Lina and Vi: July 2014

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Specialty Cross-Body Bag

We've just completed the Specialty cross-body, and it's now available in the Lina and Vi shop on Etsy! Here are a few shots of the completed new bag. This is the first with a zipper closure, and it looks amazing! I am so proud of how this turned out. Enjoy!

specialty crossbody linaandvi.blogspot.com

specialty crossbody linaandvi.blogspot.com

specialty crossbody linaandvi.blogspot.com

specialty crossbody linaandvi.blogspot.com

specialty crossbody linaandvi.blogspot.com

Monday, July 28, 2014

New Cross Body Zipper Bag

crossbody grounds bag - linaandvi.blogspot.com
Today I'm sharing an in-progress photo of the latest bag to join the Grounds tribe, a cross body zipper pouch bag. This bag is a new design for the collection. It's secured with a zipper, which is a first for one of our totes, and it includes one exterior slide pocket and one interior slide pocket. The inner fabric is a heavy weight ivory denim, whereas the outer burlap is a red, black, and tan color scheme.

cross body Grounds bag - lina and vi - plymouth mi
I'm working on finishing the bag with a long strap, and I haven't decided yet if it will be leather, suede, or burlap lined with the denim fabric that lines the interior. It will have two clasps attaching to the side loops to secure the strap, which makes it easier to remove the strap if you'd rather carry the bag or place it into a larger bag for travel or other temporary storage.

I'll be sharing more photos in the next week as this bag is finished up. I'm already planning the next one, and I think it will also contain a zipper closure. These can be tricky, so it takes a lot of pre-planning to ensure all of the pieces of the bags are assembled in the correct order. If you have any tricks for inserting zippers as the top closure for a tote bag, please do share!

Remember to follow us on Pinterest and Facebook for more updates!

Erica

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Wear // Styling with a burlap bag

This week I'm busy pinning my favorite looks on my new Styling with a burlap bag board on Pinterest where you can find my inspiration and all time favorite choices for pairing accessories, beauty concepts, and outfits with any of the Grounds burlap bags.

It's interesting to see how different women have different regards towards their bags or purses. Some women keep it simple - they find one bag, love it, and wear everyday (that's me!). Some women change their bag so it coordinates with the outfit of the day. And, some women don't carry bags and use pockets or wallets only. Everyone has a different style and attitude towards their handbags.

I designed the Grounds collection so that the bags are unique but still match any type of outfit, from casual jeans and shorts to knit dresses and boots. I love that our bags are versatile for any style. I use my Crop 2013 bag every single day. I carry to the office where I could be dressed business casual or jeans, depending on how I'm feeling that day. I use it on date night, coffee breaks, and Saturday morning grocery store strolls. I'm busy and like to keep my choice of a bag simple and consistent.

Maybe you like to switch your bag up to match your outfit, theme, or atmosphere. Changing it up is always fun and displays curiosity and adventure. Wondering what types of styles inspire a Grounds look? Head over to Pinterest and follow my new style board here to get more outfit inspiration ideas for styling your Grounds bag.

Hope you're having a great week!
Erica

Sunday, July 20, 2014

USA Clutch on Etsy

Hi friends, I hope you had a great weekend! Mine was productive and filled with projects around the house. I did manage to get in a little bit of sewing this weekend, including the final touches to the USA clutch. This new Grounds bag is now available for purchase in our Etsy shop. You can find all of the bag details and close up photos there as well. This one was really fun to make, and it turned out beautifully!

USA clutch - linaandvi.blogspot.com

After wrapping up the new USA clutch, I sewed six more zipper pouches as these were running low due to a few larger orders in the last few weeks. These pouches are a hit for wedding parties, birthday gifts, and of course, as a treat for yourself. Get one before they are gone!

Thanks for stopping by!
Erica

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Around These Parts

usa clutch - lina and vi - plymouth mi

It's been another week, and it seems like parts of it have flown by while other times have seemed to drag on. I've been able to start another bag this week for the collection - the USA clutch. You may notice that I'm using the same deep purple with metallic gold top stitching color scheme that was first used on the Bio Latina cross-body bag. I loved the color pairing on the Bio Latina bag, and I had some of that exact purple fabric left over for a small bag so I've used it here as well. I currently have the exterior complete and will be starting the interior this weekend.

usa clutch - lina and vi - bottom


If you like us on Facebook, you may have seen the update on Sunday that the Guatemala clutch sold and was headed to Florida as a surprise gift for its new owner! I love to hear these kinds of stories, and I'm glad that I can be a part of those special moments for people I don't even personally know.  I'm hoping to have the USA bag listed in our Etsy shop on Sunday or Monday at the latest. I'll post an update to you let you know when it is available!

usa clutch - lina and vi - plymouth mi


In other news, I recently finished Love Does, and I have to say that overall I enjoyed the book. The purpose of the book, from my perspective, was to discuss what it means to live both a spiritual and full life. It was a lot more religious than I was expecting, but I didn't mind it after I got used to the structure and overarching theme of the book. Although I am a practicing Catholic, I tend to be more private about my spiritual beliefs and how I apply them in my life. This book forced me to have an open conversation about myself about Christianity, which was probably a bit out of my comfort zone. Bob Goff's stories sometimes seemed unbelievable (I am a realistic...or maybe just a skeptic?), but in the end his message about living a life to help others and be open to their needs, keep priorities aligned, use talents to the greatest good, and to be honest with ourselves on what is right for us was a good reminder. The stories were definitely entertaining, and I appreciated his use of these stories as examples to tie back to the important ethical lessons in our everyday lives - even if the choices or situations are unconventional. It's easy for me to learn and understand the foundations of Catholicism, but it's applying them back to everyday life that can be hard sometimes. So, I thought this book was a good opportunity to reflect a bit.

Thanks for stopping by!
Erica




Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Art in the Park Recap and Photos

Plymouth Art in the Park- Grounds bags - Birch Wood

A big thank you to everyone who stopped by Plymouth's Art in the Park fair this past weekend and stopped in Birch Wood boutique to see our Grounds bags. The fair was fantastic again this year with many different types of artists and displays. I stopped into the fair all three days, Friday only to drop off more bags at the boutique, and Saturday and Sunday to stroll the booths to make sure I was able to see it all.

If you haven't been to downtown Plymouth and are local to the metro Detroit area (or anywhere in Michigan), I would recommend spending a half day or so in this city. The downtown area has been booming for several years now with a variety of restaurants, coffee and dessert bars, clothing and decor boutiques, and more. It's a great place to stop in and walk around or grab an ice cream or coffee and sit in Kellogg park at the heart of the downtown area. Art in the Park is just one of the many events that are planned throughout the year, which also include an ice carving festival, ladies night out, yoga in the park, and music in the park on Friday nights in the summer.

Plymouth Art in the Park- Grounds bags - Birch Wood - linaandvi.blogspot.com

So, if you stopped in to Birch Wood and had a chance to check out the bags in stock there, thank you! This is a big accomplishment for Lina and Vi, and it seems appropriate that we have local presence and support for small businesses and artists alike.

Thanks for stopping in! I'll be sharing a new project in the next few days, stay tuned!
Erica


Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Art Fair This Weekend

For those of you in the local Detroit and Ann Arbor areas of lower southeast Michigan, the downtown Plymouth Art in the Park is this weekend. If you are looking for something to do this weekend, the art fair begins on Friday July 11th and continues to Sunday July 13th. For start times and schedules, see their website here.

I've attended the show several summers now, and each summer it gets better and better. The arts featured in the show are numerous and span many different talents from cooking, quilting, woodworking and carving, to fine arts and sewing.

I am especially looking forward to this year's Art in the Park as the Lina and Vi Grounds totes will make a small feature as part of our partnership with Birch Wood. Their store will be open for all to stop by and you can find our totes displayed there for sale while you are walking the fair.

I'm looking forward to it, and I'm looking forward to seeing you there this weekend in downtown Plymouth!

Erica

Monday, July 7, 2014

No. 42

lina and vi - no. 42 in progress

I had a great long weekend spent with my family celebrating the 4th of July in northern Michigan. We were on a lake in the north eastern part of the lower peninsula, and although the weather was cool for most of the latter part of last week, it was a nice break to get away from the bustle of the Detroit - Ann Arbor areas and settle into some quiet for a few days. If you follow me on Facebook, you'll see a few photos I posted of the trip up north - gorgeous blue skis, crisp green trees, and sparkling water. I sound like a Pure Michigan commercial!

A bit of a side track here, but I'm a huge reader - always have been - and I find that I often have to make a tradeoff in the evenings after work about whether I want to read or sew. Sewing is winning right now (which is okay), but while I was without my sewing machine this past week, I had a chance to finish a book and start a new one. I wrapped up Let's Pretend this Never Happened, which is a memoir of a blogger's upbringing in rural Texas and her personal stories about dealing with the twists that life brings. I enjoyed this book a lot; there were many times that my husband would hear me laughing in the other room and come in wondering what was so funny. It's a hilarious read and one that I kept coming back to in order to read what  wacky episode would happen in the next chapter. If you're looking for a fun, quick read that is in a memoir style (her writing is stream of consciousness so it's not always smooth, and also she is a bit vulgar with language), I recommend it. I appreciated that she had the ability to find humor in many of the odd and nearly unbelievable situations she has experienced in her life and the determination to learn a life lesson and move on from these experiences a better person. I'm currently reading Love Does at the recommendation of a few online blogs. I'll let you know how it goes.

lina and vi - no. 42 in progress
I'm back at the sewing machine after the holiday and designing the next Grounds tote. I haven't settled on a name yet, so let's call it No. 42. This is a brand new burlap print for the collection and one that was purchased from here in Plymouth, Michigan from a local coffee roaster. It still had some beans left in the bag (which of course I removed), but it's always a little bit fun to see the beans falling out of the coffee sack before I cut it apart to sew. It's a reminder of the previous life the burlap has had which makes these bags so special.
 
I'll be posting more photos as I wrap this lovely one up. I hope you're having a good start to your first week in July.

Erica