I’m posting about something a little bit different today – something that has absolutely zilch to do with makeup or fitness, but instead something I was given for my birthday that I’m so incredibly excited about that I just had to share it.
I have been a longstanding Veronica Mars fan. I’ve watched the series many, many times over the years, and while I may not be able to kill at VM trivia like I can massacre anyone at Buffy the Vampire Slayer trivia, I am still an enormous fan. I supported the Kickstarter campaign, saw the movie opening day and will forever be a Marshmallow at heart.
One of Veronica’s most iconic objects aside from her camera (obviously) is her enormous bag that she carries throughout season 3 and subsequently in the movie as well. It’s one badass accessory, but one I never really needed because I am adamant about not carrying a purse. I have, however, relatively recently picked up a nice DSLR camera that needed a camera bag. Out of nowhere, my husband decided to order this bag for me (I don’t even know why or how he did it, I’m sure I’d never mentioned it to him before) and surprised me with it for my birthday.
I was floored. This was something I had really wanted but couldn’t bring myself to spend the money on! Not only that, but he also had it customized so that there’s a pocket inside that fits my new camera and lens. Hell, it’s padded and shaped to fit the camera in the bag safe and sound!
Elated to receive this gift, I wanted to know more about the designer he had purchased it from. As it turns out, she’s entirely local to Toronto! I got in touch with Karen Kalashnik, and she was more than happy to answer my questions about her work and the Veronica Mars bag.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your design work!
I always liked to make my things on my own instead of buying them, so I’ve always been a creative person. I started sewing from a young age but never really made anything more than a pair of shorts. I always had big ideas of great pieces of clothing to make but every time I tried they never turned out exactly as I had hoped. My grandmother and my aunt were the ones who first showed me how to use a sewing machine when I was in public school but after that I never touched a sewing machine until I was about 23. I took a two beginner sewing classes and read the Complete Idiots Guide to Sewing, then went out and bought my own machine. From there I made some pyjamas and did alterations for friends and family.
Then, for some reason, I had this grand idea that I wanted to make leather bags. It really came out of nowhere. My mother bought me the special sewing machine that I needed to sew leather with (it’s a heavy duty machine that has a walking sewing foot, which means it actually walks the leather through the machine as it stitches it. A regular sewing machine doesn’t do this so leather just gets stuck in it if you try to sew with it). Then I bought some leather and made a bag. I’m not really sure how I figured it out, but sewing bags just seemed to come naturally to me. I can see all the purse pieces in my head and am just able to put them together like a puzzle. I think that’s why sewing in general just comes to me easily – it’s like putting a puzzle together and I love puzzles. I found out I work really well with pictures. If someone can send me a picture of a bag they want me to recreate I can usually copy it just by looking at the pictures of the bag. That’s how I learned to sew all the bags I make.
How did you come about re-creating the “Veronica Mars bag”? What spurred that on? Are you a fan as well?
A customer came to me and asked me to make a replica of the bag that Veronica Mars wore in season 3 of the TV show. Originally it was made by Nordstroms but they discontinued it. I had never heard of the show, so she sent me some pictures and I made her a bag with the snaps on the strap and a plain front and back of the bag (that’s what she wanted, not all the stitching detail or the snaps on the base). I then posted a picture of the bag on my Etsy site for sale and the VM fans just flocked to my Etsy site. This is definitely my most popular bag!! From there I’ve made a few variations of the bag. A version with the snaps and stitching detail, a version with silver snaps instead of the original antique brass, and I’ve also done other custom variations for customers. Since then I’ve seen the VM movie and season 1 of the TV show. I’m not a crazy fan, but I do love the show!
Was it difficult to produce? Did you run into any issues with source material?
The Veronica Mars bag is really easy to create. Over time I’ve adjusted my patterns and the way I make the bag to be able to make it as quick and efficiently as possible (since it’s the bag I make the most often). Now, instead of just making one of them at a time, I make about four. I’ll make the straps, the inside cloth pockets, the inside leather pocket, and the front and back of the detailed bag (but without the snaps). Then, when someone orders one, I already have several of the pieces ready to go. I’ll draw from my inventory of straps, pockets, and then make the other pieces and put the bag together. This way I have the generic pieces ready so that if someone wants any alterations or different colour snaps, I can still use the pieces I’ve already got in my inventory and just make a few other parts. This method really helps me to save time when making this bag. I do a lot of my work in front of the TV too so it never feels like work! I love my job and I get to watch TV while I work!
You made a pretty phenomenal camera pocket for this bag in particular. Do you enjoy customizing bags? Is this something you do regularly? What are some options for people who want some custom work done?
Customizing bags is challenging at times, but also sometimes easy. I do like a challenge because it makes me think and teaches me new techniques. I’ve had a lot of requests from customers to copy designer bags. Although I don’t like to copy other people’s work (everyone does it, from Guess to Michael Kors, so I don’t feel too terrible doing it), it has taught me how to do a lot of incredible things with my bags. If you check out my Facebook album with all the purses I’ve made to date you’ll see that my talent has definitely improved over the years as I’ve continued to make my usual bags as well as new ones. I don’t advertise that I copy bags, but if someone asks and I think I can do it, I’ll usually say yes and replicate it. I’m lucky too that when I copy a bag it usually turns out to look just as good as the original and goes for about an 1/8th of the price!! The Tom Ford bag on my Etsy site is a copy of the Tom Ford Jennifer bag.
I typically get requests to add extra or custom pockets, just like your bag did with the camera-shaped pocket. I’ve even done a bag with an inside bottle holder for a baby bottle. I’ve made an inside pocket for a beach bag that was water resistant so that my sister-in-law could stash her wet bathing suit and not get the rest of the bag wet.
What are your most popular bags? Which are your favourites to create?
The VM bag is my favourite one to create because it’s easy and quick. I like to be able to touch and feel the finished product of a project, that’s why I hated working in the tech industry because the end result of a project was never tangible. I like to see the finished product and touch it and that’s how I know it’s complete. So the VM bag is finished quickly and I like that.
MTV did an article about Veronica Mars right before the movie came out that talks about her clothes and bag. They mentioned that the real bag can’t be found anymore but that they found a great replica on Etsy (which is my shop!). I think that definitely helped me to get more sales. Once the movie came out last March my sales doubled that month, it was awesome!!
Recently I’ve been creating fringe bags that are my new favourites because they are also quick to make and I really like creating the fringe (I have a special tool that you pull the leather through and it cuts the fringe for you). I used to manually cut it by hand but then stumbled upon that tool and it just made my life so much easier!! Since I never went to school for sewing, I’m unaware of all the awesome tools that are available to make my life easier! Because of this, I do everything by hand until I find a better tool.
All in all, I’m beyond pleased with this bag! There’s only so many ways to express my excitement over a camera bag, but rest assured that I am a seriously happy camper. If you’re interested in a Veronica Mars bag of your own, or one of Karen’s original designs, please be sure to check out her shop. All relevant links below!
- Etsy Shop: http://karenkalashnik.etsy.com
- Facebook: Karen Kalashnik Handbags
- Twitter: KKJewelsandBags
- Instagram: karenkalashnik
- E-mail: karen.kalashnik[at]gmail.com
