FROM THE STUDIO
Turning leaf – a new season, a new palette and a journey further into handmade bag making
September 2026 · From the Pomme d’Or studio in Devon
There’s something about September that always feels like a turning point. The light changes, the evenings begin to draw in and suddenly the colours around us shift from the fresh greens of summer towards rust, ochre, berry and gold.
I’d had rather grand handmade bag making plans for autumn at Pomme d’Or too. Beautiful autumnal fabrics had been gathered, ideas were forming and, earlier in the summer, I had imagined a rather more substantial autumn collection taking shape.
As it happens, life had other ideas. For health reasons, I’ve had to slow things down a little recently. So there are three new autumn pieces which have made their way onto the website rather than the collection I originally imagined. And actually, I’m learning to be all right with that. The fabrics aren’t going anywhere. The ideas certainly aren’t either.
Sometimes, when life throws one of its inevitable curveballs, being content to tiptoe forward is quite enough. And when I look back at September, I realise I’ve still moved forward in all sorts of other ways.
Making space to create
One of this month’s projects has been tackling my home studio. I use the word studio somewhat generously. Until recently, junk room might have been a more accurate description!
It’s actually my converted garage and has all the makings of being a wonderful creative workspace. The slight problem is that it has also been home to the remnants of Pomme d’Or’s previous life, making bath bombs – along with supplies, equipment and all those mysterious things accumulated over years in business that you’re absolutely convinced will “come in useful one day.” I’ve been steadily clearing it. It’s a mammoth task and very much still a work in progress, but slowly I’m beginning to see the room it could become.
And perhaps there’s something rather appropriate about clearing away the remnants of one creative chapter to make room for another.
“Sometimes, being content to tiptoe forward is progress enough.”
The Kellogg’s school of product photography!!
I’ve also been concentrating on the photography for the website. This is most definitely not my natural territory.
I’ve been experimenting with styling, lighting and creating a more consistent look for Pomme d’Or, and gradually replacing some of the existing photographs on the website. There has been a learning curve. Quite a steep one!
At one point I spent a considerable amount of time carefully photographing a collection of jute bags. I wanted them to stand beautifully for the camera, so I’d very cleverly slipped a cornflake box inside each one for support. Photos taken. Bags rearranged. More photos taken. Everything packed away. Only afterwards did I discover that, through the weave of the jute, one could quite clearly read: Kellogg’s. Perhaps not quite the artisan styling I had in mind!
Thankfully, after investing in a beautiful new bag stand (and a fair amount more experimenting) I think I’ve finally started to get the knack of it. And I’m rather pleased with the results.
More sewing. And rather a lot of unpicking
My journey into handmade bag making completely from scratch has continued too.
I’ve been experimenting with new patterns and techniques and, once again, I’ve been really pleased with some of the finished results. Getting to those finished results is another matter.
There have been occasions this month when I’m fairly certain I’ve done more unpicking than sewing. Bias binding and I are developing a particularly complicated relationship. Then there’s interfacing. Who knew there could possibly be so many different types of something designed largely to disappear inside a bag? Woven, non-woven, fusible, sew-in, fleece, foam, different weights, different structures – discovering which one works with which fabric and which style of bag, has become an education in itself. Sometimes an expensive education.
But I love it. Actually, I think I need it. Creating is my therapy.
There is, however, a danger. My fabric collection is growing at an alarming rate and I’m beginning to understand how easily sewing can become all-consuming. You sit down telling yourself you’re just going to do one quick little job. Four hours later you realise you haven’t looked up from the sewing machine. But if I didn’t have somewhere to put all that creative energy, I think I might simply burst.
If it survives me, it should survive most things
There is another advantage to making bags for myself while I experiment. I am an excellent product tester! Not because I’m particularly careful with things. Quite the opposite. I like to think of myself as enthusiastic in the way I use a bag. Others might choose the words heavy-handed. Either way, I want the things I make to be usable.
Beautiful, yes. Individual, absolutely. But also robust enough to cope with real life.
So my own bags get filled, carried, put down, picked up, rummaged through and generally subjected to me. If something needs strengthening, changing or rethinking, I’d much rather discover it myself than have a customer discover it later.
Am I moving quickly enough?
Sometimes I catch myself thinking I should be further ahead with this new chapter of Pomme d’Or. And then I remind myself that I only launched this new direction in April.
Earlier in the year I was still clearing my old business unit, selling equipment and furniture and drawing a line under the previous incarnation of the business. Alongside that there has been caring, grandchildren, everyday life and, more recently, that unexpected curveball I mentioned earlier. And yet, in just a few months, there are now 23 styles of bags on the website, orders have been coming in and I have an ever-growing collection of handmade bag making projects waiting in various stages of readiness for their moment.
Perhaps most lovely of all has been the continued support from people who originally discovered Pomme d’Or through my bath bombs and have stayed with me while the business has changed direction completely.
When I remember all of that, perhaps those small steps have added up to rather more than I realised.
From experimenting to actually making
Last month I was beginning to explore what happens when I move beyond embellishing an existing bag and make the whole thing myself. This month, I’ve gone considerably further down that particular rabbit hole.
I’ve been learning more about construction, linings, zips, webbing, hardware and the bewildering number of different interfacings available. Some experiments have worked beautifully. Others have involved rather more time with the seam ripper than I’d care to admit.
The latest arrival is my rather fabulous “Green Machine”. A hand press for fitting the snaps, rivets and other hardware that are increasingly finding their way into my handmade bag making. Another new skill to master, and another piece of equipment I didn’t know I needed until I did!
What I’m enjoying most is discovering how much there is still to learn. I’m not trying to rush towards a particular destination with it – I’m simply enjoying developing the skills, trying different techniques and seeing where they might eventually fit within Pomme d’Or.
And, as I’m rapidly discovering, every finished bag seems to generate at least three ideas for the next one!
September’s project: Alani
Alani – from the Hawaiian word for orange. There’s nothing shy with this shade!
Alani feels rather perfect for September. Her rich orange embellishment immediately made me think of the changing colours outside, although she’s rather more flamboyant than your average autumn leaf!
I deliberately placed the appliqué on a diagonal rather than centrally, letting it sweep across the natural jute. The combination of embroidery, sequins and tiny beads gives her so much texture – and she seems to change slightly every time the light catches her.
This is the kind of transformation I particularly enjoy: starting with a simple base bag and seeing just how much character can be added through colour, texture and a little experimentation.
And after a month that hasn’t gone entirely to plan, there’s something rather cheering about making something quite this unapologetically orange.
Turning leaf
So September hasn’t been quite the month I imagined back in the summer. There are fabrics still waiting to be cut and projects still waiting their turn. The studio isn’t finished. The sewing certainly isn’t perfect. And somewhere in the recycling is a cornflake box that has learned far more about product photography than it ever expected to.
But things are moving.
Slowly in places. Unexpectedly in others. A new season is arriving, there’s a new palette on my worktable and Pomme d’Or is continuing to find its feet.
Sometimes progress comes in great leaps. And sometimes tiptoeing forward is more than enough.
Let’s see what October brings.
♥
Until next month,
Anne-Marie
Designed, handcrafted and finished by Anne-Marie.