Vintage Potato Bag Embroidery.
It all started as an art project in high school. My first potato bag came from the Santa Monica Pier. My brother brought one home filled with fish.
Needless to say, it took some time to get the smell out, but eventually I was able to decorate and embroider the bag for my art project.
I then moved to Florida where, as a hobby, I continued to embroider the bags. I would place the frame on two orange crates to do my embroidery. During the 1970s, the bags were easily found at produce stands. I would embroider them, locate the grower, send them a picture, and most often, they would purchase the finished bag for their office. Keep in mind, there were no cell phones or internet, so this was quite an ordeal. I used the money from the sales to invest in antiques.
These are samples of the original bags.
One-of-a-kind bags.
Over the years, the bags have been a bit harder to come by as growers aren’t using burlap any longer. Most often, the only places I can find them are in antique stores. The good news is that now I have an adjustable rack to lay the burlap bag and frame to embroider. This is much more convenient than the original orange crates.
Each bag is one-of-a-kind. Even if I find a similar bag, I will use different colored yarn so each is unique.
I am now located in Arlington, WA surrounded by my antiques and my finished potato bags. Thus, I have decided to let other folks enjoy this vintage and rustic art in their home or office. Prices start as low as $2450. For information on a particular embroidery you see in my gallery, please contact me at: [email protected]
