August Lately

Updates

I'm sorry to report that there still is no word on Nicholas Francisco. I continue to hope for a good outcome for his wife and children. If anyone is in the Seattle area, please continue to keep your eyes open. The reward for information leading to Nicholas is now $15,000.

As for August Lately, I've been working on orders and sneaking a few new designs in between.

Meet the roomy shoulder bag:

This particular bag is made from the Amy Butler Belle collection and is a bit livelier than I intended.

The same design looks incredibly different when made with dark brown ultrasuede and a classic floral print:

The ultrasuede is gorgeous in person but what a challenge it is to photograph!

In other August Lately News- The Belle bag is now also available as a design-your-own bag at August Lately:

We're battening down the hatches for yet another snow storm here in Vermont. What a winter! Hopefully I'll get some extra sewing time in.

Nicholas Francisco Update

Nicholas has now been missing for over a week with no leads whatsoever. The good news is that Christine has now been able to get national exposure for Nicholas on Fox News and will be on CNN tonight. Every person who sees the story is another who may potentially help to bring him home.

If you are so inclined, please read the article or watch the interview on FoxNews.com. The more clicks it gets, the more promotion it will get on their site, the more eyes will see it.

The reward for information leading to Nicholas is now $15,000

A Member of the Crafting Community Needs Our Help

Nicholas' wife, Christine, has a shop on etsy.com. Nicholas has been missing since last Wednesday, with no sign of what happened to him, no cell phone, email or bank account use.

If you are in the Seattle area, or know anyone there, please pass on the word and help bring Nicholas home to Christine and their two (soon to be three) children.

Local news links:

http://www.komotv.com/news/15682797.html

http://www.king5.com/topstories/stories/NW_021608WAB_missing_seatac_man_KS.cbc94803.html

Sewing Serendipity

What if I added a piece to the top of the hobo template? That's what led to the creation of this bag:

I love it when things come out beautiful on the first try!

I'm a Knockout!

Nah, not really, but I did get a little happy surprise this morning- I noticed that my little front-pocket clutch is featured in the rotating "knockout" images on the front page of etsy.com:

A sign that the rest of the day will go well? Let's hope so!

It's Cold Outside

Which makes it that much more appealing to work on new designs for spring. I have a gigantic stash of fabrics that I don't use in my for-sale products, but instead use them up when I'm working on new designs.

Here's a sneak preview of what's to come for Spring 2008:

Flare Tote- Pleated tote bag with choice of recessed zipper or magnetic snap closure:

Bolsa (means bag in Spanish- guess I retained something from high school!)- A roomy shoulder bag with pleats and darts. Choice of recessed zipper or magnetic snap closure.

I'm not entirely sure what to call this one, or that the design is finished yet, but this is where I'm at so far with this pleated hobo:

Apparently I'm hobo challenged because I've been having a heck of a time working the shape out!

I'm planning to roll these out on the main website some time in early March. In the mean time, keep your eye on the etsy shop!

Still Here

Well, I did have a nice post all ready to go until firefox decided to crash on me. Typepad, why don't you save autodrafts for me? It would be ever so helpful!

January was the month of The Flu in the Hadley house, which is why I never got to that handmade holidays update post. The gifts we gave were gratifyingly appreciated and it is definitely something we'd like to continue for years to come.

That apron I designed? It came out so nicely, and I got such good feedback from it, that I decided to add aprons and matching dish towels to my product line. It's an idea I had been toying with for some time, and the enthusiastic response I received from the recipient sealed the deal. I'll be adding several reversible fabric combo options later today.

In January, I spent much of my time on the couch with one arm around a sick child and a sketchbook on my lap. Now that things have gone back to normal for the time being, I will be working on bringing my 2D imaginations into 3D reality. Stay tuned!