My version of a lantern

We were tasked to make flower lanterns for this project. It marks the end of the semester and the start of the holidays!!

My chosen flower:
My interpretation:

Polycarbonate sheets, wire, cellophane and a flashlight!

**While I'm still working on the bags, I'll be posting my other works instead!

Bags and Sailing

Sailing the Long Island Sound, New York with my dad, about a year ago.





Then the bags..


There's something really nostalgic about sailing and these bags.. They're made of recycled sails. Everything about it is so nautical!
The bags go for about $100. Check out their site:
http://seabags.com/index.php

Coconut Bulb Sac

This bag is dyed with pigments extracted from coconut husks. It also comes in orange/atsuete.

Mahogany Boa Sac

Dyed with Mahogany Barks. This also comes in indigo.

Atsuete Circular Sac

Dyed with pigments from the Atsuete Plant (Annato). It also comes in light green, Mayana.

Mayana Circular Sac

This sac is dyed with pigments extracted from the Mayana Leaf. It also comes in orange (Atsuete).

Ruffle Sac

This shoulder bag can be converted into a clutch. The shoulder straps are removable.

Line Illustration

I've always been fascinated by old scientific illustrations of plants, animals and human anatomy. I think my bulb sac is very much inspired by that. Take a look at some of these illustrations:

Atsuete Bulb Sac

Indigo Boa

The indigo dye came out very well on the jute. So did the combination of the indigo and clear brown acrylic.

A hat. Now, not a hat.

When I was naming this bag, two words came into mind-- hat-shaped and boa. I knew I encountered this shape at some point. I take mental snapshots of these things I like and I find them appearing subconsciously in my designs..

Fringe Sac

This is one of my personal favorites! I think it captures the essence of the material the most. It has this roughly hewn feel to it.

For now, it comes with a short leather strap, but if any of you are interested in a longer one for a sling bag, I'll definitely make one!

Paisley Handle

This bag is dyed from pigments extracted from mahogany barks. The handle is lasercut, hand-painted and salvaged from left over wood.

** I have this bag in natural colored jute, as well as indigo, both with white distressed handles ** (Will post pictures soon!)

Someone asked me if I ripped the handle off one of my lola's old picture frames! I like her. She got the point..

Mayana Geo

This bag is dyed using pigments extracted from the mayana leaf. Its handle is made of laser cut wood and is hand painted.

I got a lot of comments about this bag being very "asian looking", someone even said it looked like a pagoda. While designing this bag, all I wanted was for it to look geometric. Didn't realize it looked Asian at all

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Naturally Dyed Jute

Dyed using natural pigments extracted from:
1. Annato, more commonly known as atsuete
2. Coconut Husk
3. Indigo
4. Mahogany Tree bark
5. Mayana Leaf