Vacation Away!

We're taking a break from work to do a little relaxing the week of December 13-17th.

Any orders placed from Friday, December 10th through Sunday, December 19th for ready to ship items will be shipped out on Dec 20th.

The BONUS though, is that all ready to ship clutches ordered on Friday December 10th through Wednesday, December 22nd will receive a FREE upgrade to USPS Express mail for next day delivery within the United States only, with payment of USPS first class postage. This offer applies only to shipments made in the USA.

Happy Holidays!
kiu Designs

Give Thanks Winner!

It was great reading all the reasons why people were thankful.  Sometimes, throughout the year, we get caught up in our daily (and sometimes mundane) tasks and we forget to remember all the wonderful reasons why we should be thankful.

With that, our Give Thanks Contest winner, as selected by three separate judges, is Tee Jay, who wrote:
  
I am thankful for challenges because they allow me to reach deep within myself, to persevere, and ultimately make me stronger and wiser.

I couldn't have said it better.  The contest prize is a free clutch purse from our website. 

Also, as a bonus, the individual who received the most acknowledgments for referring contestants on our Facebook page also receives a small gift.  The Way the Cookie Crumbles is that winner!

Thanks to everybody who participated!

November Give Thanks Contest

Growing up in Southern California, our Novembers were never too cold, but there were plenty of autumn leaves to sweep up.  While our autumn colors were never quite as vibrant as New England's or New Hampshire's, I do have fond memories of my childhood in those fuzzy warm autumn days where innocence and mischief blended so blissfully together.

 

Photograph by Eithne Gallagher

As the tradition goes, giving thanks was hailed as almighty for November and I was certainly not immune to that tradition.  Through the years, I developed a greater sense of giving thanks and giving back, to my loved ones, my friends, my colleagues, and today, the people who make my craft as a designer so interesting and worthwhile, my fans.

To pay homage to fans and for their patience and loyalty, kiu Designs is sponsoring the November Give Thanks contest - so easy and fun that you'll want not but to enter.

 

The winner gets to pick their choice of any item that is ready to ship from my online shop valued at $68USD or less.  Custom items are excluded from this contest. The contest is open to any person but the prize will only be shipped to an address inside the United States via USPS First Class Mail.

To officially enter this contest, become a fan on Facebook (if you aren't already) and then leave a comment on our page with the following phrase (fill in the blanks) 

"I am thankful for ... because ...." 

If applicable, a secondary (surprise prize) will be awarded to the fan who has the most referrals on our Fan page.  So if your friends become a fan and enter the contest, make sure they leave an additional comment on our fan page thanking YOU for referring them to kiu Designs.

 

All comments must be made on or before November 30th. Our panel of three judges will select the most interesting entry. The winner will be announced by December 1st on our Facebook page as well as in our December newsletter.  Entry into this contest authorizes kiu Designs to use your name and likeness in our newsletter and Facebook page.  The contest is void where prohibited.

Bridal Clutches for the Winter Bride

Who says that winter has to be dreary?  Not me!  Here's my latest bridal clutch creation.  I'm crafting much more bridal clutches in the upcoming months.

The Masterful Bridal clutch by kiu Designs was inspired by a recent bride whose destination wedding in Cabo San Lucas Mexico resulted in some awesome pictures.  Here's the stock studio pics of this unique clutch.  Note the kiu Designs watermark too, to signify the copyrighted design.

Fabric that Tickles!

Thanks for those who came by on Sunday, September 26th to the Cole Valley Fair in lovely San Francisco and visited my booth.  It was totally awesome!

I also had the chance to chat with some locals and very surprised to learn that the fabric print I use for my Trina clutches was created by a very talented graphic artist Jessica Jones.  Jessica also happens to be an online blogger too!  You can read her blog here and see more of her Calliope print.

You can see her print on my Trina clutch purses in Blue and in Brown:

You can see why I'm a quick fan of hers.  The prints are fun, flirty, and just a bit zany.  I mean, just a little of that in all of us, no?  In fact, Jessica's Calliope print has been so awe inspiring that many imitators (and out right copycats) have followed suit.  But, she's taken it all in stride, which makes her so poised and awesome in my eyes.

Cheers to Calliope and Jessica.

Taste of Eden

My latest creation - a taste of Eden in both black and cognac!  It's leather and canvas and I'm totally loving it!

Also,  come visit me at the Cole Valley Fair tomorrow, Sunday September 26th from 10am-5pm on Cole Street, San Francisco.  Lots of vendors (including me), food and entertainment all day!

Cosmetic Bags - fun for Fall 2010

My newest projects for Fall 2010 - are finally here! Cosmetic bags that come in fun prints both on the inside and the outside.

 

 

 

Finally, Handbags!

Wylie handbag has been a long time in the making.  I've finally completed 95% of the bag.  While waiting for the final components to arrive next week, I'll probably work on some other new designs.  I'm really excited about Wylie since I've incorporated some new designs aesthetics, including snaps that are also functional, purse feet, zippers, pleats and a hard purse strap

I'll be revealing the full pictures of the front and back once the bag is 100% complete.  I'm really looking forward to hearing the feedback on this one :-)

What's In a Name?

Here's a sneak peek at my latest project - the much anticipated Wylie Handbag.  It's fun, versatile, and have interesting storage compartments in the front.

I've included a picture of the lining for this nearly completed prototype.  I love lining my bags and wallets with some fun prints.  Even more fun is when I name my bags after people I know - they really get a kick out of it!  I'm thinking in the near future, I'll have a bag naming contest and the winner gets to win the bag.  Think that might be a fun endeavor.

Good Bye Butt Brick, Hello Slim Wallet

After my first craft fair, it occurred to me that I'd been leaving out the guys in my creative pursuits.  This led me to an earnest effort of designing a functional yet fun wallet that was different from the rest.

I came up with my previous prototype back in July but decided to put that design on hold because it was too commonly found.  Instead, I began researching (asking all the guys I knew) a wallet that could fill that niche in the market.  What I came up with was interesting: most guys are currently carrying around a "butt brick" (for lack of a better word.  An alternative was to provide slim wallet approach - to (hopefully) prevent the wallet from becoming too large.

photo c/o www.sodahead.com

Seriously, who wants a butt brick?  And for the guys reading this, doesn't it hurt your back?  At least in this very narrow area of fashion/function, I think women have it good here.  We can carry our wares in a bag.

While I know I'm not the first to invent the slim wallet, I'd like to think that I'm helping out they guys out there interested in slimming down.  Here are pics of my prototypes, which are currently still being refined.  I'm using my sleek black labels for the wallets.  The prototypes are made in black but the final designs will come in different colors.

Thoughts?  I'd love to hear your feedback.  Would you be willing to slim down?

Autumn Clutch is Here!

After weeks of working on other projects, here's the first of many new designs for Fall 2010!

I'm incorporating some clutches with chains for this season and experimenting with new shapes and designs.
What do you think?  Something you take with you out for drinks?

New Clutches

The first half of August has been a hectic as I've been trying to finish some outstanding custom projects which included a dress, some luxury pajamas and a clutch purse.

I've been working on some new ideas for clutch purses- mainly new lines and shapes. The forms are totally different from my current line of clutches.  I'm bringing this out in leather as well.  Any thoughts?  I'd love to hear your feedback.

Yo Gabba Gabba

Being that I'm the go-to person for sewing in my family, I was given the responsibilities of crafting some stuffed animal dolls modeled after the Yo Gabba Gabba crew - as the free party favors at my niece's 5th birthday party this past weekend.

Most parents with young kids will probably know what the heck Yo Gabba Gabba is...  Not only do I not have kids, but I wasn't sure what my sister was talking about when she first texted me.  Yo Gabba What?  It's a new (sort of new) gang of characters from Kidrobot, really cute, that teaches young kids about all sorts of stuff (eating their veggies and dancing) mostly to lively music.  It's fun.

For starters, I headed to Jo-Anns for some felt and a vague idea of what I was suppose to craft. Something YGG related... Yet, I wasn't sure exactly what.  With 25 kids from newborn to 10 years old, what was one to do?  Stuff animals?  Tote Bags?  Costumes?  I finally decided on stuff pillows in the shape of each character's head:  Foofa, Muno, Plex, and Brobee.  The store didn't have any light blue felt, so I opted to forego Tudee (unfortunately) and I didn't have enough time for DJ Lance (the human DJ).  After spending nearly 2 whole days of my vacation down in LA, this was the final result:

The pillows were filled with poly fill and ended up being quite the party favor hits for the party guests.  So much so, that one of the guests apparently left with 6 or 7 of them.... I hope none of the other kids got left out :-)  I'm only sorry I didn't get a chance to make Tudee and DJ Lance, as those two would have been a great addition as well.

Though hard work, the end result was actually really fun.  I'm glad I was a part of this party :-)

What's In A Name?

Like any parent out there who anguishes over choosing the perfect name for their child, I encounter the same challenges for each of my little creations. The major difference is that while parents stop at a few kids (usually), I have multiple creations (mainly my bags) and anticipate creating many more for years to come.

The major challenge, therefore, is finding interesting names for each of my designs. Here's where I always enlist the help of friends, family, and my loyal customers :-)

One day back in late May, a good friend of mine was interested in ordering a clutch purse for a wedding she would be attending later this summer. I whipped up a clutch purse made from leftover charmeuse silk from a dress project for a previous client. I paired the beautiful silk with a bright gold frame, resulting in the Navi Bridal Clutch.

The making of the bag was quite a fun process but the piece d' resistance was truly the naming portion of it, which was quite a challenging aspect of my creative process. How does one find the right nomenclature to reflect the true personality of the bag? Or do you? I ended up choosing a rendition of my friend's name for this bag because it reminded me of how this bag came into existence. In fact, she was the one who inspired the bag.

But I'm curious to find out how other creative types name their creations? How do other artists do it? Maybe I'll leave it up to my readers to decide. What should go into a name?

Raffle Winner?

Hey guys, just a quick follow up to the winner of my Dotted Clutch Purse Raffle at SF Market from June 19, 2010.

Unfortunately, both the winner and then the alternate winner did not claim their prize :-(  I'm really surprised because there were quite a few entries for the raffle and I was really excited about my first raffle (aside from the raffle at my Open House back in February 2010).

So what would entice you to actually claim your prize?  What prize is worth winning (besides the lottery)?  Let me know so that I can perfect the art of having more raffles and actual winners.  They are certainly a fun way to spruce up the average day :-)

Coupon Crazy!

It's official - I now have an almost complete shopping cart site hosted by Big Cartel (BC). The one advantage BC has over Etsy (for now), is that BC allows me to provide incentives and discounts to my customers.

For instance, yesterday, I announced (drum roll please) my very first promotion on my shopping page - a 20% discount off your entire order with coupon code KDFRENZ.  Of course, folks who signed up for my newsletter, Fanned me on Facebook and followed me on Twittter got wind of this first.  Now, it's time to share it with everybody else.  The code is good for the month of June 2010.

I love coupons.  When I buy online, before finalizing my sale, I always do a quick search first to see if there are coupon codes I can use floating out there in the nether world.  Sometimes, I get lucky :-) So my coupon promotion is my way to "pay it forward."

So send this blog to your friends, share it with others :-) I say that my shopping site is almost complete since I'm always in the process of creating some new product.

Which brings me to the topic of product testers.... I think I'll be looking for some male readers out there in SF (ages 20-40) willing to test out products.  Are you out there?

For the Kids

Although this weekend was Father's Day weekend, I got the sense it was all about the Kids!  Saturday was my Market-SF craft fair at The Blue Macaw in the Mission District of SF.  The day was blistering cold but it was nice and cozy inside the bar.  The lovely operators had cleared out the bar to make room for local SF vendors, including yours truly :-)

There were fun stuff to be bought and had, for sure!  Johanna, my immediate neighbor and visual artist extraordinaire, let me borrow her "fun for hours" pinball balancing puzzle thingamabobber.  Here's a picture to prove I actually did get all the pinballs balanced in each socket.

One of the most interesting toys I found were monster plush figures from the world of A Plush Plush.  They are handmade and stuffed with lots of love (and filling). Aside from the fact that the name is AWESOME and the toys are totally unique, each figure has a brief bio and story.  I can't wait until Andrew releases the full world of A+sh+sh figures. I'll be the Earthling eagerly awaiting it's complete debut! I'm also the proud owner of one of his very first creations.  That might worth something huge on the auction block one day :-)

Then there were some super cute children's accessories, including this adorable bib from Finch Designs.  It's so appropriate too because when I think of mixer beaters, I think of kids licking cookie dough from the beaters... Ah, some of the joys of child(and adult)hood.

 

I also couldn't help but notice the cute dolls made by Laurel here.  If they were edible, I would probably eat them up! [insert munching sounds here....]

 

These propeller cuff links by Riquelle also reminded me of being a kid.  Though, I was never really that into airplanes, my honey was a aerialphile (is that even a word?). In other words, he loved airplanes (and still does). Now, I know it comes a bit belated, but these cuff links would be the perfect Father's Day present for the Dad who loves planes.

What do you think?  What do you like?

Join Us Market-SF in the Mission

Hey Everybody!

kiu Designs will be at Market-SF fair on Saturday, June 19th in the Mission in SF.  It's a venue featuring many independent artists in the Bay Area, including yours truly :-) taking place at the wonderful Blue Macaw restaurant and bar.

12 noon to 6pm

Saturday June 19th, 2010

at the

Blue Macaw

2565 Mission Street (x 22nd Street)

San Francisco CA

To entice all my blog readers and wonderful kiu Designs fans, come to my booth and be entered into a drawing for a FREE, dotted clutch purse (excluding tax and shipping).  That's right, FREE :-)  The drawing will be held that evening and you don't have to be present to win.  But you do have to show up :-)

You'll also get a chance to help support other local SF artists.  Check them out here.  See you there!