Featured Sponsor: Nikolette

Last month's featured sponsor was Nikolette bags, a great company that produces high-quality, cute vegan bags, which are perfect for the out and about gal (and guy!) in the Northwest. I asked Courtney, the brains and brawn behind Nikolette, to answer a few questions about Nikolette, running your own small business, and producing your own products!

Delightfully Tacky: How did Nikolette start?

Nikolette Bags: Many years ago (2006ish) I was working as a decorator at a furniture store in New Orleans. We sold really nice custom sofas which meant we had a ton of upholstery swatches at the store. Every season the sofa reps would come through and trash all that beautiful fabric to make way for new ones. I intercepted the giant trash bags one summer and decided to make bags out of them on my little Singer. That lead to an Etsy shop which lead to craft shows which lead to NikoletteBags.com.

DT: You guys are located in Portland, how has the Northwest influenced your design?

NB: Nikolette started in Louisiana which is very wet, then we moved up to Portland which has about 9 months of wet so water resistant bags only seemed natural. The Northwest is so full of nature, bike trails and outdoor fun I knew I had to make bags that could take the beating of a long hike or a city bike ride in the rain. That's where waxed canvas came in. It is water resistant and as durable as leather without the weight.

DT: Your bags are all Vegan, what influenced this decision?

NB: In the beginning we used a little bit of leather because I had a pile of swatches, but its something that I never looked into after that box was emptied. Leather is an animal's hide and I think that's a terrible thing to waste! I hated to see all those leather pieces just go in the trash from the furniture store - that is the skin of a cow and of a sheep and lamb. It was a living creature. Canvas on the other hand is milled from cotton. Highly renewable and guilt free!

Canvas is also a more affordable fabric. We are trying to keep our bags at a very low rate for handmade goods, and canvas helps us keep that goal. Not to mention its lighter and requires less maintenance.

We decided to roll with keeping things vegan and now use no leather or suede for those people out there who live the vegan lifestyle (and those who don't as well!).

DT: What's your favorite part about being an independent designer?

NB: I have a very hands-on dad who just so happens to be an engineer. We were always making things in our house - binding our own picture books with cardboard and glue, or making a race car out of a box. My dad even built a playhouse in our back yard out of scrap wood! As a result my brain is constantly aflutter with projects. It was scattered for a while in my early 20s, but I learned to harness it and focus on bag "engineering". Its so nice to have an outlet for all that creative energy and to make something of substance. Plus, when I was "learning" I got to rip bags apart to see how they were put together. The puzzle of it is always a fun challenge.

DT: Do you have any suggestions for people who are thinking of starting their own clothing/accessory line?

NB: Start small. Put a small amount of money into some experimental pieces and open an Etsy shop or rent a booth at a local craft fair. Selling at art markets gives you that invaluable experience of seeing how people react to what you've made so you know what the big sellers could be and also where you can improve. Sometimes its nice to stay small, but if your craft is a hit you can roll with it!

If it all seems like too much you can still create and gift your items. My poor parents have so many experimental Frankenbags!

DT: What are some of your hopes/goals for the future of Nikolette?

NB: We're still a pretty small operation, a band of two! I like it that way though. If we do grow to the point where we need more people (which would be a good thing - right?!) I don't think I could ever hand over design and production to someone else. There's something so satisfying about taking a pile of fabric and turning it into something. (Not to mention my control issues!)

As we grow you may see new models on the website and have someone else's handwriting on your invoices, but it will always be me behind the helm of my mighty Juki sewing machine.

We do have a new line in production that is alot more girly and flirty but still waxed canvas and hearty. Getting into the "purse" business is a fun new direction for our future that I'm excited about. We also will be selling at Portland Saturday Market later this summer, if you're in the area come find us!

So, long story short, our goal is to grow while still maintaining that handmade quality... and quirkiness!

You can find Nikolette online at Nikolettebags.com, twitter, facebook, their blog, and etsy. All images via Nikolette.

Spicy Chicken Avocado Enchiladas

Dan and I have been trying to make larger dishes that we eat as leftovers during the week, so one of my first larger dishes is this amazing spicy chicken avocado enchilada! It made enough to last the two of us quite a few days and is one of those things that tastes just as good re-heated. I've never made enchiladas before, but they're pretty easy. The sauce on this one is easy to make as well and you can make it more or less spicy by leaving or removing the seeds from the serrano pepper you put in it. I removed the seeds and it had a nice little kick but wasn't too spicy by any means.

To find the recipe, head over to The Novice Chef. I found the recipe via pinterest, but I'm glad it brought me to her blog! I'm always amazed by food bloggers. I wish I could cook as well and frequently as food bloggers. When I do take the time to cook I feel like I'm pretty adept at it, and so far I haven't made anything that Dan or I have had to choke down. Hopefully when we move into a new place at the end of our lease we'll have a bigger kitchen, which I think will help a bit. It's hard to do prep work when there's only 1.5 sq/ft of available counter space. But we make do and it's nice to know that you don't need a martha stewart sized kitchen in order to make delicious food!

Urban Expeditions

Since it's starting to warm up, I've been getting excited about exploring Tacoma more. In the winter I just want to huddle up in a warm little nest and only venture out for provisions, but now that it's summer, I want to make an effort to discover cool nooks and crannies in this town. Yesterday we ventured over the 21st st. bridge to look around in the Port of Tacoma area, which I've never been to. It's so interesting that Tacoma is a huge port city because where we live we just don't see it. We're just surrounded by little shops and restaurants and bars, it's easy to forget that there's this huge industry just a few miles away. I really love looking around industrial areas. As we walked back to the car from taking these photos, Dan & I were talking about how much beautiful color and texture abounds in industrial areas. I love the peeling paint and the dripping rust, there's such a vibrancy about it.

dress/courtesy of modcloth :: t-shirt/h&m :: top/courtesy of free people

shoes (on sale!)/courtesy of blowfish :: necklace/courtesy of jewelmint

shades/vintage :: bag/courtesy of handbag heaven :: photos by Dan

I still haven't hemmed this dress, so I decided to tie it up to keep from stepping on it, but I ended up wearing tall enough heels that that wasn't a problem. I loved the way the skirt looked knotted up, though, so I left it. I've been having fun attempting to sort of return to my punk rock style from back in high school. Of course, back then it was more of just wearing jeans and West Coast Chopper tee shirts (my best friend and I were obsessed with Jesse James and Monster Garage...). In a lot of ways, this kind of style is a lot closer to my stylistic "roots" than super feminine, 50's silhouettes. I love that I don't have to stick to one style though. I can wear a nipped waist, flared skirt dress one day and a skull t-shirt, platform lace-up heels and plaid shirt the next. It makes dressing up so much more fun, to not have to feel tied down to one style.

Polka Dot Party

I love that the shoes I wore for my wedding were just this old pair of seychelles that I had. It makes me feel like I don't have to be cautious when I wear them now, because they already had dirt stains on the heels from various outfit shoot excursions before the wedding. They're more special now, but not in the way that you put them behind glass and never wear them again. I feel the same way about souvenirs from trips. I'd much rather have an article of clothing, or something that will remind me of the trip due to regular use, instead of a knickknack that gathers dust on a shelf.

dress/courtesy of Trashy Diva :: shoes/seychelles :: scarf + shades/vintage

The lovely folks at Trashy Diva were so nice to send me this amazing dress. The straps are actually meant to tie at the shoulders, but I have such small shoulders that shoulder straps usually tend to fall off my shoulders all day long. I realized that I could untie the straps and turn it into a halter top, which works perfectly for me! This dress is beautifully constructed. The fabric is really thick, and while the length is a bit longer than I usually do due to my short stature, I love this dress. I may hem it up a couple inches so it hits at the knee, but first I want to see how it works with a petticoat to give it a bit of volume and keep the skirt from looking too heavy.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Crispy Treats!

So, back when Dan & I went to his grampa's memorial service, we hung out with his family afterward and I got some coupon clipping lessons from his aunt who is a master couponer. She sent us home with a ton of stuff from her zombie apocalypse storage pantry which is full of stuff she got for basically zero dollars because of couponing. She gave us a bunch of sugary sweet cereal which we don't really eat for breakfast, but I was determined to figure out a way to make them into desserts instead. I remembered seeing Rice Crispy Treats made with Kix somewhere online and since we had a box of Reeses Puffs, which is basically the same, I thought I'd give that a go. It worked amazingly and was quickly scarfed down by Dan & our friends. So, I figured I could do the same thing with Cinnamon Toast Crunch and it too was delicious! I liked the Cinnamon Toast Crunch version better, but that's because I'm not a big peanut butter fan. I don't know why I never thought to make Rice Crispy Treats with other cereals. I don't really like Rice Crispy Treats that much, actually, but these other versions are proving to be pretty damn delicious.

What You'll Need:

5 tbs unsalted butter

4 cups mini marshmallows

OR

a 10 oz bag of regular size marshmallows

~6 cups of cereal

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add the marshmallows and stir everything together until all the marshmallows are melted. Once your marshmallows are melted down, add the cereal and stir until it's evenly coated. For different kinds of cereal you may need more or less cereal. For the Cinnamon Toast crunch I think I used around 6 or 7 cups.

Get a 9 x 13 in. pan and grease it with cooking spray or some other substance to make sure the treats don't cement themselves in. Then, pour the mixture in and smooth it around until there's an even layer. Stick it in the fridge and cool it for a bit and then cut it up into ~2 x 2 squares. Try not to eat immediately. This is a great last minute dessert to make as it only takes about 30 minutes from start to finish! Have you guys ever made crispy treats with cereals other than rice crispies? Am I late to this amazing train?

Here's an instagram photo of the Reeses Puff Crispy Treats because they didn't last long enough to get real-camera photos. They were delicious as well. Who knew the wonders of coating various sugary cereals with melted butter/marshmallows?