Launched and now on tour... with giveaways!

 What a lovely night we had last night... launching The Better Bag Maker. 

 

 

Fabulous local Craft Book retailers CAN DO BOOKS were there with copies of the book, especially flown-in for the launch.

 

 

My 80-something Dad even made the trip in from out of town, along with several sisters and cousins and a niece. I felt a bit special. 

There were superstars of the textile world chewing the fat...



And crafty blogging chicks enjoying a catch-up in the non-virtual world.

All in all, I think that everyone enjoyed a good chat, a glass or two of something (or in my case, three attempts at a glass of something, but actually only about a sip out of each before they were lost somewhere). 

I had lots of 30-second conversations and scribbled jibberish inside book covers.  By the end of the evening, I could barely string a sentence together.... but had a lovely time.  And today, a little 15-minute powernap turned into 3 hours of deep, deep sleep.  I think I was a tad exhausted.

 

So, now that it's out there, THE BETTER BAG MAKER is having a little tour.  You'll be able to read reviews or profiles or interviews about me and the book (and I'll be guest-posting for Sew Mama Sew), and at each stop on the blog tour, there are opportunities to win a copy of the book.  (The book will be digital copy, except in the USA, where hard copy is able to be posted to the winners).

 

If you pop over to Blogless Anna's blog right now, you'll see how she fared with her first attempts at making bags (and she deserves a medal for working from an enormous pile of unedited manuscript notes and separate digital files of images).  If you leave a comment on Anna's blog post, you'll be in the running to win a copy of the book. 

 

From there, you can follow the trail -

 2nd June – Creativebug

9th June – The Littlist Thistle
23rd May - Sew Mama Sew
23rd June – Curly Pops
30th June – Lola Nova
8th July – Ink & Spindle
15th July – Kicki G Just Nu (in Swedish.. but you can translate it online)

 

 

 

Continuing my show-and-tell of the bags that I made while I was developing the designs.... above is the first (button-less) sample of the Galapagos Boho.  I have been intending to put a button on it for over a year now, because I think I'd quite like to use this one.  

 

 

Above, is the back detail of the Seoul handbag.  It was the only one where I changed NOTHING from the first to the last sample.  It worked exactly as I wanted it to, first pop. 

 

This Avignon Traveller is the one that is in the book - with a stunning hand screen-printed panel by Ink and Spindle.  I have the original version of this as my overnight travel bag, but I keep forgetting to photograph it.

 

 

This is the original Lahti Flight Bag, in a Heather Bailey print that I'd had in the stash for years. 

 

 

The second version of the same bag is the one that I use for a carry-on luggage when I fly.  You can see it in action here at the boarding gate in Portland, Oregon (this time last year).... along with a bunch of other bags, a purse and a kid, all made by me. 

 

Good luck with the giveaways, and happy bag-making!

Better late than never... launch pics

Twenty days later (!!) and I'm posting the pictures of my launch. Super-Sarah (sewing machine whizz, launch helper and photographer extraordinnaire) gave me the cd of images about two weeks ago. There have been a few other things on my plate and this post kept getting pushed until tomorrow.... and tomorrow... and tomorrow...

There were bowls of purses (these ones are made with the coin purse kit - there four different purse patterns in the kit).

Trees of purse frame purses. These ones are made with the 75mm kit - this one featuring a Lara Cameron print.

Hats and bags and patterns all over the place....

And people...

And more hats...

..and of course the new Mod bag (which isn't actually that vibrant!!).

And one very tired-looking me!

Many thanks to Sarah and Paul for the fab photos of the day.

Recovery...

Every muscle aches after a weekend of carrying my entire stock and sample range down (and then back up!!) four flights of stairs. The downstairs muscles hurt more than the upstairs muscles, strangely enough.... go figure.

The launch was a good day. Our efficient "pay Leah at the front desk on your way out" system meant that we avoided the usual madness of a crowded room, and I was free to talk to people - which was great. I do like a good chat. Thanks to all who came! I met lots of lovely bloggy folk, and caught up with good friends and met some new non-bloggy people, too.

No pics of the big day yet. Super-Sarah was official photographer and is going to send me the images.... soon, I hope. Although she was such a SUPER-TROUPER all weekend I wouldn't blame her if she took a break from thinking about it for a while. Thanks Sarah!

Big thanks also to the marvellous Kerry, who made sure everyone was happy (and in the door-prize draw) and to Leonie for being the queen of the kitchen - nobody escaped without the offer of a cuppa, a mince pie or shortbread! Also big thanks to Leah for giving up her weekend to work her usual magic.. and to Terrific Tracy for packing, sorting and helping me set up the room 'til all hours on Saturday night. And thanks to Lucy for being the girl with the golden finger... pushing that green button all day to let people in the door!!! THANKS TEAM!!

The big disappointment of the day was that I've discovered that my supposedly whizz-bang MAILING LIST is sending out what looks like junk mail to most people's filters/servers, or spontaneously suspending sending out messages at all!!! Thanks goodness for blogs and Outlook Express or nobody would have known it was on!!!

If you're on my mailing list and you didn't receive any emails over the last few weeks (particularly last week) can you please check your junk mail and UNJUNK any mail you find from me? And if anyone has any recommendations for an alternative to a PHP List mailing list management system, please let me know!!!

Pattern Launch Details

Just in case anyone has forgotten (?!!) here's a little reminder that we're launching the Hat patterns AND NOW THE MOD BAG tomorrow. DO COME - it'll be great!

• All the hats and bags and supplies will be on display for you to have a good ol' look at -
  easier in the flesh than on a computer screen!

• There will be a BARGAIN TABLE of goodies as well as specials on selected regular stock.

• There will be yummy treats to eat, and drinks to drink...

• You will meet fabulous crafty folk like yourself.

• You could win a FANTASTIC door prize!!

DETAILS...

When? Sunday 30th November 2008

What time? 10am - 3.30pm

Where? Victoria Room, Brunswick Business Incubator
420 Victoria St Brunswick

Directions - Turn LEFT off Sydney Road after SPOTLIGHT if you're coming from the city direction. We're about 200m past Brunswick Railway station, heading away from Sydney Rd, on the left hand side of the road.

What to do when you get there - Phone 555 from the security entrance if the door-girl isn't right there.... which she should be for most of the day. The Victoria Room is on the ground floor, and you'll be shown in by said door-girl....

Entry is FREE, but gold coin donations to Ovarian Cancer Australia are welcomed. (As some of you may know, this is a cause close to my heart. It's also something that ALL women should be made aware of. Awareness may save you or a loved one's life).

We have a WINNER... and a few more prizes.

More door prizes for the big launch day....The lovely Carla from Emotional Baggage has offered one of her fab purses. Carla has a great eye for fabric prints, and she teams them with denim and leather. I keep seeing her bags being carried by people around town. Eye-catching, gorgeous stuff!

This lush feather-filled bolster pillow is one of Design Symphony's 'custom pillows', and is made from supurb quality materials. Julie (the director of Design Symphony) is an awfully nice gal, as well as a very talented and experienced interior designer. This is a really generous prize - thanks Julie!

And the Brunswick Business Incubator kindly donated a bottle of bubbles!

...but WHO WON THE PATTERN?

Amy did! By the sounds of things she may be a little too busy to make it up for a while.... Send us your postal address, Amy, and well send it off to you. Thanks everyone for participating and saying kind things!

For those of you who'd like to buy the Kid's Hat pattern - you now CAN! It's on the website. I'll be adding more detail to the listing as soon as I get over the eye-strain I have right now!! (Too much late-night computer work?).

Oh - and here's some detail of the roses I made yesterday between all sorts of multi-tasking craziness.

...And Now a Word From Our Sponsors...

This Sunday's pattern launch is shaping up beautifully. We have some wonderfully generous sponsors, who have thrown all sorts of gorgeous goodies into the door-prize pool....

Kimono House have a shop full of really AMAZING Japanese textiles and accessories, and have offered you the chance to win one of these beautiful fat-quarter packs. There's also a $50 gift voucher up for grabs. (Thanks Leanne - you're a STAR!!).


Those other shining stars of the craft scene, the gals from MixTape will be offering up a prize or two. Justine will be there to chat with you and Fi is also coming along for the fun.

If you've been living on another planet and haven't seen MixTape before, you can have a peek at what it's all about here.

The very talented Karen is offering you the chance to win a gift voucher from her shop, The Cat's Meow.

This is a gorgeous little design haven in the underground arcade to Flinders St Station in the city (enter via Degraves St). They stock lots of fab local indie designer's clothing and accessories, including Karen's own label, the uniquely detailed Berserk (picture below).

But WAIT... there's MORE.... in my next post. I'm awaiting a few more pics from sponsors...

See you at the Brunswick Busines Incubator, 420 Victoria St Brunswick on the 30th November. 10am to 3.30pm. Phone 555 from the security phone at the front entrance.