tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70919228856504174052008-07-21T22:14:25.267-07:00Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445440848538347623noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091922885650417405.post-30032850134024647592008-07-21T21:40:00.000-07:002008-07-21T22:14:25.277-07:00

Another frequently asked question is: where do you get your fabrics? The fabrics I choose, and how I combine them, are key to the distinctive style of Red Delicious bags, so obviously this is extremely important. Most sewers are fabric junkies who love the excitement of finding an awesome piece of fabric and fashioning it into something, and I'm no exception. Choosing and acquiring fabric is,

Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445440848538347623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091922885650417405.post-54321063160504068042008-07-17T19:28:00.000-07:002008-07-17T19:52:53.707-07:00

There's definitely a list of Frequently Asked Questions about Red Delicious. So I'll start answering some of them here. First: how long does it take to make a Red Delicious bag? The answer is probably not as long as you may think. When I started out it took literally days to make a bag. But I was figuring out designs and techniques, with lots of unpicking and resewing involved. All these years

Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445440848538347623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091922885650417405.post-21044234200939747262008-07-11T20:56:00.000-07:002008-07-11T21:20:52.375-07:00

Another action-packed day of learning, networking and, finally, fun at the closing evening soiree. BizJam was well worth the fee and time invested. Next year's event is already looking like a highlight of the calendar. My head has been spinning with all the ideas and possibilities, until 9am today when it was back to reality at the Pike Place Market roll call: business as usual. But I found

Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445440848538347623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091922885650417405.post-55650674549888354422008-07-09T19:54:00.000-07:002008-07-09T20:29:14.298-07:00

This blog was intended to give fans, friends and followers a Red Delicious more insight into the business and its part in the world. I learned today that I'm on the right track, somewhat. Day one of the BizJam Seattle 2008 conference, put on by Biznik, focused on social media and how it can help small businesses get our brands, products and services more 'out there'. Holy cow! It seems I'm way

Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445440848538347623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091922885650417405.post-59404864234460097212008-07-07T21:23:00.001-07:002008-07-07T21:32:08.734-07:00

It's officially summer, and even the Seattle weather has caught up with the fact, which means busy times at Red Delicious HQ. As my main selling venue is Pike Place Market, every day I set up my booth is pretty hectic. The Market is a major magnet for tourists - it receives about 10 million visitors a year. Many of them are en route to or from an Alaska cruise, with ships departing weekly on

Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445440848538347623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091922885650417405.post-71469600861591194032008-06-20T09:42:00.000-07:002008-07-07T21:18:56.706-07:00

If you've had your eye on a Large Messenger for a while now is your chance to get it - and accessories to match - for free. All you have to do is join the community of Red Delicious fans who receive our Newsletter. Between now and Labor Day weekend, everyone who subscribes to the Newsletter is entered in our special summer prize draw to win a $150 Red Delicious gift certificate. It's really easy

Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445440848538347623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091922885650417405.post-90623615907291767742008-06-02T11:07:00.000-07:002008-06-02T11:24:52.993-07:00

This is my fifth year as a vendor at the Redmond Saturday Market, so it was lovely to set up there for the first time this season last weekend and to receive a warm welcome from the faithful market patrons. Many people told me they were wondering if I'd be back - the Market opened for business at the start of May - and they were glad to see me. And many of them followed through with purchases of

Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445440848538347623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091922885650417405.post-68365513167049166342008-05-29T19:38:00.001-07:002008-05-30T08:48:43.154-07:00

We've recently had some nice mentions in Seattle-area blogs. It's lovely when people recommend our products like this, particularly when it has been entirely unsolicited. Seattle Picks gave Red Delicious a great review in their weekly e-newsletter. They said: For no nonsense, and simple but elegant styles, we don’t have to look any further than local handmade handbags by Red Delicious. And the

Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445440848538347623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091922885650417405.post-7818378295873328042008-05-17T21:55:00.000-07:002008-05-17T22:03:54.543-07:00

This week I decided to start sewing up bags with my Sunshine Fun Flowers fabric (shown at right). The forecasters were predicting a mini-heatwave for Seattle, much desired after a particularly long and dreary winter and spring. I thought this was the perfect fabric to welcome the sunshine. And sure enough, out came the sun, up went the temperatures and the Sunshine Fun Flowers bags have been

Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445440848538347623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091922885650417405.post-51423577209414517372008-05-06T12:29:00.000-07:002008-05-06T13:04:26.968-07:00

I'm just back from two weeks of vacation, but it was hardly two weeks away from Red Delicious. When you have your own business and are passionate about your products, you find yourself talking about it a lot, even when on holiday. Of course I was carrying Red Delicious bags everywhere, and my traveling companion sister was carrying her own medium messenger the entire trip. So it was lovely that

Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445440848538347623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091922885650417405.post-3919072595684819012008-04-15T18:46:00.000-07:002008-04-15T19:16:30.160-07:00

My dear friend J recently had her first baby and of course I wanted to make her a Red Delicious baby bag. Enter the Large Messenger, which was originally designed at the urging of another friend who had her first baby just over a year ago and wanted a classy bag for his things. J picked out her own fabrics for the bag, but as she wanted an outside fabric with a large-scale print I had to modify

Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445440848538347623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091922885650417405.post-39455563157897415162008-04-14T19:51:00.000-07:002008-04-14T20:02:34.828-07:00

So it's great being a small business owner for 364 days of the year. The exception? April 15th of course, aka Tax Day in the USA. Every year I intend to file my taxes for the previous year before the end of January. After all, the business has been done and the books are closed. Yet every year I end up staring down the deadline and wishing I'd kept on top of my record keeping and number

Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445440848538347623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091922885650417405.post-84529367464751545802008-04-03T23:10:00.000-07:002008-04-03T23:19:03.413-07:00

I learn from the Seattle Times that Seattle "ranks first in the nation in the number of arts-related businesses per capita". And it's encouraging to think that Red Delicious is part of this wonderful statistic. Creativity breeds creativity. And creativity is also lucrative for the hearts, minds and economies of communities in the US and around the world. Having just enjoyed the First Thursday

Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445440848538347623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091922885650417405.post-51158946765927058952008-03-28T13:28:00.001-07:002008-03-28T13:34:22.624-07:00

I had intended to set up the booth at the Market today. But after hearing the weather report decided it would be a better sewing day instead. And given what's going on outside right now, I'm glad of my choice! And it's still coming down hard. Didn't the weather gods get the memo about it being Spring last week?

Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445440848538347623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091922885650417405.post-53423568739566644022008-03-25T22:35:00.000-07:002008-03-25T22:49:42.496-07:00

Pike Place Market is the main location for Red Delicious, and a huge asset for Seattle. It attracts 10 million people a year from near and far, and offers artists, farmers and entrepreneurs a place to locate and grow their businesses. For local people it provides a wealth of items - produce and beyond - unavailable anywhere else in the city. This unique place, loved by so many, was saved from

Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445440848538347623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091922885650417405.post-21476904534579013442008-03-25T22:28:00.000-07:002008-03-25T22:34:24.352-07:00

I was at Pike Place Market on Easter Sunday and by the time roll call ended was feeling somewhat pessimistic about the prospects. What with the dismal and rainy weather, the ongoing gloomy economic news and an absence 0f people wandering about. We set up later on Sundays at this time of year, with roll call - when we choose our spaces - at 10am, so there are usually plenty of people walking

Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445440848538347623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091922885650417405.post-82148762744781287212008-03-19T21:01:00.000-07:002008-03-19T21:22:56.895-07:00

Quite a weekend! It has taken me as long as the show to get over doing the show. First, the show report: the combination of a new location and all the scary economic news did not make for a stellar show. Sales were down for all the artists (sad). But there was a good proportion of repeat customers (happy) and customers carrying their previously-bought bags (happy happy). And they gave me some

Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445440848538347623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091922885650417405.post-76178993806913352982008-03-14T08:51:00.000-07:002008-03-14T09:08:43.052-07:00

I said there would be a whole heap of bags, and I've been busy making them. This is the result of Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in the studio: There is more - I sewed for about four hours on Thursday too. And I've brought out some bags I put into storage at the end of last summer. Not to mention all the previously made inventory. The more the merrier when going into a show of this scale. Then it

Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445440848538347623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091922885650417405.post-70726894760760668122008-03-10T20:45:00.001-07:002008-03-10T21:01:55.266-07:00

A few times a year, Red Delicious is broken out of the usual routine to do a booth at a big show. This is one of those times. The countdown is on to Best of the Northwest's spring show. It's a big deal for several reasons: Three full daysA big financial outlayLogistically complexA sophisticated art-buying audienceSo I need to make sure I have all my ducks in a row.The big old Mama duck is

Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445440848538347623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091922885650417405.post-25445620350611239392008-03-04T22:23:00.001-08:002008-03-04T22:30:53.384-08:00

I'm often asked questions about bag making techniques. As self-taught bag lady I can really appreciate the frustration of people who are struggling to turn their vision into reality. Searching the web hasn't provided much in the way of clear guidance... until now. I recently stumbled across this UK website u-handbag.com. It's not only a great source for bag making supplies, but also provides

Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445440848538347623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091922885650417405.post-72052322781198064162008-03-04T21:28:00.000-08:002008-03-10T21:50:36.317-07:00

On Saturday I went up north to La Conner for the MoNA Style event. This annual fundraiser showcasing wearable art and art for the home is invitation-only and it was the fourth year taking part for Red Delicious. I heard it raised a good amount for the Museum of Northwest Art -they take a percentage commission on all the artists' sales. It was also a success for Red Delicious, with a number of

Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445440848538347623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091922885650417405.post-23866763578617373572008-02-25T23:54:00.000-08:002008-02-26T00:01:17.439-08:00

Jumping on the blogging bandwagon here at Red Delicious. Well there's so much going on that I'm sure our loyal fans - and those new to our bags and accessories - would love to hear about from the inside. Coming very soon to the website: two fabulous new styles. Coming very soon in real life: two fabulous shows. I'll be updating regularly. So if you want to know more about Red Delicious, and

Emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09445440848538347623noreply@blogger.com