Kentucky Derby Hats

I've blogged in the past about my hats. I love making them and have a plethora of materials on hand. I spent a lot of hours, over several months, tracking down feathers that had naturally molted. I have a nice selection, some of which I used for a request for some Kentucky Derby hats. I put together a threesome, two with flowers and one with feathers!
All the hats in these photographs have been sold

April 2011
I am now selling hats in my on line shop. Find them here!

Help me design an IPhone purse

I am trying to think through what would the perfect iPhone purse look like? Have you searched for one to no avail?
Does it simply not exist or are there so many options that another is not needed?
I don't know. So dear readers I am calling on you to help me out.
I have put together a design form
click here:to fill out the form

and invite you to tell me what you want in such a product.
Tell your friends and relatives to stop by and provide their input as well. Let's see if there are certain features that come up time and time again and will allow me to create the dream iPhone purse from customer input!
This is the first time I have used this approach to design and I am excited to see the feedback I will get.
Thanks for participating. I'll keep you up dated on the results
Karen
3/27/09

The first design is finished! You can find The Breazy iPhone purse in my shop by clicking here

I will be continuing to work on new designs

Karen

8/3/09

The vast majority of my bags and purses have a pocket that will accommodate an iPhone perfectly.
Click here to see the page that details all the styles!
9/13/09

Super kind words from Indy Grrrl

A wonderful post about one of my products can be found on her blog!
Thanks Indy Grrrl!

Small Honeysuckle Zippered Totes

I am working to add some of each size Honeysuckle Zippered Totes to my shop.
Here's the small, one wider than tall, and the other taller than wide. Both have an adjustable shoulder strap, just like my messengers. However they can be made with the standard two handles as well. This is one of the great things about how I run my business. I can make each bag the way I feel like on any given day.
The World's Cutest Animal Tote, with a bunny, raccoon, and duck, is adorable. The Leaping Bunnies, is another wonderful Asian print.
3/29/09

Breaking News Major Blizzard in Colorado

Whoo Hoo It is snowing like crazy. Wind has now picked up and you can hardly see across the street.
Here's a few pics I took at 11:15 Thursday morning

Stunning Echino Grab and Go Laptop Case

This case was the reason I finally got my Grab and Go laptop cases finished, named and shoulder strapable!
The fabric is incredible.! The customer's husband contacted me on her birthday and told me he wanted to surprise her with a case for her new laptop. What fun! I sent her a notice informing her of the gift and she jumped into gear, finding this print and having it delivered to me.

What did she think after she received it?

"I just keep looking at it and hugging it (it's soft and squishy!). I love how the pattern fills the space with no repetition. And the shoulder strap worked out perfectly; very nicely balanced and comfortable to carry. My MacBook can go everywhere in safety and comfort and beauty!!
I have to be calm for awhile -- but your bags are so wonderful, it makes me want more :-)
Thank you - and thank you for sending the left over fabric. I am plotting what I want to do with it! (I like the little yellow bird that didn't fit on the bag.)
I will look forward to seeing it on your site, but am mostly happy to see it right here next to me!
warmly,
Dotty" March 7/09

Fabric Frenzy Shopping Spree #2 Deadline March 27th 09

Just a reminder that the deadline for ordering is this Friday March 27th .
All the details can be found on my Fabric Frenzy Shopping Spree page
3/24/09

Abby and family in Italy with her Morphin Zeldina Mini Messenger Bag- with the removable flaps

Abby, Bob and Madison in Venice


Abby in Piza

Abby in Florence



Bob in Piza modeling Abby's Tallullah

Abby has been sending me these fantastic pictures of her brother Bob's visit and their sightseeing trips!
I've created an album for them in my gallery section
As always, send along your pics, we are all loving seeing them!
3/29/09

Super Cute Yoga Monkeys Large Honeysuckle Zippered Tote

Another custom order, and such cute fabric. This makes everyone say awww!

And the customer?
She said

Karen-
I received my bag yesterday and I LOVE it!!! It's perfect. I'm going to use it as a gym bag. Thanks again for the great customer service and lightning-fast delivery. I will be sending you some fabric for another bag soon!

Jill
March 6/09

An interview on Such Cool Stuff! blog

Fresh Peaches of Such Cool Stuff blog has an interview with me on March 21st 2009
Thanks Fresh Peaches!

Morphin Panther Deluxe-Large Messenger Bag with removable flaps

This is the first version of a Panther Deluxe Messenger bag I have done as a Morphin.
It went all the way to a customer in Israel. Stunning selection of prints!

Pop Food Zelda Deluxe Messenger Bag

I was really taken by this print! I knew it would make an outstanding Zelda Deluxe. Only one available. One customer has also selected it for a flap for his Morphin Panther so that's it for the print. It's gone. This allows the owner of the bag, to truly claim it as one of a kind!

Abby and her Morphin Zeldina Mini Messenger Bag

Regular readers know I encourage you to send along pics of you and/or your bags in local or exotic locations.
Abby sent along this great pic taken in the 3 Archi Restaurant Castegnero, Italy.

Custom Order- Morphin Zelda Deluxe Messenger Bag with removable flaps

Here's a great order, with many of the fabrics coming from the first Fabric Frenzy Shopping Spree. We began with three flaps and the wallet on a string. Two more flaps were added, creating an amazing assortment . The customer sent the following comments....

Karen,

The bags arrived yesterday afternoon and they are wonderful! I am just as pleased with the quality as I am with your superior customer service throughout the ordering process. This Morphin line was a brilliant idea... I will be ordering more flaps before the month is over. I am not sure that I will be able to choose just one flap per day, which means that I will need to carry my stack of alternate flaps around in my car at all times. Hmmm... I may need another bag for that!
The wallet-on-a-string is perfect as well. Up close, those little mice on the fabric are adorable, from a distance the bag can appear quite formal, what a delightful surprise that I hadn't anticipated! It will surely big a big hit at our local SPCA fund-raising gala at the end of this month (I'll be carrying those business cards in it.)

Thanks so much!

Amy , a VERY satisfied customer. march 6th 09

New Fabrics!

I've been unveiling some of the new fabrics via finished products only. I wanted to blog about them because, well, they are so amazing! As usual shoot me an e-mail if you want to claim one or more of them for your very own bags! service@zoesbaboutique.com

Another incredible line of fabrics from Alexander Henry was the reason I bought this batch of prints.
I have this "Zen Tattoo" in two colorway, this blue


and this black. They both are amazing, yet very different from each other, due to the colors.



Keeping with the Asian prints, I thought this peony was going to work really well on a larger bag. A messenger bag flap of course, but a Tilly or a Britta would be stunning!



For the smaller bags, such as the padded bags, or the wallet on a string, or even a Zeldina, this small scale Kanji will be perfect. If you want something Asian but low key, this is it!


This new addition to the every popular Day of the Dead line is worth a look as well. The colorway caught my eye. I can see this print on a brown Tallullah purse. Oh, so nice!



Because I love the bold graphics and bright colors, this print, scroll tattoo, was a natural. This can work for any of the messengers, plus the totes too.

Asian Tatsu Dragon Zelda Deluxe Messenger Bag

Here's another bag I've been wanting to make. The Tatsu dragon prints are incredible. I have this in three colorways I love it so much! This is my first shot at using the black, gray and red version. Amazing! What I like to do with this print is make it appear as if the dragon is wrapped around the bag. See the tail on the back pocket?
You can buy it in my shop right now.

3/12/09

Honeysuckle Zippered Totes-Large

Just as with the Grab and Go Padded Laptop Case, the Honeysuckle Totes have been finalized. I have three sizes of these handy totes but never had a chance to make some for sale .
I have a custom order for large and mediums so I thought the time was right to make a few of each size, for the shop, while I was working on the order.

The dancing cranes is a beautiful fabric that I have been saving for this style bag. I put it on one side only, and decided to make it with an adjustable shoulder strap rather than the two handles.



The IKEA bird and branches print also called out to be featured on a bag of this shape. I took two different scenes from the print so you can have two options for display!


3/11/09

A Custom Order Zeldina , a Robot Scooter Zip Bag and a Piggie Coin Purse

What a beautiful Zeldina, and the other accessories are oh so cute. Look at the robots!!!

For one of my wonderful regular customers. When she read the post about a bag in a bag and that customer's comments, she sent along her own:

"Hey Karen - a comment on today's post:
I also hate moving stuff from one bag to another, and I am truly a bag lady - I have tons! The way I combat that is to have 2 smaller bags, like a scooter and a raven, that I use to keep all the little things I need in my purse. When I get the urge to change bags, I pull out the "insides" (scooter, raven, wallet, and calendar) and move it to another bag. Voila!
Plus the bonus with this plan is that you never have to hunt for your chapstick (or anything else) in the bottom of your purse!
Kerri"

Asian Zen Tattoo Zelda Deluxe Messenger Bag

Hot off the machine, it's fabulous! I love this fabric. It one of the new batch of prints I got in last week. The colors, I wish I could portray them as they really are. So rich and muted, and soft, yet still eye catching.

Just listed in my shop you can buy it here

3/10/09