another rainy monday here in philadelphia. but i welcome the terrible weather today, because i need to stay inside and sew, sew, sew. i just listed a few new shoulder bags in the shop, and hopefully the rain will let up tomorrow so that i can photograph the next batch.

upcoming shows and a winter sale

last night i met up with my friend adriane, so that we could talk about our upcoming show (which will open the second friday in march). she makes so many very different and very amazing things, and for this particular event, she is working on a set of beautiful enameled brooches with the teeniest little paintings on them, and i was lucky enough to have a sneak peek of them. i am super excited to have our work displayed together, because she is one of my favorite makers-of-things.

it has also been quite a while since i have worked on the sewn illustrations i used to make, so i am also psyched to work on something a little different. unfortunately my website is not working at the moment, but sometime soon i will dig out my external hard drive and post some photos to flickr of my past work.

i also have a show with a few other ladies that opens the first friday in february (the 5th) at vagabond boutique. so the coming weeks will be especially busy, but in a very exciting way.

i will post sneak peeks once i can get some photos together and more details about times and locations soon.

oh, and you should take a moment to take a peek at adriane's etsy shop, because she is having a sweet sale right now on her vintage flocked wallpaper jewelry.

field trip and a few new bags

i hope everyone enjoyed their weekend (and hope those of you who have off today are continuing to enjoy your weekend!).

i took a little field trip to brooklyn to visit some friends. it was just what i needed. so many delicious meals and new friends and funtimes. we hung out on their roof and then played charades and sipped wine and laughed together until the wee hours. oh, and did i mention that liz made homemade chipwiches from the babycakes cookbook. so good.

and sunday morning we had brunch at the general greene (hi there, wasabi bloody maria served in a jam jar).

one of the friends we went to visit works for verameat, so i finally purchased a few of her pieces. i have been admiring them for some time, but kept hesitating. so this morning i have a two-headed golden t-rex dangling from my neck and little bear busts decorating my lobes.

and frances had a slumber party with her best pugfriend, smeagol.

and i will spend this rainy monday sewing up a storm of new things for the shop. i was able to add three new tough ruffles shoulder bags to the shop a few minutes ago, if you would like to take a look.

just added a few new shoulder bags to the shop.

twentyten

i hope everyone had a safe and happy new year. i had so much fun this year with old friends and new friends and friends from out of town. lots of dancing and brunch making and laughter. and i finally had the chance to see the mummers in person. i have lived in philadelphia for nine years and have never made it out, so i was pretty excited, though we only caught the very end.

i am fairly confident that this will be the best year yet. things are certainly looking up so far.













i also finished up a handful of shoulder bags this afternoon, and just listed them in the shop, if anyone would like to take a look at those.

beginnings and endings and all the stuff in between

i just added a new set of zipper purses to the madebyhank shop, in new and bright colors.

had such high hopes and goals for an organized and incredibly productive past few months, and especially the past few weeks. unfortunately, being human, life tends to get in the way sometimes, and the days pass and suddenly it is almost january.

i was sick on and off for the past few weeks. the worst possible timing, and perhaps a sign that i need to take it a little easier on myself.

and then there was the snow storm-- 23 inches here in philadelphia! oh, my.

i also had to finish up a few gifts for friends and gifts for friends' friends. i have not spent nearly enough time making things for the people i know this year. and i cannot remember the last time i made a bag for myself. it has been over a year, if not two. and if i were being perfectly honest, i have not made myself a bag since i first started making them. the most recent madebyhank bag that became mine was not made with myself in mind, was a mud-covered casualty of the sadness of the epic and torrential downpours of the chicago renegade craft fair last year. so in the coming weeks, i plan to not only add, but also cross 'make hank a madebyhank' off my ever-growing to-do list.

2009 was a bit rocky to say the least, but i feel that both katie henry the person and madebyhank the business have grown up quite a bit (and i think i am at a little proud of us both). i still have a lot of figuring out to do, of course, and i am hopeful that this coming year will bring great things. which is not to say that great things did not happen this year-- because great things certainly did happen this year!

i am taking some time to re-organize and re-think a few things, but am also sewing up a storm, and new shop updates are coming soon. i want to update a few of the existing styles, add some totally new designs, along with a few new and different small collections of the bigger bags.

my sewing room is a complete tornado, which is another project i am trying to tackle.

i just want to continue to make new and exciting things and keep myself and all of you as happy as possible.

thank you so much, each of you.

i know that thanking all of you through a blog post is not the most personal touch, but i assure you that the gratitude i feel for each of you comes from a very sincere place indeed.

and as soon as i catch up a bit more, i will post about the upcoming giveaways i am working on. i have a few tricks up my sleeve for 2010 indeed.

xo,
hank.

oh, my!

oh, my! those went fast. thank you everyone. i will have more ready on monday, and will keep you posted about details on those. have a great weekend!