Book Bags
October 3, 2006 8:36 PM   Subscribe

Book Bags. That's right. Bags, made from books.
posted by empath (27 comments total) 11 users marked this as a favorite
 
A little bit 'Pepsi-Blue'-ish, but I saw those at last weekend's Crafty Bastards craft show in DC and thought they were clever.
posted by empath at 8:38 PM on October 3, 2006


Neat idea. I may have to make my own.
posted by luftmensch at 9:07 PM on October 3, 2006


I really like the design of that site. Nifty hand-crafted looking background image.
posted by mathowie at 9:28 PM on October 3, 2006


Beautiful.
posted by piratebowling at 9:46 PM on October 3, 2006


Don't forget...

Make your own and another set of instructions.

And if book purses aren't your cup of tea, then perhaps you'd enjoy the Floppy Disk Bag or the Hollowed Out Boombox Bag
posted by tozturk at 9:51 PM on October 3, 2006 [1 favorite]


For bookish girls with weird purses, like me, this is amazingly cool.
posted by onegreeneye at 9:55 PM on October 3, 2006


I'm laughing at how many of these books I've seen over the past few years in the used bookstore I help manage. This one's fabulous, and so's this. It's really a perfect idea to combine the two design elements into one; the variety is wonderful.

(thanks for the thread, empath; I was just thinking yesterday about a book bag I'd seen a few months ago, and was wondering how I'd go about making one. No shit. :)
posted by mediareport at 10:12 PM on October 3, 2006


Normally nothing sends me into a rabid froth like chopped up books and magazines, but I absolutely love these. Thanks for the link, empath.
posted by maryh at 10:47 PM on October 3, 2006


I saw someone do this two years ago.
posted by delmoi at 10:58 PM on October 3, 2006


i saw someone do you two years ago
posted by joelf at 11:07 PM on October 3, 2006


I love these, but they're rather a bit expensive. Looks like the construction is marvellous, though, and it's way beyond my non-existent craft skills.

Still, very fun to look at, thanks for the link!
posted by livii at 11:22 PM on October 3, 2006


For a second, I read this thread link at "Buttbags", a reference to last week's episode of My Name is Earl.

"She's a buttbag."
"What? What's a 'buttbag'?"
"A...bag of butts."
posted by thanotopsis at 4:43 AM on October 4, 2006


A very high tingle quotient of pleasure in this post. Thanks.

(I also love the fact the bag maker so far stores the gutted pages in her attic because they feel like something she shouldn't discard. My sort of dame.)
posted by Jody Tresidder at 6:37 AM on October 4, 2006


They look very good, clean and well-constructed.
posted by OmieWise at 7:12 AM on October 4, 2006


I've seen her stuff when she's at Eastern Market. The bags are adorable, but really pricey IMO.
posted by ereshkigal45 at 7:13 AM on October 4, 2006


If anyone's interested in purchasing them in the flesh - head to Eastern Market in D.C. on Sat's and Sun's. There's a nice girl who sits in her stall devouring books before she guts the poor things and sells them.

I find it odd that Capitol Hill Books, the coolest (and cheapest) bookstore in DC is down the street. The thought if her browsing through the shop for nice carcasses sends chills down my spine...
posted by Dr.James.Orin.Incandenza at 7:15 AM on October 4, 2006


This is awesome. I can't wait to make some!
posted by arcticwoman at 8:13 AM on October 4, 2006


These are wildly cool for anyone (okay, women) who like to read - at all! I will certainly put one on my birthday list! Thanks for the post.
posted by FilmJulie at 8:27 AM on October 4, 2006


The girl who makes them was my roommate in DC. She really puts a lot of time into them, although I don't own one because I doubt its ability to survive happy hour with me. Too delicate.
posted by aGreatNotion at 9:50 AM on October 4, 2006


Craftster has a tutorial thread for making these things. I must admit that the 70's-era Reader's Digest Condensed purses are really appealing...
posted by Vervain at 11:51 AM on October 4, 2006


Thanks for posting this, and to tozturk and Vervain for the instructions. I don't care for bags with short handles, but if I made one I could make a shoulder strap. Now to find a book large enough to make a bag to fit several books inside ...
posted by paduasoy at 3:09 PM on October 4, 2006


I've been searching for a unique purse for months and these are perfect. I'm sure this is one of those things that you would be asked about daily by strangers on the street. Thanks for the link.
posted by Ugh at 5:35 PM on October 4, 2006


Nice to see Caitlin's stuff promoted, but Dr.James.Orin.Incandenza is marginally wrong on one point - she won't be at Eastern Market this Saturday. She'll be at Art on the Avenue in Alexandria's Del Ray this weekend, as will I and many of the other crafters in the area. It's a great show (not just because I'll be there :) and I highly recommend it for anyone in the DC area.

If any of you go out and buy one from her, make sure to tell her that you saw the link tozturk posts to her HGTV piece and you're buying one anyway. She and I politely disagree on the dangers of explicitly talking about how our stuff is done - I think the people who want to undertake the whole project of making something like her purses or my mirrors are never going to be our target market. I'll concede that my efforts take a little more initial capital investment (saws, nailers, etc) than hers but I contend that there's little to no market overlap between do-it-yourselfers and buyers - the DIYers for this kind of thing were never going to open their pockets.

And don't worry Dr James - C says most of her books come from estate sales & auctions or donations. The denizens of Capitol Hill Books can rest safe.
posted by phearlez at 7:01 AM on October 5, 2006


Goddammit, I meant to make the edit - Art on the Avenue is this SATURDAY, not the whole weekend. Sunday you'll likely see us gluttons for punishment back at Eastern Market unless sales at AotA are so brisk they clean us out.

/me swoons at the fantasy.
posted by phearlez at 7:03 AM on October 5, 2006


I wrote Caitlin to let her know someone had linked her and she had this to say:

I don't have an account, but you can tell people I actually get most of my books from libraries that are throwing them away, not estate sales. I look for books that are trash bound mostly. Also, if anyone thinks they're too expensive, they should consider where their $20 goes when they buy a cheapo bag from Old Navy. Support independent artists!

So my for my reliability :)
posted by phearlez at 10:25 AM on October 5, 2006


This is great. She's a good friend of mine and my neighbor. I love her work, plus I get to read all of the leftover coverless books.
posted by princelyfox at 12:51 PM on October 6, 2006


This is great. She's a good friend of mine and my neighbor. I love her work, plus I get to read all of the leftover coverless books.
posted by princelyfox at 2:19 PM on October 6, 2006


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