Clothes Show Live 2016

I've been meaning to write a post about this but towards the end of last year everything was so hectic. I'd had a crazy, stressful but VERY exciting time at the Clothes Show, and after getting back home I had so much catching up to do on orders and re-stocking my Etsy shop. I hope you've all had an amazing start to the year. I can definitely say that I had the best Christmas/New Year/Birthday this year to date. And now a month or two later down the line I've decided that I wanted to share my experience on my blog.

If any of you went to the Clothes Show, you'll know that it was the last EVER! It was actually quite emotional as it brought back lots of memories from when I used to work backstage in the fashion theatre. And it was just an amazing experience that I got to be there at the last one. I met so many amazing people and everyone was so friendly and kind. I'd found out exactly a month before the Clothes Show was starting that I'd got a stand with ASOS Marketplace. So in between having a full time job and all the other daily tasks I managed to make a couple of hundred bags in a few weeks.

I was very nervous but excited, and basically just didn't really know what to expect? We went to set up the day before and you could already feel the buzz around the halls. Quite a few of us who were there with ASOS Marketplace had spent the whole day getting everything organised. I had decided that I wanted shelves on the wall to display my clutch bags, which took a while to put up. I wanted to keep it quite simple and just make the bags stand out and speak for themselves.

So the first day of the Clothes Show quickly came around and I noticed that it was a lot of students on the first day. Every day was pretty hectic and as I was on my own it was difficult to even get a bite to eat or run to the loo, but all the girls around were really lovely and we all kinda helped each other out which was so helpful!

The five days flew by so quickly and even though I was so rushed off my feet I was absolutely buzzing! The event was such an amazing experience and I was ecstatic to meet so many lovely customers who gave wonderful feedback. The one thing I loved was meeting some of my customers face to face and finally putting a face to the name.

There were so many other talented designers and unique brands there and it was lovely to just have a few giggles whilst the quiet spells throughout the day. I've added a few photos below of my stand although as it was SO busy I guess I didn't have time to take that many photos. I wish I'd actually taken a few more and spent a bit more time on that. I've now got most of those bags back in stock in my Etsy store, so if you see any that you like, go pop over to www.sukisaburdesigns.etsy.com. You can currently get 15% off with the code 'LOVEGLITTER' at the checkout!

The 'Enchanted Darkness' Scarf

Happy Friday Everyone! Hope you've all had a great week and have got something exciting planned for the weekend. I'm going to see Breakfast at Tiffany's in theatre tomorrow, which Pixie Lott is starring in. (And if she's anything like she is during her concerts she will be totally amazing!) Well anyway whether you're a creative soul or not, or maybe you sometimes like to see how designers/makers start a piece of art, I've got a lil surprise for you.

Over a year ago I started my first few paintings based on the sealife collection which you can now view on my website sukisabur.co.uk. At the time I was kind of going along with my sketches and very first ideas and didn't really have a complete idea of what the collection would include. I didn't even have a title! But whilst I was designing and painting I was documenting my progress with each new design. As I'm kind of awkward and like to do things the hard way by drawing everything to scale and painting it by hand rather than using technology that would be much more efficient, it takes me a couple of weeks to finish a painting. (Baring in mind that I still have the editing to do on the final design which can take up to another week.)

So I thought it was time I revealed my first ever scarf for the 'Underwater Escapade' collection! Yes I finally thought of a name for my second collection. Even though I've currently decided that this one won't be getting made as a final product as I felt that the colours weren't quite suited to the rest of the collection and I wanted to refine my designs, I still wanted to share my progress and show how it all began.

I wrote a similar post back in January about the third scarf in the collection, 'Storm in the Sea' which you can read here. I hope you enjoy looking through the pictures and let me know if you have any questions. Happy weekend! xo

Sew Much Crafting

So you may have seen my new listings on Etsy/my latest Instagram posts/Updates on Twitter or maybe read my previous blog posts. A while back I started making these cute makeup bags (they can be used as a clutch bag, coin purse, storing your phone etc) as my plan was to make them with my own printed fabric. It turned out that the plain ones actually looked really pretty and so many people told me they loved them. So I decided to make a few more in different colours, and I've since been keeping busy by making a batch of them for a craft fair I have coming up next week.

They are now available in two sizes, the small ones come in three different colours of satin, and the bigger ones are available with three different velvet fabrics. I chose a collection of colours that I felt would go with my new 'Underwater Escapade' collection of silk scarves and pocket squares. If you have read the stories on my website sukisabur.co.uk then you'll hopefully get the mood I've tried to create. And if you haven't paid a visit then by sure to check it out here!

So I wanted to keep a brief photo diary of these bags whilst I've been busy making them and I decided to add this as a post for anyone who wants a sneak peek of the materials I use/how they're made/what I've been doing since I've been pretty quiet on social media recently. And if you're looking to make these yourself I'm sure you can find some great tutorials on Pinterest or YouTube. xo