twocats design

vintage lame lurex brocade

2011-12-01T22:33:00.001-08:00

I just love this handbag, the fabric is so over-the-top. Hot pink vintage lame lurex brocade in the brilliant colourway of lolly pink, orange thread & gold lurex. Vintage 1960s fabric. I bought this piece of fabric on line from the fabulous Ness & Justin Pope of Retro Age Vintage Fabrics in Melbourne. They gave it the brilliant description of "Holy psychedelic, Batman!" I felt I had to put my sunnies on when I opened the parcel. However having made it up, I somehow seemed to have subdued the brilliance of it into what is such a 'right now' colour. I've lined it with gold Dupioni silk, added black & gold braided handles, & finished it with a gold beaded button from New York. I think it's very classy. What do you think?

2011-11-10T17:54:00.000-08:00

Do you remember striped canvas deck chairs & beach umbrellas? So evocative of our Australian summer childhood spent on Bondi Beach! Memories came flooding back when I found some vintage cotton canvas on Etsy. Multi-striped in various colours & combined with pebbly-textured furnishing cotton, lined with vintage Japanese Meisen kimono silk, finished with vintage buttons & colour-coordinated cotton straps, these appealing little Piccadillies are perfect for all your bits & pieces in summer.

A fabulous summer tote

2011-10-23T20:50:00.000-07:00

Larger than my petitotes by 8cm, I call these bags Tall Totes. This one has been made of apple green vintage Japanese cotton, hand-painted with red, turquoise & white flowers. There is a large pocket on the back made from gorgeous vintage red Meisen silk from a vintage Japanese kimono. The lining is made from vintage yellow Yukata cotton. And there is a second pocket inside. Handles are red braid. The finishing touch is a handmade ceramic button of green with white spots bought in New York from the Museum of Modern Art. Just perfect!

2011-03-05T19:12:00.000-08:00

Up-to-date info on where to find me &/or twocats design creations:

web sites

www.etsy.com/shop/twocatsdesign

Markets

Handmade, Canberra ACT

Galleries/Boutiques

Moochinside, Hardys Bay on the Central Coast NSW
Two Birds Gallery, Toowoon Bay on the Central Coast NSW
Scarlett Lizzie Emporium, Cabarita in Sydney, NSW
Beautiful Things By, Beecroft in Sydney NSW

2010-05-09T19:33:00.000-07:00

This little over-the-shoulder or across-the-body bag I call a Piccadilly.This particular one has a pocket on the front, perfect for your iphone & car keys! I'll be launching a new line called When Madison Avenue meets Kyoto at the next Handmade market in Canberra on June 5.

You can find me & my handbags at the fabulous Handmade market in Canberra. Next market is on Saturday 5 June. www.handmademarket.com.au

If you're in Sydney, the brilliant girls at Scarlett Lizzie in Cabarita stock twocats handbags.
Also in Beecroft, the very elegant Beecroft store of Heavenly Things By carries my handbags.

If you visit the Hunter Valley, Capercaillie Wine Centre has a beautiful gallery stocking exclusively Australian arts & craft.

You can contact me at pamdwyer@hotkey.net.au

2010-05-09T19:07:00.000-07:00

After a career in Performing Arts management, and finishing my Diploma in Interior Design, I looked for a new artistic challenge. It was Christmas 2005 & I had a gift for a friend. Not wanting to use any of the usual range of wrapping stationery, I made a small tote bag using silver disco sequinned fabric & lined it with red satin. The result was ...gorgeous! Tote number 2 was wide black & white stripe French cotton again lined with red satin...more gorgeous! I continued making small tote bags which I call Petitotes, challenging myself all the time with trims. And then I discovered BUTTONS! and the excitement just grew & so did my passion.

My calico tortoiseshell cats, Couscous & Honey are always with me, expressing interest in what is going on. Honey likes to run her paw over the keyboard which makes emails rather interesting. Couscous especially doesn't like me talking on the phone & has more than once cut me off. Most unusual cats! So that when I came to thinking about a business name, there was ony one...twocats design.

My handbags now are made from vintage fabrics, often vintage kimono & obi silks, & I spend as much time selecting the vintage button as I do the fabric. I love what I do & considering that I am now up to handbag number 1250, so do other people!

You can contact me at pamdwyer@hotkey.net.au