Filed under: Craft Biz, Design, Feedsacks, Handmade Revolution | Tags: Design Sponge, Design*Sponge, fabric, Formspring, Grace Bonney, Kokka, Spoonflower, Textiles, True Up
I was surprised a couple of weeks ago to read on Formspring that Grace Bonney {design*sponge} is wondering where all the great new fabric designs are, comparing textiles to the recent boom of wallpaper. I guess she would be in the know as far as the design world goes, so maybe the fabric I have been discovering a lot of lately are actually old, but new to me? Anywhoo, I thought I would render a shortlist here of some textile designers I am a fan of:
- Repeat Studio
- Daisy Janie
- Cicada Studio & Cloud9 Fabrics
- Heather Moore/Skinny Laminx
- Etsuko Furuya
- Anna Maria Horner
- Kokka
- Jessica Levitt
And some great online shops to find get such fabric:
- The Fabric Bar
- Sew Mama Sew
- Fabricworm
- Pink Chalk
- Fabric Shoppe
- Purl Soho
- and of course Etsy
I personally love reading True Up – Kim can keep us all informed of all things fabric. There are also several services, including Spoonflower that will allow you to upload your own designs for print on fabric, which is quite exciting. There are many designs from experienced Spoonflowers for sale as well, I am amassing a list of favorites over there as well. At any rate, I think there are a lot of really great textiles out there to be had and wanted to share my sources. At the end of the day, my all time favorite fabric will always be vintage feedsacks!
Filed under: BirdDog Press, Bozeman Collaborative, Craft Biz, Design, Feedsacks, Handmade Revolution, Letterpress | Tags: Depression, Julia Vandenoever Photography, media kit, press kit, Recession
After two photoshoots at the end of last summer, a pow wow or three with my wonderfully smart entrepreneurial woman-friends, a test-market run to my marvelously smart media professional friends, and countless hours the think tank, at the sewing machine, glued to the computer, among piles of crafty ephemera, on the press, … I am finally ready to send out my first batch of press/media kits – Recession got you down? Let the Depression cheer you up! These feedsack inspired bags of goodness are far from gloomy even though the vintage fabric comes from that era. They are pattern filled, colorful, overflowing with flattering photography {by Julia Vandenoever} and best of all they tell a story, the tale of my greatest inspiration and what makes the BirdDog Press tick.
Filed under: BirdDog Press, Craft Biz, Feedsacks, Letterpress | Tags: Chandler & Price, film, letterpress printing, letterpress video, movie, platen press, process, Super 8
a feedsack apron, that is …
I suwanee! Beyond thrilled to announce this BirdDog Press Super 8 film by the great Kevin Von Qualen. The process of letterpress printing vintage wood type stationery on a Chandler & Price platen press. Ta-Da!
ps. the skirt is made out of feedsacks too!
Filed under: Feedsacks, Handmade Revolution, Life | Tags: hand me down, jeans, sewing
Do I even have to say that anymore? I guess I could have worse addictions. Here are some recent feedsack knee patches that I sewed on a pair of C’s hand-me-down jeans. He loves hand-me-downs! Good boy. And I’m observing that it stems from the story behind it … “Mom! Keenan gave me these!”
Filed under: BirdDog Press, Feedsacks, Handmade Revolution, Inspirations | Tags: Feedsacks
Realizing that many folks have questions regarding my vintage feedsack fabric obsession, … Who gave you feedsack fever? What is the Daily Feedsack all about? Where can I join the Feedsack of the Month Club? When were feedsacks used? Why did they make them out of patterned fabric? and many more. I decided to put a lot of the answers in one place. Once and for all. Available for all to read anytime with a link –What is a Feedsack?– in the upper lefthand corner of my blog. If you have a question that is not answered, please let me know!
Filed under: Feedsacks, Handmade Revolution, Life, Tangents | Tags: eBay, feedsack
one little, two little, three little feedsack auctions on eBay. yippee! and sadly, the above isn’t one of them. I want it really badly, but the seller {whom i’ve bought from before, paid promptly & gave positive feedback to} says that she won’t sell to me b/c I somehow lowered her “DSR ratings” – what does that even mean? She actually said I “punished” her. Why would I do that? I just want to buy an old piece of fabric! Bizarre. Anyway, If someone wants to buy this and then turn around and sell it to me, I’m a guaranteed customer.
… and that’s all i have to say today. MUST get caught up on design and custom projects … the year is off to a dynamic start!!
Filed under: BirdDog Press, Feedsacks, Letterpress | Tags: paper goods, Feedsack of the Month, feedsack
Filed under: Craft Biz, Feedsacks, Handmade Revolution | Tags: Hop Skip Jump, Wee Wonderfuls
Some feedsack scraps are soon to be used on two patterns I found online. Check out Olive & Archie from Wee Wonderfuls – they even have backpacks! and I’ve mentioned Hop Skip Jump’s giraffes before, but I cannot resist a call out to little Jack Rabbit and Poppy Doll. Happy sewing!
Filed under: Feedsacks, Handmade Revolution, Inspirations | Tags: apron, feedsack, history
So, as we’re printing the Concert for Cash poster, Cash’s mommy asks me “What exactly IS a feedsack?” And that is a great question.
Pictured above is an apron that my Granny made for Cullin recently using an old feedsack. It is not like all of these patterned pieces that I have been showing for my Daily Feedsack series, so just what is the story?
Once upon a time, storage for things like sugar, flour, feed, cornmeal, etc was all in barrels and tins – the cotton industry wanted a piece of the pie, but because the sewing machine hadn’t come along yet, they couldn’t sew a seam strong enough to hold the contents. Once the sewing machine entered the scene, cotton sacks were used for these staples and were stamped with the name of the company who manufactured them {much like the one above}. One thing led to another and the realization was made that people were recycling the cloth for various uses after the contents had been consumed. Aprons, underclothes, curtains, dresses, quilts and more were already being made with this cloth and so the idea was born to make a removable paper label and use printed fabrics to make the product inside even more desirable and collectible.
So there you have it, the ever-so-abbreviated story of how the feedsack came to be, or at least the beginning of the story …
