FoundClothing

Putting the Trash in Trashion

This. Horrid.

Interview with Cinnamon Cooper

Cinnamon Cooper has got poise, and she's got Poise -- her own purse-making company. Yes, that was dorky. So what. Cinnamon and I actually "met" in the summer of 2006 when we were both "Real Hot 100" winners and attended the same capirinha funfest celebration party fete, but we didn't actually talk to each other. That didn't happen until late 2007, when we met through Gapers Block. Recently I asked Cinnamon some questions about her fashion enterprise -- she occasionally uses found fabrics -- and she graciously obliged.

If you are a DIY/trashion/fixer-upper person and want me to interview you here, just drop me a line.

How did you begin making purses? What was the inspiration?
The first purse I made was for a fund-raiser for Inspiration Corporation. They auctioned off art and other creatively made handmade items. I made a clutch with a deconstructed dupioni silk and beaded surface. It was quite nice (of course I took no pictures) and I was thrilled when it was sold for far more than I expected it to sell for. I met a few people that night who asked if I would be interested in making something for their nonprofit organization, and after spending about two years making bags to simply give away, I began to get the idea that I could make bags and sell them to raise money for organizations I wanted to support.

What inspires you now to go with certain designs?
Mostly people I know. In so many cases I've had a friend, or even a complete stranger, say, "I had this bag. It was perfect, except for this one detail." And I've looked at the bag or their memory of the bag and have recreated my version of the bag without the flaw. In other cases, I've just had the idea to make a bag that fit my needs. For example, I recently decided I needed a purse that could carry my wallet, keys, a book, a notebook and my digital SLR. And I wanted it dressy so I could take it with me on fancy outings, but not so dressy that I couldn't take it out for everyday use. While sitting on the bus, I saw girl who was totally punk rock'd out and her belt gave me an idea for taking a simple shape and making it more attractive by using rings to hold on the straps and having a decorative lining.

Do you make your own patterns?
Absolutely. It's one thing I'm stringent on with myself, and is something I suggest others do as well. If you don't create the design and/or the pattern (it's possible to give a design to a professional pattern-maker and have them come up with something), then all you're doing is selling someone else's work. It's actually illegal to purchase a sewing pattern, make the item, and then sell it as your own design. That said, I have bought a number of patterns over the years and have studied them and learned construction techniques and ideas from them that have made it possible for me to have the mental building blocks to create the finished pieces I want.

Do you ever use found fabric or bobbles?
Yep. Not very often, unfortunately, since most of the fabrics I find are things I can't really make a bag out of. A sweatshirt just isn't going to give me the bag I want. However, I have found buttons, beads, and buckles, and have used them occasionally on a bag. In fact -- the bag with the rings that I wrote about before? The rings were sewn to an ugly towel that the previous owner of our home had left hanging over a window. The towel became a rag, and the rings found their way onto my purse.

Give us a cool purse-related anecdote.
A few years ago, a coworker asked me if I would make a bag for his wife with a special pocket for her asthma inhaler. "She always carries these huge bags that don't have pockets big enough, so she doesn't take it with her. And then I get worried that she's going to have an attack and not have it," he said. So he worked with me and I created a bag for her. I was thrilled to hear that she loved the bag and used it for what it was intended for. I mentioned this story at a panel on crafting and activism a few years ago, and that same woman stood up in front of the crowd and held the bag over her head and said, "Hey, that's me." I got goosebumps seeing her with the bag. Not only did I make something that she wanted to carry, but I made it possible for my coworker to breathe easier, knowing that his wife could breathe.

Who are some of your favorite peers?
Oh, there are so, so many. I have to give a huge shout out to the other seven women in the Chicago Craft Mafia with me. These women have all kept me motivated and focused and educated and able to keep this all informed. And it is so hard to choose otherwise, because there are so many amazing makers of handmade goods in Chicago alone that I've been fortunate to meet through the DIY Trunk Show. There are some amazing people who are making such great stuff in Chicago. I even got my wedding ring from local crafter Natalia Wilson. I was thrilled to know the person making my ring, but it really helped cement that while it may take a little more work, I can find anything I need from a local person who is making great stuff themselves.

How do DIY fashionistas help the environment?
So much of fashion is waste. So much gets thrown out after a few wears because it was poorly made and doesn't hold up, or just becomes unfashionable. But so much of the DIY movement is remaking, reusing, re-envisioning goods. And I love seeing people take toasters and turn them into lamps, take ties and turn them into skirts, use seat belts as straps and buckles for shoulder bags. It's great to know how much stuff lives a second life because someone creatively thought up something to do with it.

When was the last time you bought a purse?
Haha! I honestly can't remember. I know I bought a used messenger bag at a thrift store in 2000, and I carried it until it fell apart. And because I couldn't find another bag that did what I wanted it to, I created the Pro-Choice Messenger Bag. I remember buying a really cool vintage purse when I first moved to Chicago to use as my "interview" bag. But I think that might be the only time I've ever purchased a purse. The incredibly ironic thing of my running this small purse business, is that before I started making them, I never carried them. I could never find the right shape, with the right pockets, in the right color, for the right price. So once I started making my own, I began to realize how great it was to have a bag with me.

How has your process evolved over time?
I've become such a better sewer and pattern-maker. My processes are so much more streamlined and I'm so much faster than I used to be. The first messenger bag I made took me six hours. I can now make that same bag in 1 1/2 hours. Most of this is just repetition. If you do the same thing over and over, you eventually figure out little ways to make it better and faster. But another part of this is that I've made a lot of mistakes. And I learn from them. And I keep my mistakes around. When I'm starting to feel all cocky, all I have to do is look at the bag in my closet that contains all the time I grew frustrated and chucked the bag I was working on. Making mistakes can be discouraging, or it can be enlightening. It all depends on how you approach it.

What's the question you wish everyone would ask you, and what is your answer?
Which "it" bag do you want? I don't. There is such a huge market in the luxury handbag business, and I understand women's desire to have luxury goods. I get the desire to own something that is carried by a woman you admire. But what bothers me about most (not all) of the luxury bags, is that they're still made by women in factories who are poorly paid and receiving pennies for their labor. There are no machine-sewn items. There is always a person operating that machine, which can only do one thing at a time. It's not like you feed in all the parts at one end, and a bag comes out the other end. There are machines that make things better and faster and more durable than the average sewing machine sitting on dining tables, but they're still run by a person who gets paid per finished piece. And just because it comes with a high price tag, doesn't mean that it was sewn well, nor does it mean that it is even made from quality materials.

I'd suggest that before anyone plunks $1000 or even $300 on a bag, look at the type of fabric the bag is made from, and see if the material will hold up well over time and in the type of use that you'd expect to give it. Now, look at the stitching to make sure it is complete, even, and not loose. Make sure that pieces line up evenly. Make sure that the strap doesn't seem like it will wear through quickly. Make sure that you're going to get your money's worth, and make sure that your money is going to provide a decent living to everyone involved in the production and selling of the bag.

Mixed & Feeling's

Today's NY Times covers Steve & Barry's, a super-cheap clothing store where all of the items cost under $10. I've never been to a S&B's, and now know why: They're usually in the suburbs. But in a move that will make folks like James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem feel even more brought down by the new New York's blanded, consumption-rich ways, the chain has brought its cheap, suburban styles to Manhattan, appropriately plunking down roots at the Mall in Midtown. Looks like S&B is opening a store within biking distance (at least during the summer) of my house as well: Evanston's on the list of 2008 openings.

Discount fashion retailers give me that feeling I get after eating a big sundae: Yum, then groan. Then yum again, then groan. Cheap fashions are great, especially if you're broke. And cheap. Which I am. But judging from the clothing I find, it seems like a lot of people treat such items as disposable. Hello, landfills. Also, researchers from Cambridge U. have argued that fast fashions contribute to higher carbon emissions, due to their production and care-of.   

Oh well -- no cheap gas anymore, so cheap clothes can fill in the gap (no pun intended, really!). And besides, discount/fast-fashion retailers like Steve & Barry's are promoting egalitarianism, which is a wonderful thing. To elaborate: In the Times article, Bitten in the City designer Sarah Jessica Parker talks about S&B's "manifesto and the idea of the marketization of fashion." Other sources talk about the S&B "revolution." Manifestos, revolutions: Are these guys Steve and Barry a couple of Sandinista Fashionistas, or what? I can't wait until they start the free lunch programs. Just make mine vegetarian, please.