Full description

I hand paint jute bags with simple images of animals, birds, trees and flowers. It started when I bought my first jute bag in one of the large supermarkets. The size was great and I loved that it stood up unaided, but it had a company logo and a corporate statement on it and I was determined to find one that didn’t. I looked for one that had a design on it that said something about me rather than the supermarket, but I couldn’t find anything, so I did the next best thing; bought a load of plain jute bags and began to paint them myself. My first design was a chicken and my second, for my sister, was a cockatiel and she loved it and still uses her bag today.

The Little Bag measures 20cms (height) x 20cms (width) x 14cms (depth) approx. These bags are light but very strong and stand up unaided.

When my niece asked for a bag for her lunch I decided to stock these little bags too. I have created a whole new set of designs to fit the smaller print space and feature some of the animals and insects that are likely to be seen and loved by children. My niece said ‘It’s a bag just like mummy's’. However I was surprised to find that I sell these bags to adults too. It turns out they are perfect for lunches or collections of small items like embroidery silks or buttons.

Once I have created a design, I cut a stencil and then I print each bag individually. This means they are never actually identical and may differ slightly from the one pictured.

My bags have the highest ethical and environment standards, are biodegradable and have ‘climate neutral’ status. They are shipped rather air-freighted and the people that harvest & weave the jute are paid a fare wage and have good working conditions. I could buy cheaper bags but I personally don’t want to generate my income through the suffering of others even if they are on the other side of the world and I’ll never meet them. So my bags are a bit more expensive than others but they are also individual works of art.....besides ethical action is not confined to the wealthy, we can all make a difference however small.

It is difficult to justify paying a higher price for something, but when you choose to buy from a crafter you are putting food on the table or paying for their children to have some music or swimming lessons. You are NOT helping a CEO to buy his second home or new flash car. Like all other crafters my customers are my shareholders & they are the ones I strive to make happy.