Just added a few new WWII canvas bags to the online shop including the one pictured above.
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I've been making an effort to do some serious summer reading and so I'm currently making my way through Unbroken. If you haven't heard about this one .. it tells the story of an Olympic runner who joined the Army Air Forces during WWII, survived on a raft for over a month after his B-24 bomber crashed over the Pacific ocean, and then was captured by the Japanese. It's one of the most incredible stories I've ever read and it makes you seriously rethink human limits & the capacity for suffering.
In my years of making bags I've found hundreds if not thousands of duffel bags from the WWII era. Every time I uncover a new one, I think about the man or woman who carried that thing around during the war and I say a little thank you when I make the first cut into the canvas. Reading Unbroken has definitely reinforced all the admiration & respect I have for those soldiers & the unthinkable experiences many of them endured. So when I was making that bag pictured above I thought a lot about Willard and all the countries that canvas possibly traveled to and where he sat down and painted his name & serial number. The addition of his hand lettering really does turn a simple tote bag into so much more.
3 comments:
I haven't read this book but I love Laura Hillenbrand for writing Seabiscuit, and for persevering herself. I do want to read this book. I appreciate your integrity and am glad to hear about your 'commemorations' as you find each piece of history when you make the bags. I can hear the guys saying about you: "she's a good kid."
Ironically, my mom's brother, who was an excellent swimmer and pilot in WWII, was shot down over Holland. He parachuted to safety, briefly, into a pond. The weight of the parachute in the water proved to be too much for him, and he drowned as the residents were too late to help him out. It was very sad for all the people in the village, and of course for my family. They all shared letters and the dutch families sent over a beautiful embroidered tablecloth. Another piece of fabric with a story to tell.
That book sounds great- I will definitely have to check it out.
It is taking all of my willpower not to purchase this bag. My father's name was Willard, and if I have a son, his name will be Willard as well. xo
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