Loretta

After laboring for several hours yesterday, the world now has a new Diva to welcome. Her name is Loretta and she is stunning! Born on April 24, she is a Taurus. She is feminine and witty; always there to share in the celebrations of your life but strong and supportive throughout the speed-bumps life throws before you. Though draped in basic black, Loretta isn't very conservative. She definately makes a statement when entering a room. But she is dependable and will be a loyal friend.

She is crafted from black dupioni silk and lined with a slinky black and white polka dot fabric. Has anyone noticed that I love polka dots? I just feel that they offer a bit of whimsy to an otherwise elegant bag. And girls, lets not be guilty of taking ourselves too seriously!

Loretta is crowned with a ring of airy black feathers. She also has a beautifully embossed 24kt gold plated button that is strictly for looks. A bit of jewelry, you might say! Not everything has to be functional! This gal also has 2 interior and 2 exterior pockets for all your girly needs.

If you would like to take Loretta home with you, contact Janet Lipps up in Holualoa at the Pacific Islands Gallery (808-324-7866). Loretta will be staying with Janet until someone takes her home with them.

Mashed Potatoes

I just finished up my order of 20 market totes for a client in Idaho. I especially love the ones with the potato lining. They are so novel! Having just boxed them for shipping, my living room has 20 less bags sitting in every corner. (keep smiling menehune man!) I am nowhere near caught up though. I just want to thank my customers who place their orders and patiently wait for me to craft each one. I wish there was a quicker way, but unless I raised my prices considerably and hired someone to outsource....no, I don't want to go that route! So I will just keep on making each bag, one at a time and taking a few minutes here and there to stop and smell the gardenia.

a hui hou

aloha

I just left the airport after saying good bye to my daughter. It is so hard to say good bye when I don't know how long it will be before I see her again. I am just very proud of the woman she has grown up to be. I think I will have to keep busy. I feel a lot of sewing coming on this week! I have many things to look forward to and must just focus on that.
a hui hou

this and that

It is only April 6th and I have sewn 50 bags this month already! Today I even made a "P.Beary" which made his debut at Christmas time. It is a stuffed teddy bear that is made from a coffee bag (what else?!) and is a little play on the word "Peaberry" which makes an exquisite coffee. He is so cute! But I keep forgetting to get a photo of one. This little guy is down at the Kona Mountain Coffee retail store already.

Only 5 more days til my kid gets here. Who me? Excited? I have decided to sew my heart out until Thursday or Friday and then just have a massive clean up effort. I just hope the kids don't have any allergies to...burlap! You know how quaint bed and breakfasts have all their rooms named? There will be the Hibiscus room, and the Jacaranda suite...etc. Well, I have officially dubbed my guest room "the Burlap Room". At one time I had it fixed up so lovely for the handful of guests who have ever stayed there. But in the past year, it has become my room to store atleast 80-100 burlap coffee and potato bags at any given time. Most of these are in bins, all labeled and stacked alphabetically by farm. How very organized of me! *patting self on back*

I have a lot going on business-wize this week as well. Friday I mailed off my licensing agreement that I entered into with the State of Idaho to use their trademark in the production of my "Haute Potato" bags. I am really excited about this opportunity because at this point in time I am the ONLY person licensed to use it to make handbags. I am looking at expanding into a couple of locations in Idaho. With how busy I am right now, I am not sure when this will materialize, but it is a goal I am working towards. Or, will be after I get my documents in hand from Idaho.

Also the Hawaii Fashion Incubator is coming to Kona this week and I have been invited to attend their VIP meeting at Mixx Bistro Friday. There will be representatives from the media and the Hawaii fashion industry present.(no we don't all wear muumuu's) They are also having a "green market" on Saturday that I was encouraged to have a booth at, but ...did I mention that my daughter is coming Saturday?! One of the wonderful things about having your own business is that you CAN actually put your family first. There is no way that I would miss picking her up Saturday! There were many years when my kids were little that I didn't always feel I had that luxury. If work called, I had to go!

Speaking of "having to go"....I have to get back to "work" right now....
a hui hou