Summer vacation is about to start in just a few weeks.  Miss V and I are excited because we have already planned a few traveling trips.  But before we fly, there are few essentials we’ll need…  1) A good book.  Miss V loves listening to stories filled with magical things and adventures.  For myself, a culinary institute adventure is just what I like.  2) An overnight bag.  We often take short trips, so a holdall bag is perfect.  3) Sunglasses and Sandals, of course!

1. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book II: The Hidden Gallery by Maryrose Wood  2. Beaten, Seared, and Sauced: On Becoming a Chef at the Culinary Institute of America by Jonathan Dixon  3. Floral Sunglasses 4. Canvas Holdall Bag 5. Star-spangled Luggage 6. Black and Gold Sunglasses 7. Red Sandal 8. White Sandal

just in time for earth day, poketo is introducing their new line of ‘old stuff’ – actually some very cool upcycled leather bags, totes, passport cases, clutches, bags, and more. all made from leather that was formally a sofa, a jacket – you name it, it had another life and it’s coming back more stylish than ever. rescued from the waste stream, every handmade (not manufactured) accessory was made from furniture that was nearing the end of its own lifecycle, and is available at poketo!

i just had to give a shout out to designer satsuki shibuya of ZAKKA NOUVEAU this morning! i am so in love with these sweet fabrics and the adorable accessories made from them. zakka nouveau will be releasing a limited edition project called ‘stitch+connect’ where each day, for the next month, a special product will be made. 100% of the sales from stitch+connect (minus shipping + materials) will be donated to the buyer’s choice of charities satsuki has listed, who are contributing to aid in japan.

what’s this stitch+connect concept? each product will be uniquely different and assigned a unique limited edition number, and will include patchwork from remnant fabrics, which is the ‘stitch’ part + to drive home the idea that one can contribute somehow with the things that they have around them = the connect part!  born and raised in los angeles, satsuki is also a blogger, and a self-described “nature-loving, kooky japanese-american girl who is ironically allergic to raw fish and sake”. love her work!

It’s feeling quite springy out here in San francisco today, so this tuesday’s girl i’m dropping into amy butler’s inspiration page to get in the mood. i love her photographs, sharing all sorts of grand diy ideas.

With all the beautiful products amy butler carries, she was running out of room on her little web shop, so to make things easier for you, amy has put all of her offerings on one easy to use page to find the best way for you to buy. It’s all listed here – from Sewing Patterns, fabrics, knitting & yarn, thread, to books & stationery, bags, bedding & bath, rugs, wallpaper, everything you could want on one page.

my leslie oschmann swarm bag arrived today, and it couldn’t be more awesome. i posted about swarm bags a few weeks ago, and couldn’t imagine they’d be more beautiful in person. i swoon for swarm.

i’m a huge, fanatical fan of designer leslie oschmann of swarm. if you’re not familiar with leslie’s work you may have seen it lurking around an anthropologie shop and not even realized the work was contemporary. re-purposed from vintage painting canvases, leslie’s work takes on a whole new wonderful life when she gets to deconstructing these paintings.

amsterdam-based swarm’s new work includes this series of unique, leather handled carry bags made by hand using vintage oil paintings sourced from flea markets in Holland and Belgium. Each bag tell its own story through the juxtaposition of timeworn painted canvas, making each one a distinctive piece of wearable art. This series of carry bags are strong, versatile and spacious, and are designed to show signs of age so that their stories live on, and have an interior pocket, also made from a painting.

leslie’s other new collection further explores the re-invention of juxtaposed and re-purposed materials — this time with chairs. By altering some of the original components, new life is breathed into each chair, transforming them into the “altered” ego of their former self. so, i thought it might be fun to juxtapose leslie’s new bags next to her new chair collection! for more on leslie, visit swarm.

*Top image courtesy of *chity*.

Draw on your own bag! This black cloth bag has a letter-sized looseleaf paper design where you can draw your thoughts and doodles. Or maybe your grocery list!

Then there’s the Sukie Sketchbook bag. I love this pattern with its fun font printed on a 100% cotton, fully lined bag. So cute and colorful. All of these great bags are available online at Uppercase.

Rachel & Michael, the kindly folks at Maptote sent me this link to their cute cotton shopping bags. I’m a map and a bag hound, so I’m instantly big fan. I have quite a few bags, but they’re a great alternative to plastic bags so I keep lots around the house and in my car. Maptotes are a fun souvenir gift idea too. Delirious from too much shopping, you can simply refer to your handy Maptote to navigate your way back home!

On a side note, we all take our own shopping bags to the grocery store now, but I’ve been wondering what the policy is, say, in a department store or a drugstore if you’d rather use your own bags when leaving the register. Does anyone have any experience with this? I’m always worried they’d think I’m shopping lifting and I’d wind up with the Winona treatment (could it be possible she was ahead of the curve and just had an environmental conscience, even back then?). This policy shouldn’t just apply to groceries, right? Think of the number of plastic Gap bags out there!