Holiday 2012 Pre-Sale Happening Now!

TDD is having a Holiday Pre-Sale on select eco-chic clutches and wristlets! Sale ends on October 25, 2012 and quantities are limited! You won't find this sale on the website or the Etsy shop. Message TDD on Facebook to take advantage of this great offer.

First up, we have The Plum Blossom and The Courtesan Fused Eco Clutches. These clutches were originally designed for Mayim Bialik and Cat Deeley, respectively. The fusing looks like distressed leather with gorgeous cotton fabric and a snap closure. They are envelope-style and are a fantastic eco upcycled accessory!

Measure approx. 4.5" tall and 12" long (11.4cmx30.5cm)

Next up, we have hand crocheted, upcycled wristlets! These wristlets were originally designed for the 2011 GBK Emmy Awards Gift Lounge and are in the hands of celebs like Nia Peeples, Penny Marshall, Tina Fey and more.

They come two ways.
1. Upcycled Plastic (plarn) only - available in pewter gray, red, pink, forest green, purple, lime, orange, white, black and natural tan brown with red accents

and

2. Black plarn w/VHS tape - lining choices include black, zebra or cheetah.

Measure approx. 3.5" tall and 6" long (8.9cmx15.2cm)

Message TDD on Facebook to order yours now! They are great holiday gifts, make an eco statement, and are the perfect accessories for parties or an evening out!

Celebrating Eco{uture}

Having the opportunity to design something and send it to a celebrity is a great experience. I’ve been fortunate in having my designs go to a number of celebrities. This is the first in a series where I’ll take you on that journey.

It all started in 2011, when I had a display at the GBK Emmy Awards Gift Lounge. The actress, Catherine O’Hara (known for Beetlejuice and the Home Alone movies) asked if she could have my display purse because she loved it so much. Of course, I said yes!!

Catherine O'Hara

I had also made evening wristlets with vhs tape as press gifts. Nia Peeples saw them and was fascinated. She is the owner of one of the wristlets now. She was also kind enough to pose with my display purse. Penny Marshall’s eye caught the vhs wristlets as well. Turns out she also asked to keep one. I hope they are enjoying them!

Nia Peeples

Nia Peeples showing her VHS tape evening wristlet

And the late Kathryn Joosten who was known for her roles on The West Wing and Desperate Housewives. I was so sad to hear of her passing earlier this year.

Kathryn Joosten

And so it began!

Emmy Gift Lounge Excitement Wrap-Up -- Part 2

As promised, here's Part 2 of my wrap-up. Better late than never!

The Gift Lounge wasn't just a ball of excitement for me, but also for my fellow artisans. Here are some of their shots. :)

Jeff Probst w/ Sweet Stellas

Rico Rodriguez w/ AJ Sweet Soap

Maria Canals-Barrera w/ Atutudes

Wes Ramsey w/ Fancy Designs

Beverley Mitchell w/ Bellaroma

The Artisan Group table at the 2011 GBK Emmy Gift Lounge

View all the pictures on The Artisan Group Facebook page.

Here's a list of all the display participants where you should consider doing some of your holiday shopping from: :)
http://www.zazzle.com/beezkneez
http://www.13blackcatsdesigns.com/
http://www.makeitmineparties.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/littlefreeradical
http://www.zazzle.com/fancybelle
http://www.autumnbradley.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ajsweetsoap
http://www.bellaromaboutique.com/
http://www.doodlehouse.com/
http://www.rezipit.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/IlenePriceDesign
http://www.etsy.com/shop/atutudes
http://www.etsy.com/shop/LCVintageJewelry
http://www.thelonelypixel.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ellemoss
http://www.etsy.com/shop/thelightfantastic
http://www.ocstylescreations.etsy.com/
http://www.aromatichealthshop.ca/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/papermusedesigns
http://www.seeingisbelieving.etsy.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/sweetstellas
http://www.strandedtreasures.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/wagsandwiggles
http://www.honeyprint.com/

Emmy's Blog to Blog Giveaway!

There's a huge blog-to-blog giveaway happening right now!

If you want a chance to win $950 worth of swag, get the details on Fancy Designs blog!

Have fun!

Emmy Gift Lounge Excitement Wrap-Up -- Part 1

The excitement of being in the GBK Emmy Gift Lounge was unbelievable. Of course, when I wanted to do this post, I wound up catching some creeping crud from Andrew (my 12 year old). I'm still trying to recover, but wanted to congratulate my fellow artisans for a job well done! Our table was quite impressive, and we received great feedback.

I was particularly enthused, not only about hearing that Penny Marshall took home a clutch and Catherine O'Hara took home the display purse, but also that Nia Peeples took home a clutch as well. I am also loving the photographer assigned to The Artisan Group for capturing some great posed photos and some great candid shots as well.

Catherine O'Hara loved the eco purse so much, she took it home!

Nia Peeples - currently of Pretty Little Liars

Kathryn Joosten - of Desperate Housewives & The West Wing

Nia Peeples decked out in TDD's purse, AJ Sweet Soap's Banana Split Sundae (and you can see Atutudes tutu in the background).

The Artisan Group Founder Valerie Guerrero explains to Nia Peeples that the clutches are made of vhs tape & yarn.

Nia Peeples showing a friend the clutch.

Beverley Mitchell - of 7th Heaven - finds out that the purse is made of plarn.

Here are some quotes I received on my product:

"That's amazing! Out of grocery bags? Whole Foods, I see." -- Jennifer Carpenter (of Dexter)

"Oh, my God! That's incredible!" -- Cloris Leachman
"This is awesome! This is fantastic! Look at this! Can you believe it's made out of bags?!" -- Nia Peeples
"Oh, I love that!" -- Jason Isaacs (of the Harry Potter films & the upcoming film Abduction)

So that wraps up an amazing ride that was the GBK Emmy Gift Lounge. My next post will focus on my fellow artisans who were there, too. :)

GBK Productions Emmy Gift Lounge Excitement - Day 2 Recap

Day 2 was a rollercoaster ride, too! We found out that we'll all get at least TWO celeb photos with our product, so that's a great bonus.

The Artisan Group was interviewed by Splash! Magazine and Gosh tv, and the feedback the group has gotten over Twitter and other avenues has been stellar. :)

Some celebrities in attendance yesterday who were lovin' The Artisan Group:
Nia Peeples, Rico Rodriguez, Michael Trucco, Jennifer Carpenter, Cloris Leachman, Andy Milder, Zach Woods, James Woods, Loretta Devine, Catherine O'Hara, and more!

And speaking of Catherine O'Hara, I got this message on the updates:

"Catherine O'Hara fell in LOVE with your purse, and asked to have it, so I hope it'sOK we let her have it. She really loved it."

So, if Day 1 wasn't exciting enough with Penny Marshall picking up a clutch, Day 2 was equally as heart-thumping with Catherine O'Hara picking up the purse!

This purse!

Also extremely happy for my TAG colleagues whose products were also adored and snatched up.

Extra, Extra: READ all about the Emmy's Weekend from the rest of The Artisan Group members (so many fun posts!) starting with Stevie Lynn, of Jewels for Hope.

GBK Productions Emmy Gift Lounge Excitement - Day 1 Recap

Yesterday was an incredibly excited, nerve-wracking, amazing day! It was the first day of the GBK's Emmy Gift Lounge, and Valerie and Nikki of The Artisan Group kept us up-to-date on some of the goings-on.

Some celebs that came through were Kevin Eubanks, Jeff Probst, Niecy Nash, Lorraine Bracco, Beau Bridges, Alan Cumming, Patti Stanger, Penny Marshall and more!

The mini-tote/purse that I made for Gavin B. Keilly's daughter is apparently her first purse. I hope she enjoys it for years to come. It was fun to make and certainly an original. It's primarily made of upcycled plastic newspaper bags.

I almost fell outta my chair when the update came that Penny Marshall saw the wristlet clutches I had made as press gift and specifically requested to have one!

This one:

I'm so looking forward to see what today brings!

The Emmys Are Coming and The Peppermint Mocha Eco Tote Bag

After working hard, psyching myself out, and more, the Emmys are THIS week! I'll be glued to my computer for updates (as many of The Artisan Group members will be) from Valerie and Nikki. It's an exciting time, and I can't wait to hear how my product is received. So over three days, starting on Thursday, I'll have a stomach full of knots. :)

I'm also excited to announce a new eco tote that I just listed on my site.
Introducing the Peppermint Mocha Eco Tote Bag!

Crocheted from plastic grocery bags (or plarn), it gets it's name from my good friend, Denise of AJ Sweet Soap! She's a naming genius. Really. The name is perfect, too, describing the brown with red accents so well.

I'm working on more designs, so stay tuned!

Not Long Until the Emmys / New Product

September 15 and 16 are the days that my eco purse will be on display at the Emmys gift lounge. Can we say ---- SUPER EXCITING?!

Not only is it exciting, but I will surely be a nervous wreck awaiting news as to what reaction to my product is.

I've also been working on a few new items. One of these items is an eco iPod/Smart Phone case. Crocheted from plarn (plastic bags) with a magnetic snap and button decoration. They will be available soon on my site in different colors. Here's one:

Thoughts?

Emmy Swag Gifts on Their Way!

Ok, YAY! I got the Emmy swag gifts off to CA! Now I'm completely obsessed with tracking the box across the country. It should arrive next Tuesday, and I know it's left PA.

So this is how the wristlets wound up being packaged. I used VHS tape as ribbon and kept it simple (cause I like simple).

And just in case you didn't see it before, here is my display piece. A great little plarn purse.

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am!

Almost Ready for the Primetime Emmy Awards Gift Lounge!

As I've hunkered down to finish the up prepping for my participation in the GBK Productions' Gift Lounge, I figured I'd do a fly-by post. Now, I've already posted a pic of the VHS/yarn wristlets here, so I won't do that again. Those are going into the press bags.

Because I couldn't come up with something to make 100 of, I decided to do gift certificates for the celebrity swag bags.

Don't they look fantastic! Loving the work The BeezKneez did on these and the stickers.

There's also a special-made mini-tote that'll be making it's way to Hollywood... I'm hoping that it goes over well. :) It's crocheted primarily out of newspaper bags. The lining has a sparkly shine to it.

As soon as I get a box large enough for everything, it'll be on it's way to sunny California!

Creativity & VHS Tape

As I'm finishing up the last touches on my Emmy wristlet clutches, I began to ponder whether one is born creative or can it be learned. I felt oh-so-creative after reading some of the comments when Kathryn of Crochet Concupiscence followed up her first blog post on TDD with one about the Emmy wristlets (see it here). Then it got me to thinking. Am I really creative, or did it come with practice?

Part of my brand of creativity comes from a lot of practice, and I dream about designs and stuff. I actually was awakened this morning with the idea for this blog post.

Ok, back to the wristlets. My journey with upcycling VHS tape took a few months. Almost like trying to create a new recipe, it was about trying things, discarding them, then trying again to get that perfect melding of ingredients in the right amount for the right finished product. I looked around the internet to see what others might be doing. I really didn't see anything I was loving, so I designed my own purse. There are no pictures of that purse... on purpose. It's not that the design was horrible, it squeaked like you would not believe! I also didn't think it was as strong as I would have liked.

So, I experimented. First, I decided that the next big fashion thing would be a VHS tape/yarn belt. HA!

The belt

Then I decided to do an evening clutch that was lined - better response to that.

Evening Clutch with Yarn and VHS tape

And so it goes. It's all about trial and error. When I was thinking of what I could do for the press bags at the Emmys, I received great input from my colleagues in The Artisan Group, and decided to do wristlet clutches. These wristlets are a smaller version of the evening clutch and crocheted vinyl cord for the wrist loop. With smaller purse magnets and reclaimed fabric remnants, everything came together quite nicely. I also learned that it's much better to use VHS tape that's shiny on both sides (keeps your fingers cleaner and lends a better sparkle).

The Emmy Wristlet Clutch

So, am I naturally creative, or do I just practice a lot? Now that I've written this, I'm thinking it's a combination of both.