Get The Technique
1 The Original Flea: Saddle
2 The Original Flea details
3 Fill 'em up—how about with art supplies and head to the park? I'm in! Simple and basic, yet well tailored and luxe!
4 The Porter: Burnt Sienna
5 from the current SS10 collection the Salt Bag in Violet
6 and the Salt Bag in Sahara, an all leather version. hot!
Utilitarian and universal, organic and sustainable, locally-produced (NYC) and handmade, vintage-inspired and designed by best friends—you can't go wrong with Fleabag. The genius creators, Shira Entis and Alexandra Bell, blended their talents, loves, and interests in 2009, launching the perfect canvas tote brand. As an artisan and fan of pristine craftsmanship, I was intrigued by the ladies and their local business of handmade bags—so I contacted them for all the details.
Without any reluctance, they were kind enough to give us a peek into a typical Fleabags day. Essentially, this usually involves going to the factory to review production and/or provide notes on patterns, hand-numbering the bags and stamping the tags, and designing for the upcoming seasons. Click through the gallery and enjoy the day-in-a-life of professional "crafters."
1 the designers: Alex Bell & Shira Entis
2 At the Factory with Pattern maker
3 Discussing Pattern Alterations
4 the Pattern maker
5 Counting Fleabag Hardware
6 Making Salt Bag Notes
7 Inspecting the Original Flea. Only the best!
8 Choosing Leather for Next Season
9 Leather Swatches: all veggie dyed
10 Swatching Leather
11 Numbering the Original Flea. These are limited edition totes :)
12 Hand-Stamping the Labels...
13 and stamping the Tags.
14 the final product: the Original Flea! This one's in Pebble, my favorite!
For more information, to see the entire Fleabag collection, and to get your hands on one for yourself, visit:
Boy do I wish I had one of these totes this past weekend at the Brimfield Antique Show!
Thanks Alex and Shira for sharing the behind the scenes with us! ox
From: Kathryn | 5/18/10 at 4:00 pm
These bags look great! Do you know what factory they used?
From: Shirley | 5/18/10 at 6:59 pm
The bags are absolutely gorgeous. Alas, they are $300 more than many of us can spend on a bag. Someday ....
From: katy elliott | 5/19/10 at 10:31 am
Love this bag!
From: Stephanie | 5/19/10 at 4:52 pm
nice bag, but out of my price point.