This is gonna be BIG for me.

I am finally going to do it! I am going to devote more effort to building a business.  Those of you who know me, know I've had a label called "New Mass Designs" for almost two years now.  It started with making wallets and in the last couple weeks I've had an explosion of new ideas.  I'm starting on bags, iPad and tablet cases, as well as expanding my wallet designs.

I read a great book called The $100 Startup, which was completely inspiring.  It's all about starting a micro business without going into excessive debt to do it.  For me it's all about using the materials I already have and not buying anything new until I get paid.

My first mission was to pull out all of the fabrics I own which I was inspired by.  I found lots of great options. ***If you see anything you like let me know, I can whip something up.

One of my goals is to get the word out about my company.  My plan is to make samples of a couple of my favorite new product ideas and to send them out to friends of mine.  I put up a Facebook post asking for volunteers.  They had a couple of prerequisites they had to agree with first:

1. Accept free gift.
2. Use it.
3. Take photos of yourself with it.
4. Write a review of it that will be posted here as a blogpost.
5. Put the link to the blog post up on your favorite social media site. *i.e. Facebook, Twitter, etc.

I wanted to do a couple bags, an iPad case, and a wallet.  I have finished two bags and worked on a prototype for an iPad case.

My first product I'm calling the Rain or Shine Bag.  Its an oversized clutch with an optional handle.  This bag is for my friend Courtney's wife Kelly.  It fits an iPad perfectly and has a zipper pocket on the interior.

The other bag I've finished I'm calling the Wild Garden Tote.  Our good friend Beth is accepting this one.  The bag is 15" wide, has a large zipper pocket, and a partitioned open pocket.  One of the difficult things was the base.  I wanted to imbed some firm book board in the base to make it really sturdy. I got it in and it worked out great.

I've also become completely enamored with doing decorative top stitching.  I took floral images present in the fabric, free handed the images on the bag's handle, and then topstitched them.  I'm a little bit in love.

Now what I'm working on is the iPad case.  It's been tricky but I am definitely loving it.  The intended recipient is going to be my friend and Deb's colleague Will.  The trick with this case was that it needed to be stiff, but it also needed to be well padded.  I lined it with fusible fleece and then also inserted book board to add the stability to the backing and cover.  I put slashes into the book board so that when the cover was opened and tucked behind the back you could thread the closure through the loop. This would allow the iPad to sit on a slight angle to make it easier to type.  I think this one is going to be my iPad case because I have some grand ideas for my Fab-a-lous friend Will.

The other newest development in my life is the addition of some extra help in the studio.  This is my new little helper Thimble.  We found her at the shelter and she is just so cute and so sweet.  Deb thinks that she is very ugly and calls her Ugly Face.  She says that Thimble is so ugly its startling, but she more than makes up for it with how sweet she is.

Then of course I had help from the others already in my life.  They all helped by relaxing in my general vicinity.  Don't they all look so hard at work? Not.

Lastly, soon I will be launching my first website! HELL YAH! Hopefully it will be up in the next couple weeks. Soon you'll be able to find me at www.NewMassDesigns.com.  Boo Yah!