When I was packing up this round of subscription wristlets I noticed that they coordinated nicely with the packing envelopes. The color theme for fall was brown.
I paired chocolate microsuede with a high-end decorator fabric that has yellow tones. I topped off the wristlets with buttons that remind me of butterscotch candies. (I've noticed that I pretty much always use food words to name colors, but that's another story.)
Once Otis realized that Ashley brought Tucker's squeaky toy, he got super excited. In fact, he hogged it. The only problem was, the red cuz didn't fit in his mouth. He tried and tried, but he couldn't pick it up. (Tucker was polite and didn't laugh at him though.)
Puggle and pug tail comparison: Otis's is more of a cinnamon bun tight curl, while Tucker's is a caramel colored loop.
Back in August photography student Laurie Pearman took some photographs of me working in the shop for a school project. This is one of my favorites because it shows the handbags for sale on the wall on the left. In the photo, I'm cutting pieces of interfacing that I'll use on a Helen Hobo.
Fall in Seattle means looking up at grey skies and wearing lots of layers. But grey doesn't have to be gloomy. Here's a new shape, Evelyn, made of grey microsuede with a teal buckle and black accents.
Katie models a glossy grey wristlet in this photo. I like how soft the grey looks next to her black shirt and jeans.
Seattle resident Erica sent us this picture a while back. She's toting an Eve bag and heading toward local hot spot the High Life. (I love her green coat!)
The blurry man in the photo above is my husband Jeff. I took the photo a couple of weeks ago down in rural Oregon when we took a wood-buying road trip. He pretty much looks like that most of the time - on the go and getting things done. 
Before Martha and Threads, there was Needlecraft Magazine. Here's the October issue from 1930. I found it at an antique shop in central NY a couple of years ago.
October is my favorite month. I love the crisp air and Halloween. I look forward to putting on hats and cozy scarves. Judging by these beret and purse projects, they must have felt the same way back in 1930.
Doesn't she look sharp in her terrier beret and matching clutch. (Wristlet!) I covet her tailored coat too.
In addition to the wonderful illustrations, I love the vintage language in this publication - it's both smart and practical.
These red bird bubble necklaces are California bound, along with bumblebees, kittens, and chubby birds. The lovely Seattle-based jewelry store Something Silver, which has several stores in California, has started carrying our bubble necklace line, and this is the first batch headed down to Cali.
Ashley took this picture of several all black purses we made recently. They key to keeping a monochromatic design interesting is to play with texture and materials. We've juxtaposed matte against shiny, velvet against silk, microsuede against faux leather.
Remember when I told you about this white button? Well, here is the bridal bag on which it now resides. The whole collection, which included four pink and brown clutches, is headed off to Michigan for an upcoming wedding.
Ashley and her boyfriend Nate adopted Tucker through Seattle Pug Rescue, an organization near and dear to the heart of Laura Bee Designs. At only 11 months old, he's full of puppy energy and Ashley and Nate are having a great time trying to tire him out. In the photo above, he's taking a brief break from romping around Greenlake with his new dog mom. The adoption process is an extensive one, but every form and home visit was well worth the cuddly (and wiggly) end product!
Tucker has a condition called Megasophogus, which makes him eligible for the "Helping Hands" program through Seattle Pug Rescue. Helping Hands offers financial aid to the dogs' veterinary care who are deemed 'hard to adopt,' and part of the LBD fundraising effort goes toward the program. So on behalf of Tucker, thank you to all of you who have purchased a Happy Dog Zipper case! 
Five years ago today, Jeff and I got married. We had a small wedding - about 65 members of our family and close friends.
I recently learned that the traditional 5 year anniversary gift is wood. How fitting! Just last month, Jeff built us a beautiful deck, which will last for years to come. (The hammock in the photo was a favorite wedding gift.)
Four of these little buttons would fit on one nickel. I'm glad they were never used; they look lovely on their original packaging.
This bride chose rich shades of red and orange for her bridesmaids, who will be wearing charcoal grey.
We made a different silk wristlet for each girl.
We used an embroidered overlay on the bride's wristlet.
Don't forget the flower girl...here's something bright and fun for a lucky 9 year old.
Help us come up with a caption that suits this picture of Otis. 
Let's face it. For those of us who came of age during the 1980s, gold jewelry can remind us of gaudy socialites who piled on the designer brands, perfume, and tacky jewelry to ostentatiously display their wealth. From bathroom faucets to silverware, back then, everything was dipped in gold. This turned me off of the jewelry tone altogether. I suspect that I am not alone. Until this year, anything gold sold very slowly in our store.
Gold has been back for a few seasons now, but it's taken many of us a while to warm up. Right now, we have a gold-themed display table in our shop. Far from glaringly tacky, the items we have on display are paired with muted warm hues like olive green, cream, rust, and espresso. The sunny look of the gold jewelry lightens and brightens these shades.
I haven't visited Noun: A Person's Place for Things, but we've sold many bags, wristlets, and wallets to Stephanie the owner and she's reordered several times from us. Noun customers have visited our Seattle shop and told us how cool Noun is. Plus, it's in Portland, right next door to Saint Cupcake! Shopping and cupcakes; now that's a perfect combination.
Stephanie carefully blends new inventory with great vintage finds in her shop. We made these bags from incredible vintage barkcloth she sent us. We'll ship them off tomorrow to Noun, making them an exclusive collection for lucky Portland shoppers. By the way, that's Debbie (left) who cut all of these bags, and Ashley (right) who sewed them.
Hello blog readers. I'm proud to announce that we have officially launched our new website, which is chock full of many terrific features and products. I'm especially excited about our new custom design options, wish list capability, and extra information about our process and store.
I photographed this little group of buttons in response to an email from Jennifer in California. Her bridesmaids will be wearing lovely aubergine dresses.
Jennifer told me that she pictured toffee and chocolate brown as her accent colors, along with gold jewelry.
After she approved my button choices, I came up with a unique design for each girl.
I decided to use the toffee and chocolate as the base colors of each wristlet, and to emphasize the eggplant with embellishments. I love her color palette. It is so unique and rich looking.
Aren't these cute? Artist Melissa of Itty Bitty Barkers made them for me! I ordered them from her Etsy store.
Each little sculpture is handpainted.
This one is based on Otis' smiler.
I couldn't resist taking a few pictures with my dollhouse sewing furniture.
I grabbed my camera and took a few pictures of the detritus to capture the fleeting color combinations. Especially inspired by the fluffy dandelion seed puff and the Lily of the Valley fall berries, I think it will be fun to design a clutch inspired by each photo. I'll share those with you soon. Stay tuned.
Since today is Labor Day, in the spirit of the holiday, Jeff and I decided to do absolutely no labor. We swung in the hammock, played fetch with the dog, and indulged in a few guilty pleasures of cable TV watching. Later, I idly sat on the front stoop with a glass of lemonade when our hydrangea plant caught my eye. See how this bloom is resplendent on crispy leaves? That juxtaposition is a sure sign of autumn my friends.
I took this picture way back in June when summer was just unfolding. That's Ashley balancing on a crazy swing apparatus that hangs in a neighborhood park up the street from the shop . 
