Where did it go?
2011 has been a busy year at Easton Design Studio.
Handbag Designs
In this last year I decided I needed to give my designs and my handbag brand a higher profile. I needed to let people know that I really do design all my bags as well as running the company, so what better way to start than to meet new friends and chat with lots of existing customers through Twitter. I gingerly opened my Twitter account in mid 2010 (can’t remember exactly when) and I was quickly surprised how nice everyone is and how easy it is to chat and meet new friends. I’d love to meet more handbag friends there, so it’d be great if you want to get in touch.
Blog Time!
In February I started writing my Blog. Its about me, my designs, my travel, some tips for handbag care, product reviews and more. I was inspired to write my first blog post ‘Design Diary’ after a factory trip to India in January of this year.
More posts followed – about design, packing, or whatever I happened to be doing at the time. I’m not sure if you’re supposed to plan the posts and issue them in some sort of order but I’m not organised enough for that. Mine come out sort of chronologically and are most often about what I’m doing or where I am.
I have loved writing my blog posts and sometimes wish that I could spend more time writing but I do have designs to draw and a business to run too! I would however, like to take this opportunity to thank Jim Connolly for sharing his amazing knowledge and giving me so much encouragment over the last year.
In April I closed my High Street shop in Cranleigh. This was a sad moment for myself and all the staff, particularly as the shop was great fun and definately the best place for me to meet my customers. However, the wholesale business (we sell our designs to 100′s of shops all over the UK) was demanding all of my time and as they say – you can’t be in 2 places at once!
April also saw one of our accessory trade magazines: Fashion Extras, publish a back page ‘guilty pleasures’ article about me. It was fun, answering the questions on that interview!
Tweed: Harris and Mainland Scotland
This year has been a particularly busy one for us with our tweedy customers. I have always been interested in designing bags in beautiful fabrics and trimming with top quality leather (I used to use a lot of Italian fabrics before the Euro exchange rate made them mega-expensive) and over the years I have found that a top quality fabric bag lasts just as long as an all leather one. So, 2011 has seen quite a lot of my designs being made into bags with Harris Tweed, Donegal Tweed, British Wool and traditional tweeds from Johnstons of Elgin and gorgeous fashion tweeds from Lochcarron Mill. Some of my tweed designs have even been sent as far afield as Japan!
Travelling
Between May and September I travelled (as is evident from the Blog) a lot – to visit my stockists all over the UK, to the factories in Chennai, India and on holidays too. For me, I think my travelling really helps my business. I love to see the different shops and stores that stock my designs and in India, it’s great to get stuck in with the factory when working on new designs. Inspiration from holidays and pleasure trips nearly always result in a new design idea or 10!
Bags on Tour
In 2011, I also launched my ‘Bags On Tour‘ series, which is going to be a series of blog posts and photos – not only from me when I travel with my bags but hopefully from all the other Shona Easton handbag owners out there! So far I’ve had some lovely photos from as far away as Hollywood and Jakarta as well as a fabulous Lands End pic. I do hope to receive some more in 2012.
So, what will 2012 bring?
A year of:
- More Blogging: certainly (please subscribe if you’d like to make sure you don’t miss my next installment)
- More Travelling: certainly (starting on Jan 2nd with another quick trip over to Normandie, France)
- More ‘Bags On Tour’ photos: certainly – from me and……you?
Happy New Year!
Shona x
