I have a couple of projects I have been bouncing between over the past week. A large portion of my time was spent working on the first run of tote bag prototypes. I don't want to get everyone too immediately excited about these because there are still a lot of kinks to work out. The bags are a little smaller than I was hoping for, but I don't hate them. I definitely plan to make a larger version, but will likely continue with these as a medium and slightly cheaper option.
At the moment, I have only been working between two designs. I am working on a set up that allows me to make totes in bulk, but for now I can only feasibly make six bags at a time in my small apartment. For that reason, I wanted to focus on perfecting only a few designs at a time.
I am currently screen-printing the bags, but it is a very DIY process. I create my own silkscreen frames by using canvas stretchers and I use drawing fluid and screen filler instead of traditional emulsion. The process is pretty messy, but I'm happy with the results so far.
I am hoping to offer tote bags as an option in the shop in the early months of 2023. Currently, there is still quite a bit of refining that still needs to happen.
This week I also began the process of planning out and creating a croquis tutorials. Croquis are a fashion design tool used to save time when drawing the body. I offer a free pack of croquis for digital download as well as a more extensive paid pack. The tutorial will go live this weekend. I am planning to launch a tutorial video alongside the written instructions.
All of the filming is completed as of earlier this week, and the video is currently in the editing stage. Here is a sneak peak of what I ended up designing.
Quite a bit of my week has been taken up with the planning of Pear Zine issue 5. I have been working really hard on the researching and writing process and have slowly begun the transition into planning the visuals. Issue 5 will be released at the beginning of December as a digital download. Past issues are available here.
As of this moment, I am still working out the best way to safely ship physical copies of the zines. I am anticipating their release by the beginning of 2023.
While I am not disclosing the topic of issue 5 at this time, I am sharing a couple of the planning sketches. What do you think is the topic?
Also can’t wait for issue 5!!
I feel pretty lucky that I was able to have one of your first totes. It is an impeccable quality! I’ve washed it so many times and I love the large size. It’s my favorite library bag - but I also bring it to the farmers market every week!