning in the creating process

RMC - The eucalyptus warms the white very well. Just curious, if the eucalyptus in the handbags is darker than in their shoes. I have a pair of zeldas and the swatch is noticeably a couple shades darker. In any case, either way it would work out and I'm happy with the combination.

jennirane - Ah, is that why you approved of the red-black linking octopus print lining I had in mine from the beginning? I love the octopus too! I think they're such oddly, beautiful and magnificent creatures. I've never heard of Kimberly Baker and tried googling her, man I need to save up. That octopus necklace is beautiful, I really like it! I think wearing anything from the sea, or sea-based jewerly/necklaces is a plus Maybe I'll go etsy diving... [http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php...rder=date_desc ??

I'm not 100% sure if the eucalyptus is the same as what they have currently, but I'm thinking it is. I remember seeing pictures of the Kira hobo in eucalyptus and the leather looked really thick and chewy. (I'm actually debating about maybe getting a wyeth tote or origami bag in euc with that 60% off code from the pompidou.... but feel like I shouldn't... gah...)


fafnir, luciana - wow that was quick! Aren't they great? Maybe I should jump on it too and replenish my pen stash.

sybaryte - which one are the uni-ball micro pens? Is it this one? http://www.amazon.com/uni-ball-Stick.../dp/B00006IE8P

For general daily use, I have some at work. They're like the generic pens (if not the BIC ballpoint) that you find in the office. Although I like them better than ballpoint, they smear and smudge too easily and sometimes blotch. I don't use them much for drawing.

I tested a bunch of pens in many art-supply stores/stationary departments (even the ones in Japan) etc... but never found anything I like compared to the UM-151 pens (also made by mitsubishi). The lines come very smooth and clean, controlled. Good for making very detailed drawings. Low viscosity compared to other pens, so there's no bleeding (unless your pen gets stuck every blue moon or so). For me, there's something about a good pen on a clean piece of paper. I can feel the pen tip gliding across the surface of the paper in a clean, controlled fashion. It's hard to explain, you'll see if you try for yourself :)

[Sybaryte]

^^The Uni-Ball Deluxe Micro pen has minimal smudge on paper. Unfortunately, not true on plastic (a la Post-it tape flags). If it's the same ink in the UM-151 I would guess it will also smudge but I'm willing to give it a try since I like the idea of an even finer point. And I really like the samples I've seen of the green-black and blue-black ink colors.

[RealMcCoy]

Originally Posted by missty4

RMC - The eucalyptus warms the white very well. Just curious, if the eucalyptus in the handbags is darker than in their shoes. I have a pair of zeldas and the swatch is noticeably a couple shades darker. In any case, either way it would work out and I'm happy with the combination.

Thuy, from what I can remember from the many swatches I dealt with when doing fashion accessories, swatches get handled alot and pick up body oils. They can easily darken. Which is why most designers won't give out a swatch, because of the problem with variations between the older swatch and a newly produced product.

I am thinking this may be one of the problems with the euc boots. I can't wear boots so I have not paid attention to HH boots and how they are lined. But, if they are either unlined or have the "foam" type lining fabric to wick away moisture, that means they may be wicking away body lotion. That may be what is causing the uneven spots and streaks showing up on some boots.

I know when I had to wear boots, I always put lotion on my legs first. I can see where it would be quite easy to forget to let it absorb before zipping tight the boot. We will have to ask Stormy if this could be what is causing the marks. It seems to me that it wouldn't show on a darker boot like brandy or black, but the light euc might just be shoing up body lotion marks more.

[gingeybear]

RMcC...the boots are lined in leather..but the leather is a darker green


What might be happening sounds like the process you speculated about...in my case, it could be that people were handling them and trying them on in the store which is what caused mine to begin to morph..but I wonder what is going on with the continuing process..

Don't get me wrong..I personally love the look..could it be sort of a reverse crocking? Or perhaps a reaction between the under leather used for the lining which is the darker green that's showing up and the leather dyed Eucalyptus which is lighter?

[Chicabee]

Missty- I love the story behind your design and I can't wait to see the bag- I know it will be beautiful!

[missty4]

RMC - makes sense about picking up oils can darken the leather. I noticed the cordovan swatch they sent me is also a couple shades darker than the cordovan wyeth tote I have, but the brandy is spot on with the sonia jacket I have also. It's all good though, warm grey is good grey to me :)

Thanks chicabee, now I'm more excited for this bag to come to life

[missty4]

Okay, it's not much, but it's what I got so far. Sorry for all the rough thumb sketches, here it's more quantity vs quality to get the branch process going. The first sketch, I tried to add something western to something that's eastern. Kinda like cowboy meets samurai. Western samurai. The little embroidered loops you seen on the front flap of pockets of western cowboy shirts, or back pockets of jean. With a little heart too it. Except it might not look so good (middle left)



This other one is simple. Little studded border with a embedded strap down the middle. Maybe some sort of quilting pattern helio sequence-ish (top left)



Still sketching, something is bound to come up...

[paelaf]

great work thuy! I think these two show a lot of potential.

[missty4]

Thanks paelaf! I went ahead and took your lead and branched off with the second design proposed :) It's a bit more of a heart design now, with studded border leaf-like design around the heart and double straps on each side. The question is, which version would be preferred? And what do you think of the design so far?

#1:


Double straps overlapping the border

#2:

Double straps tucked underneath the border

#3

No double straps

[jennirane]

I like #2... for some reason it's more harmonious... the curves are more soothing, the angles of the "straps" more aggressive. (Yup. Just got back from yoga practice.)

[jennirane]

I really liked the helio one, though (top left of second sketch) and the petal-ish one in the top right of the first sketch.