Jul 27 2010
…. and so are summer’s colours! We just got these fabulous patterns delivered and they’re just gorgeous!?? Very good quality light-weight cottons, should do well in vibrant, simply cut bags or totes.
Unfortunately we can’t offer custom-orders using these patterns as they’ve been dreamed up and cut up for our next collection already. But do keep a look out for our next collection!
Jul 21 2010
Sometimes we get the odd requests by friends or by the friend of a friend to make a ‘special’ bag for them. For instance, this ‘Porket’ bag. One friend went round to the apartment, saw the ‘piggy’ fabric and begged us to make her a bag using it.
So we decided to design a bag for her from scratch rather than use patterns from bags we had already made.
As I was sketching the pockets for the bag, Phyllis looked up from her sewing machine and said, ‘No pressure dear, but that fabric is the last one in print.’ I think I got a little nervous, so instead of labeling the pocket as a “Pocket”, I wrote PORKET.
We both realized it was an appropriate name for the bag because of the little piggies dotted around the fabric.
And for that, we present you the ‘PORK’ET bag made especially for Elizabeth from the US.
Front of bag with 2 pockets
Front of the bag
Back of the bag
Interior of the bag
Jun 06 2010
Tomorrow, the 7th June, Kota Kinabalu will see another milestone through the ‘No Plastic Bag Mondays’ campaign. To start off the campaign, 23 retail outlets and supermarkets in the city will be participating. The aim of this drive is to reduce the use of plastic bags, so make sure you’ve got your trusty reusable shopping bag or one of our Fabric Fantastic Bag at the ready! Better still, let’s make this an everyday habit shall we? Keep a reusable bag in your car or bag, make sure you use them, and ask your local retail shop to join the campaign too! You can find out more info on the campaign here.
The Fabric Fantastic Bag is eco-friendly, reusable, compact and washable. It has the capacity of a medium-sized plastic bag and even looks like a plastic bag, except maybe funkier! :) It also tucks into itself so you can carry it with you everywhere. Here’s how..
Folding the Fabric Fantastic Bag in 3 Simple Steps video
May 31 2010
30th and 31st of May is the annual Harvest Festival where we live in North Borneo, the state of Sabah, Malaysia, and as expected, Sabahans go all out in their festivities and celebration of the end of the harvesting month with a two-day holiday and much fanfare, dancing, music and merriment.
We’re always inspired by local culture, it is part of who we are and where we’re from. And part of that is the appreciation of our rich heritage of local arts and crafts, which includes pottery, musical instruments, tapestry, basket weaving and embroidery. The myriad forms of crafts depict a people with far-reaching influence within their communities. While many borrow from each other, the different crafts can often be categorized by specific districts and tribes with their distinct motifs, method and colours to those with an appreciative eye.
In celebration of the Ka’amatan, we’re excited to present the Ka’amatan Kollection which features embroidery that has long been a pride and joy of the Rungus tribe in the Pitas district which due to their geographic location in the interior, often go unnoticed. Because of this, it is still relatively true to its tradition, with vibrant-coloured threads in intricate motifs depicting plants, flowers, animals and nature. The Bag Bar actively supports the propagation of these traditional skills by working with an NGO called LEAP ( Land Empowerment Animals People ), providing the material and threads and buying the finished embroidered pieces back directly from the women who produce these designs. Out of these pieces, we’ve fashioned the Ka’amatan Klutch and and the Ka’amatan Kovers Pillowcases, with a focus on fully showcasing its artwork and intricacy. The Ka’amatan Kollection can be found in our online shop. Find out more about LEAP’s program with the women of Pitas here.
Photos used with kind permission from LEAP
May 02 2010
Meet Ella, our resident mannequin! Ella’s been witness to our fervent output at the sewing machines this Labour Day weekend and would probably have shaken her head in disbelief, if she could!
We worked with a very familiar and well-loved shape this week, the double-handle bag. It might be well-loved, but we decided to do away with the ‘familiarity’ of it by mixing things up a bit. The band at the opening provided a perfect opportunity to use a different fabric, and different we did….. with a completely unexpected , but complementary fabric. Who would have thought that lime green would go with bright red, and turquoise with red hey?
See the new Double Handle Bags at the Online Shop.
Apr 25 2010
The Office Pub ( TOP) hosted a celebration for Girl Fridays last friday night, and The Bag Bar was there in support of the ladies. Fredrick of The Office Pub, lovingly nicknamed Uncle Boy by regulars to the pub, is a huge fan of TBB and was very excited to showcase a few of TBB’s creations as part of the night’s limelight. The bags went very well and we can’t wait to see the bags on the arms of their new owners! Congratulations to Wati, who paraded her new custom-ordered handbag and promptly won the Best Bag competition!
Apr 19 2010
Look what we did to the Valentine’s Bag. It was lying around so we added 4 white buttons to the bottom of the handles and made it extra cute and preppy! That’s what happens when you get 2 bag-crazy girls who are ’sew happy’! :))
The Valentine’s Bag is ON SALE in our Online Shop.
White buttons add a dash of preppy to the Valentine's Bag.
Mar 28 2010
KK Twestival 2010 has come and gone last Thursday, and it went very well indeed. I know some of you guys have been anxious about the outcome and have even written to enquire about it. We promise to give out more details as we get it but right now we can confirm that the Birdie Bag has been auctioned off successfully at the final bid price of……… RM300! We at The Bag Bar were very excited and nervous before the auction as we really wanted it to do well towards the overall money to be raised but our nerves were proven unfounded when it far exceeded our own expectations, becoming the TOP-BIDDED item of the night! Thank you to pretty Connie, whom we hope will enjoy her bag very much.
Right now Twestival 2010 has confirmed that RM6330 has been raised in that one night alone. Isn’t that awesome? Great news and a job well-done to the organisers! The Bag Bar was very honoured to be asked to be a part of it.
Entrance to the venue
Mar 24 2010
The Birdie Bag for the KK Twestival 2010 has landed!
It’s not often that we get to tell the story of a bag but with the custom-designed Birdie Bag, there’s the tree, a chirpy bird in the spirit of Twitter, and the earth in a cool concoction of cotton, corduroy and natural canvas in a vibrant mesh of colours. ( I think there’s enough Cs in there! :)) A ONE-OFF bag specially made for this event, it’s a bag that tells the story of our relationship with the earth and the immediate world around us, and reminds us of what we can do, no matter how small a gesture, to help it.
What you’ll get with the Twestival 2010 Birdie Bag:
Width: 12″
Length: 14″ ( 29″ including handle )
Gusset: 2″
Materials: Heavy Duty Canvas, Cotton Prints, Corduroy, Cotton Weave Handle
Extras: 2 internal open pockets, magnetic snap closure
The Birdie Bag will NOT be made available in our Online Shop but will be up for auction at the KK Twestival 2010 on the 25th March 2010 to raise money for charity Concern. Want to offer your bid to own an ultra-special edition TBB bag and contribute to a good cause? See Details here. Don’t forget to RSVP here so we know you’re coming. See you there at the auction and don’t forget to bid on the Birdie Bag!!
Mar 23 2010
For the bag that we’re doing for the KK Twestival this Thursday, we’re kinda thinking, why not mix things up a bit? Every TBB bag has been known to have carefully selected and matched fabrics so this time, we’re gonna throw in all our favourite cotton prints and colours and voila! I think we’re onto a truly eclectic and whimsical cotton concoction!
And what’s a Twitter Festival without the little blue bird hey? We googled ‘Twitter’ and found this cute birdie bird, and really, a cute birdie applique would really make the day methinks!
I think we’re gonna have to call it The Birdie Bag now :))
