Come out and see me...

If you ever wanted to own a piece by MASHULU, there's no time like now!  I'm trying to destash in order to get ready for the next phase of MASHULU.  I will be moving more towards hand-dyed textiles and re-purposed leather accents.  Prices on the day of the Handmade Holiday will be REDICULOUSLY low! After the show whatever merchandise is left will be available on the MASHULU etsy site with free U.S. shipping until Christmas! What can I say...I'm a giver!

I'm in the mood for another merchandise overhaul... I can't help myself. 

All of this textile design and re-design I've been doing has me really inspired to do the same thing for my bags.  Designing my own textiles (in limited runs, of course) will make my bags even more original and truly exclusive.  I'm going to also start using leather accents as opposed to my usual marine vinyl.  

I'm exited about the possibilities...and it all starts with this:

Stay tuned... 

Style File 8/14/2011

It all started with this:

Essie nail polish in "Clam Bake"

Then I saw this:

So of course I'll need to get these:

I purposely didn't list where I saw these...wouldn't want anyone to scoop them up before I do, now would I?



I haven't blogged in a while.  For some odd reason my school's Internet was blocking all images from the blogger site and I just didn't feel right blogging blind.  I tried to find other alternatives; I signed up for a Tumbler and a blog on Word Press.  But Blogger is what I know so I'm going to stick with it for the time being. 

ANYHOO...A while ago I made some crochet earrings and they did pretty well.  With school and working I couldn't even think about taking the time to sit and crochet.  Since I decided to dedicate most of the summer to work on my art, some time opened up.  I need to take better pics, for sure...

I wish I could make them like this again, but I have no idea where I got the beads and I don't know where to find them. I'm still looking though:

Also, during my summer "break" I have managed to indulge in my growing textile design addiction and I sewed up 11 more doll bodies...woohoo!  That brings my total to 21 (23 if I count the two I've done for art trades).  All of them are not stuffed, but the "hard" part is over so it's all good.  I feel like I'm in a good place to get back to making bags and accessories.  My mind is bursting at the seams with ideas for a different direction for MASHULU.  In case you didn't check out my single solitary Tumbler post, here's a couple of the many pieces I've dyed this summer.  I am so in love with the colors!

This one I went over with a simple silk screen design. I'll definitely be doing something like this again:

 Next is to dust off my fashion design skills to design and create a collection of garments, which will also be part of my solo exhibition for grad school.  Fortunately, season 9 of Project Runway starts this week so I will be PLENTY motivated!  Speaking of which, I just realized I only have about 3 semesters to go! That went by kind of quick...

MASHULU for sale at the VMFA!

If you are in or around Richmond, VA be sure to stop by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts gift shop!  Here you'll find a plethera of artful goods including MASHULU by Artina handmade handbags!  Enjoy!

Look What I Can Do...

I am meeting with a buyer for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts next week, which means new MASHULU items are on the horizon!  I'm looking to post new bags as soon as next weekend...it's also the weekend following my birthday.  Yippee!  Here's a sneaky peek...

the CHAMPAGNE clutch

I finally took the time to take relatively decent photos of a couple of dolls I've made.  The first one is for an art trade with one of the undergraduate students I met here at NSU.  She had this painting that I loved but had trouble pricing it.  She saw one of my dolls and I offered a trade.  Of course, she picked my fave so I offered to make one similar for her.  I have not titled it yet, but it is inspired by corset piercing.  I think I may have shown y'all the original before, but these pics are better than what I posted before:

In case you were wondering, I made the stand myself...in the future I think I will paint them white though.  I also made the jump rings myself because at the time I couldn't find any the right size.  I originally used some of doll artist Patti Culea's patterns but I have since tweaked them a bit to make them my own.  These are about 21" tall, not including the stand.  The larger ones I'm working on will be a bit over 36"! I'm exited at the possibilities a larger "canvas" will afford me.

Here's the one I made for my art trade:

All of the fabrics used to make both dolls were hand dyed and printed by me.  I think I'm coming along nicely, don't you?