 Summer is on it's way which means it’s the perfect time to embrace carefree boho style. Here's an easy tutorial to reimagine last year’s scarf as this year’s beach bag, with minimal sewing required. Any square piece of fabric will work for this project. I used a scarf I had made myself and block printed with my own patterns. The style of the bag is largely determined by the pattern on the scarf you choose, so pick one that speaks to you! In the end, when it comes time to decorate it, remember that the beauty of this bag is that it can be as simple or elaborate as you'd like. Keep it pared down and elegant or go for a dramatic boho look. Experiment with different colors, add lots of tassels and embellish it to your heart’s content.  materials ⁃ one scarf measuring at least 65cm square ⁃ 2 yards of 3/8” twisted cotton rope ⁃ 2 metal eyelets ⁃ eyelet setting kit ⁃ hammer ⁃ yarn or embroidery thread ⁃ large embroidery needle ⁃ scissors ⁃ sewing machine (or sew by hand, there isn’t a lot of sewing) ⁃ thread for sewing ⁃ sturdy metal comb STEPSFold the scarf in half, top corners together and the sides lined up nice and even. Stitch up both sides.
On each top corner, mark where your grommet will go. I like to put it about 2-3cm down from the top and over from the side.  Cut a round hole through both layers of fabric, large enough to fit the taller portion of the eyelet through. Following the directions on your kit, set the eyelet in place. The fabric should be sandwiched between the two pieces of the eyelet. It’s best to hammer on a sturdy, solid surface or on the floor if you don’t have a sturdy table. Repeat this on the other corner too.
Thread the cotton rope through the eyelet, in through the back and out the front of the bag, on both corners. Wrapping the raw edges of the rope with tape will prevent them from unraveling and make them easier to fit through the holes. Adjust the length of rope to the length of strap you’d like. You can leave it longer for a cross body bag or make it shorter to create a handbag. Tie a basic knot on each side to secure the length.  Now it’s time to make the tassels! There should be 2 long sections of rope hanging from each side of your bag. Trim the rope to the length you’d like your tassel to be. I like to make mine about as long as the side of the bag. Begin untwisting the rope and combing out the tassel. Work in sections and continue combing until it’s all untangled. Finish it off by gathering it together and trimming the bottom in a even, straight line.
The bag is basically finished now, but why not go farther and add some colorful wrapping? Take a long length of yarn or embroidery thread and tie it onto the rope where you'd like your block of wrapping to start. Weave the knot and loose end of thread into the rope and then wrap around it. Continue wrapping, wrapping, wrapping, until you've covered as much of the rope as you'd like. If you run out of yarn or want to change colors, just knot both pieces together, weave the loose ends back into the rope and continue on. At the end, tie the yarn into another knot around the rope. Using a large needle, weave the loose end back into the wrapping and trim it off. For even more decoration, repeat the same wrapping process on the top of the tassels. A FEW TIPSDon't have a scarf? Any square piece of fabric will work, but you might want to finish the edges first. Bandanas are also great for this project. The only thing needed that you might not have lying around is the eyelet setting kit. Most kits come with all the tools you need, minus a hammer, as well as about 10 eyelets. They can be found in most craft stores. When it’s time to comb out the tassels, be patient! It could take a few minutes of combing before a nice, fluffy, tassel appears. Work slowly. You might also find it helpful to iron the rope straight after combing each section.  That's it! You're ready to hit the beach. Fill the bag up with towels, a book and some SPF and be happy that you have a bag that's all your own design. We'll see you out there!
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 Daniel in Southern California ordered a Sailor bag for his new custom fish from Almond Surfboards. The board is a beauty and he was nice enough to send over these shots of the two together.
 photos by Allison Schefer @alliiscef
You know that guy who never brings wax and always wants to borrow some? We don't like being that guy. So Tasha came up with this pouch that perfectly fits a few bars of wax. Fill it up, toss it in your car, now you always have wax.  The fabric on these is a cotton poly blend, which is a more waterproof than the classic canvas. It also wipes clean pretty easily. Best of all, the prints are our own designs, taken from some of Tasha's old surfy doodles. Find them in the beach bag section of the shop, here.
Of course these zip cases are good for holding other thing too, besides was. Fill them up with makeup, art supplies, any little things you want to hang on to.  We're happy to announce that the new collection of Chapman at Sea tees are here at last. We've been waiting a long time to make these available and they're finally here. The plan was to have them ready by fall 2016 so they're almost a year late (whoops!) but the fact that they're made exactly the way we've always wanted makes it worth it.  Our first batch of tees was done in a pretty standard way. Tasha designed them and we had a local shop print them up - easy, and pretty much the same as every other tee out there. Since our focus has always been on handmade items this method of production didn't feel quite right for us. So this time around we went way more hands on with it. Each tee from the new collection is block printed by hand right in our own sunny Florida studio. Tasha hand carved the printing blocks with our "wave wish" design. (May the waves be good where you are) To make the tee, the ink is painted onto the block by hand and stamped onto the fabric, so the texture and ombre fading of the inks is unique on each shirt.
This block printing process gives an extra level of texture to the design that we really love. Check them out for yourself in the tee shop and let us know what you think!
During the holidays we receive a lot of special orders for custom board bags. We're always happy to do whatever we can to make a unique gift for someone. After all, Chapman at Sea got started because we wanted special surfboard bags for ourselves, so of course we want everyone else to be able to have that too.  The Sailor, Shortboard, Forest & Natural This year The Sailor was the most popular style by far, but in all sorts of different colors and shapes. It was nice to bring some deeper tones into the mix, like forest green and deep blue. If you have an idea for your own custom Sailor just get in touch. We love trying new color combos. It has 4 stripes and each one is a chance to do something original.
 Late last summer we heard some really exciting news. Akemi Kan and Mina Soma from Anna Magazine were traveling the east coast working on a special issue, The Explorers : Road Trip USA and Chapman at Sea made the list of places they wanted to stop. Of course we were happy to welcome them into our little space, show them around and talk about what we do.
The photos and interview are out now in the latest issue of anna magazine and we're so stoked to see it! Pick up a copy for an inside look at where we work and how each bag is made.
Congratulations to Chapman at Sea family member Shane for making it into the cast of Big Brother Over the Top on CBS! Shane is Joe's younger brother (or rather Joe is Shane's actual big brother) and he's always been really supportive of what we're doing here with Chapman at Sea. He recently joined the cast of BBOTT and we're super happy for him. This season of the show is completely unique because we get to watch the houseguests 24 hours a day on CBS All Access. Like a good brother, one of the first things Shane said when he found out he was going was that he wanted to wear his Chapman at Sea shirt on the show but of course BBOTT production doesn't allow that. Still we're excited to see him getting out there and making the most of all the experiences and opportunities that come his way.  Shane & cousins Shane currently works full time at his family's roofing business in Western North Carolina. Before that he did some modeling for a couple years and lived in California. It's been fun watching the BBOTT fans dig up his old modeling photos and share them around web. They're really thorough. They did a impressive job and pretty much found all his old modeling pics. Here's some stuff they won't have found though - a few family shots. This little clip is from the summer when we were all together in Florida. Shane had never been on a surfboard before, so here's his very first time on a board, first time paddling, first time catching a wave...  Jaime in Southern California was nice enough to share these photos with us. She used our classic rope leash in grey to walk her pup down the aisle at her dreamy wedding ceremony, held on the California coast earlier this year.
It looks like it was the perfect day. One of the main reasons we make our products entirely by hand and in small quantities is to offer unique items for moments like these. Thanks Jaime for sharing! All the photos were taken by Amanda Gallant.
If you have any shots of your Chapman at Sea gear "in the wild" and would like to be featured, send them to us - @chapmanatsea or info@chapmanatsea.com. Here at Chapman at Sea we're big fans of recycled, repurposed materials. It's always exciting to see something old being given a new life, especially if its new purpose is something entirely different from what it was intended for originally. It was this love of reinventing things that led to our latest collaboration. Tasha teamed up with Mollie Makes magazine and came up with a plan to turn an old scarf into a brand new summer beach bag.  The scarf we used is our own design and features the Chapman at Sea "Surf Tribe" print on clean, fine linen. What's nice about this idea though is that it will work with any large scarf, so choose something that fits your personal style. If you don't already have such a scarf, that can be easily fixed with a visit to your local thrift shop. So, how is it made? To put it simply, the scarf is folded in half, grommets are set in each corner and a rope is threaded through to make a handle. It's an easy project that will have your old scarves living a new beach bag life in a very short amount of time.
For the complete details on the making of the bag pick up Mollie Makes Issue 68, which is out right now in the US. If you're not that crafty, just don't feel like making things or are interested in the bag shown here. check out our Etsy shop. The actual bag that appeared in the magazine is currently for sale there.
Flamingo Magazine featured our Stubbs surfboard bag in their collection of "Summer Sundries." It's a nice collection of products, all made right in our home state of Florida and perfect for summer wanderings.   |
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