Sourcing the denim
Every Cirendipity bag starts with a story. Mine began with my own worn-out jeans. Rather than throwing them away, I chopped them up and turned them into my very first bag designs, using old curtains and shirts as linings.
Before long, family and friends were kindly donating their unwanted denim, and even customers at craft markets started offering me their old jeans to give them a new life.
Today, I still source denim wherever I can find it with plenty of character. I browse local charity shops, my sister keeps an eye out in hers, and I'm always delighted when someone donates a pair of well-loved jeans. For linings, I often repurpose shirts with worn collars and cuffs, duvet covers with frayed edges, and other quality fabrics that still have years of life left in them. I also love discovering second hand fabrics through websites like Destasher, finding deadstock treasures, and dipping into my mum's wonderful fabric stash, collected from the 1960s onwards.
It's all part of my mission to rescue beautiful textiles that might otherwise go to waste and transform them into one-of-a-kind bags, handmade to be loved for years to come. Every faded knee, worn pocket and frayed seam tells part of a garment's story. I love giving those stories a new chapter.
From Jeans to Bags
Once I've collected the denim, the real work begins. Every pair of jeans is carefully washed, unpicked and inspected. I remove the seams, zips, waistbands and pockets, saving as much usable fabric as possible,making repairs and reinforcements as necessary.
Next comes the creative part. I sort the denim by shade, texture and character before deciding how each bag will come together. Sometimes it's an original pocket, a beautifully faded seam or a distinctive patch of wear that inspires the whole design. Other times, I piece together smaller offcuts to create entirely new patterns, making sure as little fabric as possible goes to waste.
After cutting each piece, I sew the bag together, add a carefully chosen lining, fit the hardware and straps, and finish every detail by hand. Before a bag leaves my studio, it's thoroughly checked to make sure it's ready for its next adventure.
No two pairs of jeans are the same, so no two Cirendipity bags are ever exactly alike.
Some behind the scenes pictures
Take a peek behind the scenes and see how old jeans are transformed into one-of-a-kind Cirendipity bags. From unpicking hems, zips and pockets to the final stitch, every bag is handmade with care, creativity and a commitment to wasting as little as possible, and trying to avoid sewing through dogs on the fabric!
