A Learning Curve

A good friend of mine and fellow creative has emerged as one of my biggest supporters.

The moment she learned of my creative endeavors, she was on board 100%.

She has regularly commissioned pieces from me for some years now—pushing me out of my comfort zone and toward expanding my talents.

As a creative, it’s not easy for me to create without looking at my efforts through a lens of harsh self-criticism and doubt. Coupled with my personal challenges of seeing projects through to the end in a timely-ish manner, I have my work cut out for me.

For my friend, I’ve created a total of 6 head pieces—all varying in type, theme, and materials.

They were scary to start, but ultimately fun to execute.

Enter…the bag.

During late summer 2019, my friend brought over a lovely purse—a leather bag in brown hues.

She simply stated that she would not get any compliments on it.

She wanted me to work my magic and embellish it however I saw fit.

Okay, great. Purses, not my regular medium but I was up for the challenge.

She began to offer suggestions—which gave me anxiety.

She grabbed some freshwater pearls and began to place them on the bag, this way and that, offering suggestions on how to proceed.

I worried that she had such a specific vision/expectation for the end result, that it would not be my aesthetic or creation; rather, it would just be her own ideas executed by my hands.

The end result was clear—she wanted the bag embellished with pearls.

How I would arrive at this end result was a terrifying thought.

I had never really worked with leather/suede, and my sewing skills are pretty basic.

I had fresh water pearls and a plethora of beads to use, but nary a clue as to what I even wanted to design.

I began the project, eager and hopeful I would finish within a month or so—my friend assured me no rush, whatsoever.

How to sew beads on to leather, securely, and still make it look chic?

I started off by using BLACK wire—not my best idea.

I also tried sewing on to the bag without taking apart the inner lining—something that would have saved me so much time.

Unsurprisingly, the work took so long for each bead; and it did not look as perfect as I wanted/needed it to be.

I would accomplish sewing maybe a handful of beads at a time before my hands would get tired, and frustration would set in.

This continued. For months. MONTHS.

My friend would randomly check in with me—asking how it was going. I would assure her, “It’ll be ready soon!”

Far from it.

The challenges continued.

And then one day my friend randomly requested a necklace to match! OKAY NO PROBLEM.

THE BAG.

Apart from the challenge of designing a bead pattern, I was also attempting to sew pearls with wire—with the needle unable to fit through several of them.

Okay, so I need to somehow widen the bead holes. No problem.

Problem—first I purchased a bead reamer, which was very manual intensive.

Once again, I became discouraged and would seemingly give up on the project.

Every day I would see the bag in my workshop and feel anxiety and disappointment.

I even began to resent my friend, as I felt pressured by her aesthetic—which was an imagined pressure I couldn’t shake off.

At one point (several points), I wanted to just be forthcoming with my friend and tell her to forget everything—I would gladly replace the bag and call it a day.

There were even times where I just wanted to toss the bag into the trash and move on with life.

However, I persisted.

Eventually, I got it together and started the bag COMPLETELY OVER with a fresh vision (and an electric drill).

Over ONE YEAR later, I finally finished my friend’s bag.

I felt so bad for how long it took me.

I pushed and just held on to the end result in mind while working consecutive days/weekends on this bag.

I white-knuckled that bitch—even working in bed while watching Felicity.

The necklace? I finished her in a day ages before the bag, ps. My friend wanted a multi-strand creation—also something I had never done before.

Back to the bag. I manged to finish, photograph, and deliver to my friend the week of Christmas 2020.

I dropped it off and waited nervously for her feedback.

I awoke one morning to see her texts—”Holy F*ck babe!! Love the bag sooooooo much! It’s incredibly chic! F*ck!”

Success!!!

She showered me with accolades and continues to support me.

I learned several lessons during this project—namely, not to doubt myself.

And also, maybe tighten completion dates. ;)

Clockwise from Right: Before; Version 1 with wire; close up of Version 1; Completed Version 2.

Piece of cake: 3 strand necklace, in matching hues with the bag.