Wear What When

SLIDESHOW: For Cecil + Edith, Armour repurposes grain sacks and quality leather. ‘I love how they have a useful history. When they become market bags, they’ll live on to have a useful future.’

Armour opened her Esty shop in March of 2010. She said she opened up when she realized her penchant for sewing had ‘surpassed the number of friends and family [she] had to force [her] handmade gifts upon.’ Depending on the piece and her sewing mojo, each bag takes about three to four days to complete. Well, for the most part. ‘A leather tote I am currently working on has taking me about three weeks to complete not because it’s so hard, but because I keep getting sidetracked by certain Canadian home improvement shows.’

Armour’s collection of raw materials.

On unlikely tools: ‘My favorite tool, believe it or not, is the common band-aid. I wrap it around certain fingers to keep that heavy-duty nylon thread from tearing into my skin. It seems sad to throw away grain sack fabric that has survived for over 70 years so as much as possible, I try to use my scraps. This one has found a use as my needle holder.’

When defining success, Armour says, “My business is still in its infancy. Any little thing that goes well is a success. Did I make something I like? That’s a success. Did someone heart my shop today? Another success. Did someone make an inquiry? There’s another. Did someone make a purchase? That’s another. All these little successes make me feel like things are moving in the right direction.”

Armour also makes leather bags. ‘When I first discovered I could sew with leather, I was so excited that I lost a lot of sleep over it.’ For this Etsian, there’s nothing like the real thing. ‘I’m inspired by the feel of the good stuff in my hands. If I’m going to spend hours working on something, I don’t want to waste my efforts on cheap fabric or fake leather. It’s got to be the best I can get my hands on.’

Armor’s business is named after her grandparents. Of one in particular she says, ’She’s extra-conscious about trying to do things right. I’d hate to let the family down.’ Part of doing things right is packaging and wrapping the bags in a thoughtful and careful manner.

‘My boys and I spend a lot of time walking around,’ says Armour, shown here with one of the little guys. ‘The colors of nature inform a lot of my work as does the desire to tread lightly upon it by using and repurposing found objects.’