Studio updates

Completed works

In my ongoing quest to have the perfect bag with the exact right pockets and amount of storage and cuteness, I designed and sewed a crossbody bag and a backpack. The crossbody is basically The Very Thing: easy to stash sunglasses, headphones, pens, etc.. Fits a water bottle and all the necessities. The main compartment occasionally feels a bit cavernous if all I want is to carry is a slim notebook; this will be solved with a small removable insert.

The backpack feels a little less successful. The design is adapted from the Tree Kanken by Fjallraven and I’m proud of myself for getting the zipper right. There are lots of Kanken copies out there that don’t really get it. The trick is that the zipper is part of the front panel—not the side! So I love the exterior aesthetic I achieved (blinged up with a lovely wolf pin from this Etsy seller, because that's my vibe). That being said, my construction process felt somewhat tortured, and the inside of the bag actually has a couple of ugly bits. I’m living with it as part of my practice of imperfection: the bag is functional and sturdy, and looks cool. The flaws do not define the whole.

Skill acquisition

I took an Armenian needle lace workshop earlier this year, and have continued to practice. The instructor is an Armenian woman with a deep emotional connection to the art, and she is sharing her knowledge and culture within the context of the Armenian genocide. As someone who is very much not Armenian, I feel really invited into the act of preserving this knowledge and skill. The whole experience has had this really amazing atmosphere and energy.

At the complete opposite end of what learning and creating can look like, I’ve picked up a new CSS trick. I used this example project of a text animation to make an exciting little text effect for a website I’m building. It’s really fun to grab something from CodePen, and make it your own.

Progress and play

The aforementioned website is shaping up gorgeously. It’s something that needs a quickish turnaround and I’m excited to show it off soon. Here is a sneak peek of the colour palette:

Also deep in collage land trying to build out my Ulyssean Irish stew art book thing. In chopping up a copy of the Cole’s Notes for Ulysses, I’ve discovered what I want out of certain images. The next phase will be guided by the motto “simplify and add contrast.”