So today I should be sewing, but I am on the laptop making final proof changes to my new Etsy header, setting up my shop policies and figuring out shipping prices and policies. I am excited to finally launch Eclectique Butterfly, but first I want to touch a little on me and why I am doing this for all of you that don't know me all that well yet, or know this part of me...
I have always been the "crafty one". My mom swears she doesn't know where I get if from, but secretly I know I take after my dad, we just express our craftiness in different ways. Some things I do get from her, as she is the one that sat me down at a sewing machine when I was just a little girl (although we fought like crazy about it then!) The rest of this comes from my desire to recycle. If something is still usable, I can't stand to throw it away. It makes me crazy to think of all the stuff that ends up in land fills that could have been re-used or recycled. I feel responsibility to make sure our planet is still "green" for our future generations. I feel such great pride that I am doing all that I can to help our planet and keep my "footprint" as small as possible.
So when I decided that I wanted to launch a home based business, I felt that it should reflect my inner cores, such as my craftiness and my desire to recylce. I challenged myself to think of a home based business that I could incorporate and blend these two ideals. I came up with several that sounded appealing, but none of them seemed to blend these two pieces of me "just perfectly" if you know what I mean. Eventually the lightbulb moment came from a store bought gift that my husband got me over three years ago. It was a purse made to look like a pair of jeans complete with a belt and cute handle. I got compliments on that purse everywhere I went and invariably someone would ask if I had made the purse. I thought to myself, why not see if you can take a pair of old jeans and recycle them into a purse like Roy had gotten me. That first one was tough I tell you! It was hard to cut the flare down in the hip part of the jean and make the shape look right. And sewing in the bottom of the purse? Whew, that was a bear, but thankfully I can say that has gotten a whole lot easier with practice. The end result was a super cute purse with a lot of character that came from the jeans and belt themselves.
The next thought of course was, what do I do with the rest of the material left over from making a purse from the "booty" part of the jean. Being a good recycler, you always use whatever you can, and that is how my totebags were born...
I used the leg part of the jean to make the tote bag. The seam you see at the top of the bag is actually the cuff of the jean. Like the "booty bags" they are completely lined and have a double pocket on the inside for your keys and cell phone as well as the pocket on the front of the bag. They are roomy enough to throw a book, bottle of water and your lunch it it as you head out the door to work. I have one gal that uses hers daily as her purse. It warms my heart to think that my efforts to recycle and re-use are making an impact in other's lives, whether it be a more consious awareness about recycling or because the cute, funky creation is a fashion statement for them :)
Enough for now... hopefully my next post will launch my new store!
Jules
No comments:
Post a Comment