When Eric finishes a basket, and he comes to show me, I like to ‘tease’ and say “when can I bedazzle it?”
His customary response is “Not funny.”
But finally, I was able to bedazzle his classic Cottage Handbag. Well, technically, not truly bedazzle. Just an “accent” which is also, most importantly and the best selling point, functional.
After Eric made his Classic Cottage Handbag, he gave it to me to use. And if you know me, you’re aware that I’m not very dainty, even if I’m carrying a well-crafted creation such as this.
When we sat down, which happened to be in a quaint restaurant on Nantucket, I knocked over my handbag, and out came all the contents onto the table and some hitting the floor.
Women know this happens if you don’t have an enclosure. So I convinced Eric that he needed a latch of some sort that would not detract from the integrity of his basket. The only direction I gave was that a wooden vertical peg in the shape of an oversized sewing needle would be perfect.
A few hours later, he walked in with the cutest little wooden peg where I then could, yup, Bedazzle!! Well, again, not really. I made various options and we finally settled on a simple strand of very small beads mixed with glass ones that gave it a little sparkle.
The beads are attached to the side and hold the peg in place when not in use. When the lid comes down, simply place the peg back in and it’s safely closed.
It works perfectly and when the lights are dim, it really sparkles.
Neat idea!
Great idea. I made the basket in one of Eric’s classes at Tony’s but I’ve never carried it because I usually have too much. I do love the basket and maybe someday I’ll carry it.
I love it. I made a custom liner for the basket with a little pocket and now that it has the enclosure, it works perfectly. It’s a work of perfection if I do say myself!! (but I’m biased of course…)