In the Studio

Being a one woman show has its extreme perks, with a few downfalls thrown in there. Naturally, one of the biggest hurdles I'm constantly working against is pattern development.
I work closely with a few folks from the local cycling scene who are commuters, adventurers, and all-around-bike-people to come up with new ideas for products.
It's always an interesting challenge to go from idea to tangible item.

Granny Gear is a still a pretty young concept. There are bag makers who are worlds above me and that's really exciting! I love watching what other designers are coming up with (& wishing I had thought of it first).

Recently, I decided that I really wanted to tackle a pretty simple frame bag. I'd read a couple of tutorials online that made the process seem significantly less daunting.

I already know I messed up with this #nondriveside picture

The process was surprisingly smooth! I came out with a one color, one pocket frame bag custom made for my SS Fairdale. Also, because it's a custom bag, I made sure the straps don't cover up the Fairdale name...a little pickiness can be managed when you're making things for yourself. 

The frame bag is made from cordura, making it fully water resistant. The straps on future models will be a bit burlier to ensure the bag stays put on any adventure its put on.
I'm not quite ready to offer this to a general public yet. I'm going to ask some friends to use upgraded versions for a "prototype" run before opening them up for order.

I'm real stoked on how the first one turned out, though! And it was a great learning experience.
Now onto the next challenge.