superbuzzy.com, Japanese fabric and craft supplies!

Looking for playful prints for your holiday sewing projects? Check out this online fabric shop, full of cooky Japanese fabrics, origami kits, and more! Happy browsing! Here is the link:
superbuzzy.com, Japanese fabric and craft supplies!

Miss Beadle's Bags

While this weekend was no home run for bag sales at the holiday craft fair in Sonoma, all was not lost. I met some nice artists, including two talented members of Roots Collaborative: Samantha Barsky of Note•ify greeting cards, and Emily Fitzpatrick of Cottage Home Decor Oilcloth Products. One of my highlights was meeting a cast member from my favorite childhood TV show, Little House on the Prairie. Charlotte Stewart played the sweet school teacher Miss Beadle. She was not a visitor at the craft show this weekend, but a vendor — and guess what? She is a bag-maker, of all things! Hers are small, cotton floral pouches, and great shopping totes made from recycled dog food bags. Knowing I was a Little House fan, and a fellow bag-maker, she signed a photo for me (usually reserved for her customers, with the purchase of a Charlotte Stewart bag). She made me swear not to tell anyone... but here I go spilling the beans! Seriously, how could I help myself? Click the image for Charlotte Stewart on Wikipedia.

The Magic of Spoonflower

I got my first fabric sample from Spoonflower! I chose to sample one of my patterns with a dark background because I wanted to see how accurately the color would print. It printed as a dark brown rather than the dark charcoal gray I specified, but even so, I like how it came out.

I would suggest to anyone to create your sample with a variety of colors, and shades of similar colors so that you can adjust your final design to come out closest to your desired effect when you send for your final yardage.

Spoonflower tells me "...you can order as small as an 8 in square, or a fat quarter." They offer an array of fabrics and weights:

1. Quilting Weight Cotton
2. Organic Cotton Sateen
3. Organic Cotton Interlock Knit
4. Upholstery Weight Cotton Twill
5. Linen-Cotton Canvas
6. Cotton Lawn

The organic cotton interlock knit feels a little too lightweight for clothing, but would work well for accessories, plush toys, etc. The crépe de chine (coming soon), is perfect for scarfs, rosettes, or other accessories... and all with your own pattern! Spoonflower.com has tips and links for creating your patterns and uploading them to the site for printing.

My test sample below, with Spoonflower's fabric sample booklet.

Fabric with Flourish

Hang with this fun textile through the last days of summer, and into the holidays!

Shop: Available at my Etsy shop  
More: Click here to see more of the new Mios

Sneak Peek at My New Jewelry

I'm at work on jewelry designs here at Gstudio, and having a blast! I'll be developing the collection to list on my Etsy shop this autumn.

Handmade Spark - Gstudio

I set up a new page on Handmade Spark. It links to my Etsy page. High-tech, baby!
Handmade Spark - Gstudio

The New Mios

Life's a beach! Click here to see more Mios on my Etsy Shop

Save the Date for the Grand Opening!

Some of you already know about Roots Collaborative, a new gallery/gift shop in Mill Valley. The shop features the work of about 40 artists, including myself!

Roots opens its doors next weekend, and there will be two Grand Opening Night Events, April 30 & May 1. I will be there on Saturday, May 1, from 5-8:30.

I hope to see you there to celebrate!

Roots Collaborative
A Local's Market for Everything Handmade
84 Throckmorton Avenue, Mill Valley, CA
(click the Location link below for a map)

Design and Print Your Own Fabric!

All I can say is "wow!" If you ever wanted to get your own design on fabric, this looks like a great way to do it, and for a relatively low cost per yard. I am definitely going to try this out for my Gstudio bags in the future! Thanks, Ellen, for sharing this on Facebook for us!

Wallets & Gadget Bags on The Mind

I'm thinking about making some wallets or small bags for gadgets or makeup. That's all for now, folks.

New Blog for The Buy Indie! Project

The Buy Indie! Project began to take on a life of its own, so I created a new blog dedicated to all the Buy Indie! activity. Find it here: http://thebuyindieproject.blogspot.com/

The new blog now contains all of the recent posts from this blog about the project, so please go there and follow it for future updates.

Also, follow my Buy Indie Tweets, at http://twitter.com/BuyIndieProject.

The New Metallic Bag!

I'm excited about my new bag design — You can now order one for 2010. Click here to go to my Etsy shop, and send me a message from there to inquire.

Shopping Spree

Yesterday my mom and I went to Berkeley to find new fabrics for my winter collection of bags. For those of you who are crafty, you might like Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics or Discount Fabrics in Berkeley. I also bought a new mannequin torso from Mannequin Madness to model them!

Modern Handmade Designs

I started Gstudio 2009, designing handbags. My line is brand new, and will continue to grow. I have experience making all kinds of fashion and home accessories, including jewelry, hand-painted boxes, pillow covers, and more, and I hope to bring some of these ideas to my Gstudio collection. My bags are available at my Etsy shop.

I love clean modern lines, and draw inspiration from some of my favorite artists and designers of the 20th century — I'm a sucker for the Noguchi Table, the Eames Lounge Chair, Wayne Thiebaud's Cakes, the drawings an buildings of Italian architect Carlo Scarpa, glass artist Dale Chihuly, designer Philippe Starck and everything in Dwell Magazine!