Time Lapse Video: Sewing an Upcycled Leather Pouch

I've been working on my second design collaboration with Crown Nine, and decided to film a video of me sewing one of my upcycled leather pouches from start to finish.

This is a pattern I created myself. I made a lot of the design decisions based on the fact that I don't have any tools or machines that are made for leather work; these are all sewn on my Singer Featherweight sewing machine from 1947. I designed the pattern for durability, usefulness, uniqueness and of course I wanted to make the final product beautiful and stylish.  You can't necessarily tell from the video, but I pay special attention to tying good, hidden knots.

For those of you who don't know, the leather is considered upcycled because I sourced it from a pre-existing garment, but I manipulated the material to add value.  Basically I'm putting some hideous 90's leather garments out of their misery, while not contributing to the waste stream and environmental hazards of using new leather.  Check out all the UPCYCLED items in my web shop.

I wish I could work this quickly in real life!

Repairing & Embellishing Shirts for Davíd Garza

My dear friend, musician & artist Davíd Garza, called me a week ago and told me he was mailing me three shirts to repair and embellish, just days before he was coming to my town on tour with Sara Watkins.  I used to do alterations & repairs, but I stopped doing it because I prefer the creativity of embellishing, rather than utilitarian repairs.  Knowing that Davíd is an artist and a free spirit, I knew these repairs didn't have to be boring, and that I could get a little weird with my embellishments.

When I opened the box he sent me, I was shocked at the state of the shirts.  I should have taken "before" shots so you could see what I mean.  I was *this close* to calling him and suggesting he retire the shirts.  One cream-colored button down was riddled with black mildew spots on over half of the shirt.  The sweatshirt was stretched out and had varying sizes of holes throughout.  A gauzy black pullover was faded, stretched, and looked like something had been chewing on it.  The fabric was so thin that I had a hard time picturing how to repair it.

I spent several hours repairing and embellishing the shirts, and here's how they came out:

This was the shirt that was half-covered in black mold dots.  It's a Mister Freedom shirt, which retails for a few hundred dollars when it's in good condition. I bleached the hell out of the mold stains, going through three treatments and washes until they came out to my satisfaction. Then I patched a big red stain on the front with some fabric that Davíd had sent.  I sewed some arrows on the top of the patch to add some subtle interest, and then I sewed an arrow on the opposite pocket. He mentioned wearing this shirt "at a nice dinner" so I kept the embellishments somewhat subtle.

Davíd wore this shirt on stage the night that I gave it to him, which made me really happy.  

This gauzy black pullover was the biggest challenge, so I got really creative with the patching.  The green patches on the side and elbows were already there, so I chose two fabrics that complemented those & added some + increase + symbols.

This shirt was never going to be fully restored & perfect, so I went more for a more mysterious soulful vibe.  I used two fabrics to create large patches over several larger holes.  The fabrics each had linear visual elements and some texture, so they fit right in with the textured, gridded main fabric of the shirt.  I added increase symbols via a large back patch, with subtle stitching over the square patches & also with some metallic paint.  The paint was another method of reinforcing a few holes, because it added strength to the fabric.

The final shirt is a Free City sweatshirt that had seen better days.  I patched a handful of holes, then painted two of my gold arrows on it, per Davíd's request.

I've never patched a knit garment before.  I found a knit fabric in my stash (all these fabrics were in my stash) that added some contrast and interest, then used an accent color (maroon) and a zigzag stitch to create the patches. For a few of the holes near the collar, I hand-stitched them with the maroon thread to reinforce them, using a bit of a darning technique.  Then I painted on the gold arrows, just two.

Davíd changed into this sweatshirt immediately after the gig.  It looked great on him.  You might catch him wearing one of these shirts on tour with Sara Watkins.

It's funny that two of the brands have the word FREE in them, as freedom is one of my biggest values.  These shirts were a challenge but I love the way they came out!

Hand-Painted Guitar Straps - Collab with Jaykco

I've teamed up with Jaykco to hand-paint some of their beautiful guitar straps that they make individually here in the USA.

I have two options available in the Featherweight shop: black fabric + black suede;  blue pinstripe + toast suede.

As with all my arrows, these represent focus, intention, how you direct the energy that flows through you.

You can also buy one of these straps at any of John Doe's live shows this summer.

It's been a real treat to see people share photos of the straps on their own guitars. Here's Harris' guitar on the left, Daniel's on the right:

It's a treat to work on such high quality, handmade straps, and to support another small business that believes in making goods in America.

If you'd like a hand-painted strap in a different color, contact me.

--> SHOP HAND-PAINTED GUITAR STRAPS

Spending a month in Austin, TX

I'll be spending a month in Austin, TX, starting mid-June, and I'm super excited about it!

I'm a native Texan, went to college at UT, and still have a bunch of close friends who live in Austin.  I love that town and have already tried to leave California to move back there once (my job at the time moved me back).

That job is where I met the wonderfully talented Marc Johns.

I can't wait to fill up on breakfast tacos, humidity, Topo Chico, friends & fried avocado tacos.  It's always time for tacos.

I'll be housesitting for friends and part of the arrangement includes access to a full art studio. This is the cherry on the ice cream sundae. I'm treating the month as my own made-up artist-in-residence experience.  I'm housesitting for a UT Fine Arts faculty member so he's on board and already gave me some guidance. I'm going to experiment with new materials, have tons of uninterrupted studio time & plenty of room to make a mess.

I have lots of Texas reminders in my home.

Naturally I'll still be working & making money to pay the billz; I'm mailing supplies ahead of time & will take my Featherweight sewing machine on the flight as my carry-on. Good thing my Featherweight is so small, light & comes with a custom box.  I've consciously fashioned my work with Featherweight Studio to be flexible to do along with traveling, but this will be my biggest stretch away from my own studio. 

I'm looking forward to new inspiration, lots of new work & to connect with new collaborators & clients.  See you in Texas!