A few things to be said about the Beach....

2007 - and ever since...

Living in Canada has changed the way I enjoy one of my favourite places in the world - an Ocean Beach... I no longer associate it with basking sun, air vibrating from the heat, hot white sand and bright water (and certainly, no Martinis!). Those images, ingrained into my memory since my twenties, have been replaced with a Northern steal-grey landscape, violet waves, lengthy tide and low skies. Air became cooler, the horizon became wider and less defined...

Pacific Rim sunset

 When I think of the Shore, images of rugged lines and stormy waters come to mind....

Shore line, Vancouver Island

I am so fortunate to having discovered these shores and their untamed beauty, and even somewhat adjusted my skin to the windchill, taught my eyes to catch every rare glimpse of the sun...

More than ever, I felt inspired to create a Beach line, reflecting my changed aesthetics, and a pursuit of softness, warming and life in this rough landscape, alongside all the other living creatures of land and water...

QtBeach was a dream - from the memories of a Northwestern Island summer, to longing for Spring over the cold seasons, to thinking of flying birds, setting sun, fleece, sand, and tirelessly wavy water.

On a cold early Spring day I dreamed of Summer...

QtBeach comes in glowing, mostly warm or saturated colours - Sand, Pebble Grey, Sunset, Night Blue, Lime Green and others... Sun, peeking through the oceanic fog lights up every shade on this windswept corner of the land, every tiny blossom, feather, riping berries, raindrops...

Sunset

Lime Green

Pebble Grey

 
The basic, sharply rectangular shape of the tote is used to create resisting structure, strong, timeless and reinforced. I also made wide and long straps, to even wear it across the body. Instead of screen-printing animals, and embedding their direct images on the bags, I thought of how they moved instead. Cyclical movement of wings in flight, tales in the water, or bodies, gently rocked by the waves, have their motion recorded in the symmetric pleats; water glistens in the sequins and blossoms peek out of shade in the brightly coloured peek-a-boo zips...

Pink

Sea Blue

Night Blue

Lime Green/ Fuchsia

 Overall design turned out soft, flowy, but strong, as the landscape continuously waiting for the sun to warm it...  I could not have found better inspiration... 

It is great for the Beach, Picnics, Markets, Travel. Packs up and disappears when not needed.

**QtBeach totes in most colours are now available at the Webshop and PoppyHair Boutique in Vancouver.



Posted by Jolanta http://jolavdesigns.com

QtBeach - my first ever real beach tote!

Island Beach State Park, NJ - source FreeWalpapers

I love the beach --
it always has been one of my favourite places to pass time, relax or restore.  Having done quite a bit of travelling in my younger years, I have noticed, that I have always been picking places near some kind of  beach to stay at. The best vacations I have ever taken, have had the ocean, beach or a resort life in the mix. Or the mental pictures of moments from different eras of my life, stuck deep in my memory, have images of a sunset on a beach..

I have great love for the Ocean, from its soothing smell, to wild stormy roars and sprays, along with uncontrolled power of the moving water, that inevitably reminds me of my own fragility, mortality and yet, belonging to the Nature at the same time...

Each year, I cannot wait for the warm seasons to return, and always make various plans on how I would like to spend them...

For this coming Spring/ Summer season, I just had to make a real Jola V. Designs beach tote! And so, slowly, I designed the prototype below - a fun, simple, washable canvas tote, that could be worn not just to the beach, but also shopping, overnight travel -  and then packed away into a suitcase when needed. I use no stiffener, so this tote is sturdy and reinforced when worn, but also very compact, when packing.

QtBeach, our new Canvas Beach Tote --

QtBeach, in Pebble Grey and Neon Yellow

 QtBeach is a large tote bag made of mid-weight cotton canvas. I made two deep side pockets at each end to separate smaller necessities and easy access when carrying. The straps are longer than in most totes, so this one could even be thrown over your shoulder, if needed.

QtBeach, in Pebble Grey and Fuchsia

And, true to myself, l had to make it a fun bag - thus the two rows of fun ruffle detail in the front, with parts of reclaimed zippers for a pop of colour.

QtBeach - its "Cute", also "on the QT" (meaning, quiet, understated - like most of my bags)...



The prototypes have been made in Pebble Grey canvas, but I have other colours on the go, as well as innovative shiny denim - all liquidation and overstock VEGAN fabrics.

I am also really excited to finally have a truly plant based product!



In the near future I will be making batches of the QtBeach totes, perhaps adding additional reinforcement to the straps, for long lasting beach fun...

Measurements:
Length: 53 cm/ 21"
Height:35 cm/ 14"
Depth: 18 cm/ 7"
Drop: 41 cm/ 12.5"
Strap Length: 84 cm/ 33"

QtBeach will be available on the web-site shortly... till then, check out my Etsy shop, they're already there)
And - for now, I hope waiting for the Summer does not get too long and painful for us...

xoxo
jolanta