hessler ave bag revamp

i wanted to make a new design for a bag, plus i also wanted to make my mom a christmas present. when i asked her if she wanted a tote bag she was kinda like 'ehhhh' so i took that as my opportunity to make her something a little less utilitarian. she's had enough of those tote bags she lugs around full of yarn, files, lunch, and who the heck knows what else.

so here it is. the hessler ave bag new and improved and cute as a damn button.

it has my signature scribble stitching, a zipper closure, two inner pockets, it's made with used seatbelts, organic cotton, and bamboo fabric. i better send it out christmas is thursday!

i also got her some hemp face cream from the body shop and my dad some hemp foot cream for his feetsies so they are supple and soft like pillows.

handmadecavalcade was GREAT!

it may look like i was bored but that is far from the truth. thanks to the amazing efforts of my truely talented and dedicated teammates of the {newnew} we had so many shoppers at the cavalcade, it was great.

i forgot my table, Kristen from Cakehouse and her bro Ben saved my day! i was still setting up when the shoppers started arriving.

the shoppers came in waves , they were all very nice i have to say. It was so exciting for me to share my love of rockaway with people who don't really know much about it and to also spike people's memories who used to spend summer's there. even better than that was debuing (is that a word?) my new handbags that i have been working so hard on over the past months.

Thank you Lisa of Fubabee for the pic!

maple syrup

this weekend we went to VT.

however i did not remember to get some maple syrup, and i'm running low here in rockaway.

it may have been cause i was busy sewing new handbags. i used some organic twill i ordered and repurposed seatbelts. i really really like the size, the rivets, the feel, they are comfortable to carry too. back to work, well right after i watch kitchen nightmares on bbc.

changes

just woke up from a thanksgiving coma. although i think it was the wine that did me in last night. like that episode of seinfeld where he "doses" this chick with turkey and wine so he can play with her vintage toys.
after dinner we tried to go out to the bar and whoop it up a little. i ended up going home to pass out on the couch.
so needless to say i'm up first and while laying around i realized that i didnt yet post my new bag! i've made changes tot he broome street bag. it's bee a real learning experience.
i'm trying to make my bags as classic as i can while being eco-friendly.
this bag has repurposed seatbelts that i bought from the junkyard near my house. i cleaned them like crazy i can't get over how shiny they are!

workin hard

where should i start? for about 2 months i have been working so hard to come up with a pattern for a bag that i really like, that is simple, that is practical and has a great shape. it was worth the blood sweat & tears i think. its really big - 10" w x 8.5" long with a 4" gusset, 2 deep pockets, and you can open the flap from either side or it is totally removeable. i used really sweet ass heavy duty snaps. i hope you like it!

the hessler ave bag

reconnecting with sewing has been frustrating and rewarding. I have been working on building a bag for over a month. At times it was painful but i just couldn't give up. something inside told me to keep going. i've always wanted to make things that people can use. creating and sewing handbags, clothing and other accessories gives me the mechanical satisfaction that i need to keep me happy. and to come out of that process with something practical and everyday is awesome, i love it!

this bag is named after the street that my dad grew up on and my nanny lived on for years later. we lived within blocks of her and i spent almost my entire childhood with her, because my parents were working their butts off. at her house i developed lots of my creativity.

i have been hard at work.......

..........contrary to popular belief. learning how to sew, something that i have been really really wanting to do for a mad long time. this is just an idea/prototype if you will for me to wear around town.

i screenprinted a graffiti laden van onto the top panel of the shirt. i hear in some circles they call that part a yoke.

i made the screen from a pic that i took while i was riding my bike wif my cell phone! technology is great.

I'm BONAFIDE!!!!!!

take a look at this really cool blog:
http://trappedinthe80smoms.blogspot.com/
it's written by cute mom KARA, she likes to reminisce about that wonderful era that so many of us have warm fuzzy feelings for, the 80's. she wrote up a little post about my new graffiti van tees. I kinda guilted her into it, just kidding! or am i? you'll never know.

the ATOM SMASHER!!!!!

who knew there used to be an amusement park in rockaway beach? i did.in rockaway playland's heyday, the main attraction was the ATOM SMASHER ROLLERCOASTER!!!!!so here it is in all of it's obscure glory.after rockaways' playland was closed down in the 80's the land it resided on was an abandoned lot for a very long time, complete with crackheads & drunkards waltzing around it. now the land is covered with an edward scissorhands-esque development, hardly the character that i grew up looking at. i wanted to pay homage to an amusement park that used to be only 20 odd blocks from my house and played a HUGE part in many new yorkers lives.

let's go crazy

so i thought it was time to start really taking some risks, i find that i can be very anal about creating, especially with my line of clothes which is a good thing. But this weekend i decided to try my hand at organized chaos, which led me to want to change up my designs a little bit and here are some things i came up with.

birthdays

no, not mine......yet! my mom's birthday is today and mine is the 26th. everyone wish my mom a happy & healthy birthday! she and my father are both very creative in different ways, she is into sewing & kntting, and my dad paints. she went to fashion school i think after my bro was born but before me. gotta give her hand for raising a youngin and getting to school!

i remember as a child my mom had a sewing room which later became my room (sorry mom!!).

it was fascinating to me, the sewing machine, that crinkly thin paper that she used for patterns, the work table my dad made for her ( dad made that right? sometimes i question my memory) and more than anything i love my moms hands. i love to watch them doing things especially sewing & knitting, it's just so darn comforting. i know that her love to create, watching her as a child and still to this day is burned in my memory and subconsciously this need to make stuff pours out of me. i was told by her that i was hand sewing at a very early age and as far back as my memory goes i remember being facinated by the way you could sew them together and then when you flip it or turn it right side out the stitches disappear and the fabrics are now together! it's magic!!!! and i dont like it to be too busy, i like really concentrating on the two fabrics and how they compliment each other.

when i got older i focused mainly on the skills that my dad blessed me with, drawing & painting and i love that so much! i cant even get into that right now cause i'll be here for another hour.

right now i love doing both and by making these shirts i feel like i am satisfying skills that fortunately for me were inherited from them. drawing, making the screens, printing, sewing designing and wearing or selling or giving away, it's just awesome.

so in honor of my mom and her birthday, this shirt is as much a part of me as it is her.

bungaloe featured in DIY City online mag

i'm featured in DIY city an online mag about DIY artists:

http://diycitymag.com/themag/2008/02/14/bungaloe-2/

put on your bifocals and read up!!!!!

reconstruction

this is something i've been wanting to do for a long time, take a pre-exsisting piece of clothing and rework it. i had so much fun doing this and i can't wait to do it again & again with different designs i draw & print. this is a tee i printed over the last year, its a photo of the quadrozzi (a cement company) silo found on 73rd street in far rockaway, ny. his plant is pretty much in my back yard and now he has bought the land right behind my back yard and almost everything around my house.

waiting

thursday feb 14th, i will have a feature in a new online mag. stay tuned......................

numero uno bloggo

i love & live in rockaway, ny (it's a beach) and i design, draw, print stuff and attempt to sell them. here is the trainbridge that carries the A train over my beloved jamaica bay.
rockaway is kind of unknown to some new yorkers. if you told them there was a fantastic beach in queens they would eat your shoes in disbelief.
you're welcome to visit BUT DON'T EFF UP MY BEACH SUCKAAAAAAAAAA!!