...new...

all are available for sale in the shop

I have a love for vintage... anything...

Did you all know that I have another passion?  Whelp, I do, and it's vintage. I love handbags, teacups, shoes, prints, advertisements, cookware.  Anything vintage.  A long time ago, in order to help fuel my love of the quest for vintage items, I created Vintage Esther.  Esther was my grandmother and is the reason I adore vintage things today.

Vintage Esther was primarily an Etsy shop. However, come April 7th, Vintage Esther will be featured in Mormor.  You can be sure to find plenty of vintage purses, clutches, shoes, brooches, earrings, scarves, handkerchiefs, teacups... Really, the list is endless.  I am so excited to be featuring these items that I love so dearly, and to have the chance to sell them in person instead of through the internet.

So many new opportunities are arising in this little handbag world I live in.  I feel so fortunate.

A wedding is in the works, and it's mine!

Yep, Marc and I are engaged, in the most casual of fashions.  Perfectly, "us".

I'm not sure there are words to describe the happiness and excitement I'm feeling.  However, silly me, we decided to set the date only two month after the re-opening of Mormor in the new space. Oh well, I like a challenge.

Marc is the most amazing man.  I am lucky in love.  He supports me, my business, my crazy ideas and has helped me reach every goal I have ever set my sights on.

We are getting married on June 30th on the Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls, MA.  A reception is to follow in the new Mormor.  It's going to be a potluck, handmade, flowery and casual affair.  No pouffy dress, no giant guest list and nothing breaking the bank.

We are so fortunate to be living in Western, MA where you can simply step outside your door and be surrounded by mountains, flowers, handmade galleries and wonderful people.  No need for decoration.

Needless to say, it wouldn't be my wedding without a few projects to tackle.  First, and foremost, the dress:

This dress. Vogue Pattern 1174.  But I think I'm going to choose a silk linen for material instead:

Not to mention, I have a few tricks up my sleeve the decorate the shop for the reception as well.

Check out my Pintrest board, to see more wedding ideas that I collect on a daily basis!

A New Studio

Oh. My. Goodness.

I have never had so much space in my life.  I went from working in a damp garage space - to a tiny, no window room - and then to what I thought was my dream location, a beautiful windowed, river-view studio.  But now, here I am in a bright and inspiring space butting the water.

Being that spring is my favorite time of the year, I am very excited to start 2012 working on my new bags in this studio!

I still need to organize, decorate more and unpack all of my fabric.  I am hoping to post some updated photos next week! 

I am so thrilled, you don't even know.

Spring cleaning-already!

Bridge of Flowers Spring-Summer 2011

This past year's holiday season brought more hustle and bustle than anticipated. Hurray! And thank you!

Not only was it a huge success for Margaret and Ellen, but also a great success for Mormor!
I've been on a little bit of a hiatus during the retail lull in preparation of the BIG changes coming to Mormor!!
As of April 1, my studio and retail space will be located at ground floor level, and is, at least, five times the size of the current space! This means more from me, more from my current artists, and new artists as well! If you know of anyone interested in displaying and/ or selling their work, send them my way.

Aside from designing the new shop, I have new ideas for Spring handbags as well, including Springtime color motifs in my current bags. I've also been fortunate enough to get my hands on two more sewing machines. For you this means more sewn goods, and for me, shorter assembly time.
Keep checking my etsy site and in my shop for my latest creations- sweet little cases for your handheld electronics!

Christmas is coming!

I can't believe it is December already!  I will be having my Holiday Sale until December 15th in my shop. I am working my little fingers to replace everything that sold during Moonlight Magic.  It was such a successful evening!

Cyber Monday : Free Shipping

In addition to my HOLIDAY SALE that is going on in my shop, 

I will be offering a Cyber Monday deal of 

FREE SHIPPING to all US customers. 

 this is huge folks, huge.

New Poppy Bag on its way

Update:  Check out this Poppy Bag for sale in my shop!

Just a sneak peak at the latest Poppy Bag from the Fall Series.

Featured Artist: Erin K. Cleary Freelance Illustration

I went to Greenfield Community College with Erin years ago and I am thrilled that we have finally reconnected.  Her work is currently featured in my shop, Mormor.  The work is beautiful and unique.  I especially love her birch collages.  To learn more about Erin and her work go check out her newly designed website, or come here to purchase one of her prints.

Shelburne Falls MA : Moonlight Magic

photo from here

Every year on the Friday after Thanksgiving Shelburne Falls lights up the town for Moonlight Magic.  The local businesses sponsor the event, donate money for the hundreds of votives placed around town and open their shops late into the night.   This celebration is in hope to kick off holiday shopping and open the street to performers, vendors and sidewalk sales.  

My little shop, Mormor, will be open and full of wonderful gifts for everyone on your list.  I hope to see you there!

The Poppy Series

I have been working on a new concept for a bag series.  I'm really excited about it, put a lot of work into the concept and so far I have received really great feedback on it.

I have an attraction to color, a love of photography and an addiction to making handbags.  So, my idea is this.  Snap photos with my iPhone/camera of anything that screams "amazing color" to me, pull colors from that photo, match fabric to those colors and create a bag like this...

The "poppy" fabric detail is really fun to make and I love working with the fabric I already have in my store room.  What do you think?

Art Under the Stars : Nov. 5th until 8pm : Shelburne Falls MA

The art walk is this Saturday!  I have been working so hard to get a lot of work done to prepare for the event.  I have new accessory pouches, a new series of bags (I'll be talking about it tomorrow!) Christmas is right around the corner.  Come support handmade, come to Shelburne Falls MA and see the most darling little town you've ever seen.

The day has finally come!  After the disaster of Irene, I thought I was done for.  But I found strength in one phrase, and I think a lot of the other crafty people in the world think the same thing, is to 'keep calm and carry on'

There was nothing I could do to change what happened, all I can do is have compassion for those around me, help where I can and love what I do.  I'm so happy at this moment and thrilled to see what is in store for my future with Margaret and Ellen and Mormor.

Devestating

Shelburne Falls was hit by Hurricane Irene real hard.  The businesses and people that were affected by this flood are in so much pain right now.

I was lucky.  The damage to my space was minor, although to my little business it feels major.  Some people lost everything.  The photo above, that is where I park my car... if it had been there on Sunday it would have been underwater.

color code : fall collection

I'm starting to gather inspiration for my fall collection.  

this is just the beginning.

Shop Update!

shop opening September 17th

I have been given a great opportunity to open a retail shop in beautiful Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts.  It wasn't until I signed the lease, started to make my "to do" lists that I truly realized - I'm finally living my dream.  My life has gone through so many changes in the past three years - too many to put in one blog post!

I am so grateful for this life I have, the friends that have made this possible, and for my boyfriend, Marc. I wouldn't have been able to do all of this without his help.

Come support me on September 17th.  Visit the website, I called it mormor in honor of my grandmother.

Making a Come Back

Nine months later.

I started Margaret and Ellen with the intention of making it work.  But, of course, work got in the way.

Now, after finding a new studio, moving in and getting organized I will have a reopen date of August 1st.

Come to my open studio, check out my bags online.

Work won't get in the way this time.

in the press: needle and thread by David Aquino

David from Pioneer Valley News approached me a while back wanting to know if I was interested in having a feature story done about my new business.  Of course I said "Yes, please!"  This local gem of a newspaper is really coming into it's own after quite a few months of being promoted.  David is working hard get is recognized around the Valley.  He just dropped some copies off for me this morning when I was working at Sheburne Falls Coffee Roasters in Greenfield.  You can check out my story below, or visit here to read the entire publication online.

I've copied the text from the story after the screenshots, it's a little too small to read.... enjoy!

In an age where cheap and sometimes foreign labor is used to manufacturer almost everything the average American consumes, it is reassuring to know that some out there prefer to go against the grain, to make a return to that age of hard work and ingenuity – an almost forgotten concept, once instrumental to the rise and prosperity of this country.

As I entered Carrie Keefe's studio, behind her house on Central Street in Turners Falls, the first thing I noticed was the mechanical wonder in the middle of the room, the anchor of her trade: a sturdy new Husqvarna Viking sewing machine. Strewn along the walls are patterns and fabrics of all sorts, hanging in limbo, but at any moment made ready to be used in the manufacturing of her fine handbags for men and women.

The space is a converted garage that she is just putting the finishing touches on. She hands me a finished product – a canvas handbag, heavily stitched, and as far as I can tell, very well built. Inside are individual pockets made of another material.

Carrie has been stitching together handbags for about three years now, and premiered them last year at the Garlic & Arts Festival and the Greenfield Farmers' Market. While these events are an effective way to get her image out there, she said a good majority of her handbags will be sold through her new online store.

In the past year, Carrie has taken her business image and recently gave it a fresh look.  She has launched a new website this November, now under the trade name Margaret & Ellen (Margaret being Carrie's middle name, and Ellen being her mother Christine's middle name). 

Carrie took her first lessons from her mother – how to build patterns, choose fabric, and construct different articles of clothing. Christine was classically trained, and much of her work consisted of fabricating clothing for the disabled.

As a trained graphic artist, Carrie said visualizing the end result comes natural. “I've always had an understanding of taking something 2 dimensional, like fabric and turning into something 3 dimensional, like a handbag,” she said. “My method of working is simple: I take a basic pattern and modify it with elements that make it my own... I would never make a bag that I wouldn’t use for myself.”

Carrie enjoys working with durable fabrics like denim, canvas, and uses “fun fabrics” inside her handbags as an accent. These are not only stylish, but rugged and utilitarian with many pockets and magnetic fasteners.

The young entrepreneur said she gravitated away from clothing towards handbags because “the thing about clothing is that you have to make it for the masses. You have to make something in every size. Handbags are one size fits all.”

Along with her new website – which will feature her fashion blog – Carrie plans on connecting people, encouraging them comment on pictures of her designs and inspirations. “You can go through all those glamour magazines and say to yourself 'I can't afford that, but maybe I could make it myself.' A blog can become a good marketing tool for my products. “If people like my designs and my ideas, I can take their constructive criticism and offer them exactly what they want.”

Carrie said she always wants her role in the company to be hands-on, though she plans on hiring a helper in the future to do patterns and cut out fabric.

Like all those just emerging on the scene, part of starting her own business has been nerve-racking; striking out on her own for the first time. Luckily she gets an entrepreneurial spirit (and extra push) from her parents, who own a local plastics company.

Much of Carrie's time is spent finding specific textiles for her designs. She makes daily trips to area thrift shops, like her favorite Salvation Army right down the street from her home; yard sales, and fabric and crafts stores to “connect back to this idea of reusing material that would somehow just get tossed.”

2011 is scheduled to be her most productive year, and she said she will make every attempt she can to  make a name for herself. Carrie would like to offer her fine products at local boutiques, to establish her company's brand name. “I've got all the pieces,” she said. “I just need to get it all to come together.”

www.margaretandellen.com.

margaretandellen@me.com

front page of etsy!

After only opening my shop on monday, I have already been featured on the front page of etsy, in the etsy finds email and made my first sale.  I feel so lucky right now.