made by Julianne

4

TROPICAL BIKE SEATS

24 April 2011 by Julianne

Oh my, how could I have been so negligent of my website over the past 6 weeks?! I try to hold myself to posting one new project a week. I’m of course making things constantly, so the output isn’t a problem, but I’m not so great at documentation. Often I’m working on little projects, or busy with big but boring orders at work, and sometimes it seems like those things wouldn’t be so interesting on the website–they don’t necessarily contribute to the portfolio I’m try to build up. But rest assured: I am always making something.

Lately all my bike seat covers have had a tropical feel to them, and I keep thinking about fruit as I mix my colors. Could this be the manifestations of a daiquiri deficiency?

The swallows are always classic, and I’m really enjoying painting the calaveras. There’s a great opportunity for colors and designs, and the shape is perfect for a bike seat.

I’ve gone back to the original drawstring seat closure, instead of the elastic I’d been using for the past few months. It’s more work, but it’s what I’m feeling nowadays.

These seats are all up in my Etsy shop, which I am trying to get more diligent about–posting things more regularly, polishing the listings, and everything else I get a little lazy about.

Soon I will be getting a shiny new overlock machine as a collaborative birthday gift, and then the Burning Man costumes are going to come flying!

1

PEACOCKY SADDLE COVERS

13 March 2011 by Julianne

Well who doesn’t love peacocks? They are bizarre and unpractical but absolutely mesmerizing, and talk about that color scheme! They’re the perfect subject for a new edition of removable bicycle saddle covers.

Yes, all five are hand painted on recycled canvas. They are coated in a UV-proof and durable glossy sealant. The sides are made out of a spandex that has a slight sheen to it.

I had a lot of fun painting all of these together. I was constantly mixing paint to create the luscious colors, and it was fun to re-interpret the designs of the tail feathers every time.

All of these seats are finished with lacy underwear elastic. It seems to me that the underside of the saddle is your bicycle’s panties!

I think any of these seat covers would look awesome on bikes that are blue, green, yellow, white, or even purple.

These seat covers are up in my Etsy shop right now!

0

RAINBOW WALLET

20 February 2011 by Julianne

Last week my wallet was stolen. I won’t go into it here, how a guy actually watched the store and planned, how he went straight to the workroom the one time I was busy with customers in the front, or how he grabbed my wallet and ran out the backdoor. Neither will I get into how much loosing a week’s pay has fucked me up, or how I couldn’t pay the mechanic because my credit cards have all been frozen (those sweet Swedes told me to come pay them next week). This is about my new wallet.

That’s right, I keep a picture of me and Rick Steves in my wallet.

In concept it’s actually quite similar to my old wallet, but now that’s a non sequitor. The seafoam green vinyl has been in my stash for a couple years; I got a big piece for $2 at a Joann’s in Ohio. I love the color but it’s tricky to work with! The sticky plastic doesn’t slide through my machine at all, so I wind up facing it with tissue paper and tearing that off. The extra step gets tedious, but it seems to work. Anyone else have any other methods for working with a non-slip material?

The rainbow is a variety of fold-over elastics from Fabric Planet that I stitched onto some white ripstop nylon. I really love the way it shimmers through the vinyl! The loop is an awesome metallic elastic we have at the store; I will be putting a chain through it to clip onto my bag (which wouldn’t have prevented the theft, but it helps me keep track of my wallet).