Instagram Recap - October 2012

October was one eventful month for Harveys. We had the release of our Halloween themed Fall 2012 Limited Edition Seatbeltbags; Monster Mash, Twilight, and Boo. We also had the launch of our second Harveys for Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas Seatbeltbag collection at Disney Vault 28 in Disneys Downtown District. My little girl, Lily, turned 5 years old in-style with a Minnie Mouse themed birthday party. I conquered my first Triathlon in Newport Beach (patting myself on the back). And of course we celebrated one of my favorite Holidays, Halloween! Enjoy a look at what October looked like through @seatbeltbags instagrams...

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Holiday Gift Guide

Having trouble deciding what to get everyone on your list this Holiday season? Don't worry; we got you covered with our Holiday Gift Guide. From a small gift for co-workers to a gift for that special someone we've put together our favorite gifts to help make your Holiday shopping a little easier.

Storm is a beautiful gray color that takes your everyday bag from boring to interesting! It is available in small items like the SeatbeltBow, Hipster, and Small Stella. Storm has also been mixed with shimmering Sterling to add a little sparkle to your Seatbeltbag.

Add a little green with Evergreen, a bold dark green. It is available in seatbelt accessories, like the Classic Wallet or SeatbeltBow, and many silhouettes (Evergreen Stella being close to our hearts).

A girl can NEVER have too many black bags! Right? We've got plenty to choose from! New silhouettes in the Marilyn Collection (we can't just pick one) or go with a classic like the Large Tote.

Turn heads with Mulberry, a beautifully rich and vibrant purple. You can add a little pop with a Mulberry Rosette or show your love for purple with a Mulberry Large Satchel. Either way, you'll be sportin' one beautiful color!

Want a fun print in your life? Then, you can't pass up Lace, Storm gray seatbelt with a black lace print over top. Need something to keep your eReader safe? Pick up a Lace eBook Sleeve. If you want to show off your girly side you have to get a Lace Lola Satchel!

Weave (get it) got your list covered!

What are you gifting this year?

Ready, set, SHOP!

Cyber Monday is here and do we have a SALE for you! Get up to 75% off select Seatbeltbags and accessories.

Click the image to SHOP OUR CYBER SALE

The sale is while supplies last, so get to clicking!

Which Cyber Sale Seatbeltbag did you snatch?

Go Green and Be Blue

I love getting to meet our customers at our events but there are so many of you that I don't get the opportunity to meet in person, luckily there's email. So is the case with Danielle Dion who lives in Ottawa, ON, Canada where she works on a whale watching boat. We've been emailing back and forth for a few years now and I'm always amazed and what she does and how she cares so deeply for these great animals and their environment. She recently sent this email and shared this very special bag that she bought:

Hey Dana, I haven't emailed you in a long time and I just wanted to say hello and let you know I am still LOVING all my Harveys (including my new-to-me red lola satchel...this is one sexy bag).  I carry only Harveys but I did just get a new bag and I wanted to share it with you, it's from a small company called Sea Bags in Portland, ME and they make bags and accessories out of recycled sails (like from sail boats) and I had them make me a custom bag with a specific whale on it.  It's a critically endangered north Atlantic right whale named Tips that I spent a lot of time with a few seasons ago. Just thought I would share cause I know how earth friendly you guys are. I was talking with some of my seatbelt facebook friends (we have such a great community) and it would be so amazing to see a canvas seatbelt strap tote with a whale or ocean theme on it for Earth Day or even World Oceans Day!  I have tonnes of pics you could use for inspiration :)

Cheers, Danielle Dion

Thanks for sharing Danielle. It's so great to see another Bag Company recycling, kudos to Sea Bags. We often think of being "Green" to preserve our environment but being "Blue" is just as important.

Do you think we should do an Ocean Themed bag for Earth Day?

A Vegan Treat

This Holiday season we thought it would be fun to give you a Vegan option for your dessert table. So, I put on my baking hat and baked a delicious Vegan Chocolate Cream pie!

Vegan Chocolate Cream Pie

Ingredients:

1lb Silken (or soft) Tofu (drained and rinsed)
2 cups fair-trade Organic Cacao chips unsweetened
1/4 cup Organic Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 graham cracker piecrust (make sure it is vegan, most stores like Wholefoods will have vegan options)

I wanted baking this pie to be as easy as possible, so I purchased a pre-made vegan graham cracker crust and Soyatoo soy Whip (vegan whipped cream). I found a homemade vegan whipped cream recipe that everyone seems to love, but decided to go with the canned vegan whipped cream, I was so excited when I found it in the store!

The pie ended up being one of the easiest I've ever made. Preparation took me only 20 minutes or maybe even less. That's my kind of baking!

Preparation:

In a bowl blend tofu until smooth. Melt chocolate in Microwave safe bowl in intervals of 30 seconds, mixing in between, and making sure not to burn it. While melting the chocolate add vanilla and sugar to tofu. Add melted chocolate to the tofu, vanilla, and sugar (you need to work quickly to prevent the chocolate from hardening), mix until completely incorporated.

Pour the chocolate mixture into the crust and spread evenly.

Cover & refrigerate (about 45 mins)

Slice & serve!!!

The pie turned out so good that no one would ever guess the main ingredient was tofu. It was rich and pretty filling, so a small slice went a long way. It was easy to make and quite delicious if I might say so myself!

What delicious desserts are you making for the Holidays?

xoxo,

Melanie

BFFs

My daughters gave me these friendship bracelets and made me promise to never take them off. I know... they're not very manly but I did pinky swear and crossed my heart so what's a dad to do?

As I was typing away on my keyboard yesterday, I noticed them and thought "Hmmm, those would make really cute LTD's" 

What do you think? Yes, No, Maybe so? Which is your fave?

12.12.12

As you know I recently had the opportunity to work with Noah on a very exclusive bag for his Disney Villains release. It went so well that we decided to work on another all-new bag concept we're calling V-12. To find out more about this exclusive ultra limited bag (only 12) released on 12.12.12 click HERE.

The Harvey’s X Noah V12 Collection will be available to pre-order December 7, 2012 6pm PST on www.buynoahfineart.com

 

Noah and I will be hosting a Christmas Party get together at his Gallery in Costa Mesa California on the 12th of December from 7-10pm. to celebrate the release. This will be a very casual night and a relaxed atmosphere intended to bring friends together.

If you'd like to attend please RSVP HERE 

I don't want to give away too much about the special bag but it will include a limited, signed and numbered Canvas Giclee by Noah titled "The Kid In Me" and I'm super excited about it.

Any guesses on what the bag will be???

Getting to know: The Artisan's Bench

Meet The Artisan's Bench! One of our awesome retailers in Brighton, Michigan. We thought it would be fun for our fans to get to know them a little better!

Artisan's Bench all started with owner Colin's mom, Mondi. She started a hand-knotted rug business back in 1993. She established the building and beautiful foundation from which The Artisan's Bench was born. In April 2011, Colin and his wife became owners, and shifted the main focus of the shop to handmade works; he also brought the importance of American-made, with a special emphasis on Michigan made goods to the forefront. 

Some fun facts about The Artisan's Bench... Colin's 3-year-old Boston Terrier, Sig, is the most requested item for sale in their store. Sig gets to park in their employee of the month spot every month.

The Artisan's Bench spends a lot of time on their front window displays. They often hear that the town of Brighton loves to see them change.

And the reason they LOVE Harveys so much... The attention to detail, the super high quality of construction, and the awesome ladies who demand to carry Harveys! 

The Artisan’s Bench started off small and has been quickly growing since with huge thanks to their loyal and awesome customers!

So… If you’re ever in Brighton, Michigan stop by Artisan’s Bench, they’d love to “get to know” you!

Now, everybody sing along!

Which Princess are You?

Being a Dad and living with a house full of girls (my beautiful wife, 2 daughters, Dog Coco and cat Boo) can be tough sometimes. They can be happy, sad, emotional, caring, dramatic, angry and happy again all within 5 minutes, and they have a way of ganging up on me too. Well, my daughters were watching the Disney Channel the other day and this commercial came on.

As I watched it, I finally "got" it. Now I have a greater appreciation for the female perspective. I consider myself lucky to be surrounded by girls.

So what I want to know is which Disney Princess are you? Melanie is Ariel, Marilyn is Sleeping Beauty and Lily is just Minnie Mouse (I know she's not a princess but she just loves Minnie) Well, if she wasn't Minnie Mouse she would be Snow White because the animals just love her.

Santa Ana First Friday!

They're back... First Fridays at City Place Shopping Center! 

About 5 years ago our first retail store was opened in Santa Ana, CA in the City Place Shopping Center. Every First Friday of the month all the retailers in the center would stay open late and provide their customers with an evening shopping experience. This is what got First Fridays at Harveys started! 

Sadly the City Place shopping center stopped their First friday events, but we kept it up, launching new product every First Friday. Well... guess what? First Fridays at City Place ARE BACK and Harveys is participating! 

We kicked it off November First Friday...

First Friday Flyer 

We had some delicious treats and, of course, some vino! 

Holiday 2012 Seatbeltbags! Ombre, Plaid Plaza, and Mulberry. Purple is in the air at Harveys this Holiday season. 

Customers checking out the new Seatbeltbags & Melanie chatting it up! 

Strickin' a pose with some of our awesome fans.

We are SO excited that First Fridays at City Place are back! We love hanging out with our fans.

Now that First Friday's are back in full swing. Will be see you at December First Friday???

Fur Friday - Lucky Dog

Sarah B. sent us this picture of her dog Lucky and wrote:

Hello Harveys! Meet my rescue dog Lucky. She is a 9 month old lab mix and she is sporting my most favorite SBB accessory. She has the razz collar on with matching custom made bow! Rose Timberman repurposed parts of a medium and small Harvey's leash to create this and Lucky gets compliments on it all the time.

Lucky looks so beautiful in Razzleberry, don't you agree? And I think she is very Lucky that you rescued her Sarah.

BTW, Rose did an amazing job on the bow. If you ever need a job, Rose :-)

If you have a pic of your furry friend on in or next to your seatbeltbag, we'd love to see it. Email it to info@seatbeltbags.com

Have a great weekend everyone.

We asked Harveys Fans to decide by vote, which Harveys Retailer they wanted to host our Fall 2012 Limited Edition Release Party. And, 643 votes said PRETTYSTICK BEAUTY in Washington! So, I hopped on a plane and was on my way to beautiful Bainbridge Island.

The weekend started off with a bang! Friday night was a VIP party where guests dressed up in their Halloween best, snacked on appetizers, had some drinks, took photos, participated in raffles, and of course chatted it up.

The Wall of LTD's! PrettyStick added our LTD museum to their decor for the VIP event.

Signing some hangtags for an awesome fan!

Some girls at the event rockin' their costumes!

One of the raffle winners!

Saturday was the big day! The official release of the Fall 2012 Limited Edition Seatbeltbags, Monster Mash, Boo, and Twilight.

They're top secret...

The official unveiling!

Scoopin' out the scene

The hostesses with the mostest Lari & Josh

Allison (our National Sales Representative) and I had an awesome time with all our Washington fans!

We hope to see you at our next Limited Edition Release! 

Now... Where do you think our next Limited Edition Release party should be?

Cavity Fighters

This year we had a great Halloween. Melanie and Lily even made it in the local newspaper when we took them trick-or-treating at Treats in the Streets in Old Town Orange.

It's a great way to meet the neighbors and see all the other costumes. The tough part is trying to keep them from eating all the candy. We usually hide it and let them have 1 piece a day but this year we decided to participate in a program with our dentist where he buys back the candy from kids and sends it to our troops.

As you can see from the picture below, the girls weren't too happy at first.

 

 But we quickly turned those frowns upside down, when they used the money to buy new books.

 What a great way to fight cavities, right? I'd love to hear what you gals do with all that candy, and I better not hear that YOU eat it :-)
 OK, I might be guilty of that.

Shhh...Speakeasy

I hope everyone is loving the new Holiday 2012 collection. I thought I would share the era that inspired us, the glamourous Roaring 20's: when the prohibition was in full force and flappers roamed the streets looking for the next Speakeasy. In fact, that's what we named the collection, Speakeasy.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald sums up the era. I can't wait for the new movie coming out soon.

The Arm Candy collection was inspired by The Flapper. 

These women were bold and brass, with their new found freedom to vote and drive, nothing was holding them back. They took risks with fashion, hairstyles, makeup, and frequented the speakeasies

  Clara Bow was a super star of silent movies in the 1920's. If you were wondering where the term "it" girl came from, well she was "it" (no pun intended)

Since she was so iconic in the 1920's we decided to make a brand new platform inspired by her. Side-by-side stitched seatbelt with an oversized bow in all black with a fun gold leopard lining. Chic and fun, just like Clara Bow! 

Coco Chanel had a HUGE influence on the 1920's too, so we had to pay homage to her with the Pearl Trompe L'Oiel tote. Being such a huge fan of pearls, we think she would have loved it! 
The 1920's inspired everything in our Holiday 2012 collection. What do you think should inspire us next?

November 2012 First Friday!

Do we have something new for you this First Friday...

 All new Holiday 2012 Seatbeltbags are here!

Which new Holiday Seatbeltbag is your favorite?

DIY: How to make a Pinwheel

For our Fall 2012 photo shoot our Marketing Manager thought it would be fun to incorporate a pinwheel into one of the looks. So I did my best to figure out how to make one and thought it would be fun to share with you!

This is an easy and quick craft. It would be fun to do with your kids or in my case with my niece.

Step 1: Grab a piece of 11" x 17" tabloid paper. We chose this fun print to match the Colorblock Warm Collection at the photo shoot.

Step 2: Take one corner and fold to the other edge of the paper. Cut off excess paper. This will create a square.

Step 3: Fold your square, corner to corner, then unfold. It will create an "X" on the paper.

Step 4: Cut where the diagonal fold marks are, but only cut about 1/3 of the way from the center.

Step 5: Bring each point into the center then stick a pin through all four points. Try to get the pin in the exact center so that it spins correctly.

Step 6: Stick the pin into a pencil eraser or stick.

And here is the final result... This is a pretty big pinwheel, so we ended up taping two pencils together to make it easier to hold.

This ended up being my favorite shot from the shoot. (and my favorite collection)

Pinwheels are super cute baby and wedding show decorations. Make a bunch of them in coordinating colors, in various sizes, and they act as adorable centerpieces.

I hope you enjoyed making a custom pinwheel! 

xoxo,

Amanda - Marketing Assistant 

Are you a crafter? If yes, tell us what types of crafts you've recently made!