a waterproof laptop backpack DIY

today I will boast a bit;)
I have been dreaming of a laptop backpack for a while - I'm tired of my old, dull laptop bag and of dragging the computer on one shoulder. it just doesn't seem healthy nor comfortable any more.

I wanted us to make sth simple, safe and practical, sth I could use every day, no matter the weather conditions. it's designed the way it fits all the basics: a computer, cords, an agenda and some files.

MATERIALS
the most important thing was to get a waterproof fabric - we were lucky to find a second hand bag with large yellow panels that we used as the external layer of the backpack. it's a half-transparent, waterproof plastic strenghten with a thread-net inside. the stripped fabric underneath and the red cotton lining are both second hand and so is the belt. actually, the belt makes a funny story - we were looking for a strong, wide, but not too hard belt or a fabric tape and in the end we've found a karate belt that felt simply perfect! I liked the belt so much that I decided we'll keep the original 'kamosu' label.
sewing any laptop bag you'll also need to get a sponge-a-like material to make it safe enough for a computer (tip: you may reuse an old karrimat).

SEWING/SHAPE
I wanted the backpack to look flat, without losing space, so we decided to cut all the major pieces of fabric rhombus-shape - with the down corners pulled to the inside it makes the front look rectangular and you get some extra space on the botton (depth).
inside there is also a padded 'sleeve' for the computer and a pocket with a zipper.
the lower end of the belt is sewn into the backpack's seam to make it stronger.
if you have enough materials, you should go for a longer folding part - our is maybe a bit too short, but it's all we could do with what we had;)

all in all, I couldn't be happier with how the backpack turn out - it fits great, looks good and cost us close to nothing! hope you'll like it too.
sorry for the lack of pictures of work in progress, but this time we were just too lazy to take them (admit) ;) besides, this yellow plastic doesn't photograph easy...

oh, and I officially say 'thank you' to my mom for taking some of the pictures below!

take care!
-oh

hello new purses!

I just wanted to share some of the last bags with you. more to come in the nearest future.

hey hey, new voices are calling, new challenges are round the corner!

hope you’re doing fine and that the moody spring treats you well!
-oh

sleepy spring, beautiful spring

hello again!

spring is a wounderful time, no doubt about that, but there is also a lot of energy that your body has to produce to keep up with all the changes around. it sometimes makes me feel worn out and sleepy to an indecent degree:) so, take a good care of yourselves my dear, eat healthy, enjoy sun and sleep well…

I hope you’ll gonna like some of our new (and older, but never truly introduced) purses!

-oh

back to life:)

helo, hello!

I guess I was a bit too optimistic allowing myself only one day of melancholy after t.'s departure. all in all, it extended melancholy-time to another day and just now I managed to get out of it a bit:) and if so, I have some pictures of new purses that we worked on during t.'s stay here in poland.
it's such a shame we didn't have more time to go into some complitely new projects and ideas, but considering how incredibily difficult it is to work in an improvised 'studio' (combined with a bedroom, dining room and a sitting room all in one:)), it's a miracle that we've managed to do anything at all.

have a great, sunny day!

-oh

sneak peek

it’s always cool to see spring winning a major battle with winter and be able to undress a bit and enjoy some sun! I’d be happy to say ‘goodbye winter, you lousy piece of season’, but I know it would be very naive of me and that these two beautiful days we’ve just eaten like the finest dessert were in fact more of a teaser of spring rather than spring itself. winter will strike back, but nevermind, I’ll be happy to wait and see it die little by little!

we have defenitelly made a good use of the weather walking a lot and taking way too many pictures of purses that t. and I have been working on during the past days. 

new purses coming soon! for now, just some sneak peeks of what our truly miserable camera saw…

-oh

PS. today's motto is sponsored by hiperventilation and good old polish yass music: I could sleep for a thousand years!

vol. 3

as my good old head is about to explode (the ‘friend’ I’ve mentioned in the last post decided to stay a bit longer with me), this will be a rather short and uninspired post… it means that I will torture you with another portion of our bags:)

oh, oh, winter, winter, go away, disappear!

btw, being sick really sucks! and if anyone of you knows a good solution for sinusitis, share it please! I’m beginning to think I know all of them and none’s really working, but who knows, maybe there’s some kind of grandma’s secret that I missed:)

stay healthy, I'm going to bed!
-oh

me, my friend and some more bags...

hello, hello! my good old friend, sinusitis, decided to throw me a big party today – apparently it doesn’t understand the antibiotic-message that I’ve been sending it for the past few days (even though it screems loudly: DIE!!!). I guess bacterias are also celebrating St. Valentine’s Day and want to spend some time with their loved ones…

all in all, as I have this lousy guest around, this post will be pretty much an efortless and short one: please, let me introduce you to another set of our bags! some of them (actually, the majority…) is now walking the streets with their new owners, but let me just show you how they looked as newborns:)

hugs!
-oh











bags - to be continued...

'cause black and white are not colours...

it snows. through the window I can see roofs covered with thick, white carpet, trees sleeping underneath white blankets. on the balcony there is a plate full of grains surrounded by funny snow-footprints of birds coming every now and then for a snack.
I’m not a big fan of Sundays, but this one (though being coldy-cold) is kind of pleasant.

BUT! because black and white are not colours (as somebody once said) and I’m having some major middle-winter colour cravings, I thought I’d introduce you to some of the bags that we did last autumn. I never actually posted them here – mistake that should be corrected asap!

have a great afternoon!

-oh

...and there is more to come... :)

autumn again

have you noticed that autumn is already around? there is no more heat (at least in belgrade), kids went back to school and leaves start to crunch under one's feet. it's the coolest part of the year, both cheerful and melancholic. never sad.
yesterday we went to take some pictures of bags we've made some time ago and I was so happy to discover how fast baby-autumn grows, how warmly it hugs the city. btw, I'd be so excited to show you the new bags (I really do love them;)), but they are still in a process of coming into being, so at least these few for now.

ok, it's time for me to go north. (this is what I say each day and I'm still in belgrade, but no more - the ticket for today is already in my pocket.)
I'm so hungry of the sea - gonna eat sand and drink salty water. yep.

oh, and if you're in belgrade, don't miss that!

cheers!
-savez

the come-back bags vol. zwei

never thought I would post something so early in the morning, but it's a happy day - we runaway from belgrade for a few days and there is no place for internet in a backpack! all in all, it's now or never for the announced post to come...

I have tried to update our flickr account lately and added a few new bags, that I won't post here. feel free to see, comment, criticise or praise - whatever conscience tells you to do;) btw, it's a hell of a job to update all the bags, to put it all in order. in seems that we've made about hundred of bags during these few months - sounds pretty incredible!

as much as I'm happy that we take these few days off, I really feel like going somewhere far away for longer time. but this should happen in a month or two, so I'm trying to keep my head calm.
it's so good to get lost sometimes...

ok, the books and swimsuits are packed, now the bags and off we go!

have a great weekend!

cheers!
-savez