M.I.A

Missing in action.....nope I'm still here.

And at last I am done, 27 bags all finished and ready to be packed up to travel to The British Craft Trade Fair. This time last year I was still frantically sewing away thinking I'd never be finished. This year everything is streamlined down. 2 versions of clutch bag, new purses, new cosmetic pouches, saddle bags and a new bridal range.

The trade fair will also bring in some new changes to Bagladee, which will be added to the website once I am back and unpacked. Lots of news to come.....Stay tuned :D

Meeting Theo Paphitis - SBS Winners Event

Yes this is me with the very lovely Mr.P! I am a huge fan of Dragons Den (especially Mr.P) but not once since making my very first bag did I ever think I would be stood within 20ft of Theo let alone posing for a photo holding my #SBS Winners certificate. If you didn't know, back in August I entered Small Business Sunday run by Theo on Twitter and won.

So on Friday we travelled up to Birmingham to attend the very first #SBS Winners Meeting. As soon as we pulled into the car park at Edgebaston Stadium I spotted Theo's Maybach!! The Chrome Mobile as he has aptly named it. Couldn't resist having my photo taken beside it :)

Walking in I wasn't sure what to expect but knew that there were a couple of people whom I'd met on Twitter but not in the flesh. So as we all mingled in the conference room we played the 'read the name badge' game.

Luckily enough we were stood just by the door (C and I, or Mr.Bagladee as he is slowly being referred to now) and as Theo walked through into the conference hall he stopped briefly to chat to a couple of people. One of them being me :D I introduced myself as Bagladee who made the 'Theo' Gingerbread men and straight away he said 'Oh yes, they were delicious' we both chuckled and he thanked me, said his girls loved them, that they had them on the tree and they are now safely packed away for next Christmas. He shook my hand and then shook C's too (which he was sooo chuffed about).

In the conference hall Theo gave the most inspirational and extremely warm and funny talk. He is such a genuine down to earth man. He talked about how and when SBS started and how surprised he was that it has grown to what it has now become. Theo then with the help of Chris Wheeler (also an SBS Winner) unveiled the Official SBS Website and what it will do for past present and future Winners. The whole point of SBS which Theo pointed out was not to 'endorse' our businesses but to give us all a platform to shine, the rest of the hard work is up to us. And rightly so! After that he took a Q&A session which was very entertaining and very insightful, some swearing included which made us all belly laugh. He even asked our opinions of SBS and the new website and what we would like to see from it all. At the end Theo received a standing ovation.

I'm sure I speak for all the winners when I say we thank him (and his team) from the bottom of our hearts for giving his time and dedication to SBS and the very special event he held for us all. He has created a commiunity of small business that will go on to support each other. The whole event was sponsored by Ryman's the Stationers and we even got a little goody bag when we left.

After the seminar we were each given the opportunity to have our Official photo taken with Theo holding our Winners Certificates (top photo). He was very charming and funny. 

I am going to treasure my photo and certificate for a very long time. I'm a small independent designer/maker who works hard and this moment so far has to be the highlight. It will be very exciting to see what will happen next for SBS Winners. So if you have a small business and haven't entered Theo's Small Business Sunday what are you waiting for!!! Get to it!!! You could be at the next meeting!!

Thank you Theo!!!

The British Craft Trade Fair

In less than 3 weeks I will be taking all my Bagladee creations once again to The British Craft Trade Fair. Apologies for being so quiet but its a hive of activity behind the scenes. Lots of new designs including new purses, mini clutches, lots of new fabrics and even a new range of bags....all will be revealed soon.

I have a lovely big pile of invitations so if you have always wanted to have a look to see if BCTF is somewhere you would like to exhibit or you are a Gallery, Boutique, Buyer please get in touch and I will send you a personal invite to the show.

The Show opens 15th April and runs to the 17th April (Sun,Mon,Tues), you will find hundreads of designer/makers and a huge range of crafts. Please note it is a Trade only show, but feel free to pop by my Stand 249 and say Hello :) I'm very friendly and will most likely be wearing a big smile :D

Hello! Yes this is me....

For those of you who have no idea what I look like......this is me *waves* Hellooooo. This photo was taken by me with my camera, tripod and timer. I think this was 1 photo of about 50, if anyone had actually witnessed me trying to take a half decent photo of my self they would have been in hysterics on the floor. I did chuckle to myself a few times.

This is the reason for the photo, I appeared in a double page spread in this months Sew Hip Magazine. I wasn't sure how big the article was going to be so I nearly fell off my chair when I saw this.

Last year was amazing for me and Bagladee and this year I hope will be just as good, there maybe a few twists and turns coming up on the horizon but I'm ready to face them head on. Life is about the journey and would be pretty boring if we all just mosied along.

I'll be back soon to show you all the gorgeous bags I've been making for BCTF. Not long now, less than 4 weeks. Best get back to it.

Easter Bunny Egg Cosy Tutorial

Want a fun and easy tutorial for the kids this Easter or maybe to give as gifts. A simple egg cup with a Cadbury's Creme egg topped with one of these bunny egg cosies....perfect! Follow the link here or by clicking the photo to Annie's blog The Felt Fairy for the guest tutorial I wrote last year. Enjoy :D

A little something new

If I have seemed a little quiet on the blogs lately its because I am busy preparing for BCTF. So as well as juggling orders I am making some new samples for the trade fair. I absolutely adore these new shape purses. For those of you signed up for my newsletter you will have already seen a sneak peak of the new design. (If you haven't signed up you can do so with the link to the right).

I am trying to multi task as these 4 cuties still need their bows constructing but I've already started on some mini clutches and normal size clutches. All new fabrics!!!

Keep your eyes peeled for a giveaway coming soon :D

A little bit of storage

Can you remember a little while back when the very lovely Rachel made me a sewing machine mat? It was crafted from some gorgeous sewing themed fabrics I'd been hoarding for sometime?

Well I decided that I would make some matching storage for my thread bobbins as previously I kept them in a box. Its much more time effective to have them on the desk with my sewing machine so I can dip into them when I need to.

I used a similar pattern to my clutch bags, they have the same boxed corner seams and are lined to the max to give them the same sturdiness to stand up on their own.

I made one from the buttons fabric and one from the bobbin fabric, I wanted a third so I used some of the scraps left to make the lovely one in the middle. As you can see they all have a different colour cotton lining inside.

I'm thinking of adding them to my website to buy as a group of three. I will be offering a bespoke service as well as ready made so if you're wanting a theme I can always accommodate.

I think these were a fantastic accompaniment to Rachel's mat.....I love being coordinated :D