EB

Otherwise known as, "An Opportunity to Brag on One of My Extremely Creative Friends".

EB (short for Emily Brown) is yet another person who I met in Colorado (one of the first, actually--she helped me shovel wood chips and spoke the entire first in an Irish accent). She is highly creative in several aspects--notably poetry, songwriting, and leatherworking.

She made this, which has been my journal for the past several months (the proceeds went towards my friend Tess, who was fighting spinal cancer at the time--she loves butterflies).

To say that I love this journal would be an understatement of the century.

It was also kind of exciting to find leaves that matched the cover. It made my little artistic mind very happy.

M-bar-M, or M-M, is EB's brand on all of her work. (Speaking of her work, you should check it out if you get a chance. Seriously.)







The following project has something of a story behind it. I had this canvas knapsack that belonged to my grandpa (on my dad's side) during WWII. It had been in a closet for ages, until it was pulled out for use by one of my brothers. They didn't use it much, so I grabbed it and made very good use out of it for about 8 years (from ages 14-22).

By last year it was starting to fall apart--the canvas was double-layered, but holes were starting to tear in the bottom and the straps were beginning to part from the back. It was to the point where I didn't use it at all, for fear that it would fall apart in my hands.

A couple of months ago I had the germ of an idea, and I texted EB to ask her what she thought. My idea was to send her the existing bag, have her use it as a pattern, and reuse the hardware as best she could.

This was the bag before:



(So floppy and sad....)

And this was after.

*screaming internally*

She did an incredible job, and every time I look at it I can't get over the sheer gorgeousness: how it was put together, the fact that she incorporated some of the original canvas (serial numbers ftw!), how much of the original hardward survived the process...I can't get over it.

I use it every day and love it to death. :3

Since getting this back I've handed out almost all the business cards she gave me, and know of at least one person who has ordered something due to my singing her praises. With that said, if you ever want a leather creation of great quality, go to her first. Not only will you be supporting a private entrepreneur, but all of her work is of incomparable quality and custom-designed to last a lifetime.

There's not many things that one can say that about. (And if you ever see M-M in stores, you'll know who makes them!)

Okay, I'm done bragging. For now....