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!