i really want to introduce people to tina hsieh, who lives in singapore and sews beautiful fabric handbag. you can check out her flickr set here for ideas and write to her for customised orders, although right now she's on holiday. (she also has an etsy store, for those of you living outside of singapore, but it's already closed and won't reopen till next year.)

i first came across her bags last year while looking for a purse to match a dress and bought this little box purse from her. it was very well made and was much admired:

and then another one recently for a cousin, in wool and japanese cotton:

this turned out to be an absolute joy. little hidden embroidery details within, lustrous and beautiful fabric (you can't tell from the pictures, but the fabric is rich and luxurious), great attentiveness to small and delightful details of pleats, pipings, zippers, inner pockets and linings.

i also got this tote for my aunt (with cute lady bug details at the bottom.) this one was lined through out in green striped cotton fabric, and the bottom had a firm backing, and there were two kinds of internal pockets, and clips for attaching smaller pouches:

and this roomy bag with red ribbon handles, made of smooth navy jacquard silk:

the next bag i picked up because it was on sale, even though i thought it, at the time, a bit insipid in the way pastels can be, but when it came i realised what an injustice the photo had done to it - the actual colours are intense, lush, far darker than they appeared in the photo, and the fabric heavy and silky:

well those are a few of the bags by which you will be able to identify female relations of mine in orchard road.

i am cutting this entry short because the men are bored, but if you're interested in more of tina's bags: this post continues here.