http://www.bagsmakeadifference.com A quest to make a luxury brand of handbags to empower women all over the world. Fri, 27 Jun 2008 23:06:57 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I stumbled upon a research paper written a few years ago by a peace corp volunteer who was working with a different community of the same people that I am. She was also passionate about the bags they made, focusing on the relationship that they have with the plants ... http://www.bagsmakeadifference.com/2008/06/27/i-discovered-background-for-this-story/ Thank you to everyone who gave feedback regarding the logos. I will keep them as they are, without burning the name into them. http://www.bagsmakeadifference.com/2008/06/19/thank-you/ When creating the logo and designing the button, I asked the Wounaan artists to make a flat sizable area in the middle in which I could put the brand name. I want to keep the natural look and the 100% organic-ness of the bag, so I thought to use a woodburning ... http://www.bagsmakeadifference.com/2008/06/09/developing-the-design-uncertainty/ I have written previously about my struggles to find an expression of the feeling of this brand among the records of human culture. My failure to find what I was looking for lead me to two things: 1. An empty canvass from which to create something brand new that meant ... http://www.bagsmakeadifference.com/2008/05/28/the-birth-of-a-brand/ Here is the website I made for the Wounaan artisans who carved my vegetable ivory logos. There are still a few things to polish, but you are free to peruse their creations! www.carpioarte.com http://www.bagsmakeadifference.com/2008/05/15/my-end-of-the-deal/ I recently received the photographs that were taken with Amy, a former professional model who is dedicating 3 years of her life to service. Part of that service was in the same community that makes the bag. She loves the bag project and vowed to help me. ... http://www.bagsmakeadifference.com/2008/05/12/16/ I tried so hard to find the perfect symbol. I researched legends, dug for stories, looking for something that already had the meaning that I was trying to create. And just as I seemed to hit rock bottom in desperation, I got a lightning flash realization: in creating something new, ... http://www.bagsmakeadifference.com/2008/05/07/the-logo/ I need to find a manufacturer of clothing tags. I would really love it if all parts of this bag could be socially and environmentally responsible. After many days of searching, I am surprised at how little I've found. I think I expected and hoped to find ... http://www.bagsmakeadifference.com/2008/04/30/looking-for-socially-responsible-tags/ Going to these little jungle towns in the Comarca of Panama is like going to another world. In some ways, it's so much more uncomfortable than the world I usually live in: no flushing toilets, no showers, very little food variety, lots of dust and bugs, under-fed pets. ... http://www.bagsmakeadifference.com/2008/04/28/new-places-and-old-stories/ I am leaving in a few hours on the midnight bus to David, Chiriqui.  From there I will hire the 4X4 to take me to Soloy, the small village in the jungle.  I will meet with the women again, hike into the mountains to meet "the elders", listen to their ... http://www.bagsmakeadifference.com/2008/04/23/into-the-jungle-again/