The humble British waxed canvas

Waxed canvas is like everything else, some people love it, some don't. People adore and admire waxed canvas because of its strength and durability, its waterproof nature as well as its ability of aging beautifully.

The waxed canvas that I am using to make my bags is from a British manufacturer with over 100 years history. The fabrics are produced from densely woven two-fold cotton yarns, impregnated with a paraffin based wax, which reinvents the cotton fabric. This process creates the waterproof nature, and gives the cotton a unique but soft hand feel. The hand feel is just different from cotton, linen or wool. As it feels so different, it is not everybody's cup of tea.

I love working with waxed canvas. The character of the fabric develops from the point I start cutting out the bag, as unique scuffs and marks develop during the handcraft process. And when the bag reaches the buyer, it gains character through its use. Unlike most natural materials, wax canvas looks even better when as it ages.

Besides it has a strong British tradition, I feel waxed canvas fits into the Minus philosophy perfectly: humble, durable yet stylish!

A day to remember...

It is a year to the day since the passing of one of the last true gentlemen. The year has gone by in a flash, but it is always nice and it makes me smile whenever I think of Norman. I never met him, but saw a lot of his films, tv appearances and interviews over the years, and always felt he was such a sincere, honest individual.

Truly, one of the last greats to have gone, but he will always be remembered fondly.

If you've never heard of him or seen anything he has ever done, then I would recommend watching any of his films and your heart will feel so much lighter and joyful. A good starting point may be to check out his official Norman Wisdom website  

Rest in peace Norman... 

The Saddle Messenger is released

The new Saddle messenger bag

Well, here's the all new and all singing Saddle messenger. It's made from Italian moleskin and lined with Italian cotton twill. There are two exterior pockets beneath the flap to keep things close to hand and inside there are an another two pockets for your cellphone, ipod, and a trigger clip for your keys.

Currently available in charcoal only, but can be made in cranberry, fern or dove grey.

 

The Windeymoor Interview

The friendly Jonnie Estes approached me recently for an interview on her windeymoor site. To learn a bit more about where I came from and where I'm going to, then you can take a look at the windeymoor interview. Thanks Jonnie.

Chestnut for the messenger

The chestnut messenger

Another colour has been added to the messenger range... Chestnut. It's a beautiful brushed cotton twill with a slightly vintage feel. It's fully lined with beige cotton sateen, and features two interior pockets, trigger clip, and an adjustable strap.

Fully interlined with British heavyweight canvas (stitched inside) it makes a solid, yet not bulky or cumbersome modern messenger.

The messenger is also available in dark brown waxed canvas, stone, fern, black, plum, pewter (limited stock) and sand beige (very limited stock).

Feel free to take a closer look at the chestnut messenger.

A sneak preview - The Saddle messenger

The Saddle messenger - detail shot

Here's a sneak preview of my newest design that will soon be available in my shop. It follows on from my saddle pouch design, but takes the form of a unisex messenger. The first to be released is the Saddle messenger in charcoal Italian moleskin, but there will certainly be more to follow.


I won't go into great detail about it yet, but I'm so excited by it that I had to mention it as I have finally gotten around to get the design finished.

The Saddle messenger with flap opened and the front pockets visible beneath

A close-up shot of the detail of strap attachment and reinforcement

The soon to be released - Saddle messenger

I will bring more news about it once it is available in my shop.

British Waxed Canvas now in store

Minus messenger bag in British waxed canvas

I'm so excited and proud to be able to introduce a beautiful waxed canvas fabric to my store. Why I'm so proud of it, is that it is Made in Great Britain. As you may or may not know, the British manufacturing industry has been in freefall with a steady decline since the early 80s. It feels like everything is now made overseas and usually to a cheaper and inferior quality.

I feel saddened that so much has gone, never to return, but at least British waxed canvas still has a world leader. The waxed canvas that I use and hope to expand, is made in Great Britain by a family owned and run business. They've been in the waxed canvas industry for many family generations and truly are experts in their field.

Waxed canvas is so perfect and very versatile. It is naturally water resistant and fully breathable, and most important extremely eco friendly and made from 100% cotton. Easy to clean and sooooo durable, the more you use it the better it seems to get.

You can see the waxed canvas messenger in my shop for a closer look.


 

Metronomy - The discovery

Metronomy first came to my attention on the fantastic live music show 'Later with Jools Holland' back in May this year. They seemed to grab my attention as soon as they started to perform 'The Look' and I was really impressed by their fresh minimal sound.

I just love everything about it. The video is perfect - minimal, and they have such a strong individual character, very different from many artists nowadays.

See what you think of them. I can't recommend them highly enough.

The new colour - clover

The saddle pouch has seen another new colour introduced. It's the fresh looking 'clover'. Again, the fabric is the authentic handwoven ribbed canvas. If you would like a closer look then the clover saddle pouch can be found here.

Azure saddle pouch

I have added a new saddle pouch to my shop so it is now available in the beautiful azure ribbed canvas. You can take a closer look here... azure saddle pouch.

I hope to bring more soon!

Ribbed cotton canvas new colours

 

The beautiful quality ribbed cotton canvas has proved to be very popular so I have added two new exciting colours to the range. Clover and azure are now available.

The Hipster Plus in oatmeal ribbed canvas

The hand woven fabric has a natural irregular characteristic that gives the fabric a certain authentic charm to it. It goes without saying that it is extremely hardwearing too. The oatmeal colour has been introduced to the hipster plus style, and jet has also been added to the hipster style.

The Hipster in jet ribbed canvas

More new fabrics and styles are also waiting to be introduced soon when time permits.

Italian heavyweight moleskin - now live

I'm so thrilled to introduce another new high quality fabric to my range of bags and purses and the photos really can't do justice that the fabrics deserve.

I sourced the fabric from a company with a history of weaving moleskin fabric since the middle of the 19th Century. What they don't know about moleskin is not worth knowing. The touch of the fabric really is second to none, with a gorgeous supple quality yet extremely durable character.

Initially available in four perfect colours, and with the possiblility of adding more over time, I hope you too find them stunning.

The Croissant in charcoal Italian moleskin

The Petite Croissant in cranberry Italian moleskin

The Croissant in dove grey Italian moleskin

The Petite Croissant in fern Italian moleskin

Italian moleskin - preview

The new Italian moleskin - cranberry

I promised to bring you news about another new fabric so here it is. I'm so pleased to have found a really luxurious heavyweight moleskin that has a hand feel out of this world. It has a beautiful natural soft drape quality but is known for being extremely durable.

What makes this moleskin so special is that it is 100% natural cotton and is manufactured in Italy to the highest quality possible. Have I mentioned the hand feel is so gorgeous ? Pictured above is cranberry, and it is one of the colours I have sourced. I will bring a further 3 colours which includes charcoal, dove grey and fern; and possibly more colours may follow.

Again, to complement the luxury, I just had to use the premium Italian cotton twill to finish the interior of the bags. I hope to begin introducing it to my shop over the next week. More news will follow.

Italian cotton twill is now live...

Premium Italian cotton twill messenger bag

The new Italian cotton twill is now in my shop. Currently introduced to the Minus Messenger style in four luxurious colours; black, stone, fern, and plum.

Minus messenger in stone Italian twill

Minus messenger in fern Italian twill

Minus messenger in plum Italian twill

There may be more styles that will feature this beautiful fabric in the future, but I am trying to get another NEW fabric ready to unveil. Hopefully, I will have some photos of it soon and I will bring you more information at that time.


 

Italian cotton twill - preview

I am so excited to be introducing a new luxurious fabric to my shop finally. The photo above shows the new heavy cotton twill with a subtle brushed finish in all its glory. This high quality material is 100% cotton twill and is manufactured in Italy. As soon as I saw it and touched it I knew I had to have it for my range.

I will be adding it to my shop over the next week and it will initially be available in four beautiful colours, including stone as featured in the photo above.

However, that's not all.

I felt I should complement the quality of the exterior fabric, so the interior lining too uses another new fabric. Yes, the interior also features a luxurious cotton twill lining that too is manufactured in Italy. It has a smoother hand feel and provides the perfect accompaniment.


Until next time!

We meet again...

It has been a long time. A very long time in fact. Where have I been? Well, I haven't really been anywhere, except to a place I have never been before... Parenthood. 

To cut a long story short I am now the proud dad of two (yes twins!!!) beautiful daughters. It has certainly been a challenge especially trying to fit in sewing orders, shipping orders, more sewing, sleepless nights for days, weeks, and months on end, changing nappies, sterilising bottles, trying to sew more orders, feeding babies every 3 hours, more sewing etc... I think you get the idea.

There is light at the end of tunnel, and I have gained a few extra minutes each day to start working on my to do list. The must update the blog can now be ticked off my list and I'm finally able to begin introducing some new things to my shop. I am really so excited, but still don't have enough time to do everything I want need to. So, firstly, I must let you know that I have discovered some beautiful new fabrics, and I'm really trying to get them into my shop as soon as possible. They are so lovely to touch and what's more they are high quality Italian fabric. I hope to have some of them in my shop in a week (if possible!).

I will bring more info when they are ready... 

Duo tote - new release

The new duo tote in graphite

A new tote style has been added to my Etsy shop over the last few days, and it's called the 'Duo tote'. Following on from the Duo messenger, this tote is very clean and minimal, and features a pragmatic functional style. The outer shell is made from two different fabrics. One is wash distressed and the other is ribbed, and together they create a wonderful textural contrast. The front sleeve pocket is finished with metal rivets, whereas the opening may be fastened with the two snaps.

Fully lined inside, there is the usual 2 inner pockets for cellphones, iPods, etc..., trigger hook for your keys, plus there is one large zip pocket for any valuables.

Currently available in graphite.

I hope to add a slight variation and maybe another colour in the near future. I will keep you posted.

Giddy up and they're off...

Yes, I know the title is very vague but it's the best I can come up with at this time of night, and I didn't want to call this post 'another new style'.


Well it is a new Minus style and it is called the Saddle pouch. Why is it called the saddle pou.......... ahhhhh yes I hear you all think it does look like a horse's saddle even with a sort of stirrup. That is one of the reasons it is called the Saddle pouch, but the other is because it is great for wearing whilst riding on things, especially horses. Well, I may have made that bit up as I haven't ridden a horse since I was about 7 years old, but it has been tried on a mountain bike and it worked a treat. You see, the strap is short enough to be adjusted to fit around your waist so not only is it great for walking with but it is perfect for cycling.


The Saddle pouch can also be worn on your shoulder using the strap, or worn on a belt using the wide belt guide, or worn on your trouser/skirt belt loops by using the trigger hooks, or simply used as a clutch purse, or around your waist whether running, cycling, climbing, horse-riding, canoeing, kayaking, skateboarding, well the choice is endless.


A close-up of the stirrup.

And a close-up of the trigger hooks.

Well as they say and they're off and I am too.

Hipster plus colour update

Since the launch of the Minus hipster plus in September 2009 several of the colours have come and gone. However, all is not lost as three new colours have recently been added.

Bubblegum and pewter are the latest to be seen, and khaki green a bit before that.

So the Minus hipster plus is currently available in black, bubblegum, chocolate, khaki green, and pewter. Each one is made in a quality grade brushed cotton canvas that has a beautiful soft touch but very durable.

Two more colours for the Carrylight

The new Carrylight design has had a further two more colours added to the shop. These are bubblegum and black.

Both of the new colours suit the style perfectly, and both fabrics are made of soft brushed cotton canvas.

The new colours can be currently found here.