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blueJAY2 — Nautilus Shell Purse (Prototype, Photo 1)
#nautilus #purse #shell
Published: 2016-08-15 18:50:39 +0000 UTC; Views: 1107; Favourites: 50; Downloads: 0
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Description
All too often women's fashion and functionality just don't coincide - pockets on women's clothing are often non-existent or simply too small to be practical. A good purse then becomes a must for many women simply to ferry around their daily essentials - phones, wallets, keys, and so on. And yet, despite being necessary for so many people, I've often found myself frustrated by the lack of variety I've seen in stores when shopping for a new purse. Again and again, I feel like I've been asked to choose one that's just the same old sort of design in a different color, fabric, or size.In the past few years, I've taken to making purses for myself to escape having to choose (and pay for) one that was unexciting and just more of the same. About two years ago I made my first purse, bluejay2.deviantart.com/art/Pu… , and I've recently been considering delving into designing and making purses both for myself and for sale. I'm no seamstress - I alas was never able to study sewing or fashion design, so the entire process of actually sewing these together is a draining, sometimes frustrating, time-consuming experience. But despite the trials of the process, I nevertheless find it extremely satisfying to design these functional, wearable, every-day art pieces, and to that end I am slowly learning how to streamline and perfect my process.
This nautilus shell purse is the first in a series of purses that I intend to make. My hope for these purses is to make a prototype of each of my planned designs, using these first ones to work out mistakes and learn what changes to make to the design. After that, I plan to slowly piece together finalized designs (using whatever leftover fabric I have left) for sale.
Anywho, stay tuned for more designs to come, folks!
Better photo:
bluejay2.deviantart.com/art/Na…
Other photos:
bluejay2.deviantart.com/art/Na…
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Comments: 30
Thanks! 
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How much might they go for? I'm getting the feeling I may not be able to afford one sadly, as I'm kinda broke xd
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I'm not sure yet. The one in my gallery is a prototype, so I intend to make a few changes to speed up the process whenever I get around to making more. The cost will have to reflect the amount of time put into it however, which is considerable - the embroidery alone took me about 2-3 days of non-stop work, since I did it manually myself on a basic sewing machine. It will likely be a while before I have a chance to make any though, so if you'd like just let me know and I can still quote you a price whenever some are ready. If that time comes and it's still out of your budget then no big deal - I just appreciate the appreciation
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Nice job - very unique design - sewing looks quite good to me.
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"I'm no seamstress."
Could have fooled me, especially with all that embroidery -- you even continued it all the way up the shoulder strap. I think many other people wouldn't have bothered taking the design uniformity that far. All of that must have taken hours without the use of one of those digital embroidery machines to do the heavy work. And then hiding/trimming all the thread ends. Yikes.
Loving the colour choices on this, with the duller, mottled outside of the shell counterbalancing the bright, smooth "inside". Reminds me of this large conch shell my parents have. Is the lighter fabric actually slightly metallic and colour-changing, or is it just the way the light falls in the photo making it seem that way? It really does look all mother-of-pearl-y in the photo.
"I've often found myself frustrated by the lack of variety."
I hear you on that. And if it's not a lack of variety, it's simply nothing providing quite what you need, and thus being frustrating to use. 
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Thanks so much! Honestly, I try to make up for my deficiencies in sewing skill/knowledge by getting creative with the design and process. Mostly my lack of knowledge in regards to sewing comes across in the time it takes for me to sew anything. I finished this purse in about 7 days or so (and only because I was working non-stop), but when trying to sew fitted garments that process can take me months of guess-and-check work. I really don't excel at pattern drafting since I have no idea what I'm doing 
Anywho yes, the embroidery was pretty intense - the embroidery on the flap took around a day and a half or so, and the embroidery on the strap took me several hours (but was finished within a day).
As for the shell fabric, that's actually two fabrics. The base is a super shiny silver fabric, and over that I layered a white iridescent sheer fabric. I wasn't really able to capture all of the rainbow colors I wanted to in the photo, but in person the effect is very similar to the look of the shell I was trying to imitate. On a side note, it's also a bit blinding under bright sunlight
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I have a copy of Det Bestes Store Sybok, which translates to something like "The Best Big Sewing Book", that I picked up for super cheap at a thrift store. It covers pretty much everything I might want to know about sewing, with plenty of very clear diagrams. If you can find something like that, get it, because it's an excellent resource when you don't have anyone knowledgeable nearby to pester for info. There are plenty of great tutorials on and off dA too. I have only the barest idea of what I'm doing when it comes to pattern drafting too, which is going to be loads of fun when I get to work on some cosplay stuff. Fitting things to yourself by yourself when you don't have a dressmaker's dummy and have to use your own body is... challenging. Mostly I make things up as I go and hope I won't waste too much fabric faffing about trying to get it right.
Really it's a wonder more of my projects don't end in complete disaster.
Do you have any photos of the inside of the bag?
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Thanks for the info - I'll keep a look out for that book next time I go book shopping
Anywho I don't have any photos of the inside of the bag yet. I'm hoping to do another shoot in the near future with better lighting conditions to try to capture more of the iridescent colors on the flap, so I may try to take some photos of the inside then. Mostly I haven't taken any inside photos yet because that will be a difficult area to photograph in a compositionally interesting way - plus it was a very hot day outside when I got that first photo
Hopefully I will be able to get the pictures I'm looking for in the next week or so, but in the meantime since you asked I can give you a basic description of it. The inside is lined with a beige fabric and features 3 pockets - 2 open pockets on the back side of the purse, and a zippered compartment on the front. The shell flap closes with a magnetic clasp. When I get around to making finalized versions of this purse for sale, the inside will be a little bit different - there are a few areas that I would like to correct/streamline on any purses for sale - but it will still have those basic features.
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Absolutely brilliant design, and a truly stunning bag
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Such an awesome idea and execution! I can't believe you never studied sewing or fashion design!
When do you anticipate having the finalized designs for sale? I'm in the market for a new purse...
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Thanks so much!
This one took me about 7 days or so of non-stop work (I was rushing to get it done so I could photograph it at the beach while I was on vacation
I should have enough fabric for at least one or two more of these, which I will piece together around my work schedule. I will of course keep the patterns so I can make more of these purses in the future, but they may utilize different fabrics. I'm not sure yet if I will work on those first in my free time, or move on to the next design prototype (I'm planning a dragon-hide purse 
I also have to give some thought to pricing before I make such purses available for purchase - the amount of embroidery on this purse was fairly extensive (it took about a solid day and a half of work!), so I need to figure out what price would make that amount of work cost-effective.
Considering all of that, I'm estimating purses for sale would probably be at least another month away, maybe longer. Again, that will partly depend on demand.
If you'd like, I'd be happy to send you a note when I have a purse available for purchase
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Oh man, I totally feel your pain when it comes to the time it takes to achieve results!! I feel that way for figure drawing and working with Photoshop; if my university had a good animation/illustration department I'd probably be a whole lot quicker when drawing anything.
But yes please, do send me a note when you have a purse available for sale. And may I ask what dimensions you're thinking of making them?
Thanks!!
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I know how that feels! The staff at the university I attended were very knowledgable people in regards to traditional art, but when it came to digital art - which is so incredibly main stream these days - my options were limited 
Anywho back to business
The interior has 2 open pockets on the back side of the purse, a zippered compartment on the front, and the shell flap closes with a magnetic clasp. If it's in your price range when I finish it and send you a note, I'd be happy to email you photos of the inside as well if you'd like to see that before deciding to buy.
Anywho even if you don't want to/can't afford to buy it when I'm done, I still appreciate the support! Thanks!
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I'm only 5'6" so your picture's actually a great reference for the strap length! I like the look of a 35" strap.
Send me a note once you finish and I'll look at pricing and let you know! Thanks!!
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