Thursday, July 4, 2013

Personally Recommended Etsy Shop

See this really cool bag? It's made of canvas and upcycled leather. It's completely without those flimsy cardboard liners so it's usable to the point of needing to wash it, and it's just about the right size for every single day.
 
And my sister, Candace, made it. And that's my brother, Max, in the picture.
 
Candace has been making bags for a long time. When we were growing up my Mom had two huge Rubbermaid bins of fabric for us to play around with and Candy gravitated towards the canvas pretty early on. She made her own pants. And about ten years ago, maybe more(!), she made me a canvas and burlap messenger bag that I still have and use! So she knows a thing or two about bags that last.
 
She's also pretty experienced with how a bag should work. She's a traveler, and she recently spent the winter in Spain out of one carry on bag.
 
So when she told me she was selling her bags on Etsy it made so much sense. I know, though, that when I am shopping on Etsy I get that overwhelmed feeling pretty fast. So much to see! So many cool pictures! I want to support the little guy but how do I know I'm not going to end up with a cheap product? Personal recommendations help. So I thought I would introduce her to you. And talk about a small operation. Her current "Factory" is a room off of my parents kitchen. Pretty cool.
 
If you're looking for a good bag, this is a good bag. And when you get one let her know that you read about her shop here!







Us in "The Factory"

 

Hot town, summer in the city

Soundtrack in my brain:
 Love you in the Fall - Paul Westerberg
Hardly Wait - The Replacements.
I think there is a subconscious message about the weather in my musical selection...
The last couple weeks, maybe a month now(?), it has been hot. How hot? Hot. 95 degrees during the day, 70 at night. And very muggy. I know this is no big deal in a lot of places, but this is New Hampshire. We also has to acclimate to -10 degrees in the winter.
 
So, we haven't been doing a whole of hiking or jogging, or much of anything. But yesterday morning, after a weekend of sitting at the convention and then playing inside, we had to go for a bike ride.
It was really hot, and I was only out until 10:15ish, but we had a great time. Went to the park; I had never ridden my bike there because it involves some busy roads but I was feeling brave and it went fine.
 
And then we came in and stayed.