♥ an interview with Richela Fabian Morgan of Duct Tape Bags!

back in my highschool days, i remember my brother making a wallet out of duct tape

and i thought that it was the most novel invention: a simple billfold made out of

several strips of tape. over the years, i have seen prom dresses made out of

duct tape, lady gaga's caution tape look- but nothing of the quality that

  richela fabian morgan has shared in her latest book, duct tape bags!

i had the chance to ask this fabulous author & duct tape artist a few questions

and to share some of her easy tutorials, if you care to read below!

A GLIMPSE OF GLAMOUR: The quote at the beginning of the book: "Bags are some of my favorite things. I feel I should have the right to own as many of them as I want. Why? Because they make me happy." is a statement that I am sure, will really resonate with readers!  Do you believe there is a value in making your own bags from scratch- and is there a bigger sense of accomplishment and pride in making your own accessories, rather than buying them?

RICHELA FABIAN MORGAN: I'm a huge fan of handmade goods, and believe handmade is better than store-bought. So, of course, I believe there is a value in making your own bags from scratch. 

Any time you make own accessory, there is a conscious choice to participate in the design. Even if you follow the instructions exactly as written, you are deciding how it's made, and of course you should be proud of it. 

AGOG: Duct tape is an amazing medium to work in. It is both flexible and resilient- strong and forgiving: what inspired you to start working with it in the first place? Do you feel more ethical wearing bags made of duct tape vs. bags made of leather?

RFM: I started working with duct tape because of my kids. We were at our local hardware store and saw a stack of colored tape: red, blue, yellow, white, and black. It looked like fun! This was almost 10 years ago. At first we only covered things with tape: jars, cans, cords, and book covers. Then we began sticking it to itself, making larger pieces that we could cut. After that, it just took off.

I won’t lie: I love leather bags. But when I make a bag with duct tape, I know that it’s an affordable alternative to leather. Duct tape makes fashion affordable. I also feel like MacGyver (80’s television show—mullet—can get out of any situation with just a paper clip and some duct tape). And when people compliment me on my bag, my heart swells with pride. No one ever says, “ I love your duct tape bag.” No one knows it’s duct tape unless I offer up that little tidbit. My bags are judged not by the material but by the design.  

AGOG:  From ruffles to fringe to ruching and weaving- it appears there is nothing you cannot do with duct tape. How long did it take for you to realize that you could bend duct tape to your will?? What is the most amazing piece that you have made using duct tape? 

RFM: Again, my kids have been the ones who made me challenge what duct tape can do. When she was in the first grade, I started a crafting club for my daughter and her friends. (They are entering sophomore year in high school and sadly do not craft with me any longer.) Our initial interest was working with recycled materials, but quickly turned to duct tape. Whenever one of the girls would ask me if she could make something out of duct tape (hat, vest, bouquet of flowers, earrings, shoes, etc), I would say, “Well, anything is possible. Let’s give it a try.” And soon we realized that we could substitute duct tape whenever fabric or paper was the intended material for a craft. 

For the last 2 years I’ve used duct tape to make art. I recently made a portrait of my kids that measures 40” wide by 36” high.

I also made a kick-butt gold mask for Halloween once. I loved that mask. I also lost that mask. I imagine some appreciative person found it and gave it a nice home. I hate to think of the alternative (trash can, landfill…) The only photo I have of it was an Instagram shot. So sad. 

AGOG: Your tutorials range from Easy to Moderate to Challenging, and are arranged in no particular order throughout the book. I find it exciting to know that there isn't one part of the book that is just Easy, one part that is just Moderate, etc. Was it your decision to keep the easy- hard ratio mixed throughout? What would you say is the best tutorial to start with if you are completely new to working  with duct tape?

RFM: The first list of bags that I handed in to my editor was organized by bag type--I forgot to indicate the level. My editor did notice that they were missing and asked me to write them in. When she saw that they were all mixed up in each section, she liked it. It was serendipity!

Smaller bags are easier to make, like the clutches and wristlets in the beginning of the book. For the newly initiated, it’s important to first do the tutorial HOW TO MAKE A DUCT TAPE FABRIC. You can use the dimensions for the very first bag project SUMMER FLING in the Clutch & Wristlet section. If you are an experienced paper crafter (origami, collagist), making pleats for SUMMER FLING won’t be an arduous task. But know that you can skip the pleats at first try, and it will still be a pretty fantastic bag.

AGOG: Can you take a picture of the duct tape bag/wallet/ clutch you are currently wearing and show us the contents of that bag?  How long will duct tape handbags live if treated properly? What is your oldest bag?

My latest bag is my summer bag: a black and powder pink handbag. I was inspired by the logo of a television station I was doing a segment on (Fox News)

I currently have the following in my bag: 

 - lip liner and lip gloss (L’Oreal)

 - 2 duct tape bracelets that my niece made me

 - sunglasses (Maui Jim)

 - ballpoint pen I “accidentally” took from a local restaurant (it has a great stylus on one end—perfect for texting)

 - a plastic cork for champagne that a friend gave me (you never know when you might be drinking champagne…)

 - change purse

 - random business cards from a flea market I recently attended

My oldest bag is a messenger bag with Tom Cruise’s face on it. I made it 5 years ago. I used it a lot and it hasn’t fallen apart.

AGOG:  What are the key items that a new duct tape artist should have in their arsenal before they even begin? What kind of work space is needed?

The key tools are: craft knife with replacement blades (I use #11 blades), a good pair of scissors, a self-healing cutting mat, a cork-backed metal ruler, ballpoint pen, china marker, pencil, and parchment paper. It’s always good to use a large table when you are working, like the kitchen or dining room table. Keep your tools in a tackle box or an art box for a quick clean up.

I recommend storing all tape in a clear plastic bin or large plastic ziploc bag. If you leave the tape rolls out, the sticky edges can attract dust. 

And wipe all the blades of your craft knife and/or scissors with an oil-soaked paper towel or rag. This will keep the sticky gunk from accumulating on the blades, which make it difficult to cut the tape.

AGOG:  I love head pieces!!! If you have any other floral hair accessories, I would love to see/share them!

RFM: I love making and wearing fascinators, too. I recently made a white lotus flower with a fuchsia stem.

AGOG: You make many things from duct tape- are handbags your favorite because they are essentially, wearable art?

RFM: Yes! I love creating imagery with tape, and the best way to display it (other than hang it on a wall) is on a bag. 

AGOG: Is there anything else you would like to share with my readers regarding your latest book/duct tape adventures?

RFM: One last and very personal thing: my journey as a duct tape artist began with my kids, specifically my daughter. Because of her, I started making all these lovely crafts with duct tape. She’s grown into a beautiful teenager. I use her a lot to model my stuff, and when it came time to shoot the photos for my book, I had to include her. So she is the skater chick with the dramatic eyes. I love her! And she will always be my source of inspiration. :)

♥ an interview with kat maconie.

in only a few short weeks, UK shoe magnate Kat Maconie will bring her eclectic and

 colorful footwear to the US. her latest colleciton of geometic heels and silhouettes are

 influenced by the 60's and 70's, with over 80 styles ranging from $187-$287. 

i had the opportunity to ask kat a few questions about her transition to the states,

her inspiration, and her favorite shoes (!!) here's what she had to say:

A Glimpse of Glamour: Where and when will Kat Maconie shoes be available in the US?
Kat Maconie: From 5 February (my birthday ;-)!)

AGOG: Your shoes are advertised as a mix of fashion and function, comfort and luxury-- can you speak to how your experience as a woman has influenced the way you design shoes for women?
KM: My shoes are for women who live similar life styles to me- city girls who always need an extra 10 minutes in the day and end up running from meeting to dog walk to after work drinks to a dinner party! My shoes are designed for women on the go, women who live fast lives and who want shoes that stand out, that are design lead, but don't come with crazy high designer price tags; they are to be loved and lived in!

AGOG: I see that you graduated from London College of Fashion. When did you know that you wanted to focus sole-ly (pun intended!) on shoes?
KM: I attended evening classes at London College of Fashion- it was a purely shoe design focused course. I was working on the buying team at Whistles while attending classes and so I got the design experience by night and the business experience by day.

AGOG: You starter your label in 2009 with simple ballet flats- how did your shoe designs evolve over the past six years?
KM: The original concept was pumps that looked like ballet flats, but felt like sneakers. The creativity was a little limiting though and so the collections quickly evolved into platforms, flatforms and high heels, always keeping in mind the core principle of being wearable- with insoles cushioned for that slightly later-than-intended night ;-)

AGOG: Your latest collections have a 60's and 70's feel to it- where do you look for inspiration with each new collection?
KM: Inspiration can come from anywhere, but my design team and I get alot of inspiration from our own travels. It could come from a range of things such as artists that are currently exhibiting in London to Game Boy games such as tetris! We are inspired when we wander around the Victoria & Albert Museum and when we wander around hardware stores for interesting metal details. Our AW16 print is inspired by a little metal dancing man brooch that I found in an antique shop in LA.




AGOG: What is your process for choosing colors each season?
KM: Colour is a key to our collections and something I love. (My kitchen is canary yellow and Memphis print and my bathroom is electric pink!) We attend lots of leather and trim markets in Milan and China. We normally fall in love with a number of swatches we have sourced at the fairs and then we construct the colour pallet around this, linking it back to the season's inspiration and collection.

AGOG: Where do you source your materials for your shoes?
KM: We spend a week in Italy and China each season, finding the lovely soft leathers and special, newly developed designs, my creative director and I always come back with suitcases of references!

AGOG: Walk me through your shoe design process- do you sketch the shoes first? Is there a prototype made? What are the standards that the shoe must meet in order to become a reality?
KM: We start with a starting point for inspiration. We take future trends we love and apply these to the collections, taking best sellers and giving them a fresh new update along with brand new creations. It is so important we keep each season fresh and new. Our buyers want ot see the range evolving each season, so it is important that new and special touches are injected into each collection. We then put all the designs onto Illustrator and manipulate pattern pieces and colour until we are happy with the collection. We then edit the range to create a balance in all product areas. The specs are then sent to the factory. I then fly to Hong Kong and get the ferry over to the factory In China where I work on the first prototypes, making corrections. Once the range is perfect, we product the final samples to sell from. There are many restrictions. The foot creates alot of complications when designing! Straps cannot be too thin or heels too high, especially in our case, we always keep wearability at the heart of each shoe- however high or bold.

AGOG: What is your most popular style? What is your favorite pair?
KM: This changes from season to season- during the day I will normally wear a pair of Megs (our classic court we repeat season to season and are super comfy) with a pair of rolled up boyfriend jeans and a chunky knit. I am currently LOVING my square toe ankle boots, Adeline- they make your legs look way longer than they actually are!

AGOG: Tell me about your collaborations from runways to Nasty Gal!
KM: Each seaosn, we work with London Fashion Week designers and often New Gen winners such as Ashley Williams and Roberta Einer, who is one to watch this season. We love coming up with fresh designs to complement their new cutting edge collections. We have also worked with Fyodor Golan for many seasons. We love their bold use of colour and imagination- they always push creatively to the max, and we always end up developing shoes for them that we never thought possible! We love working with Nasty Gal- we both love a strong, confident woman whose is looking for something special and different.

AGOG: Tell me about your 2016 plans for expansion to handbags and accessories- what will this entail?
KM: Each bag is made from the high spcec sumptuous leather, in a pop colours with signature  gold hardware. Each is very design-lead but with an accessible price point.

♥ h2-oh!

i drink alot of water- but probably not as much as i should.

i feel like i start the day off strong with a few bottles of water between 

breakfast and lunch, but then by the time dinner rolls around, 

i forget to drink more.

if only there were a bottle that was synced to my phone to keep

track of my daily water intake- and which glowed in a beautiful

luminescent way to remind me to drink up...

oh, wait! there is! it's called the HidrateMe smart water bottle and there is a 

kickstarter campaign for pre-orders right now! get on it, friends &

drink up!

♥ a sunny life.

with temperatures heating up to the 70's and 80's,

spring is fast forwarding to summer pretty quickly here

in the north east-- which is why i already have my eye

on the perfect beach accessories. 

australian brand, sunny life, offers the cutest products to

 hit the beach in style. find them at bloomingdales, shopbop,

and anthropologie! i want ALL of them!!!!

♥ glasses shopping made easy with warby parker!

since my birthday in december, i have been meaning to get into the city

and visit warby parker to pick out a new pair of glasses.

but then the snowpocalypse happened, and the idea of taking 

the mbta into the city sounded less than ideal.

fortunately for me- warby parker does home try-ons,

so i was able to try on five fabulous pairs of glasses

from the comfort of my own home :) :)

here are the five i tried- can you guess which pair i chose?

^^ holcomb.

^^ kimball.

^^ haskell.

^^ preston.

 ^^ finch.

..to be continued!

♥ i need a (spring) break.

when an email announcing ban.do's latest spring break accessories

arrived in my inbox this morning, as i trekked through the snow,

i was instantly reminded of those carefree days back in college

 when i had nothing to do but have fun with my friends,

and enjoy doing nothing!

if i can't have the time off (or the spring weather, for that matter),

i am happy to know that i can, at the very least, 

put a little spring in my step with something f

rom this colorful and kitschy collection:

♥ denim tuxedo.

since giving birth, my attitude towards my own style has changed quite a bit.

things that i would "never" wear like body con dresses- became my go-to

 while pregnant, and now that i have lost most of the baby weight, i have been 

experimenting with pants (another item i rarely wear!) and let's not

even get started on my newfound love for topknots!

it's almost fall--which definitely means it's time to break out the denim.

(did you see katy perry's britney spears-inspired denim dress at the VMAs? enough said. )

last week i paired a chambray top with a pair of joe's jeans and even though my

 husband called me a "cowgirl," i kind of liked the way the outfit turned out!

are you into denim this fall? 

here are some exciting pieces that i am loving from shopbop!

(where you can enjoy free 3-day shipping & 24-hour customer service, btw!!)

AG adriano goldschmied chambray top

madewell chambray shirtdress

r13 roll sleeve vest

MiH superflare jeans

paige denim

rag & bone splatter paint skinny jeans

stella mccartney's pencil skirt and star skinny boyfriend jeans

wildfox couture overalls

♥ spanx you very much.

\

it was only four short months ago that my baby bump was on and poppin'.  

and now, thanks to the beautiful technology that is spanx, you would hardly know

 that very recently there had been an 8 pound baby growing in my tummy!!

please excuse my lack of makeup/hair. i am a mama :)

there are certain dresses that just call for the help of spanx.

this colorful dvf wrap is one of my favorites-- but due to it's tight fit,

it's not always the most comfortable to wear. 

i was recently sent three different pairs of spanx to try. 

here's what i thought:

skinny britches high-waisted short: these look daunting to put on, because they are super 

tiny at first and feel like a scuba material. they also come up way high underneath your bra-

which seems like a big commitment for underwear, but once you get over that and actually get 

into them, they are so easy to wear, and so flattering underneath everything! LOVE!

skinny britches mid-thigh : these are incredible to wear- so thin and light

and easy to step into! and they fit like a dream, smoothing down every crease 

and every curve beneath your dress!  a MUST HAVE for wedding season! 

belly banishing shorty shaper (similar): this pair is great for shorter dresses,

but were a bit uncomfortable due to the fact that they rolled down at the belly area,

which sort of defeated their purpose for me!

all in all, i must say i can see why every celeb on the red carpet has a pair of spanx

on beneath their gowns, and why someone like oprah even wears them

under her jeans! thank you spanx, for sucking, in a good way ;)

ps. happy national underwear day!!

♥ i have a heart on.

for mother's day, i got my hot pink heart-loving mama a few of 

these pieces from ban.do, and she adored them so much,

i thought i would spread the love!! 

(pssst: i bought the first two ;)

 tote

necklace

 bobbi pins

 brooch

and while i'm at it, i also love:

this print

and this pillow!