Saturday, May 31, 2008

Chicago Wedding: Lime and Fuchsia

We made these colorful Luxe Clutches for a bride who lives in Seattle, but is getting married this summer in her native Chicago.

She came to us with her modern floral wedding invitation as her inspiration and color palette. Her attendants will wear fuchsia dresses and will carry white and lime bouquets. What a fetching combination for a sultry summer day.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Button Thursday: Twinkle Twinkle


Star Buttons, originally uploaded by Laura Bee Seattle.

On my recent visit to Rochester I found some terrific buttons at All That Jazz antique mall. Here are three buttons grouped together by theme.

The star motif is a classic in many design styles and cultures. I love the variety in these buttons. The tiny blue button glows in the light like a sapphire. The larger metal button features a star and a thin crescent moon. The tiny black and white star is graphic and simple.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Pugmania 2008

Here are a few pictures from the Seattle Pug Gala last month. Above, Otis, Jeff and I staff our booth.

Above, Tucker, our resident rescue Puggle, took a break after the parade of rescue dogs. Ashley and her ponytail show their pride.

The Cowbelly Dog Blog has some terrific close-up pictures of pugs at the gala in great costumes. We tried to take pictures but the day, like the pugs, was a blur.

Edited to add: In going through the photos on my memory card, I found a couple of additional PugMania snapshots that you might enjoy seeing.

Tucker gets some love from Jeff as Otis gets jealous.

Ashley whispers in her nephew Otis' ear. A Tucker pillow sits on display in the foreground.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

For the Love of Puppies

While I was back East in Rochester, NY last week, these two adorable Boston Terrier puppies stopped by my Mom's place for a visit.

They were so tiny, weighing in between five and six pounds. This is Roxy, the younger little girl. She was the mellowest of the two, trying to keep up with her feisty friend Zoe.

This is Zoe gulping some ice water from a goblet. Look at the head to glass size ratio!

Zoe was constantly on the go sniffing and exploring. The only way I could get her to sit still was to hold a dog biscuit near my camera.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Spiderman is a Vegetarian


Vote for your favorite celebrity vegetarian here. From Brigitte Bardot to John C. Reilly, from Pink to Steve Jobs, it's great fun to look at the long list of celebrities that don't eat meat. Yes, my musical hero Andre 3000 is a vegan, and spiderman aka Tobey Maguire is a vegetarian.

Have you heard that Oprah is going vegan for three weeks? Here's the scoop and lots of information about trying this experiment yourself.

This site has some great celebrity quotes about animals. Here's a sample:

Jessica Alba
"I think that people who don't like animals tend to be selfish, but I'm biased."
(Us Weekly)


Friday, May 23, 2008

Battle in Seattle or My Dinner with Andre

Ashley and I attended the Seattle International Film Festival kick-off last night. Here's a picture of us in the store all dolled up. Those pointy toes belong to Ashley; she captured them on the red carpet.

The festive shindig was held at McCaw Hall at Seattle Center. Viewing the screening of Battle in Seattle, a film about the WTO protests in 1999, the hometown crowd cheered frequently.

We had nosebleed seats but Ashley used her camera's zoom to take this shot of the cast (click to enlarge). From left to right: Charlize Theron, Michelle Rodriguez, Andre Benjamin (aka Andre 3000), Martin Henderson, director Stuart Townsend, and the festival MC. Outkast fans will be happy to learn that Andre was smart and charming during the Q and A after the screening.

After the film, we attended a packed after-party in the courtyard. A few cupcakes later and we headed home. Check out the Seattle P-I article on the event.

We're working on a special, extra-fun project for the festival, which we'll share with you soon.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Meet Sandi Heinrich

A little while back professional photographer Sandi Heinrich (above), owner of an LBD snap coin purse, contacted me to see about arranging a swap. She took a bunch of terrific pictures of our store, and we made her a bag.

Since I started selling bags back in 2001, I've met many inspiring people like Sandi who have taken a passion and turned it into a small enterprise. I've been lucky to 'talk shop' with so many great women doing cool things, that I've decided to introduce you to some of them here.

Sandi has agreed to be the debut woman featured in this column. She specializes in images like those I'm showing here. Her work merges a loose journalistic style with lovely portraiture. She offers reasonably priced packages for all types of work including baby portraits, family groupings, as well as weddings.

Part of her service is to provide her customers with a high-res disc of images so that you can use your favorite vendors to order prints. Gone are the days of being tied to a photo studio for all prints. I encourage you to visit her two blogs to see more of Sandi's work here and here.

Here are some more essential things you should know about Sandi.
  • Nickname: "San"
  • Favorite soundtrack for creative pursuits: KEXP streaming online
  • Born in: Seattle, WA
  • Favorite color combo: Black & white
  • Favorite snack: Chips & salsa
  • Nerdy factoid: Toenails have been painted every day since age 12
  • Passionate about: Sunshine, great chocolate, travel & photography!
  • Something surprising you'll find in my purse: An Epi pen... in case of bee sting!

Convertible Strap Revisited

As the weather changes in the spring, we always have more customers coming in who are looking for bags to wear across their bodies to keep their hands free. We do have standard adjustable strap options, but our convertible strap is a strong seller.

These pictures of a Helen Hobo in action show the strap long, and then doubled to become a shorter shoulder strap. Any of our two-ring bags can be made with this strap for the ultimate versatility.

Speaking of Helen, blogger KittyKat recently wrote a nice bit about her new mandarin orange hobo from LBD.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Beatrice Loves Sunflower Yellow

Ashley took this picture of a yellow Beatrice headed for Boston. This customer wanted a summery white and yellow combination topped off by blue buttons and lining. She also requested that we add silver rings for a modern hardware look.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Still Away

I'm still visiting my folks back east with minimal internet time, thus sparse posts here.

It's seems I've missed not only the first heat wave of the year in Seattle (88 degrees), but also the annual Ballard Parade. I found this picture on the informational My Ballard blog, which you should check out if you haven't already.

Also in blog news, DaisyMayRobin has written about her new Laura Bee wallet here. Sweet!

I promise, I have lots of great new stuff to show you from my trip as well as shop news when I return.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Return to the Chocolate House

It's been a couple of years since I first wrote about Stevers. I'm back in Rochester visiting my family so I made my annual visit to pick up some sweet treats today.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Ruffle Mania


Our ruffle ribbon has been a very popular trim on all sorts of purses. This is a Luxe Clutch that has two silk fabrics and a vintage shell button. The off-white ruffle ribbon is about l.5" wide and creates a soft texture and bridge between the two fabrics. We also have this trim in chocolate, black, and tan. You can see a narrow version of the ruffle in the previous blog entry.

A purse party attendee designed this bag. I had a great time working with the group of bridesmaids who were treated to Luxe Clutches by a generous bride.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Sadies Bound for New Orleans

Aqua and red are the signature colors for this New Orleans bride. She ordered five Sadie Silk Wristlets for her bridesmaids using our website.

We added the off-white ruffle ribbon and one-of-a-kind vintage buttons to each purse. I adore the unique color palette and wish I could have a sneak peak at the entire ensemble.

Friday, May 09, 2008

Pug Life

Tomorrow is the big day! We're all ready for Pugmania at Magnuson Park from Noon-5. We'll have all kinds of buttons, zipper cases, and pug stuff for sale.

Thursday, May 08, 2008

The Adventures of Grandma Doris

The year before I was born, my Grandma Doris and Grandpa Arthur visited St. Lucia. Above is a photo that Grandma sent me last month when I emailed to ask her a little more about the history of this dress. Always one to pare down and stay organized (I didn't inherit this gene), Grandma sent me the dress a few years back thinking that I could do something with the material.

Doris and Arthur Dwyer circa 1970. Aren't they a dapper couple?

As Mother's Day is close by, I've been thinking about those summer visits to grandma's place in Indiana. On those trips we visited the Children's Museum, attended the Pan Am games, and played with neighbor kids in the back yard. Once Grandma Doris helped me make an elastic-waist skirt with kelly green whales scattered all over the navy fabric. That was one of my first sewing projects.

Here's another custom bag made from the St. Lucia dress from Grandma's trip. I hope that this bag accompanies its owner on surprising, romantic adventures.

Happy Mother's Day week to everyone!

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Introducing the Photo Travel Bag

I mentioned yesterday that I love reading blogs, and one of my daily fixes is the Itty Bitty Kitty Committee. I'm more of a dog person in general, but these kitties are so charming and lovingly photographed that I am smitten.

Tacoma based artist, crafter, and floral designer Laurie runs the site. She, along with a small team of dedicated animal-lovers, fosters tiny kittens for the Tacoma Humane Society until they are old enough to be neutered and adopted.

Thanks Laurie for letting us use this lovely picture of IBKC graduate Cassius on our new Custom Photo Travel Bag sample. We've been too biased toward dog images, so this kitty helps us integrate our photo collection while looking fuzzy and adorable.

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Feelin' the Love, Blog Love That Is

I admit that I am totally addicted to reading blogs. They have taken the place of magazines in my life, which I like because blogs are cheaper and better for the environment. There is so much inspiration out there to enjoy and absorb.

Recently we've gotten some blog shout-outs, so I wanted to send you on over to these great sites to explore the rest of what they have to offer.

Sandi Heinrich, who took this photo of her new LBD bag, had sweet things to say about her experience with our shop. Visit her here.

Kendra Redman of Ballard Blog wrote a great short piece about us here. I had a great time chatting with her on the phone while swinging in my hammock, so I was glad that some of what I said made sense.

Yelpers have written some really nice (and funny) things about us.

Friends Erica and Kathy both sent us some love on their personal blogs. Thanks ladies! We'll see you when your custom bags are ready to pick up.

Monday, May 05, 2008

Seattle Pug Gala - May 10


Tucker Relaxes, originally uploaded by Laura Bee Seattle.

Tucker, a Seattle Pug Rescue alumnus, invites you to join him and the rest of the Laura Bees at the 2008 Seattle Pug Gala this Saturday. We'll have a booth with Pug Pins and Happy Dog Zipper cases for sale.

Otis plans to enter the agility course, and Tucker will march proudly in the parade of rescued dogs.

The admission cost of $10 goes to help the pugs SPR cares for each year. In 2008 the organization re-homed more than 100 dogs! Humans of all ages, plus pugs and pug mixes are welcome. (The SPR insurance carrier has limited the event to canines of the puggish variety only.)

There is more information here. If you can make your way past all of the wrinkled snorting puglets, stop by our booth to say hello.

Graduation Gift

It's almost graduation season so students (and teachers) everywhere are getting excited to move on to the next phase. Recently a generous big sister visited our shop looking for the perfect 'first job' bag for her graduating little sister.

She'd found our store on NW Source via Google, so she didn't realize that she could completely customize our bags. Once I explained the process, she had a terrific time designing this Becky tote bag.

I love the fabric combination she chose. The print is fun and young, yet is grounded by the grey suede and merlot trim. Inside, the hottest pink adds a bold pop of color.

Speaking of NW Source, it's time again for the People's Picks. You can vote by clicking on the orange button on the top right of the screen. We're not sure which category fits us better - Women's Shoes and Accessories or Women's Boutique. What do you think?

Friday, May 02, 2008

Blue Phoenix Bag

Recently a local customer brought us this stunning wide ribbon and designed this Beatrice bag around the precious, expensive textile.

I think the birds on the ribbon may be Phoenix, from the ancient myth about rising from the ashes.

Thursday, May 01, 2008

Button Thursday: Metal Crest


Here's a close-up of a recent Doris bag that I custom made for a customer. She paired indigo microsuede with a brown and white print, and topped it off with this unique metallic button.