Checker bags look good on Komo 4 News!

Happy Delusions was featured on Komo 4 News about shopping local and supporting small business owners. Out of all the wonderful stores that are small businesses, only three were featured and the amazing Mary, owner of Happy Delusions, had her shining moment to share her store to the great Pacific Northwest. A shot of Checker bags can be seen towards the end of the segment. Thanks to all that support small business!

http://www.komonews.com/news/consumer/KOMO-viewers-share-their-buy-local-favorites-135716743.html?tab=video&m=y&smobile=y&c=y

Happy Holidays!

So far, this is the only holiday themed Formal bag I made. It always brings a smile to my face.

Grand opening of Ventures at Pike Place

Cuff links: a lost art of men's accesories

The Formal Collection includes a clutch that I use a cuff link as a closure. When I first began this size, I was able to find really cheap cuff links and got a handful from donations. The clutches are a big hit and I've sold most of my inventory but now I cannot find cuff links at the same price I first found them at. After months and months of searching on eBay and looking for a wholesaler, I have decided to give in and purchase cuff links at a higher price then what I was looking for. Unfortunately the cost of a clutch will rise but they are a popular item so I guess it all works out in the end.

Website is now up and running!

After a couple of consultations with a couple of webdevelopers I decided to make my own to save on the cost. I began with more fancy website concept but when I took it upon myself to make, I kept it simple and with what the template provided. All in all I think it came out nicely and when I can afford a professional to make a more creative site, this current shall suffice. Check it out and let me know what you think. Thanks for visiting!

http://www.trizanh.com/

New purse added to the Handcrafted Collection

The first image is the purse I made with the flap inspired by the mosaic piece pictured below it. The purse is not an exact replica but I think it's a fair attempt at making a square mosaic piece of art into a flap for a medium sized bag.

I initially wanted to make it as a quilt but quickly learned that sewing together such small pieces was very hard to do. I fused the smaller pieces onto a larger piece of fabric and did section by section, trying my best to capture the color scheme and pattern of the original. Once that was completed I quilted over the finished piece with invisible thread to keep all the ironed-on pieces in place. The shell is made of 100% organic cotton and hemp fabric and the purse is lined with a sky blue micro suede fabric with pockets to hold a Kindle and iPhone. The purse was commissioned by a gentleman who wanted a birthday gift for his wife and she is the artist that created the beautiful mosaic piece and she is a farmer's daughter.

Mosaic Madness!

I was approached by a customer to make custom order purse for his wife, Becky, as a surprise birthday gift. I assumed he wanted to custom order something from one of my current collections but he said he wanted something different that she would like and that he was trusting me to come up with a unique design. Hesitant to decline the request due to my lack of sewing skills and never meeting his wife, I told him that I wanted to create something that would represent her or something that Becky loves. He emailed me a website and told me that all I need to know about his wife would be on the site. I clicked on the link and to my surprise, he was right.

After browsing her link I saw that Becky is a huge mosaic fanatic and even makes her own art pieces. She is also a farmer's daughter and that was apparent all over the website. I immediately wanted to make a pures with a quilted replica of a mosaic piece Becky created and use organic cotton for the purse. Upon my excitement of imagining such a unique purse, I realized that I have very little quilting experience. Even though a mosaic pattern is similar to quilting, in the sense that smaller pieces are pieced together to make a larger piece, one is more abstract than the other.

I am determined to make this purse come to life and I hope that I can do Becky's mosaic piece justice in the form of a quilt

Happy 4th Birthday to Happy Delusions!

The first home of Trizanh is a little treasure of a store in the heart of Downtown Renton called Happy Delusions. Before I became serious about making Trizanh into an actual business, Ryo and I were having dinner at cute Italian restaurant in the area and our waitress was a fun and sweet woman named Mary. Her and I clicked immediately and she mentioned that she just opened a gift shop around the corner from where we were eating. Mary offered to look at my products and possibly sell them in her shop, which I made a mental note to follow up later.

Once I decided to turn my hobby into a business, I made a couple of Checker purses that I wanted to sell and made my way to the store. To my surprise, Mary remembered me and a beautiful friendship blossomed. Since then a lot of wonderful things have happened for our businesses and if it wasn't for my encounter with Mary, I really don't think Trizanh would be where it is today.

Here's to Happy Delusions and with many more wonderful years to come!

Time for online!

This past year I've been focusing more on making products to sell at stores and craft fairs. Now that craft fair season is coming to an end, I will be working on making my online stores more active for customers nation.-- wait, I meant WORLDWIDE. I currently have an Etsy and Artfire store that I've been neglecting and they both need love right now. I'm also still in the works of bringing a website to life and do more advertising to bring traffic onto the online ramp.

As much as I am on the computer with emailing, surfing, and Facebook, it's not as easy as it sounds to actually post things to sell. My products are all one of a kind so that means I have to take individual photos and write each description. Another problem I've been having is how to take nice photos of my work to make them appealing online. Lots of work for this small time purse maker but it will be done!

I know Sudoku can be hard but this is ridiculous!

After finding new fabric that might work well for the Sudoku collection, I've come to see that it doesn't cut on the machine as well as the original fabric. I'm beginning to think this collection may never come to life but I'm not giving up hope yet!

Another collection I need to get started is the Artist collection. I want to create a purse with the sides from actual canvas boards and real art work from real painters. I'm currently in the prototype stage right now to see how the purse will turn out so I hope to have products for sale by the holiday season.

In my re-branding and redesigning stages of my current collections, I am revamping (pun intended) for the Mercury collection as well as making more variety in sizes.

It's been a busy summer but I wouldn't have it any other way!

Tags, boards, and signs... oh my!

Tags: Been making side tags with my slogan and brand name on them to give each bag a little more special love. The tags are made of remnants from previous materìals used in making bags and and eyelet closure to finish it off.

Boards 'n' banners: I got my hands on a sandwich board sign that I need to clean up and repaint. I can't wait to fix it up and make it all my own. I also need to make a banner for the canopy tent... big signage, here I come!

Signs: On a smaller scale, I'm making signs to describe each collection along with pricing. I think people don't get my concept and need some literature, and prices-- just in case they are too afraid to ask.

Sudoku got me stumped again

Just like playing the puzzle on a difficult level, I've hit a wall in creating my new collection. I ran into a product malfunction when the fabric I was experimenting with was discontinued. After reanalyzing and erasing some numbers, I think I can go at the puzzle again.

With a new fabric, possibly even better than the last one I found, I have also redesigned the pattern of the bag. I'm falling behind on my schedule for finishing a prototype but at the same time, the Formal collection is selling well so I've been focusing on making more. I'll probably push back the unveiling of the Sudoku collection until next year. Keep your eyes out for it!

Trizanh.com

I'm currently in the works of getting a website set up for Trizanh. I've used computers for over a decade and a half now yet I have no idea how to create a website. After having a couple of consultations with web designers, my brain turned into mush from the technical terms and coding. Since the website I want is not very complex, I know that it will turn out the way I want it.

I also am in the works of getting logos made for the different collections under Trizanh and that will be very exciting to have. Come back to see the unveiling of Trizanh.com!

New adVentures in Pike Place Market!

A store that I currently sell at, Ventures, which is location in Pioneer Square is relocating into Pike Place Market! Pioneer Square is already a huge tourist attraction but the store operators felt that they were located if a slighly off the radar for more foot traffic.

With this new move, the wonderful staff at Ventures advised me to make more inventory and be ready to produce purses since I've been doing steadily well at the current location. New and exciting sewing adventures await as the summer continues.

See you all at the Market this fall!

Handcrafted, just for you

A new collection came to mind since working at Starbucks. So many gift cards are tossed daily and I began collecting them to make a collection out of them. As the wheels in my head turned for ideas, I decided to line the bags with the green aprons baristas wear. However, that turned into another dilemma because I don't have much access to the aprons to continue making the purses as with the gift cards. That idea quickly was shut down until recently, when my store manager requested an iPad bag for her new toy. Not really feeling her as a Formal collection kind of girl, I suggested the idea of the Starbucks gift card bag. Upon receiving confirmation that she loved the idea, I am moving forward with the limited collection titled the WaShu SB collections since that is the name of our Starbucks location.

Farewell, my sweet!

After about a year of having my purses living along side the sweet creations of CakeSpy, we have decided to part ways. I do love the cute little pink cupcakes that owner, Jessie, makes and sells but customers didn't seem to have a sweet tooth for Trizanh.

It was a great opportunity to have the exposure with such an establish artist and business owner. I'll find my way back to Capitol Hill soon enough!

Reinventing, rebranding, rethinking

Summer is blazing over the skies of Seattle but I'm inside, on my sewing machine, making new and different changes to my purse collections. I will be the first to admit that I HATE ironing, however, I need to add extra detail and attention to finishing off my products so I've invested in an iron and a board to go with it. While Seattle is basking in the 70+ degree weather, I'll be steaming over the ironing board to make sure all the tips, points, and folds are to a perfect crease. I've introduced eyelets to finish off some of my products and working on my hand sewing skills to ensure that all of my collections are clean and crisp looking.

In addition to my extra care to detail and quality, I'm adding a new tag to all my products to add that extra flare to my unique brand of purses. The tags will be one of a kind, just like each purse, and customers can leave it on as an extra embellishment. I might even throw extra tags in swag bags for craft shows to get my brand out there.

The wheels in my head are always turning, thinking of new and different ways to bring my eclectic pieces of art through purses to life.

Formal collection iPad covers

I received a customer order for a Formal collection iPad cover and it was really fun to make! The cover consists of five ties and it's a tight fit but any more than five would make it too wide. Order yours today!

Esty and Art Fire

From my experience, etsy.com is more well known than artfire.com yet the people that know of artfire.com seem to like it more. I sell on both, being on etsy.com longer though. I've had a couple of sales but that was over a span of a couple of years, nothing to brag about. I haven't had a sale on artfire.com but within the year I've joined, I've had more inquiries for custom orders from it.

I think because etsy.com is widely known, I know more artists that use it and some have done very well on it while others, such as myself, do not get many sales. I don't have many items listed on etsy.com or artfire.com due to the fact that I don't have good way of taking quality photos of my work but I'm hoping that will change when I get a light box going. Another site that I've posted on is craftgawker.com but I don't know how many hits I get on there. I also have this blog and a Facebook fan page but I don't seem to be gaining a strong fan base. Gotta keep working on getting exposure, I guess!

New adventures with Ventures!

Trizanh is now sold at Ventures, located in Pioneer Square on First between Jackson and Main. I'm working on getting more shops to take my stuff so check back for updates. Thanks again to all the fans and customers of Trizanh!

Coupon Commotion week at JoAnn!

I'm gearing up to go on a shopping spree at JoAnn next week. With TWO, count 'em t-w-o, books of coupons, I'm stocking up on supplies and materials to make my new collections. Included on the list will be materials to continue the Sudoku path and stuff to experiment on making other styles of unique handbags. Spring in just around the corner and Trizanh will be in full bloom!

Tis the season!

Spring is right around the corner and that means the season of outdoor craft fairs will start up again! This will be my second year selling at craft fairs and I hope to be in some big ones this time around... and make some money. Besides adding new collections and different styles of my current collections, any other suggestion to make this new craft season a success? Should I take more pictures? Blog more? Trizanh wouldn't be where it is today without my family, friends, and fans so talk to me people!

My precious...

Since I began diving into the concept of making purses to sell, I came up with an idea to make a bag that combined my love for bags, my love for "conversational pieces" type of bags, and my love for Sudoku. When I came up with the idea of a Sudoku bag, the few people that I shared it with thought it was a great idea. Off I went to create the bag but I didn't realize how long of a journey it would be.

I began experimenting with felt, since it was easy and cheap to work with and didn't have raw edges to clean up. The idea worked for a bit... up until I got to the numbers. For those of you that don't know, one Sudoku puzzle consists of 81 numbers. I could not find felted numbers in the size I needed so I attempted to hand cut them. Big mistake. After barely making enough to fill a box within the puzzle grid, I did some research to find a cutting device.

Enter the Cricut machine. I shelled out the most money that I have spent on one item in a long time and began testing it out with felt I purchased for the numbers. After browsing the fabric store for other purse related items, I came across a material better than felt. The fake leather material was even better than what I originally started with and with my new machine, I was able to cut out perfect size numbers.

The grid was easy to make but the task of adhering numbers to the grid and the loose numbers to Velcro was daunting. After trying out glue and glue gun, I found fusible webbing. Now, with my new found missing adhesive, I'm so close to completing an idea two years in the making. It will be my most labor intensive and precious collection to date.

Making new friends in WOC

One of the best things I have enjoyed so far, besides making purses and selling them, is meeting new people in the world of crafting. A key factor in making any business successful is networking and its even more fun with people that have the same interest. I've made some great friends and business associates through various events and activities associated with Trizanh. People in the WOC range from making almost everything one can think of. Of course there are many other purse makers, even more jewelers, and of course photographers but everyone adds their own flare to their work and as the saying goes, "there's something for everyone."

I met Kim of Pepo Park during my first show of the year. It began horribly for me and Kim happen to be my neighbor. Being a WOC veteran for about five years, she was quick to see my newbie mistakes and hardships and she took me under her wing.

Kat of  Kat Miller Photos was a participant in some crafts fairs that I tried to put together. Although the event didn't come through as a success, I was able to make a new friend. Kat and I recently collaborated on a new art project together and I'll be posting pictures soon.

At an etsyRain meet up I met Yolanda, the brilliant mind behind Carlotta Valdes jewelry. She is my soul mate in the World of Crafting, or WOC as I like to call it. Her jewelry is so unique and amazing; we both agreed to do a trade off of our products. I'm still in the process of making her a purse and I think she still working on my bracelet. We were best friends at Seattle Square over the summer and I look forward to the next season of the market!

At another session of the craft fair I put together, I befriended Alix and her Recycled Caps and Memories work. Her work is fun and unique; from hair clips to notebooks. We are planning to get together for art night and her enthusiasm motivates me to do more art.

Of course I can't blog about the amazing people I've met and have inspired me without mentioning Mary from Happy Delusions, the first home of Trizanh! Mary is so amazing that words can't describe it. Her boutique has inspired me in many ways and Mary, herself, is an inspiration.

I can't help but be excited for all the new things to come and all the new people I will meet this year in the World of Crafting.

Fusible webbing

One day, while doing some Christmas shopping, a light bulb turned on for one of my on going projects. I've been in the works for creating a new collection for a couple of years now and I am slowly gather skills, equipment, and ideas to make this new collection come to life. It dawned on me that I needed a material, like a sheet with double sides of adhesive. I called the fabric store and described my request and low and behold, fusible webbing.

I just picked up a yard to play with so let's all hope that it works. Oh, the joys of experimenting!

2011... another year and a beginning of a new decade

New goals for this year:

• Make 50 products by May
• Unveil "Artist" and "Sudoku" collections
• Create a new style within the Checker Collection
• Possibly attend CCE in San Francisco
• Get accepted into the two EtsyRAIN shows

It's going to be another great year; thanks to all the fans that made 2010, launching year for Trizanh, such a success!