In a tiny corner of the dining room, my mother leans over an old treadle sewing machine, illuminated solely by a solar-powered clip light. Behind her, the antique sad iron is staying warm on a propane burner, which is perched on top of a vintage wood cookstove. During the winter the iron will be heated by the wood stove, but it's summer now...
The needle stops clicking for a moment, and she mutters under her breath about the idiosyncrasies of her ancient machine. But soon the thread is untangled and the rhythmic whooshing, spinning sound resumes. It's not quite as lovely as when she plays my grandma's piano for us, but it's incredibly soothing.
A while later she runs out of the thread she was using, and starts sorting through her substantial stockpile to find something of a similar color and weight.
There's no "popping out to the store" for the exact same thread; not here... We're 15 minutes from the nearest town (of less than 700 people), and over 30 minutes from the nearest fabric store.
So she makes do with what she has on hand, and I've seen that before.
I've seen it every day of my life.
On Nickelbush Farm, things don't always match perfectly.
But they do go together. And they're beautiful.
Custom Jean Purses and More
Our page is here to both showcase projects that are available for sale, and also to give ideas for custom items.
Do you like a currently available purse and want it shipped to you? That's easy!
Do you like the size of one purse, the handle of another, and the fabric liner from yet another? No problem! Let me know what you are interested in and we can make you a one-of-a-kind custom item.
Do you have fabric that you love, but aren't able to sew it yourself? Send it to us and we'll turn it into something fun!
We can also do memorial items from old shirts/jeans/etc belonging to a lost loved one.
We keep pictures of our sold items for inspiration, and we can mimic them if we aren't out of the fabric, but they are all hand made so no two will ever look exactly the same.
We keep our prices low by never buying fabric or jeans retail. So when we run out of a fabric, we are unlikely to ever have it again. So if there's a specific item that you love, order quickly!
**Custom items will cost at least $15 more than the same size ready-made items.
Certain customizations will add more.
**shipping will add a $10 flat fee in Washington state, or $15 for the rest of the continental US.
All other areas will be priced individually.