Wrecking Records

[jon]

Vinyl records make a comeback as conversation-starting purses
By Chantal Eustace, Canwest News Service

Wrecking records in the name of fashion makes perfect sense to Vancouver purse designer, Emily Livingston.

Her so-called "wreckord" bags by ikillvinyl are made from old albums, bound together on either side and attached to a shoulder strap crafted from recycled cable wire.

"It's a good conversation piece at a party," says a grinning Livingston, modelling one of her designs. "Don't wear them if you don't want people to talk to you."

Word of mouth is handy, though, if you're a 25-year-old designer with a fresh idea.

She says many of her bags are sold simply by people seeing them on people, like her, then visiting her website, http://www.ikillvinyl.com, to place an order.

Customers can request specific records, she says, or simply shop from her existing collection, featuring everything from the Flaming Lips or Fleetwood Mac to Madonna and Prince.

"It's all handmade," says Livingston, adding that the idea came to her about three years ago, when she and her boyfriend and "creative consultant," Jean-Paul Carthy, were living in London, England.

Carthy, a DJ and artist, had plenty of old, scratched records lying around, she says, and so she began experimenting with using them in designs, such as a collapsible top hat, before the bags began to take their current shape.

"I started wearing them, and people were stopping me on the street," she says, adding the business has spread from there.

Since then, she says, she's made -- and sold -- hundreds of the bags, and spent countless hours trolling through charity shops for supplies.

She's also perfected her technique, thanks to a custom-built, wooden jig her father built for her. She sits on the floor of her and Carthy's east-Vancouver apartment, surrounded by her creations and various purse-making tools, and works on a new creation.

First she punctures an album using her jig, then demonstrates how to thread together each record, before attaching the handle using wire.

"It's a bit of a process," she says, as some wire gets tangled.

It takes her about two hours to make each bag, she says, adding these sell for $65 and up. Small albums, or clutch wreckord purses, go for $45 and up. Custom orders cost more, with prices depending on the album, she says.

"I like the albums that are totally rare," says Livingston, leafing through a stack of vinyl. "I'll spend hours searching for that perfect record."

To wreck, that is.

ceustace@vancouversun.com
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This article appeared in a number of CanWest-owned papers this morning.

You can click through four pictures here: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/life/fas ... story.html

Thought: would't it be awful heavy? Especially if she is not using Dynaflex.