Upcycling Hollywood South: Celebrity Wardrobe from Cast of HBO's Treme Transformed into New Leather Handbags = One Very Happy Client in New Orleans!

I love doing custom work, especially when there is a special story behind the original garment.  I've heard many sentimental ones from clients as to why they want to upcycle their beloved leather coats and give them new life, but this one story was new for me with a fun Hollywood twist!

As you may or may not know, a ton of movie filming happens in New Orleans these days. It has even been nicknamed the "Hollywood of the South."  

Festival Fashion - Leather Fringe Handbags - Jazz Fest / Coachella Fashion - Bohemian Style, Handmade in The Big Easy

Festival Season is upon us!  Time to gear up with a custom leather fringie boho-chic handbag.  Turn heads with your very own handmade upcycled leather Uptown Redesigns original at all the fests this spring! Coachella, Jazz Fest - here we come!

Upcycled Leather Patchwork Pillows

New Product!  Now making leather patchwork pillows from pieces of discarded leather coats and garments. Each pillow is unique and individually designed/handcrafted. 

Large/Square and Small/Rectangle

Custom Upcycled Leather Envelope Clutch with Recycled Glass Buttons - Made in New Orleans

Fellow artist, Yasmin Bowers of YBGreen, recently asked me to upcycle her old Guess leather jacket (that she no longer wears) into a new clutch.  Yasmin is also an upcycler, and has a really cool business in which she collects glass from the 9th Ward of New Orleans, crushes and fires it, and then creates cool pieces of upcycled jewelry.  


Yasmin had the very clever idea to take a few of her creations and blend them with one of my creations for an upcycled gem like no other!  She gave me some cool green glass buttons, a few design requests, and let me take it from there.  
Here is the coat she offered.  Very nice, and still in good condition, but just not something that she wears any more:

A Classic!

New and Improved Uptown Tote Design - Handmade Upcycled Leather Totes

The Uptown Tote, by Uptown Redesigns. 

Multi-Colored Upcycled Leather and Suede Fringe Boho Chic Handbags - made in New Orleans

All those little leftover pieces of leather scraps - scattered around my studio.... I KNEW there was a good reason I was saving each and every piece.  I had visions!  And I finally took the time to make them into a reality.  Introducing... the multi-colored fringie shoulderbags!

http://uptownredesigns.bigcartel.com/product/multi-colored-fringe-shoulderbags

Transforming one super-large 1980's black leather coat into three new upcycled leather handbags - all handmade in New Orleans

Another fun custom project... the client offered her mother's old 1980's era extra-long, large black leather coat for upcycling.  Remember this style?

Before - the front

Before - the back

Upcycling Leather Coats into Totes - A Recent Upcycling Project (Before and After)

I always love a good custom job - especially one that presents a unique design challenge!  This client sent me three outdated leather and suede jackets that she no longer wears - all sitting in the back of her closet.  She asked that I use the leathers from each coat and put them into one bag.  Hmmm...  What would you do with all these colors??

Before - 3 colors of suede

Fashion Week New Orleans 2012 and Upcycled Suede Fringe Handbags

Interesting week for Uptown Redesigns last week here in New Orleans.  I participated in Fashion Week New Orleans 2012 as a vendor in the Style Lounge.  That was three nights of selling bags and chatting with awesome new clients, media, boutique owners, designers, and fashionistas in and around New Orleans.  Very cool!

Here's the pre-show set-up...  Got a chance to watching it all come together and turn into a very chic event!

The runway - before

Flapper Fringy Upcycled Leather & Suede Totes

Loving this new fringe tote design... Inspired by the layers of fringe on flapper dresses from the 1920's!  Upcycled leather and suede.  Leather base and long, hand cut layers of suede fringe.  Leather straps attached with black grommets.  Exact proportions vary based on the salvaged materials used.  Which is your favorite?

Finding Inspiration in a Moody Gray Morning in New Orleans' Historic Cemeteries

Some days are just dripping with mood... this early, gray morning last weekend was one of them.  Found inspiration in the cool, quiet morning - felt the spirits of the angels, and soaked in the textures, shades, and moods of all the grays.... New Orleans continues to be such an inspiring and endlessly interesting town - for so many different reasons...

Newly Upcycled Leather Bags in a Beautiful New Orleans Courtyard

Loving the light and scenery in this fabulous courtyard behind the Green Serene boutique on Magazine Street in New Orleans!  Great place to photograph my latest collection of upcycled leather bags. 

XL Distressed Brown Tote

Suede and Leather Fringy Upcycled Handbags!

Suede Fringies!  Hand cut fringe - handmade from suede and leather garments.  Enjoy!

Patchwork Upcycled Leather Bags and French Quarter Inspirations

I finally got around to utilizing all those treasured bits and pieces of leftover leather garments sitting is stacks all over my studio!  I also finally got around to taking a few of these bags down to the French Quarter for a late afternoon photo shoot.  Loving the results of both efforts!

Here are some of the bags in the new Patchwork Collection.  Although I can and will create more, I can't promise that any two of them will have the same color combinations.  They are 100% randomly creative, "of-the-moment" efforts, and I love each and every one of them!

A Recent Custom Job - Upcycling a Leather Coat into a Bag

I always love to accept custom jobs.  This is what upcycling is all about!  Last week, a client approached me with a beautiful leather jacket that had classic 80's styling and a fox fur collar.  Between it being outdated and way too hot for our New Orleans climate, she found that she just did not wear it anymore.  Ever.  And it was a shame because it was in such beautiful condition!  So - she was ready to give it a new life and do some upcycling.  Here are a few shots of the coat... BEFORE:

Before - front

New Orleans: Beyond Bourbon Street

I can’t say enough about how much I just love New Orleans, but admittedly it is not a place for everybody.  It is often said that you either love or hate New Orleans (kind of like patchouli or cilantro!).  It will either totally intoxicate you and weave its way into your soul, or give you an adverse reaction that makes you wonder why people ever wanted to live here in the first place!  Understandable – especially if one only comes to town for a  convention or bachelor party, stays in a hotel downtown, parties on  Bourbon Street, and then goes went home sweaty, over-saturated,  and draped with beads and trinkets from the tourist shops.  But – beyond Bourbon Street - it can be an endlessly inspiring and wonderful place, with something unique and beautiful to soak in at every turn.  If you let yourself see it, that is.  I can’t get enough of it, and I’m sure I’m only just scratching the surface here so far…

Tuesday in New Orleans - Farmer's Market & Shrimp Creole

I love Farmer's Market Tuesdays.  And I love my husband the chef!

I thought I had experienced good food before, and had pretty good access to fresh, organic, and tasty ingredients on a regular basis.  But living in New Orleans is a whole new level of "good" for us.  It is not a new discovery to say that the food here is incredible, but what we are learning is that the ingredients here are more flavorful.  "How do they do it?" we ask each other all the time.  How can garlic taste so good?

Back to Tuesdays... that is the day the Crescent City Farmer's Market sets up closest to our house.  Farmers come from nearby farms and sell their produce.  We visit at 9am sharp and start at the arugula table - to make sure we get some before they sell out (they usually do)!  Sure, sure - I've had arugula before many times.  Even grew it in our garden.  But this arugula is out of this world!  Such a peppery taste.  It provides new magic for our lives, as do so many of these items.  We are so taken by all the fresh and flavorful options.  We're hooked!

I follow my husband around the market as he skillfully darts from booth to booth to collect the necessary ingredients needed for Tuesday dinner: Shrimp Creole.  My job is to hold the bag.  Here's a look at some of our haul:

including orange zucchini here - that will be a first for us - maybe tomorrow...

My favorite garlic in the world!

Jumbo shrimp - so fresh and right off the boat.  Aren't they huge?

A beautiful sight!