Sushi crafting - a retrospective

Once upon a time, in the distant land of Chester in 2007, I decided I wanted a handbag that looked like a sushi roll. This might have been a pretty wacky notion but sushi has been my favourite food since I was a teenager and I've always loved the cute and cuddly, so I thought it would make an awesome accessory. I scoured the internet, convinced that someone, somewhere, would be selling one, but to no avail. Nobody was making them, so I decided to make one myself. I went out and bought a second-hand barrel style handbag and covered it with fleece and felt so it looked like a sushi roll. This is how it looked when I was done.

 

I covered the zip with a felt version of a soy sauce dropper and it was done. It was a little rough and ready, but as a first try I think it worked out nicely.

At the time my husband was working in a little Japanese-themed gift shop called Tokyo Jazz Panda. TJP is now online-only, but at the time it was also a little shop. I went to visit my husband at work and the owner of TJP wanted to know where I got my sushi bag from. When I told him I'd made it myself he asked me if I'd consider making them for the shop. Within a few weeks I'd been given my own shelf in the shop and made lots of sales, of the handbags and also of some small badges, key rings and pin-cushions.

 

 

After we left Chester I continued to sell sushi bags on my etsy store but the return to education and then to full-time work meant I didn't have time to make my larger pieces any more.

 

Well the good news is I've started making sushi accessories again. I'm starting small with some sushi purses but I'm hoping to be making full-size maki roll handbags again in the next few weeks. Photos to follow soon, but keep an eye on my etsy store for more updates. 

 

Thanks for reading. If you're interested in any of the creations above or would like to commission something even weirder please let me know. Leave a comment or email me at luckyladybirdcraft@gmail.com.

 

Stay lucky! x x x