It's mine, mine, mine!

The idea, the product, the business license, filing the fictitous name, getting our tax information, pricing, selling, people interested, sewing, sewing, sewing......it all has happened so fast!
I knew what I wanted to create.  The ideas were going like crazy in my head.  My husband Gene, and I were throwing ideas at each other like snowballs - some hit the target, some went whizzing past and exploaded into little flakes and melted away.
Then he started creating the website.  He was very excited and loves to work with html code.  It brought memories of when he did Visual Basic years before we met.  He jumped in with both feet and was as enthusiastic about that as I was about creating/sewing the bags.
What is really beautiful about the Tee-cycle Bags conception is that Gene completely stands behind my idea. He loves that he has a contibuting part in the business that he enjoys, and shows sincere interest each (and every) time I hold up a finished bag and show him each and every detail of what I put into it.
He started showing me the ideas that he had come up with regarding the web layout.  Some I loved; some were not quite the "vision" I had.
Now comes the delicate part.
How do I tell my wonderful, supportive husband who has been encouraging me, that just maybe "that" design/idea/color wasn't "ME"? I mean after all - wasn't it "me" that actually came up with the original idea? Shouldn't it reflect "me" and "my" personality?
This could be a very intense conversation.
I decided it was best to be honest. And honesty was the best policy because it was handled well on both ends. 
OK, maybe it didn't go quite that easily at first, but after some giving and taking on both sides, we have come to agree that both of us have good input and it's actually a fun activity to be open enough to give each other's ideas a chance.
We've grown a lot in that department in that now we have been able to mesh both our ideas into one good one. And if you know us - you know that was is a huge accomplishment in our relationship -- we can both be so stubborn.
Perhaps that was the reason Tee-cycle Bags came to be -- to teach us both a lesson in giving up a little bit of "me, me, me".
In this season of giving, I can happily sign off by saying, "It's ours, ours, ours!"

Giving thanks.

Thanksgiving Day seems like the perfect time to start a blog about my site Tee-cycle Bags.
The feeling that I get with each bag that I create must be what people experience when they "find their passion". It has brought back memories of Home Ec. (Economics) class in high school and the helpful things that I learned there.  It also brought back memories of sewing a beautiful camel-hair coat with delicate peach-colored lining. Wow! Wonder what happened to that coat? (bummer)
I am extremely thankful to God for re-awakening this skill that I had completely tossed aside.
I am thankful to my daughter Christal, who jumped right on to facebook and created a Tee-cycle Bags page while I was describing the bags to her. Was I really ready for all this? Guess she knew me better than I knew myself.  That was July, 2010.
Moments before this happened, my husband Gene also joined the "jumping in" wagon to support me on this adventure.  I owe him many thanks for the massive support he gives me. He got on GoDaddy and set up the website - http://www.tee-cycle-bags.com/ He maintains it, photographs the recycled tees, the finished bags, helps with cutting patterns and does most of the pre-sewing (overcasting to avoid ravelling).
It would be most difficult to "create" while maintaining all that he does.
How it all came to be:   My other daughter Danielle was unknowingly the inspiration for the first bag. She loves "not your run of the mill" graphic tees. I'm always on the lookout for one that she might like. Since she has worked in coffee houses as a barista, the "Darn Good Day" tee was perfect. However it was too large for her and I knew that she probably wouldn't wear it so I bought it anyway and tried to figure out what to do with it.  I thought of framing it but it would just be another thing to haul around. She's got a "wandering soul".  I don't know exactly how the idea of turning the tee into a bag came to mind, but I found a pattern and "created" a bag from a recycled tee that had made it's home to the local community resource center in Encinitas.
                  "Darn Good Day"

I also want to thank my son Charlie who gives me support in everything that I do!  And his girlfriend Jess who supported me by buying a bag and giving me so much praise. They are awesome!

My son-in-law Michael has been behind me on this venture and thinks it's just great.

My grand-daughters Lill and Paige, both picked out tees to have me make custom "book" bags to carry to school instead of backpacks.  They came up with the idea of making an alternative longer handle for the totes for the book bags. Thanks to both of them and their support.

My sister-in-law Melodie, had me make a custom bag to show to her friends in Colorado.

My brother Billy, in Colorado bought one for his girlfriend and is displaying some in his "artist nook" because he is so excited about them that he wants EVERYONE to know about them.

The Bruneau clan - from Oregon to England - who is forever supportive in all that I do from attempting the Italian "dream" of buying and riding a Vespa (what was I thinking?), to my pink hair, to Tee-cycle Bags - Thanks AGAIN.

And last but certainly not least - are thanks to my friends who have massively supported this adventure from the first bag that I showed them!  They have bought bags, promoted them to their friends and just been so super from the begining!  I love them all.

I have so much to be thankful for on this

Thanksgiving Day, 2010.

Cheers.