Thursday 26 May 2011

Kiehl's bags, the making of

I've already told you all about the Creating with Kiehl's for a Cause project. Well, the bags I created for Kiehl's will be part of the exhibition that has already started in Attica department store (details at the end of this post) so it's finally time to reveal my creations!

The concept was really simple and based on the purpose of this initiative.I chose to use plastic bags.

Plastic is a material that is light, durable, cheap and hygienic. Yet, over the years, it has collected a very bad reputation as a pollutant of the environment. My goal in this project was to highlight the fact that it's not plastic that's bad for the environment, it's the way we use it. Most objects made of plastic are wrongly considered as worthless, disposable and meant for a single use, when really they're not and shouldn't be, considering how much energy and non-renewable sources go into its production.

For the first tote, I used the plastic bags as brightly coloured panels sewn onto the bag in a way that they let the brand's logo show through in colour.

For the second bag, the method I chose was a lot more painstaking. I cut the bags into very narrow strips, rolled them into thread and used it to embroider the logo in black and fill in the rest with colour.

This technique was chosen to symbolize how much time and energy is consumed to process plastic that is thrown out to be buried or recycled, and at the same time, to remind people that it's up to us to use it responsibly. We can chose to treat it as garbage or we can look at it as something that's still useful, even potentially beautiful.

Ok, enough with the talk. Here come the pictures!

Here's how the sewn bag was made:

And the procedure for the embroidered bag:
Ready and signed in plastic thread.

Now you know what you have to do if you want to enter the draft in order to win one of them:

Head over to Kiehl's in Attica, just off Syntagma Square, get photographed with your favourite bag and leave your contact info to be eligible for the draft. Hurry up though, you only get one week, as next Thursday June 2nd there will be a huge finale party where all of the artists, bloggers and Kiehl's people will be present to hold the draft and announce the winner for each tote.


And don't forget to check out Kiehl's in Greece on Facebook and visit all the participating blogs for exclusive photos of each artist's work.

See you next Thursday!

21 comments:

lalakats said...

Creative, practical,handmade and stylish. Bravo :)

Panagiota said...

popo prepei na pedeftikes poli!!to apotelesma omos einai para poli oreo!bravo!:)

katoula said...

w o w! I have no words!

Call me M said...

Katapliktiki douleia! I 2i mou arese para poli! Prepei omws na se paidepse poli...Para poli kali i idea sou!

Alex Matoshko said...

It's so awesome! I envy people who can make something so beautiful with their own hands! I have all kinds of design ideas myself, but no patience :D

Well done!

Cheers,
Alex
http://lifestylegeek.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

you have done a wonderful wonderful job! i love how you are mixing techniques and materials. maybe its time to think about designing more things other than bags???

ShoppingTherapy said...

το εγραψα στο face αλλα στο γραφω κι εδω
αν και περιμενα να κανεις κατι πιο structured λογω architect, τελικα εκανες κατι που ταιριαζει παρα πολυ με το προφιλ σου: τα diy που εχεις κανει κατα καιρους, τα vintage κομματια που υιοθετεις στα outfits σου, που δε πετας παλια ρουχα κλπ κλπ
μπραβο!! και το οικολογικο aspect ταιριαζει και με τα πιστευω της kiehls, so πολυ πετυχημενη ιδεα γιατι συνδυασες τη φιλοσοφια της δικη σου κ της εταιρειας!!

A BRIT GREEK said...

You indeed are the ultimate craftista! I absolutely love what you've done with the second bag! Amazing!!!

x.o.x.o

Florendia said...

Bravo lopi apisteuti eidika i kentiti! Didn't expect anything less from you;)

Penny said...

dn exw logia!einai fantastikes!creative girl!

Alessia said...

bravo sou lopi lopi!teleia :)

Modesty_Blaise said...

Φανταστική ιδέα + πολύ όμορφο αποτέλεσμα! Μπράβο σου!

Lorelai Sebastian said...

esu tis ekanes autee? pethainw einai teleies!love them!bravo su!!

Jenny M. said...

ΥΠΕΡΟΧΗ ΔΟΥΛΕΙΑ! WELL DONE!!!

personalstylestoriesbyjennym.blogspot.com

V for varethika.. said...

pw pw teleiaaaaaa!!!

Vanda said...

YOU ARE AN ARTIST!!I love both bags, really fantastic work!

Bee of Athena said...

Fantastic idea! You should do more crafty things, you clearly have talent:)

Lefteris said...

είδα την τσάντα σου live στο attica. Ωραία ιδέα και εκτέλεση:)-

chloe said...

oh my god lopi, they're amazing, so inspiring x

marietta said...

featured here: http://doublecrochets.blogspot.com/2011/06/human-being-creative.html


cheers!

Vintage Paper Designs said...

This is really cool!