Lia Hood: Sewing Unique Handbags from Vintage Fabric
Vintage textiles are what make the bags offered by Vancouver, Canada designer Lia Hood of goodmoning, morning unique. “Each handbag is created using a vintage textile - what once was a pillowcase or curtain could be dangling from your arm! This reincarnation instills a sense of history in the works, and ensures they will be truly unique.” Indeed the fabrics themselves usually suggest to Hood the design that a handbag will take: “I am mostly inspired by the vintage fabrics I use. I come up with design styles, colours and other elements of the bags depending on the patterns and textures of my fabrics.”
When asked to name one of her bags as most unique, she replies, “I think all of my handbags are unique in their own way, because of the vintage fabrics and the fact that many styles are one of a kind. But the most unique and definitely most popular creation would be the little organizers I make. They are inspired by Japanese design and are cushy little organizers with hand embroidered covers, filled with pockets to preserve your most important items.”
Hood first got started making handbags back when she taught herself to sew in the summer of 2003 “when I really wanted to make myself a very simple, basic black corduroy tote bag.” And her technique has only improved since that first attempt: “I have improved so much since I first began. I have become much more efficient in creating handbags, and also have used better sewing technique learnt by trial and error…a good book that gives an overview of sewing techniques would be the Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Sewing…I use a Kenmore sewing machine, and am hoping to purchase another machine for extra help. I wish I had a serger, but I don’t feel that having one is a necessity for sewing handbags.”
One aspect of the handbag creation process that Hood finds annoying is the cutting out of patterns. “I am happy when everything is all cut out and fully interfaced and ironed, because it is much easier to finish the construction of the bag. But, I often find myself having to cut out straps or pockets halfway through constructing the bag, which slows down the process.”
Hood began selling her designs in a local boutique three years ago and then started selling her bags online in 2005. She was pleasantly surprise to find that selling bags through her website has “been more successful then I had expected!” She hopes to improve the way she does things on the business and marketing side of her enterprise. “I wish that I had paid more attention to organizing my business documents, such as copies of receipts for my expenses when I first started. I am making a habit of collecting my receipts and keeping track of all my expenses now.”
Right now Hood’s handbag business is only part time but she hopes to expand in the near future. “I really hope that I can…sell my designs in more boutiques in Canada and Internationally! My designs are becoming more of ‘one-of-a-few’ than ‘one-of-a-kind’ to make it easier for online ordering as well as wholesaling.”
