Carefully Impregnated Cotton

 The process of impregnating the cotton cloth with paraffin wax was developed in the 1930's and was popular in outdoor clothing until the mid-1950's.

Highly water resistant with outstanding durability, waxed cotton was originally used as a sailing cloth. Scottish mills wove sails for the British clipper fleet out of this material. 

This carry-all handbag measures 12"wide  x 14" tall x 4" deep with 8" extra fabric at the top. The bottom of the bag has been re-enforced with salvaged leather. The straps were also sewn from scrap leather and then secured with small rivets.

The top rolls down to make the bag more weather resistant and the inside is lined with Cordura Nylon.

As the fabric ages, it will wear in to create a unique look for the bag. Supposedly the patina develops with more and more use, in the same manner that leather ages and burnishes with time.

 

 The manufacturing of waxed cotton uses an impregnating agent to soak the cotton with a paraffin based wax before it is woven into a cloth.
Oh Scotland.

Remembering film. It carried a latent image. An invisible image produced by the exposure of the film to light.

Custom built.

A Die at the Helm small messenger bag with an appliqued 35mm 1980s era camera on the front flap.

This custom built bag request was an exciting challenge. I grew up loving those old SLR cameras so I agreed without hesitation. Then I realized that making a flat piece of fabric look like a 3 dimensional piece of photographic equipment was going to be difficult. Thankfully using some contrasting outline stitching completed the applique nicely.

 Digital imaging technology and the LCD preview screen has taken over the market place. But there are many irreplaceable qualities about those old SLR cameras, such as the complexity of film and the greater shadow detail. In fact today most digital cameras utilize a synthetic shutter noise to mimic the sound of a film camera. Perhaps they are attempting to tap into the collective admiration for those cameras of a previous generation.

Of course some things from the 1980s have improved from technological advancements....