BIDDING OVER & MONEYS IN!!

A massive thank you to everyone involved in the project. It has been a huge success and in total we have raised £1001 for the orphanage. They will be putting the money to great use and it will make a noticeable difference to the children's lives. We hope everyone involved with the project has enjoyed it as much as myself and Jemma have, I will be visiting the orphanage in summer 2010 and will give you an update of how the children are getting on. Thanks again.

BIDDING....

Email your bid and the designer you are bidding on to hoianorphanageproject@yahoo.co.uk
(Click on images to enlarge)

Alexandra Hamilton

An edgy and funky design using leather and metal studs, Alexandra's bag has started a bidding war. She has cleverly used a minimal amount of canvas which can be seen around each of the studs and incorporated in the lining.

Current Bid = £150

Tamara Fogle

Current Bid = £140

Tamara has used most of the canvas in her tote bag design combined with high quality leather. The well crafted bag and Tamara's reputation within the bag scene makes this the most sought after bag so far..

Harriet Sanders

Current bid = £100

An elegant leather bag which is combined with an interesting way of using the canvas. Beautiful and functional for all occasions.

Susan Prout

Current Bid = £100

Inspired by little orange flowers the children drew on the canvas, Susan has created this beautiful clutch bag made from leather and the canvas lines the inside.

Charlotte Law

Current bid = £40

A really innovative, exciting design of a multi-functional bag.

Gemma Johnson

Current bid = £65

An elegant and beautiful bag designed by Gemma in a light-tanned suede. She has subtly used the canvas inside the bag.

Emma Cohen

Current bid = £40

Emma has crafted this practical and funky bag using the canvas as patches on the front and side.

Flora Hely Hutchinson

Current bid = £30

Flora has created this fun, playful and original bag, which has had a lot of attention in the exhibition so far.

Heidi Sturgess

Current bid - £140

Heidi Sturgess has utilized lots of the canvas in her quirky cute design. She has included one of her trademark butterflies on the front of the bag with leather trimming on the edges and handle.

Another amazing design from Alexandra Hamilton...

WOW!!!! Thanks so much Alexandra.

Flora helyhutchinson

Flora's fantastic bag, great to see some original designs coming through! Well done and thanks so much!

Tamara's finished piece, looking beautiful...

Tamara Fogle's bag in the making...

Inspired by little orange flowers...

Susan Prout has been working on designing a clutch bag, with inspiration taken from drawings of flowers found on her piece of the canvas. She's taken a subtle and delicate approach with the design, "I've drawn a rose stencil and cut it out on the leather, with bits of the canvas showing through in natural, yellow and red. I also wanted the bag to reflect something fun and happy - as the children are, even if in a dire situation."

The bag is still in the making and we can't wait to see the final thing!

Thankyou!!

Thanks so much to Sian Cook from LCC for helping with the funding of the exhibition. Also the London Design Festival have helped out massively with the costs due to the charitable nature of the project. Cheers Guys!!

Designers progress...

We have been getting some updates from the designers and are hearing some really interesting stuff. All manner of materials are being used alongside the canvas ranging from leather to metals! Hopefully will have some imagery showing their development here soon... CAN'T WAIT to see finished pieces!!!

Facebook group

We now have a Facebook group for the event for all those planning to attend, any questions or queries you can write to us there.

Hoi An Orphanage Project Facebook group

The Kianh Foundation

More articles about the project have been posted on The Kianh Foundation website and facebook page. The charity does some amazing work with the children at Hoi An Orphanage so hopefully we can raise lots of money for them!

The Exhibition

If you want to pick yourself up one of these unique one-off bags, they will be auctioned off using a silent auction method in an exhibition at the London College of Communication. The exhibition will take place during the week of the London Design Festival from the 22nd until the 26th September 2009 with the private view on the 22nd September 7.00-9.00pm. Everyone is welcome!

If you aren't able to make the exhibition in London, you still have a chance to buy a bag. Images of the bags will be displayed here when the designers have finished working their magic. Please do get in touch if you see something you like and we will place your bid on your behalf!

The Designers

The canvas was divided into 10 pieces, each piece allocated to a different designer. We have been lucky enough to get some fantastic designers involved in the project all keen to make a one off bag out of the canvas.

We are really excited to have London based designer Tamara Fogle on board. She works from her picturesque studio at the end of her garden, near Portobello, where she will be crafting a bag for the project.



Heidi Sturgess Design is another London based design company who have got their hands on a piece of the canvas. The work that they do ranges from illustration to accessory design so we are thrilled to have such a versatile design company working their magic on the canvas. They have also included an article about the project on their website which can be viewed by clicking here.



Emma Cohen is a budding bag designer based in London having recently completed an FdA in Fashion Design she is now keen to use her skills to craft a bag for the project.



Gemma Johnson graduated from the Cordwainers course at the London College of Fashion. Her latest collection has been created using leather moulding construction techniques to create individual pieces with unique shapes, structures and detail resulting in some striking pieces.



Alexandra Hamilton offers a high level of specialism in Product Design & Development highly relevant for today's global Fashion Industry.



Susan Prout specializes in designing and hand making leather bags and belts. We are excited to see her transfer these skills to the brightly coloured canvas we have given her.



Creative and inventive accessories designer and recent Cordwainers graduate Flora Hely Hutchinson is excited about creating something unique and playful inspired by the colourful canvas. Flora recently designed and made a bag that was selected to be sold online as part of the ASOS.com Limited 100 Competition/Collaboration with LCF, the bag sold out in a couple of minutes of the collection launching! See the design by clicking here.



The Modern Fold is an accessories label founded initially as a place to play by Charlotte Law. A graduate of LCF's prestigious Cordwainers college, and one time regular on Brick Lane, Charlotte is now exploring new creative projects in Paris.



Handbag designer Harriet Sanders recently graduated from London College of Fashion. Some of her achievements include three bags being chosen to be sold online as part of the ASOS.com Limited 100 Competition with one bag selling in seconds! Harriet’s work has been noted in Look Magazine and her Rococo shoulder bag labelled as a ‘top buy’ by Grazia Daily online. Soon to launch her own company designing and producing designer handbags, Harriet is excited to get creative with the canvas.

London Design Festival

GREAT NEWS. . . The Hoi An Orphanage Project is now part of the London Design Festival. The profile of the project can be seen on their website here.
The designers fantastic bags will be auctioned off in an exhibition at the London College of Communication during the London Design Festival, confirmed dates of the exhibition and private view will be posted here soon.

Little artists at work...

Paul Cooke and Jemma Mackle have been working on a self initiated project for The Kianh Foundation. A few months ago they embarked on a trip to the Orphanage in central Vietnam to do an art project with the children.

Bringing along a huge canvas, fabric paints and pens, they had a great day with the kids painting, drawing and writing on the canvas. 'It was such a humbling experience spending time and having fun at the orphanage, the children and teachers alike got stuck in to creating a master piece!' Jemma Mackle





On returning to London, the project has been publicised to some high-end and also upcoming designers. Everyone has been really keen to get involved resulting in ten fantastic designers making an original one off bag out of the canvas. The material should be arriving with the designers any day now; we will have some updates soon as to how they are getting on.

The Kianh Foundation

The Kianh Foundation is a small UK charity helping disabled and disadvantaged children at Hoi An Orphanage in Hoi An, Central Vietnam. It has had a permanent presence at Hoi An Orphanage since 2002 and is the only organisation working full-time there to improve the lives of the children.