Change(s) of my life

I have not been active on this blog or malmokkobags Facebook for a while. Not because I got exhausted, but because there were a lot of changes in my life.


1) My husband got his first job after graduation.

 He finally said good-bye to school life and started working as IT engineer.


2) I got a new job.

 I finally decided to slow down my career and changed my job. Bye bye to publishing and hello to the new world; secretary at a medical research institute.
 Many of my friends still wonder if I could be satisfied with the new job---they think I am too "control freaky" to be a secretary. I have worked here for over 5 weeks and I still like the job. I don't have to work 10 hours every day, have enough energy to cook dinner and prepare lunch box ( I never cooked when I worked as editor).  Even now I cannot believe that I may leave my office precisely at 17:45 pm!


3) I join sewing class

 One evening my husband took me to a local sushi bar near our apartment. It's a very small sushi bar and has only counter seats. A couple was next to us and we began talking together about our cat and job and it turned out that she is a professional dress maker. I asked her if she has sewing class. She did not, but she offered me a private lesson. I learn how to sew at her place twice a month. She teaches from how to choose fabric, adjust a pattern to our actual body size etc.


4) Rotteline became 1 year old.

 Our cat Rotteline became 1 year old in May. We will have a birthday party for her :)

Zipper panel on tote bags tutorial

As I live in Tokyo and take subways and trains to my office, I think all of my bags should have zippers. Even tote bags. But attaching zippers to tote bags can be difficult. At least for me, before I dicided to do this method it was difficult.

Here's a tutorial about how to attach zippers on tote bags. I think this is the easiest.(And sorry for my dirty iron board...)

1. Make a tote bag as usual. To have or not to have lining does not matter in this method.

2. Cut two pieces of fabric for zipper panel. They should be a bit shorter than the top of your tote bag, and the same width of your tote bag's deep. My bag's top measurement was 21.6 inches (55 cm) and depth was 5.9 inches (15 cm), so I had two pieces of 53 cm X 15 cm.

3.Fold the fabric half, then 0.4 inches (1 cm) each side (seam allowance). Press them neatly.
















4.Place a zipper in the middle of two pieces of fabric, as if the fabric "sandwitch" the zipper. It should look like this.

 5. Pin the fabric to zipper.
















6. Sew the fabric and zipper. First shorter side, then longer side. Remember to "sand-witch" the zipper with the fabric.





























7. This is how it looks after I have sewn two fabric pieces to a zipper.














8. Attach the zipper panel to a tote bag. Just bring a already-made-tote, and pin the zipper panel to the opening of the bag. Sew around the zipper panel.

Dada!

It is so easy and I think every person who can sew can do it. As this is my first tutorial, there must be a lot of unclear parts. Feel free to ask me anything, if you have questions!

March Revenue---Really bad...Plus 30% off sale.

I know that all business have ups and downs. I also started 0 sale for a month, then gradually my items have been picked up. In February 2014, I got over 600 USD revenue and I was quite happy.

But look at this...my revenue in March 2014 on Etsy shop.

I only got 4 orders ( and 4 sales), which was only 116 USD revenue!
Though I got 3 more sales on my shop at Iichi, the total revenue was far behind to February's.

The problem is not that I did not get so much revenue, but I did not sell so many bags, even though I got more views and favorites. I wonder why and am pretty discouraged right now.

But OK, I cannot cry all the time. I am going out now for fabric hunting at my local fabric shops and try to find pretty fabrics, so that I can list more items ;)

Oh, one more tihng.
April 3rd is my birthday and I would like to celebrate with as many people as I can. It means, all of my items at Etsy shop are 30% discount until 3rd April. Use coupon code "BIRTHDAY" when you check out :)

Marimekko projects

My mother in law knows that I sew and knit and have an Etsy shop. Actually, she is one of the best customer for me :)

She gave me som fabric from Marimekko as Christmas present last year. I was so happy. I always think Marimekko fabric is so pretty, but simply, I cannot afford to. 6300 JPY (about 63 US dollars) per meter is just too expensive for me.

What I got is three kind of fabric. Unikko, Keisarinna and bird pettern fabric (I don't know the name). I made a pensil skirt and tote bag with Unikko fabric. Well, I will change my job in April, so, they are gifts for me from me.

At first I wondered if the fabric could be used for cloths, but it turned out to be pretty good. The pattern is from Burda. I shortened the length, as Burda's normal size is 168 cm tall women (I am 162 cm tall ).

And the tote bag is designed by me. I like tote bags with outer pocket (s). I put the pocket on the slightly right side of the bag so that the pocket does not spoil Unikko pattern so much. This tote has zipper panel, as I will use this bag as work bag, which means I will bring it in very crowded trains and metro.

I found a really easy way to attach a zipper panel on tote bags. I will post a tutorial in the future :)

Semi Custom order Eco bag

I got semi-custom order made through my shop at Iichi (Japanese website). She wants this bag of smaller version and with snaps, so that she can fold the bag.

In Japan, it seems that every one has an eco bag (reusable shopping bag) in a bag. I also have one that I made from Shibori fabric and it's really useful. But I have never though about snaps.

She kindly sent me a picture of the bag with snaps so that I could "copy" it. Well, the size of each bag was completely different, so I got thinking.....


I tried with a ribbon and a sewing pin where I should have attached the ribbon. I decided that the best method was to attach it at the bottom of the bag, horizontally (See photo).







Then, fold the bag to 1/3 horizontally...                    

And fold to 1/4 vertically, then snaps.
Tadaa-!  35cm X 35 cm eco bag becomes this small (approx. 10 cm X 7 cm) !!

It's a very good idea actually. I think I can make some more eco bags with a snap ribbon!

Crazy quilting with Japanese vintage silk

It's been so slow at my Etsy shop in March, and I have much time to do something else. Plus I have a lot of scrap from fabric I used for bags. That leads me to .... Crazy quilting :)

Why crazy quilting? Because I have been a big fan of "Anne" series written by L. M. Montgomery and I know she did crazy quilt (though she found out it was not so pretty anyway). I have never experienced crazy quilting, but anyway, I tried.

I used Japanese vintage silk for my first crazy quilting. It's pretty difficult to assemble beautifully. It didn't turn out to be what I had expected. Besides, I still have to do some embroidery.

Maybe I can use this for something like pot holder...?

Japanese craft book (1) Flower Embroidery

I have been attracted by embroidery recently. (That's why I listed my constellation clutch.)  I'd love to learn some more techniques and bought a how-to book written by Ayako OTSUKA, a famous Japanese craftsman.

Flower Embroidery by Ayako OTSUKA

This is the book I bought ; Flower Embroidery by Ayako OTSUKA.
I bought this book because I wanted to learn how to make the flower petals on the cover. I found out she uses the method "raised fishbone stitch". She uses a sewing pin to make it easier and it's like enlightenment. I cannot show how she does it due to copyrights, but I found an online tutorial of raised fishbone stitch (they don't use a sewing pin, though). Here's the site.

This book has 38 different flower patterns. She uses very basic techniques like outline stitch, back stitch and french knot etc and still makes very beautiful embroidered flowers. It is written in Japanese, but if you have experienced embroidery, you will be able to understand it easily (I think).

It costs only 11 US dollars and really worth it. Recommended!

New logo

I have decided to get new logo for my shop. I downloaded silhouette of cat and added red ribbon & my shop name.

And voira! The new logo is ready! I already ordered fabric tags of new logo which will be sewn to all of my bags in the near future. Yes. of course I ordered tags to an Etsy shop ;) She seems to have shipped the tags some days ago and I am looking forward to receiving them.

The silhouette is free to use for anything, even for commercial use, as long as we link the website. So I link the site here. The website calls 「フリー写真素材のPhoto Chips」 and they have plenty of materials that you can use for free.

Discount on bulk order of three and more

Just for information.

I am running a special sale for people who are getting married and looking for something for bridesmaids. If you buy at least three or more clutches / pouches / totes on my shop, you will get 15% discount :)

In order to get discount, please message me through Etsy.

Alone at home

As my husband is back to his hometown, Copenhagen for a month before starting his job in April, I am alone at home with Rotteline.

I work 10 am to 20 pm on weekdays and come home very tired. I don't even feel like playing with Rotte, which she thinks really annoying (probably).

And on weekends, I make bags and don't have so much time to play with Rotte, which she thinks ridiculous (probably).

And she peed in (not on, either beside, but IN) our washing machine and my towels still stink. I should wash them once again... Good that she didn't pee on my bags or fabric!

<<<This is my newest beach bag that has watermelon pattern. I will list it tomorrow on my Etsy shop :)

February Revenue: Over 500 dollars!

As some of you already know, it's the copy cat of Handmadeology.

February is over in Japan. In February, I earned 486.80 dollars on my Etsy shop and 60 dollars on my Japanese shop at Iichi. Yes, I reached my goal for the first time , which is to earn over 500 dollars per month!

I was very excited to see this result and 5 minutes after, a bit shocked. I saw people's comments in Handmadeology at Facebook and there are so many people who earn over 1000 dollars per month ! I wonder how...I should sell over 50 items per month to earn 1000 dollars, which seems impossible...

OK, I have my daytime job and come home around 20.30 pm. I usually make one small bag or zipper pouch every day and maybe three to five on weekends. That means I make about 30 bags per month and it's far from 50, that will bring me over 1000 dollars revenue.

I'm thinking to quit my daytime job to concentrate on my online business, but it's still too risky I think. At least, I should keep working outside until my husband's VISA in Japan will be extended three years in September. (Well, immigration office in Japan checks MY income, not my husband's...)

My new collection: Constellation embroidery clutch

I cannot say I am an expert of camping. But as a middle-aged Japanese woman, I often go camping, as my husband love camping. He used to be a member of scout, and he loves eating in the nature.

I don't like old style toilet or not taking bath for 3 days, but I still like camping. Maybe mostly because I can watch stars in the sky. Tokyo is too light to watch stars at night, while my hometown, Oita is wonderful place to do it. We can even see milky ways at my parents place, and I miss it.

Constellation clutch

That leads me to make this clutch bag. I made this especially for wedding, but maybe you can use it as night-out bag, too.

This bag is made with navy blue cotton linen and I added constellation embroidery. Shown here are only Cassiopeia and Orion, but you can ask me whichever you like. The white flower brooch is removable.

It cost 30 US dollars per one, and if you send me a message through Etsy that you read this blog, I will give you 10% discount always :)

Funny search keyword

When you run an online shop, SEO is very important. That't why I check Etsy shop stats and search keywords every day. As I wrote the other day, one of the most frequent keywords is "cross body bag". "Makeup bag" and "Japanese fabric" are also popular.

Some days ago, I found very weird keyword on my Etsy shop stats. That was, "nurse who makes bags from Japanese fabric". You don't believe this? Well, it's true :D

I don't know who come to my shop with the keyword and have no idea whether it's man or woman, but still thin it's funny.

People are different. Very different.

Short trip to Kyoto, Uji

Uji river, Kyoto

Probably everybody who is interested in Japan knows Kyoto. It was capital in Japan between 794 and 1869 and still attracts thousands of tourists every year.

One of our friends has moved to Kyoto due to job and my husband and I visited him last weekend. He lives near Uji city, Kyoto and took us Uji area.

Most of tourists go to Arashiyama to see a suburb scenery of Kyoto, but I don't like Arashiyama any more. It's too touristic. Many franchised souvenir shops and cafes and restaurants plus too many people make me tired and disappointed.

 
But Uji was really beautiful. Even though there are several famous temples and the river, there were not so many souvenir shops and people. You can enjoy walking along the river, and if you have time and like walking, 1 hour walk will take you Amagase forest and Amagase hanging bridge. (We didn't have time...)

Koshoji, Zen temple in Uji

Uji is famous for its green tea and there is a big factory museum called Fukujuen along the river. You can get free Matcha (whipped green tea) there.

So, if you plan to travel to Kyoto, try to go to Uji instead of Arashiyama. If you are my kind of people who don't like walking in crowded streets, you will like Uji more than Arashiyama :)

Jubiiiiiiiiiiii over 1000 dollars revenue on my Etsy shop!

Yesterday, my revenue on my Etsy shop reached 1000 us dollars.

Of course I have to think about all my expenses for example fabric, thread, zipper and metal things, most importantly, my salary. Probably pure profit is around 500 us dollars and it's not so much when I consider that I have had my shop for four months. But still, I am very happy.

After I started my shop, I found my unknown side. I did think I had no hospitality and was not at all service-minded. But when I work as shop owner, somehow I find myself service-minded. Not out of hospitality maybe but out of responsibility, I do everything for my customers. And I don't dislike it. Actually, I like it.

When I interviewed people about their job on my daytime job and when they told me that they felt most satisfied when customers told them thank you, I always doubted it. I just could not imagine people could be happy with the words "thank you". But now I kindly understand, as I feel very glad when my customers write me emails to thank me.

My goal this year is over 50 sales. I have sold 18 sales so far, and I will try what I can to improve my shop!


This is my newest listing on my Etsy shop. Small cross body bag with Japanese fabric from silk vintage kimono.

Valentine rush

I think people rush into buying Valentine's day gifts these days.

Last Saturday, I sold 2 bags.
Yesterday 2 bags were sold, too.
And today, Again, 2 bags.

Probably it's not so many sales for established shops, but for me, it's amazing. In Japan, we just buy some chocolate, so I didn't expect I would get sales. Now I'm afraid what I should do when Valentine is over. I wonder people stop buying gifts???


I took these pictures at a big hotel in Shinjuku. They are decorations for Japanese doll festival, which is on 3rd March. Usually we decorate some dolls, but in particular places in Izu peninsula, that is about 2 hours by train from Tokyo, people decorate these kind of garland. It's called "Tsurushi-bina". Aren't they beautiful?

Some blogs I love

I love reading blogs. I love looking at pictures on blogs.

http://clarastickar.blogspot.jp/

This is a Swedish blog by Clara Falk. I'm not good at Swedish (Did you know I speak Danish ? ;), but just looking at pictures on the blog makes me happy. She's adorable knitter. There're so many ideas of DIY!

http://www.hverkenfuglellerfisk.dk/

A Danish blogger, Anne has this blog. I have read this blog since 2007 (!). She's also knitter, and her house is just beautiful. I think she has real Danish humor, which I love.

Hverken fugle eller fisk means neither fish nor fowl.

 Lastly, let me please introduce my Japanese blog, which focuses my cat, Rotteline...If you like cats, you can see a lot of pictures of tortoiseshell cat!

20 views and sold

I have no idea why, but this silk fabric that has indigo fan pattern is really popular on Etsy.

I put on this pencil case last Friday. It got 20 views, 8 favorites and 3 hours later I put on Etsy, it's sold. This zipper pouch was the 4th of the same fabric, and nothing is left. It's very popular. The only one problem is that I don't have the fabric left. It's vintage, and I cannot get it any more.






It seems that there are items which is sold very quickly, and some items are not sold even though it's been viewed and faved. For example, this bag got only 8 views and sold.








On the contrary, this bag has been viewed 247 times and got 17 favs, but it's still on my shop.
( I sold the same bag with the different fabric as custom order, though)











Today I have listed two items. Both is iPad covers and I really wish they would sell as fast as those two bags.

      

Free gift of magazines in Japan

I take metro (subway) to my office every day. I often read advertisements of magazines in the metro and am quite surprised with free gifts that come with magazines. These magazines cost only 500-800 Japanese yen, that is around 4 to 8 US dollars and you get free bags! Not that crappy polyester bags, but designed by Michael Kors, Jill Stuart and so on.

I sell my handmade bags at around 20 to 40 dollars, which I don't think so expensive, but I can't compete with these free gifts....

Here are examples...What do you think of these cute bags????

Tweed bag with Zipper, designed by Jill Stuart. Free gift of Sweet magazine.

Passport case designed by Michal Kors (!), free gift of 25ans magazine

A4 size tote bag with zipper, designed by Snidel, free gift of With magazine

 

Cat spay

So my cat got spay last Saturday.
She has to put on Elizabeth collar (we call it so in Japan) until Wednesday, and she hates it as she cannot bite anything (Rotte loves biting).

Our animal doctor tell us that most cats don't like collar, but after 1-2 minutes they give up and get used to. But, Rotte is not one of "most" cats. She is very stubborn.

She struggled with the collar for 5 hours after she came home from the animal hospital. She went to bed only because she was tired, and the next morning she was still really angry at the collar.

We had to put off the collar and put on handmade cloth which covers her belly so that she could not lick it. It seemed to be well done, but no. She is a stubborn cat and somehow she took it off while we were in bed. My husband realized because he heard that Rotte tried to hop up to her bed (which is on a high shelf) and she was nearly falling down.

We put (again) the cloth on her and she hissed so much while we were doing it.  Now she seems to give up, but I am in doubt she sneaks to take it off.

Handmade cloth on her...it used to be my husband's sweater from Jcrew. He loved and wore it so much that it broke...

Valentine gift for her and for him

I am sure it sounds weird, but Valentine's day in Japan is the day girls / women give chocolate to someone they love. And someone who got chocolate on Valentine's day should give her back something white like marshmallow on White day (14th March). I've heard this is only in Japan and in USA and European countries, people send gifts each other. Not chocolate or marshmallow.

That's why I made this bag. This is a messenger bag that is big enough to carry a laptop computer. My husband always says that a messenger bag should be large enough for a laptop, and those words made me make this bag. This bag is unisex, but I think it works best for men. (Well, I am 162 cm tall and not small as Japanese woman, but my husband told me this was too big for me.)
https://www.etsy.com/listing/175960099/large-laptop-messenger-bag-with-gray?ref=listing-shop-header-0

And this is a small messenger bag for her. It's made with the same fabric as the bag above. You cannot carry a laptop in the bag, but sure, kindle / iPad. In addition, this bag has pretty details like covered buttons and hand stitches. It's definitely for her.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/169549658/cross-body-bag-small-messenger-bag?ref=related-2




Both bag is made with soft & smooth wool tweed. You know, if you use coupon code "wintersale" on my Etsy shop, you can get 20% off discount :)

Silk can be machine-washed

There seem to be a lot of people who believe that silk cannot be machine-washed. Is it true? OK, I would not try to machine-wash my 370 dollars Hermes scarf, but why not kimono silk? We Japanese have washed silk kimono for over 1000 years, and I am sure that they can be washed at home. Here's my experiment.

1) This is the silk from vintage kimono that I purchased to make a bag. It is white silk with silver rose pattern. The fabric is smooth and beautiful, but it is a bit dirty. You can probably see the dark line in the middle of the photo, can't you?

2) I just put the fabric in a washing bag I bought at a 100 YEN shop (one dollar shop in Japan).

3) I filled a bucket with  cold water and put a half spoon of laundry detergent (powder) and soaked the fabric in the bucket for 30 minutes. The fabric was so dirty that I didn't think it could be cleaned only by machine washing.

4) Then I scrubbed the fabric to clean the dirty line, and put it  in my washing machine. I used cold water and gently cycle.

5) And dry it for a while...(maybe for 3 hour. Kimono silk is pretty thin and it can be dried very fast).

6) Steam iron it with high heat. It got very clean, and does not seem to be damaged.

Actually, I wash most of my garment at home. Not only cotton and linen, but also cashmere sweaters and down jackets. It is not true that those luxury materials should be treated at a professional cleaner. We can wash them, even in a washing machine :)