PA: Craft Fair

I like Nina’s. It’s got a cowgirl vibe- but not in a cheesy way.

It’s so funny, when I saw the title of this post I thought you were going to review the recent Pennsylvania Craft Guild craft show (though most of these pieces would not have been juried in).

I also can’t understand why Shea made that bag: Even if she wanted the laptop to fit, that bag is way too big. I have a 15 inch MacbookPro and I don’t need a bag that big to carry it around.

All these pieces do look very craft fair – in the older sense. There are still some old hippies doing bags like Brian’s (and the others here) at lower-end craft fairs, but there are many more doing much more sophisticated bags at upscale craft fairs.

–GothamTomato
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2561006

All I could think of looking at Shea’s fabric was 70′s institutional couch (think police station, hospital, school nurse’s office). Decidedly unfabulous.

Adrian nailed it on the head: The bag should have had a much bigger envelope flap. He also needed more allowance in the top panel so it won’t stick out so awkwardly. I liked the fabric, and I thought the judges were kind of ridiculous claiming that it wasn’t versatile. Maybe it’s not versatile if you have no imagination. We should all carry greige sacks? I’m pretty sure a fashion editor could think of ten ways to style it off the top of her head, and wasn’t that what his client was? Also, she asked for a big old clutch that could fit her magazines, I’m surprised that he didn’t bring up the fact that he was only fulfilling her request.

Brian’s was overpraised, Nina was clever to shift things over to something in her wheelhouse (but the whole thing looks like an undergrad jewelry assignment). Rich had a bad week.

i think shea’s wouldve looked better had she worn the strap crosswise instead of single-shoulder. it wouldnt have made that much difference, mind, but it wouldve helped some. at least she wouldnt look like she was gonna tip over.

i like all but rich’s better than the stuff that won. the purse that won was okay, but not a great deal more fabulous than, say, brian’s or christina’s. or, especially, nina’s. i liked hers best this week. &, while i agree w/ you re the shape & proportions of adrian’s trapperkeeper [& boy, i woulda added an optional strap or at least a handle], i still think he’s one of the more interesting & talented people they have on this show. i actually liked his work last week, even though it did have its problems [you were correct: too much fringe]. but his issues seem to be mostly on the editing side & less on the creative side. his underlying ideas tend toward both the sound & unusual which, itself, is an unusual combo. at least these days.

The judging is crazy.

Didn’t Christina simply remove the old bag handle, clip it together with existing closures and call it a necklace? And they didn’t call her out on it? I like the bag, though.

“We really don’t know why she felt she had to make a bag suitable for carrying a laptop around”

She didn’t have a choice.  They were told that the bag they made had to hold all the items in the bin.

The only bag in this group that I’d even think of carrying is Nina’s. 

Christina’s looks good, but it’s got it’s problems from a practical standpoint.  The size is such that the owner will likely need to carry it over the shoulder, but the straps are too short. And it has no closure, so carrying it with the short straps that way is an open invitation to have the contents stolen. 

The more I look at the accompanying accessories, the more I think the last-minute twist was entirely unnecessary. The vast majority of the designers used the latches as closures to make cuffs and bracelets. Not what you’d call imaginative. Then again, they did not have time to do much more. So why introduce the twist? To watch them scramble around? Seriously. In a design show, the point of each challenge– of each of the elements of a challenge– is to encourage the designers to make something fabulous using the resources. Design an accessory of your choice from the client’s old bag– perfect, GIVEN MORE TIME. Give them enough time to utilize the material inventively and to create some sort of synergy between the bag and the accessory. Diego’s cardholder is by far the best accessory. Brian’s cuff is not bad. The execution leaves a lot to be desired– look how sloppy and uneven the contrasting stripes he created are– but the design is a hell of a lot more “designed” than many of the others’. Nina’s ring is pretty cool. It needs polishing, but the coiling of the metal was nice. A hell of a lot more inventive than grabbing a handle or whatever, clipping it together, and calling it necklace.

The bags:

Adrian– I like the stripes, and I like the lining, but the edges of the bag look mighty rough to me. Look at those stray threads. Oh, yeah, that bag needs a handle.

Christina– I, too, like her take on the tote bag. Her bag looks polished, and it has shape. I like the grommets and those scarf-inspired additions. Nice.

Brian– I’m really liking all the textures, all the gradations in color and texture. I agree with whomever said his bag looked artisan. It has a very craftsmanship approach to it– like all of Brian’s work.

Rich– He had a bad day. Really. He’s done plenty of nice things in previous challenges. I don’t know why it was so hard for him to execute the bag. The shape of the bag had promise, though.

Shea– The size is the least of its problems. Look at the cut of that flap– ATROCIOUS. And what’s with the asymmetry? And what’s with that ill-placed black panel? None of these elements are aesthetically pleasing– quite the opposite– and they’re not an integral part of the design. She kept talking about the piping– but that piping is mighty uneven to my eyes– esp. at the corner of the bag.

Nina– Bag’s fine. The design of the flap is actually interesting and looks deliberate and integrated into the design– unlike Shea’s mess. The jewelry details are nice, too.

Nina’s ring is a little too Etsy, but throughout the show, she’s consistently had interesting ideas and has shown a good sense of proportion and style.  I’m not a huge fan of the bag, but I see where she was trying to go.  If she had more time/more familiarity with construction on these challenges, she’d be hitting it out of the park.  She’s at least swinging for the fences on every challenge and I appreciate that.

I don’t get all the judge love for Brian, I haven’t liked a single thing he’s made, I thought them liking that hideous rug belt in the first challenge was a fluke, but they kept surprising me. Plus he made a skirt! Adrian’s was God-awful here. What is that? A briefcase? A striped accordian folder? Plus again he didn’t finish, that bag needs a handle.

All of the belt wristbad/cuffs…blech!  I liked Nina’s handbag with the metal details.  I could see myself with that bag.

The strap on Rich’s bag looks way too wide and floppy to me–like the bad stuff at a craft fair.  Implies no interfacing/padding whatever, so it has to be wide to carry the weight.