ruffle mania...

... not to be confused with wrestle mania, of course.

i just updated my etsy shop with a few new tough ruffles bags, mostly in shades of grey and aqua and such.









and a few in dark green..





there are large ones and small ones and zipper purses of all sorts (you know- pencil-sized, and pint-sized and roundy-bottomed...)

take a look! tell your friends!

oh, and ps- that beautiful and perfect little necklace i'm wearing? it was made by the very talented lauren haupt, of course.

i just hope that voting is real this year...

in the spirit of [good] change (i think we can all agree this country is in serious need), get inspired and get out and vote!



you can vote however you like, via nowvoyager.

EDIT: please read valerie's post. i was having trouble figuring just what to write about the election without stirring up too much debate via blog comments. each time i tried to type something, it was coming out as angry and/or sarcastic and mostly i blog about my sewings, and was not sure how to go about potentially offending customers. she says it all so well. seriously, folks. please make the right choice.

we won!

just a little bit ago, the phillies won the world series! i am embarrassed to admit that i did not actually watch any of the games. we do not have television (well, we have a television, but it only serves the purpose of dvd watching), and i was not up for tackling the masses at any of the local bars. i did at least listen to the second game on the radio with manny while i answered emails.

i don't really care much for baseball, but i did play for a bit when i was a wee one (i also played some softball and our team was called the cedarville blacksheep!). and i spent a lot of time at my grandparents' house and they were devout phillies fans, so the sound of harry kalas' voice will forever make me smile.

so anyway, they won ! ! !

and i have heard the proof for the last hour or so... horns honking (i mean honking!) and fireworks and yelling and hooting and did i mention honking? and i live in fishtown, which is pretty far from the heart of the partying.

so here i sit, writing my first blog post in way too long. taking a break from cutting and sewing and ironing. i have a big shop update in the works. i just need to photograph some of the new stuff, and the weather has not been very cooperative (we take pictures outside mostly, because we don't get much natural light inside). if it is still super windy and too cold for bare fingers tomorrow, we are just going to have to set up some lights (buh).

in conclusion...

YAY! phillies! philadelphia is good!

and also...

new bags soon i promise

oh, joseph.

listen, dudes. go to this. if you are in philadelphia, go to this. my friend joseph hasehauer made some new paintings, of some girls with their friends (and their friends happen to be octopi!). the opening reception is on friday, ocotber 24th at 7pm, at bicycle revolutions (712 n 4th street).

bicycle revolutions is a very excellent bike shop owned by bryan and heather, who are also excellent. read about the shop here.

joseph's work will be on display through november 28th. but seriously, folks, go for the party. also, get there early, because this guy's art tends to fly off the walls.

(ps- does anyone recognize that bike or that dress?)

shop update!

i just finished adding a few new tough ruffles purses to my shop...







also, a few tough ruffles zipper purses (in various sizes)...







and a few elephant zipper purses, as well...





find my shop here.

want to know something exciting about this update? while i was adding the new stuff, i sold two bags that were listed for less than three minutes, to two different people! it's the little things that make my heart warm and my face smiley.

and keep an eye out for another update on monday or tuesday!

hank loves smosch

i do, it's true. i was wandering around aimlessly in blogland the other day, and i found something lovely. its called smosch, and i found smosch through itsnicethat. she keeps a beautiful blog of her beautiful photographs and her life seems so dreamy. i am sure that everyone else in the world already knows about her, but i am glad that i know now too. the one of the tights made me laugh for about three days.







she also makes these little arm warmers and she calls them worms, and if that doesn't make you happy, then it should.



(all of the above photographs were taken by sandra juto)

sneak peek

here is a sneak peek at the album art i mentioned a while back. it is for the new album that the mural and the mint will be releasing soon. i can't show you the whole thing with the text and all just yet, because they have not officially released the album. this is just a flyer that manny put together for them for the listening party.



if you are in philadelphia, stop by. you can hear their new album, and manny and kyle will be playing records (which means lots of really good old soul music).

sunday october 19th at l'etage (6th & bainbridge)

and here is a photograph that i love. it is mike (who started the mural and the mint and is simon's dad) on the left and nichole (who is a dancer and choreographer and simon's mom) on the right, and simon (who inspired the drawing and a lot of the music and and is hilarious and brilliant) in the middle. manny took this last winter with his 4x5 camera. i am excited, because he has gotten back into using that camera, and the photos taken with that one are some of my favorites (and also i really like when he has to put that black cloth over himself because it kind of makes him seem like a magician).

madebyhank featured on venus

when lonnie emailed me asking if she could interview me about madebyhank for and article for venus, i am pretty sure i actually squealed. just now when i read what she wrote, i am absolutely certain that i squealed. and because manny is out of town visiting his parents tonight, i had to share my excitement with frances (my dogdaughter). she did not quite understand what all the hubbub was about, and she was not really in the mood for dancing. but i am! i danced. just a little. just a little happy dance.

yay!

yay!

yay!

i am having a very proud moment. i feel that madebyhank is my child, and my child is doing good things, and people like her, and so i am proud. or maybe that just makes me sound like a weirdo?



read the article here.

thank you venus and thank you lonnie (i really enjoyed our conversation and i think you wrote a very very wonderful article.)

(blushing.)

i just wanted to share a bit more excitement with you. some very sweet and very talented folks have been spreading the word about me and making me smile huge smiles...

thank you danni of ohhellofriend, who took the time to write about her madebyhank zipper purse (and even took pretty photos!), even though she is busy getting ready for a big trip.


thank you marisa of creativethursday, who made a dinosaur painting inspired by the tag i made for the bag she recently purchased from me.


thank you valerie of fancyfrills


thank you katie of theconstantgatherer


and thank you to all the folks who sent me messages and screenshots to let me know that one of my bags were
included in another front page treasury on etsy. (that's the forest-loves-olive tote, in the center of the top row)


i have been swimming in a sea of fabric and would not have otherwise known. thank you everyone. my head is still kind of spinning over the fact that folks are as excited about the things that i sew as i am to sew them.

four hundred and thirty-eight reasons why i am happy today

ever since my hair has started to really grow back (i shaved my head again in late january of this year and am just at the point of a nubby "ponytail"), i have been thinking about a pocket comb. i always picture those little black unbreakable combs like my grandpa always had, but i never actually see them (probably because they no longer exist? at least not on those yellow cardboard displays behind the cashier counter at the little store down the street). more recently, i have been wanting a switchblade comb. that's right. i said switchblade comb. what better place to find the exact weird and random thing you want most? why ebay, of course. instant gratification every time.





only two short days after clicking "buy it now", i am the owner of not one, not two, but six switchblade combs. of course, six switchblade combs for one girl does seem a bit excessive, but it was only a difference of three dollars to upgrade from one to six, and since i have only owned mine for about 16 hours and it has brought me so much joy already, my thought was that i am sure to run into someone who is having a gray day (or unkempt hair), and a switchblade comb that i will happen to have in my pocket or bag for just such occasions will surely brighten that person's day. yes, i am still talking about switchblade combs.

just look at how much fun it is...



the other four hundred and thirty-two reasons i am happy, you ask?
well, here are 300 hundred more...



300 wooden buttons! that's right, folks. three hundred. because i love wood and i love buttons and i want to sew these onto everything.

okay, here are the other one hundred and thirty-two reasons...



ah hem-- yes, i now own one hundred and thirty-two miniature pairs of scissors. this was purely accidental. i was simply searching for "miniature" and hoping to perhaps find some large and very inexpensive lot of miniature dinosaurs or deer... but what did i find? thirty-three packages of vintage miniature scissors, unopened and only a total of four dollars and ninety-nine cents! what will i use one hundred and thirty-three pairs of miniature scissors for, you wonder? what won't i use them for?!

oh and ps- when i started yelling across the room ohmygodohmygodhomygodifoundonehundredandthirtythreepairsoftinyscissorsforfourdollarsandninetyninecents! across the room, manny's very calm and rational reply was "you need to be carfeul. if you put those on tags and someone with a little kid ends up with one, the kid might cut themselves..."

sorry, manny, but i had to share that.

(i suppose that makes four hundred and thirty-nine reasons why i am happy today)

treasured.

i was included in one of the front page treasuries on etsy yesterday! thank you karen for letting me know, and for sending the screen shot. just wanted to share my excitement.


that's my winifred lou clucth, right in the middle of the top row.


and here she is by herself, so you could have a better look at her.


oh, and ps- i also made a new kind of pocket. well, not really a new kind of pocket, but in a new kind of place.


i made one for this bag (which was made especially for carly)


and one for this one (which is currently available in my etsy shop.

i think i might call them "granola bar pockets." they are also excellent for lip balm and subway tokens and cell phones and things.

nancy + pete= 4-ever

i mentioned before that there is this other thing that i do sometimes with my sewing machine. i sew little drawings.
most recently, i made a little sewn drawing for the invitations to nancy and pete's wedding, which is very soon. the original is on fabric, and they took it to the printer to have them magically transform it onto cardstock and voila!
below is a scan of the printed version. (the faux bois part is just some contact paper i put behind it so it would show up a bit better)



now i just need to figure out something to wear...

oh, and ps- daily candy recently wrote about these little sewings.

and you can see some from the past here.

quite a few clutches...

as you may have noticed, i have been quite a delinquent blogger lately. i have been busy trying to restock my etsy shop an also complete a few special orders and a wholesale order. things have been very busy in the very best possible way!

we photographed some new clutches last night and they are waiting for you in the shop. lots of pretty florals and wools and some great fall colors. and, of course, lots of buttons.











also, i was recently kicked off of flickr, so if we were contacts before, please find me again. i am new to the internet world, and i did not know that you were not allowed to use the word "etsy" in your tags and titles and such. well, i had used it in every single photo, so they promptly deleted me. my new flickr is hankthetank.