The Big Second Birthday Give-away!

Late March marks the second anniversary of Jola V. Designs...
My first bag was made sometime right in the beginning of the Astronomical Spring season. It was an oversized shopping bag, made of paisley printed upholstery fabric, which I still proudly wear today.

Also, that Spring I really fell in love with 70s style Fringe detailing, and wanted a bag with tassels - just for me. In Vancouver, that was the time before Fringe became really popular, so the bag I was looking for was nowhere to be found. And that's when I made it. When I realized that my little tassel bag got a lot of attention from friends and strangers, I made more. And I am still happily making bags to this day....

Today, I would like to give back to all who supported Jola V. Designs, believed in my wee craft, carried the line proudly on their shoulders or shelves....

I am announcing a draw - to win the Silver Grey Sarah Bag from my second, Pre-Fall 2010 Coming Of Age collection.

Give-away prize

Sarah is one of my most popular styles - the ruffled over-the-shoulder bag, with adjustable bridle straps. This particular one has a unique four tier ruffle detail, whilst all other Sarahs have three.

Four ruffle tiers

 To enter the draw: on our Facebook Fan Page  - tell us why you love us! That's right, post, what is it you like about Jola V. Designs bags, belts, other small accessories - and you'll be in...
The draw will start immediately and will continue till April 10th. We will draw the lucky winner on the 11th and send them the purse with all our best wishes and thanks....
Most importantly - we'll have fun!



Posted by Jolanta http://jolavdesigns.com

We're featured as the Designer Of The Day at Handbagdesigner101.com

Handbag Designer 101 is a web-site, dedicated to showcasing Independent handbag designers and makers. They also host Independent Handbag Designer Awards, an event that gets some serious coverage by the Fashion media.

Today, they kindly chose Jola V. Designs to be their designer of the day. See the feature here!

The community of Independent Handbag Designers is new and, till now, seemingly did not have a dedicated web-source to network or showcase their work.

Unlike those, involved in making Beauty products, we lack dedicated review web-pages, photo sources or indie handbag discussion forums. I am very thrilled to have found Handbag Designer 101, and about their wonderful feature!

Me and Marie

I met Marie at the One Of A Kind Show this past weekend. She came wondering by my modest booth, and stayed to shop. Another customer of mine was trying a few bags on, and the colour of the bags caught Marie's eye. Jewel Purple... A wonderful colour, so rare for the "orphaned" leather I source for the bags.

We started to talk, and immediately I felt how positive and genuinely interested she was in what is it we all do at the show. How we make things, decide which materials we want to use for our wares and how we are bringing production of every day items back into our home countries. Marie told me that shopping for locally made items was a new thing for her, as most of the time she would make her purchases while visiting her remaining family in the Old World. Or go to the high end shops and look for the Old World brands she loved since she was a young girl back in Britain.

But those brands were no longer the way Marie remembered them. What was supposed to be luxury bags, watches, eye-glasses, china, - anything she once thought she wanted to have, -  had lost the story behind it all, lost the individuality and in a lot of cases, quality too. The Brand Name remains, so does the logo, but the spirit of the maker has long disappeared behind the conveyor of mass production, cheap parts, labour, and meaningless celebrity appearance gimmicks.

Nonetheless, Marie's aspiration for fashion and quality remained. She just knew she had to look outside of what is perceived as fashion in the mass produced world. Marie tried a lot of my purses on and asked questions about each of them. She was excited to meet the person, who actually made the "beautiful purses" and to learn that small businesses, such as mine, are in fact helping to preserve the environment, while using recycled or overstock materials, making and selling it all on the spot. Many of them are giving work opportunities for local artists too. She really enjoyed the personal attention she got from me and all the assistance she was given whilst picking a bag.

I also told Marie, that anything new in fashion always starts in the Indie community, and it takes months for the corporate producers to catch up.

She walked away with my Light Grey Sarah Limited Finish bag, which she loved. She came back the next day and told me that her husband loved it too.  She said, that up to now, her favourite bag in her closet was a Marc Jacobs bag she bought a few months ago. But now, my Sarah was the new favourite, not just for the looks and quality, but also for the entire shopping experience.



Marie was an example of a small victory for Indies. If we can convert one person into a local, environmentally conscious shopper, many will follow.
This meeting was one of the highlights of the show.

Small news

Even though my heart and mind are set on the upcoming trip to my home country, life, however, still goes on. 

Latest updates include me being accepted for so far the biggest art show for me to take place in the end of the year; added a challenging retailer to the family, arranged a trip home - and planning to cut back my time at the day-job this fall, just in time for the busy holidays...
To follow up on my previous post about feeling all guilty overpricing my handmade bags, I have recently been called out on the very opposite - undercharging....

I joined a group of designers, carried by a successful high end retailer. During my meeting with the retailer, I received advise on how to add value to your products - and why you should do it.

For the first time since I started my bag sewing adventures, I feel like I have been challenged by someone and forced to step outside of my comfort zone. Even thugh I am willing to create a range of high end purses, based on the store's feedback and expectations, it all still must co - inside with my own philosophy, original ideas and aesthetics.

With their advise in mind, I started making some changes to how I did things up till now. I have located and ordered additional leatherworking tools, which will save time neede to work on certain styles of bags, and will improve detail finishings. I have worked out some new additional styles, that could be dedicated to the exclusive collection. I have even did some basic tuning on my sewing machine, and now it works like a champ! Most importantly, I did not need to resort to different leather or fabric stock to meet their expectations, which I feared the most and was quite ready to protest earlier - I simply went back to the liquidated materials I loved all along, but ruled out in the past, due to my lack of skills or equipment. Its like I've finally come a full circle!

I am only in the infant stages of this new endeavor for me - but I have learned so far, that challenges can be good to help you see your craft in a different light. Also that's a great time to revisit work methods or sourcing options you have ruled out before. And, challenges like this one will force you to re-evaluate your craftsmanship - and take it to even a higher level.

My limited "high end" collection, featuring several re-worked current styles, and three brand new styles will make its debut between early July to early August.

It will also be available for purchase at my booth at the One Of A Kind Show in Vancouver, Dec 9-12.

Suppliers or Cottages - dilema of growth and identity

We begin very small. We take our tireless small steps up each hill, and then down and up again, on the way to our 'destinations'. We improve ourselves and our work; and inevitably seek recognition and pay-back for those small steps that got us here - hopefully closer to where we want to be eventually.... Some of us will find that recognition, although not necessarily in the form we were hoping for.




Many of my friends, who are running their small businesses, as well as crafters in the on-line forums frequently discuss cautions and downsides of different growth models, which impact their time, dedicated for work and family, or quality of their product, even identity of their indie brand.

You need to choose carefully which route to take to expand your business and what role to play while doing it. Different products require different skills not only in the making, but researching and selling them too. It is when a third party gets involved in your sales, the dilemma of your role and identity arises…

Craft markets or retail are good ways to introduce your product to the public. Your goods will be displayed, seen, touched and tried by real customers, and those advantages are inevitably lost if shopping on-line. But with that come higher costs, risk of loss and obligation to share your proceeds.

Some believe, that being a true Artisan, or a true Cottage industry, means you must be manufacturing, packaging, promoting and selling your products yourself – be it in your own brick-and-mortar “Cottage” storefront, or a web-page, whilst also seeing your customers at home. Third party involvement is very minimal, as these brands refuse to be just another item on a retailer’s shelf and take great care in keeping their quality superior. The biggest advantage of this model is that you sustain nearly all your proceeds, and while PR and feedback is doing most of the work. This model is great for businesses, that make products, commonly reviewed by gurus of their craft, recommended by web-critics, specializing in that category or lifestyle. Think of organic skin care, natural perfumery, pet products. BUT – the catch is, if there is no established network of industry gurus, web-advise and reviewers, dedicating their attention to Indie artists, this model may not be possible for your category of products.

Some other Indie artists thrive by selling their wares through retail. They are quite happy wholesaling, focused purely on their craft and often not comfortable selling their stuff themselves. This model allows you to limit your efforts to what you like to do best – creating.

But, there are several cracks one can fall into while choosing to work this way. You will have to share your proceeds with retailer, and since they are doing all the selling, you inevitably take the role of a “Supplier” – your retailer will be in charge of what they want to carry in their store, what sells the fastest, what costs the least, and will let you know which products they’re not interested in, which could be subjective in the end. Some of your products may remain under-represented, due to the choice of a buyer; you may exhaust the market for your best –seller item all at once, and you will not be able to meet your customer, instead will have to rely on a third party feedback only.

Wholesale, even though paid upfront gives you the least control as an artist. The person behind the brand is just a supplier, providing quantities of a product, often at the cost of innovation, even quality, in order to meet deadlines and repetitive requests. In consignment, you sustain some of your freedom, as in most cases you will call the shots, as in which items you want to sell with this particular retailer. But that is sustained at cost of taking all the risk of investing in your products upfront, with no obligation from the retailer.


Perhaps, the best way is to do it all. Manufacture, promote, sell, consign and vend at the markets. The identity of your brand is the single most important thing, that will outlast your relationships with retailers, event organizers and even clients.

If you back your identity with continuously improving quality of your product, the relationships will only expand. Ultimately, markets – and retailers – want your business, and there is no need to compromise any part of your overall goal for anything less.

You can extend momentum for you best selling item, by not over-stocking it, and you can ensure your quality by taking caution during faster than usual growth. Be selective. There’s only one of YOU.

Impulses, influences and losses - nose diving into sourcing of materials

I am a leatherworker. Up until now I haven’t been giving myself major grief about my choices while purchasing supplies for my production.


As many starting designers, I have had a few not so successful ones. I have sourced materials that did not prove to meet my expectations of final product appearance, or its appeal to customers. Often, these buys were quite spontaneous, or based largely on impulse, someone else’s opinion and taste, who did not necessarily have a great deal of knowledge of the products I have been trying to develop.

Then styling, fell short in the end, as it did not co-inside with my aesthetics, working equipment or craftsmanship levels. Some of these great raw materials, that ended up being mis-used in some of my work, would have simply been better with someone else. Sadly, even my surplus, liquidation and otherwise found hides and bits do not come cheap...

Luckily, when creations had gone awry, I had my day-job income to back me up. I was quite comfortable having ‘sales’ in my shop, or selling my products ‘at cost’ to friends, simply due to the lack of confidence in my work. And often - taking a loss, just to cover costs of materials I shouldn’t have bought, or styles I shouldn’t have made....

Now, that I am slowly transitioning into self employment, I realize, that this old back-up plan will no longer be viable. Nor should it be. I am writing my old ways off to ‘learning mistakes’ and sticking to my guns this year – curbing the impulses, the influences and other outside signals when it comes to selecting materials or drafting looks.

If you’re like me, and have been taking your ‘mistakes’ to market, you probably noticed how public responds to different creations you’ve made. Some get buyers really hyped up, and some don’t. Same way, some successes are really short lived, and some are quite lasting.

That is the most valuable observation while you’re in the stage of defining your niche. This kind of definition does not come overnight – in fact it may take a while to come up to some sort of shortlist of products that will stick around in your production, and those that will vanish along with some fast trend. Observing your customer is far better than asking friends for opinion on your products (as if they’ll tell the truth anyways) – or browsing store shelves and copying the most popular products in the mall.

Observing your customer will lead to understanding which materials work with your aesthetics and which direction your product development will take. Tuning out the ‘noise’ from the environment will help you focus on proven facts, such as numbers from your sales, customer reaction, feedback and changes as they occur.

Even though it is great to browse and see what other products are out there, it is not a great source of, what I call – Direct Inspiration – or copying. Fashion is Created in the Indie world, and then copied by mainstream, and doing it the other way around, you are hurting your brand.

Also, tune out ideas that are foreign for what would be your niche – or focus - of the moment. Write them down and archive them, for they may be useful ... one day, but not now. Like, if you’re making hard shell wallets with stamp detail and belts, you do not need to pounce into gathered scrunchies, just because someone thought you could make anything in the world perfect. (Remember those unsolvable custom orders, based on requests of the buyer, that got fouled up in the end?)

You will simply end up with a stack of materials that will not work with your original style, and people will end up not liking the products. Observe, and draw from within – if you do it honestly, there’ll be smaller chance you end up making selections people will not like. And you will end up wasting less money or wrong purchases.

Oh - and – do not overstock successful product.... that’s next...

Baby steps lead both ways - back and forth

For the last while I have been thinking about the fate of my current day job... I have been looking into options of going part time – or getting rid of it all together, to open up time for taking my creative business into that next level it is heading towards this year.


At the onset of 2010 I was hoping it would be the ‘turning’ year for Designs, and my plan on how to achieve it seemed to deliver results. I have entered and expanded retail, scheduled quite a few more art shows than last year, first of which already happened, and was successful. Of course, this growth came with its own demands, and more often than not I find myself running out of time, hectically trying to get through the most essential work at the office and home, putting other important long term goals straight onto the back burner.

Like, any upcoming show has turned my evenings, days off and weekends into sweatshop marathons, as I am trying to re-stock the sold items, buy supplies and do what I can to make the next show happen, before I am out of time. Adding new retailers also means more re-stocking work and time needed to accomplish that.

But I only have so much time... Sewing has occupied most of it dedicated for the business, and research, website building and scouting new outlets are simply impossible to fit in. Also, lately I have been cancelling almost every social event, ignoring every invite, if the get together with people takes longer than 1 hour and 20 minutes, as using that amount of time for other things will put even more pressure on my schedules during the week.

I realize, that at this point I should be working on building my own Internet site and create a continuous flow of sales through retailers and on-line. I feel like I could use some coaching on the latter subject... – none of which is achievable unless you put time into it.

The office day-job currently takes some 10 hours out of each of my day. In general, I have never been functioning too well in the 9 to 5 scenario, and never felt like I have found an mainstream occupation, which I would consider fulfilling.

Of course, I would be excited about each new job in its on-set, but once having learned it and overcome challenges and faced with mere routine of it, I lose interest and therefore have been frequently switching jobs in the past years. During my first years in Canada as a new immigrant, I’ve done some of the oddest jobs to survive and stay afloat under various restrictions and limiting permits, so I was even more pumped up to finally find a job, which provided continuous income and recognition.

But as time went by, faced with ongoing staffing and workload issues, also with the 9 to 5 reality, lack of creativity in the nature of work and subsequent interest and motivation loss, I found myself in the middle of my usual ‘over 1 year on the job’ crisis, calling for a change. Apart from taking out a lot of time out of my day, this day job is making me an outright unhappy person.

My urge has always been to work for myself on my own schedules and terms. I am very inspired by the established Indie businesses, that turned to be the primary source of income for the owners. I would like my business to be one of those one day, and I realize that I am on the right track, but it still needs more time and resources to grow. My time away is slowing its growth. Its growth, when happens, is consuming the remainder of my time and takes a toll on my daily life, house maintenance, fitness and even time for my family – both, here and abroad.

I do not have a firm decision about what to do next yet, and I am still very dependent on the income from the day-job. I will keep researching options and pick the best suited one to try to accommodate most aspects of this conundrum come summer... Right now my heart is leaning to cut 2 days of my precious week away from the office starting September.... So I can work on my web-page and the new collection.... And be happier...

1 year anniversary SALE

I did not really announce the sale here before I started it - but here we go:

It's finally here - the SALE to cellebrate my one year of sweating and creating!

35% - 45% off of selected bags - and further reductions on the remaining Grassroots models as well. For one week only - till Sunday, April 11th at my Etsy shop!!!



Let's make some room for the Pre-Fall stuff!

2009 reflection

So, we finally crossed over into the new decade. Cellebrations are over for most, costumes and fireworks had been put away. Time to make new plans and also - how to accomplish them...




Looking back on the year that past, I feel thankful - for all good things that happened; and for even more to look forward to. I re-discovered my creativity this past year. It has been placed on the back burner during the turmoil of settling in Canada. It changed the way I look at things and built new appreciation for this city and it's unique face.

It also built up my awareness of the environment and ways to preserve it, helped me to return to my roots and lifestyle of my younger years. I began to embrace simplicity again, re-using countless great finds, avoiding bad and pricey habits, creating unique identity. Where I saw shortages before, I now see an opportunity to fill them with creativity.

My biggest discovery - or change - have been the Van's Indie arts influence on myself and my esthetics. I suddenly re-found vintage items - anything from furniture, clothes, accessories, to decor, to craft supplies - as long as they don't turn into dust between my fingers. I let my eyes wonder around Main street and size up all youth sporting their great - and bad vintage (hey, after all, it's great no matter what - as long as the kids can still get a job wearing that stuff...); skinnies and fedoras, belts and sack-bags, used dresses and their dads' vests. It's a healthy antidote to anything stuffy, counterfeit or 'soccer'....

Simplicity, minimalism and thoughtfulness that comes along with it, is beautiful.... My understanding of what I should pursue has definitely shifted towards the independent, and marking new trends, rather than formal and following rules - and I am glad about that...

I've also committed to working more with recycled materials. My goal is to re-work each item I am using in full - to utilize all it's parts and pieces; and reduce the waist in the process as much as possible. The very potent source proved to be Recycled Wool and Scrap Leather.

I am still searching for ways to recycle leather clothing, but so far I am having concerns about the amounts of dispose.

A jacket can only be recycled in some 30-40% of it's volume - or just the outer shell, but the lining, padding, snaps, fasteners and seams will end up in a landfill... Leather skirts and pants generate less waste once cut apart, so they might be a good source or re-usable supplies...

Liquidated or overstock leather is what I choose to work with. These pieces are beautiful, but rejected by their primary industires, such as upholsterors, car seat or garment mannufacturers due to size, frequency of print pattern, branding marks, etc. These pieces would otherwise also likely end-up discarded... they haven't been shaped into anything, so I am able to use them up to small scraps, that I will later - recycle....

The demand for new leather is built artificially and is not always associated with meat production. Some leathers, just like fur, are the only product that is derived from an animal. Think of the exotic and wild animal types of leather, use of which most indie designers will not support.

If you are to buy a leather  - or fur made - item, I would encourage you to choose one, made of recycled or liquidated animal materials.

And - please, shop handmade. Let's support each other! You will get unique and environment cautious style; a different, distingtive look - and
We will be able to continue our mission of providing that to you...

*source of all images used in this post - Google Images...

Moving homes

Today is the Moving day...
All other work aside, till mission is accomplished.  My etsy shop is swept out after the 2 previous shows. Can't wait to get back on the creative wagon.

Will re-stock SWAG! clutches and small totes. Unfortunately, due to active sales I had to pass on being featured in Haute Handbags magazine this spring. I've sold out the items they were interested in - but maybe fall will prove lucky for me?..

In the mean time, there are another dozen boxes waiting to be packed.... Tired - but excited to fill and personalize my new home in Gastown....

For now - just hold on to the hat! Really.

Cokluch - Montreal brand and my best ever recycled leather discovery

I was excited to visit Circle Craft Christmas market for the first time this year. Now, I am even more  keen - after discovering Cokluch, a QC design company, making most amazing wares from recycled leather.

I have been pondering to write about leather recycling for quite some time now, but I think this brand deserves a separate mentioning.

Cokluch makes reworked jackets, vests, earrings, cuffs, hats and handbags - all out of recycled Cuir, finished with unique screnprint designs. Pairing  coulours and layering of materials in each piece is astounding, it's not only giving a 'new life' to leather, it is giving it a 'better life'.

I fell in love with Mimi, Zazi, Chikita and other lovely sacs, - too bad, I think, in the race of successful leather recycling, I have to announce our East Coast neighbour as The Winner in 2009.

Unique, different, versatile - no sign of crunchy.

http://www.cokluch.com/index.htm

Cokluch is exibiting in Circle Craft X-mas Market, Nov. 11 - 15, Vancouver Convention centre.

www. circlecraft.net