essays

Cathartic Ink

putting my own spin on things

ActualDesigns

4

I’m going to try to post something that I love on Fridays, whether it’s something to buy or something to play or just something I can’t get out of my head. To kick this off, I have the product review I’ve been meaning to write. Full disclosure on this one, I gain nothing monetary from this review, but the woman behind this store is a longtime friend of TheBoy, and I also think she’s the bees’ knees.

Without further ado, my favorite new bag!

bag outside

My husband purchased this bag for me, from ActualT of ActualDesigns as a Christmas gift. We like to support crafters that we actually know [see also Strings and Yarn] because it’s good for us and good for them. So when I requested this bag, I was pretty sure he’d buy it for me. Call me spoiled if you’d like.

At any rate, the bag is perfect. It’s cute and sassy, and it unzips all the way with small stoppers at the bottom to keep things from falling out. There are pockets inside perfect for holding my notions; scissors, tape measure, etc. It will easily hold my wallet, mitts, keys and notions, a shawl in a plastic baggie, a giant ball of handspun yarn, a 3 month sized baby sweater and extra yarn and a paperback copy of Nick Hornby’s A Long Way Down which is, so far, a fantastic book. And, it stays relatively flat so it slides very easily into the inner pocket of my laptop bag when I’m carrying everything.

It’s one of a kind, pleather with a great fabric lining and grossgrain ribbon straps. It was one of the first bags she made for sale so it has a few quirks but I like that about it. Apart from one zipper pull that likes to rotate itself and make for sticky opening I can find no fault with the bag [and the sticky zipper resolves itself easily when I add patience to the mix]. I have to admit that I feel a great deal of joy when I open the bag and get to see this:

ActualT Bag

Love that print!

4 Comments

  1. T

    WOW!!! What a wonderful review! Thank you so much. I’m glad you love the bag!!!!!