Meet the Boomers: Pam

Q. What is the name of your shop, and what kinds of items do you sell?  My shop is called Bags and More by Pam.  I sell hand-crocheted items for people, pets, and homes, including but not limited to hats, scarves, sweaters, ponchos, rugs, handbags, tote bags, baby items, pet sweaters, and spa sets.

Q. How long have you been engaged in your art/craft?  I have been actively fulfilling my passion for crocheting for the past eight years.

Q. Do you consider yourself a hobbyist or a professional craftsperson?  I would consider myself a professional craftsperson as I am creating and selling my products via several venues.

Q. What inspires you?  Yarn!  I love yarn!  The way it looks and feels.  I also tend to be practical, and items that are both beautiful and useful make me want to create more.

Q. What's a typical day like in your studio?  My husband would laugh at this question. He says my “studio” is all over the house!  Actually, my main work is done in the evenings while my husband and I watch TV.  He says I treat the TV as a radio and mainly listen!  Not so!  I do look up from my crocheting all the time, especially if I am making something familiar and can continue crocheting by feel.  We may be watching TV in our living room or in our family room.  Those are my crochet “studios.”

Q. What keeps you company while you’re working on a project?  My husband, our two dogs, Daisy and Eddie, and the TV.

Q. What is your favorite task related to your art/craft?  Looking at it when it is finished, although I’ve been heard to say, “Oh, isn’t this going to be so cute?” way before the item is completed.  And having someone purchase one of my creations ranks way up there, too!

Q. What is your least favorite task related to your art/craft?  Weaving in the loose ends is not a favorite task.

Q. What are some of the venues you use to promote your shop?  Do you blog?  Use other sites?  Which teams do you belong to?  My teams on Etsy are the Boomers and Beyond (Bbest) team, Etsyhookers Team, and INCrowdteam. In addition to my Etsy site, I have stores on Artfire and 1000Markets.  My blogging includes contributing to the Bbest team blog once a month, posting to my own blog, and creating the featured artist section of the Crafting4Animals blog.  I’ve recently signed up for Twitter and Facebook.

Q. Related to your craft, tell us about a funny, strange or unusual situation you found yourself in.  One Friday I was checking my Etsy store, and there was a sale. When I looked to see what had sold, it was the gray men’s cable design sweater. A customer from the Netherlands had purchased it. There was just one problem. I had sold that sweater locally and hadn’t made another yet. So, Friday evening I had to go get the yarn. Between Saturday and Sunday and Monday morning, I crocheted for 30 hours to complete that sweater so I could meet my own self-imposed “I will ship within two days” deadline! That was one of those lesson-learning life experiences. Needless to say, the sweater is not in my shop right now since it isn’t made again yet. That was what I would consider just a bit stressful!

Q. Tell us something about you that we wouldn’t necessarily know about you by talking to you in the forums.  I have lived in the town where I was born my whole life except for 14 months when I joined my husband in Colorado Springs while he was stationed at Ft. Carson.  I taught one year in Security, Colorado during that time. When he was discharged, we returned to Bloomington.  We have lived in our current house for 36 years, and the one before that for 5 years. It is safe to say we don’t like to move!

Q. Tell us about your favorite books, movies and music.  Oh, my. I like so many books that I will have to give you authors instead: David Baldacchi, James Patterson, Robert Ludlum, Iris Johannsen, Nora Roberts, Tony Hillerman, and Mary Higgins Clark, to name a few. They all have mystery and intrigue; I especially enjoy the ones about government and international conspiracy.

I also have a list of favorite movies: Air Force One, Sleepless in Seattle, Enemy of the State, Conspiracy Theory, Shawshank Redemption, An Affair to Remember, Three Days of the Condor, and all the Bourne movies. My book and movie tastes run in the same vein . . . mystery, romance, international intrigue.  Sleepless in Seattle is just downright cute and sweet!

As for music, when I’m in the car, I listen to the local country station or a relaxation CD like the ones with the nature sounds, especially the ocean. I also like pop rock, easy listening, the music from the '50s and '60s. I guess you could say I like it all except I’m not really into rap or hard rock.  Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is my classical favorite.

Q. Would you care to share any words of wisdom with other aspiring artists or crafters?  Do what you love and love what you do, continue to learn more about your craft, and have patience while others learn about you.

Please be sure to leave a comment for Pam.

Once upon a bag

Handbags were originally nothing more than sacks made of leaves and animal hide. Egyptian hieroglyphics depict men, not women, wearing them about their waist to hold flint and money. Peasants wore fairly large bags that carried seed, while gentlemen’s bags carried pomanders to mask bad environmental (or human) smells. These sacks were actually pockets attached to the girdle with a cord. The risk, of course, was that a thief, known as a “cut purse,” would slash the string and steal the bag. By the Middle Ages, both men and women began wearing bags as a sign of affluence. Fashioned of the finest silks with tasseled strings, embroidery and jewel decorations, they represent the first designer bags. These early designer bags continued to be fastened to the outside of garments, but the really wealthy hired servants to carry their bags for them.

Eventually, however, women started wearing bags beneath their dresses, and men ceased wearing them altogether because inside garment pockets were developed for their trousers. As fashions changed and women’s skirts clung more closely to their bodies (especially during the Regency period), it became impractical to wear a bulky bag beneath the fabric. In the 1800s the first real handbags--purses intended to be carried by the hand--emerged. These were practical purses, or reticules, that carried perfume, smelling salts, a fan and visiting cards.

It is interesting to note that 100 years later, men and women once more were using handbags, but men’s handbags were actually luggage bags that looked like today’s briefcases, and women’s handbags were feminine versions of the same bag, with compartments for women’s accessories. These bags were made from metal and leather until World War II, when a shortage of these materials led instead to the use of wood and plastic in handbags, and eventually to many other types of materials. Today’s handbags are made of all of these materials, but also include many types of fabric from rough burlap to the finest silks and velvets, synthetics, natural and manmade fibers, and faux animal skins. Nearly all bags are suited to specific occasions. There are designer bags that match a formal event such as a gala or a wedding, power bags for the business woman (or man), tote bags for the shopper or yarn enthusiast, book bags for the student, and so on.

In some ways, handbags have come full circle. The bags worn once exclusively around the waist have become today’s fanny packs, shoulder bags and backpacks, and are worn by men and women alike. Some bags are for show, others are used on the go, and multi-functional ones go “with the flow.” Illustrating this diversity are BBEST team members’ bags. Janine of TalkingDog, for example, has designed this Hand Painted Silk Drawstring Bag that can be carried to formal events or tied to a casual jeans pocket.

This gorgeous Tina Brown and Blue Batik Quilted and Beaded Bag by Kym of kimbuktu is both a shoulder bag and a backpack.








HomeMadeOriginals has repurposed part of a striped wool sweater to fashion this Wristlet bag, perfect for your cell phone, keys and credit cards.






This crocheted Teal Hobo Bag by Pam of bagsandmorebypam is the ideal tote for the market, the beach, school, the plane, or shopping at the mall.







Dayna of scottieacres designed her Helpful Hannah Tote in Embroidered Denim "to go anywhere but be stylish as well." The roomy tote holds just about anything, but also features a tiny inside pocket for keys, wallet or an electronic device.






This Bling Bling Black Evening Bag by NoDuplicates is probably not too different from the reticules carried by noblemen and their ladies during the Middle Ages.







Finally, this Bag with Heart Wet-Felted Blue Purse by Chrissie of makeyourpresentsfelt is a perfect example of a casual purse for daily essentials, intended to be carried by hand.

To learn more interesting facts about the history of the handbag, you may wish to refer to the following resources:

• The Handbag: An Illustrated History, by Caroline Cox
• A Passion for Purses, 1600-2005, by Paula Higgins
• Beads on Bags: 1800's to 2000 (Schiffer Book for Collectors), by Lorita Winfield and Leslie A. Pina