A bittersweet goodbye

The first gallery that I began selling at, HeART the Gallery, closed its doors this week as the owner, Mike, is taking a break from running the gallery to write a book on his art. This is a great opportunity for him and I wish him the best of luck on his new journey. Mike assured me that he wants to as a gallery owner again but for the time being, he wants to focus on his book and art. Mike showed an interest in selling my artistic bags in his gallery and always complemented my skills for color pallets and designs. This closing brings up my previous bittersweet farewell to Happy Delusions, the first boutique that I sold at. Owner, Mary, wanted to pursue other adventures and has been doing great.

I am happy for both owners and couldn't be more grateful to have met them and the opportunity to sell at their amazing establishments.

On another note, I know another person pursing in writing a book that I think everyone should check out. Nathan Vass is a King County Metro bus driver and currently has a blog about his bus route adventures. He his also in the works in writing a book, inspired by his blog. If you're ever riding the 358, be sure to say hi to Nathan!

Current collections expand from inspiration and demand

My two current collections, Checker and Formal, have been doing great. A demand for different styles/sizes motivated me to make more within each collection. After taking some professional photos for catalogs and the website, I realized that each bag should be little more special. I decided to start naming bags after the people that have inspired, supported, and motivated me. More collections are still in works but here are my current collections.

Checker Collection: The Crissie and Kim.

Checker Collection: The Crissie, the first Trizanh bag. 

Checker Collection: The Kim, a smaller crossbody bag.

Formal Collection:
Upcycled ties and dress shirts make these bags truly one of a kind.

Formal Collection: The Ryo, larger bag with an adjustable strap.

Formal Collection: The Yolanda, a clutch with a cuff link closure.

Formal Collection: The Yolanda, beautiful and classy.

It's been almost half a year!

Time sure does fly by... I didn't realize that my last post was almost six months ago. I've been busy with re-bulilding and re-branding Trizanh. Making a new website with amazing photos from Rodel Studios, working on catalogs to take Trizanh into the wholesale industry and setting up a studio space to have a photo area to take pictures of my online store.

Holiday season is creeping up and custom orders are starting to come in for personalized, one of a kind handbags as gifts. I love making personal handbags because they are more special and have a story behind it. I haven't been sewing as much due to all the "admin" work but I plan to jump back on the machine in my new work space. The bags have also evolved... to higher quality production and into different styles. Excited to see what will happen after these new and big changes!

Cross body Checker bag

Up until recently, the Checker Collection only consisted of one style. I made a Checker case for my new tablet, and with my recent interest in cross body bags, I was inspired to make a cross body Checker bag. I made the first one, a prototype, to see how the design looked. I immediately fell in love and in the past month, I have created more to add to inventory. Pictures will be posted soon of the new addition to the Checker collection and I'll be dropping off new inventory to stores next week.

Two opposite sides of Washington State

I recently visited Spokane for the weekend, about five hours away from Seattle. I came across a store just outside of downtown Spokane called Glamarita. Right away I recognized the long dresses in the window made out of ties from Etsy and Pinterest. Upon walking in, I saw purses made out of ties that I saw on Etsy. I had not realized that the creator of these amazing garments were from Spokane. We met and exchanged contact information while sharing our background and experiences.

Shop owner, Ronnie Ryno, has a vast collection of amazing works that she has created. Be sure to check out her shop if you're in the area.

Purse cupcakes?!?!

One of my favorite cupcake shops in Seattle is The Yellow Leaf Cupcake Company. They make an amazing assortment of flavors and their recipe for frosting/cake is scrumptious! The owners and their baking crew welcome new ideas and finding ways to explore their creativity in flavors and designs of cupcakes. Their daily offerings are always a delight but below is a picture of a special order for a shoe fanatic.

For a special occasion, I might have to call up The Yellow Leaf and request cupcakes made into handbags! Be sure to follow the "yellow leaf road" for updates on their daily selection of cupcakes.

Stick a pin here, a pin there

One can get lost in the world of Pinterest. One click and repin leads to another and another and another; there is no end. Sometimes I find myself repinning the same thing by accident, which is fine because it means I really like that pin!

A friend is using Pinterest to find ideas of her wedding and another friends is using it to find baking ideas. Who would have a thought that a social media pinning board would catch on the way it did! For me, I like finding pins that relate to my creative side of how I make purses. So far I've found so many interesting ways to use ties and so many cool things that people have knitted. I wonder what the next phenomenon will be in the world of social media...