Q. Where did you get the idea?
A. I was rooting through the vinyl bin looking for decent rock albums at the thrift store when I turned up two records: "Honeymoon in Manhattan" by the New World Orchestra and "But Beautiful" by the Normon Luboff Choir. They're both gorgeous covers, light, feminine, very late '50s/early-'60s. They went so well together, and they got me thinking about vintage cover art seriously.
I bought them, propped them up next to my TV and stared at them trying to figure out what to do with them. Putting them up on the wall seemed too boring...I didn't want to make a box out of them...At around the one week mark something reminded me of the dress costume designer Lizzy Gardiner ("The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert") wore to the Oscars made out of American Express Gold Cards. I thought if there was a way I could use rings to attach the records I could make....I dunno, what do I need right now...how 'bout a purse?
Several experiments later, voila! Album Cover Purses were born!
Q. But I saw them on another site/in a magazine/at a store.
A. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
If you saw them discussed on an online craft or fashion bulletin board, you'll notice 99% of the time they referred to this site.
I don't mind when people take the idea and try make their own for themselves or as a gift, but beyond that I get seriously ticked. When someone takes my design and sells it to a magazine, or starts makng and selling their own, or claims it's their idea I stole from someone else, that crosses the line between imitation and theft, and in the end hurts everybody, from creators to consumers.
For more on this, see our legal page.
(I've heard a few reports of album cover purses going back to the '70s, but have never seen them or heard any details. If you've got information, drop me a line, I'd like to see one!)
Q. Will you tell me how to make one?
A. I'm considering simplified DIY kits in the future, but in the meantime, the answer's no.
Q. How durable are they?
A. There's a photo essay in the works testing exactly how much they can take, but in the meantime, here's a list of some of the terrible things I've done to purses:
- Kicked 'em
- Sat on 'em
- Thrown 'em down the stairs
- Stepped on 'em
- Spilled my drink in 'em
- Taken 'em for romantic walks in the rain
- Ran 'em around Waikiki Beach
- Loaded 'em with about three pounds of water bottles (I loaded a messenger bag with about 9 pounds of books, too)
- Subjected 'em to an August day on the Vegas Strip
...and in the end they were a little dented, maybe, but still good.
Q. I put 10 pounds of rocks in mine and swung it around like a I was doing the hammer throw at the Olympics and the handle came loose. What can I do?
A. All purses come with a one-year warranty against breakage. If anything breaks on your bag (a grommet pulls loose, you accidently cut the lacing, the handle comes off during hammer throw practice), you can send it back for repairs, totally free.
Note: This guarantee covers breakage, not damage. It does NOT cover the album cover pieces themselves which, being cardboard, can be bent, scratched, cut or incinerated. If your dog chews the handle off, it can be fixed; if Muffy chews on the cover itself, it cannot.
|
