New look Messenger bag

I've been hinting at this for a while, and now is finally time to unveil the new look Messenger bag (pictured left). It's not only bigger, but I've freshened up the styling in a way that makes it even more practical to use. This styling is also being carried over into the Mini and Large Messengers.

Why change the medium Messenger, which has been a top Red Delicious seller? In short, because I've always designed my bags to suit busy and active women like me, and I need more capacity.

My everyday-style bags have all been designed to accommodate my passion for reading - I'm always carrying a novel, history book, or copy of Vanity Fair. When I originally designed the Messenger it accommodated a paperback, plus a bottle of water and all my other stuff perfectly. It still does, but these days the books seem to be bigger - trade-size paperbacks or hardbacks from the library.

So the Messenger has grown two inches wider and an inch taller to accomodate more book (or whatever it is you carry every day). The depth stays about the same. As you can see from the bag being modelled by my friend Nikki, it's still a great size for everyday use.

While I was reworking this bag I decided to tackle a redesign of the three Messenger styles that I've wanted to do for some time - growing the flap.

The Mini, Medium and Large Messengers now have a longer, wider flap with the fabric embellishment now on this rather than on the body of the bag. This gives them a fresh, more sophisticated and dramatic look, particularly as the flaps are shaped to match the A-shape of the bag's body.

And this works better for those of us who over-stuff our bags sometimes (or always - you know who you are!). If you can't quite get the magnetic snap to shut, there's still plenty of flap to keep your stuff safely inside your bag. A bonus, for me as designer at least, is that this design change makes the three sizes of Messenger look more consistent.

The new look Messenger debuted today in my booth at Pike Place Market. The new Mini and Large Messengers will be introduced soon as I start making them. All three will be on the Red Delicious website pages in the next couple of weeks.

Finally, this means I have a number of original-style Messengers in all three sizes that I will want gone to new owners sooner rather than later. In other words, a Messenger sale. Details will be revealed here and on the website very soon.

Holiday season show schedule

It seems like we just said goodbye to Summer, but the holiday season is already looming large in the Red Delicious sights.

It's clearly an important time for any retail business, and I've actually been planning and preparing since the start of the year. That's when applications had to be in for the biggest show; Best of the Northwest. Other show applications had to be dealt with in Spring and early Summer.

Now I have a full schedule, starting in late October. Details of the shows which are open to the public are now on the Red Delicious News page. I'll write more about each show as they get closer.

November is definitely going to be a busy month, major shows on each of the first three weekends and I'll be keeping up the weekday schedule at Pike Place too.