Coterie Bags - Tracy Watkins

Tracy Watkins is the huge talent behind Coterie Bags which, I'm delighted to say, are for sale at Catherine Povey Millinery in Llandeilo.

 

Look how well Tracy's bags and my hats go together. Made for each other!

This post is all about sustainabillity. Over to Tracy...

As well as asking where I get my leather from, my lovely customers are interested in topics like sustainability of materials. Sustainability is about balanced energy consumption. A truly sustainable product provides/harnesses as much energy as is used to create it, so consumer items can never truly be sustainable, but we can work towards that goal by designing a product life cycle that reduces energy consumption. Every 'made' item has a life cycle: a birth, a life, and a death. It's often the processes to make/manufacture these products that cause the damage, so if we as makers can reduce the amount of energy used in the entire life cycle of our products, we are on the responsible track towards sustainability.
 

 I use a material that is really a by-product of one industry (meat), also a by-product of a second industry (furniture). I use a material that would often otherwise go to waste. All of my leather goods are created from upholstery scrap and my designs are inspired by the notion of 'no waste'.

Those oddly shaped or very small scraps I do end up with find a place in patchworked pieces or as key pull details etc. Only slithers of leather and thread trimmings find their way into the bin! I also up-cycle, (use a material that has previously had another life e.g. as a sofa) But it's not as simple as only using recycled or re-using materials, we also need to think about the original manufacture of our materials (energy efficient/eco friendly manufacturing processes), the transport of our materials (locally made, long shipping routes require fuel), our efficiency in using our materials (reducing scrap), and the end of life for our product materials (reuse materials, donation or Landfill).

This thinking has led me to focus on the leather I use which I know has been responsibly manufactured, i.e not from India where they often pour the waste from tanning the leather straight into the rivers. So I create a unique, locally supplied, well-crafted, durable product that will have a long life. I use biodegradable materials, (though leather may have a lifespan of over a hundred years it will completely degrade) which amazingly can be composted (when it's completely worn out).

I focus on creating 'precious' items, that is items you still wouldn't want to throw away when you are done using them. I recently had a lovely comment from someone who'd found one of my bags in a vintage shop and was delighted with their find!

At the end of the working day I feel like I've accomplished something meaningful that I've found my design niche. I can create and experiment and sell and every day feel good.

What's in a name?

I often name my hats but there's little rhyme or reason in the process. Sometimes the name comes first, it's part of the inspiration for the piece and an essential part of the design as with "Ever So Umbel"

 

This piece was inspired by the umbels growing all over our land and I do like a little pun now and again, a bit of humour in my millinery is essential.

 

Sometimes the piece is made and the name comes afterwards:

 

 

This piece is "Breeze", I thought it looked a little windswept somehow.

 

With other pieces there is more of a story.

 

Here's the latest piece from the studio.This is Westwood, a piece I have made in various colours and stylings many times over the years.

 

 

 

Now you might assume, and I wouldn't blame you, that it was named for the marvellous Vivienne. She is a hero of mine and it would make sense

 

 

 

but it's not the case although she plays a part.

 

 

The original Westwood headpiece was made for myself many years ago for a family trip to the races. The base was sinamay, shaped as the new piece but trimmed with a sinamay flower and a few biot feathers. Nowhere near as fancy as this one.

 

We went to Ladies Day at Windsor Races, a day out I would thoroughly recommend, it is a small and very pretty course and you can arrive by boat, a most romantic and pleasing start to proceedings.

 

 

 

Our boat struggled a little. We were travelling upstream against the current which was very strong and slowed us down. When we got to the race course the first race was about to begin. It was a dash to the bookies for a bet with little thought for the form or the going or even the jockey's colours.

 

I guess this is where Viv comes in. The horse that caught my eye was "Westwood" and it seemed appropriate so I banged in a tenner, on the nose (each way always seems so wimpy to me).

 

My Dad was unimpressed - you've got no chance! He might have had a point, the odds were 33-1. But what did I care, I had to have a punt on one of my favourite designers.

 

It was an exciting race...

 

 

 

...and what do you know....he did it! Westwood romped home for me and it was the start of a great evening. One of my sisters was picked as a finalist in the Best Dressed Lady competition, I bought some champagne and by the end of the night the winnings were gone.

 

But it was a lot of fun and my headpiece had a name. What else could I call it?

 

So, the Westwood is a lucky piece. If you are off to the races it's a style you might want to commission, it could weave it's magic for you.....

 

And if you see any horses running at 33-1, bang on a ton! You'll be quids in.