Sunday, May 18, 2008

Two

On Earth Day we released our very own Green Bean Collection to an overwhelming response from the public! We chose Earth Day because all the bags in this collection are 'earth friendly'. We use mainly recycled and refreshed fabrics in the making of our "green beans". So we are happy to say we are employing the practice of reusing, reducing, and recycling in our little company... instead of creating more need for new products and/or adding to the growing pile of throw-aways world-wide.
Anyway, the reason I got on the subject of Earth Day was to relay a few amusing facts about our release date. The basis for most or all of these being that diengie the word... means "two" in an indo-pacific language. And diengie ... the company...stands for 'designing second uses for discovered treasures'. Anyone seeing a 'two' theme here? On with the facts-

1. our release date was Earth Day 2008
April... the 4th month... 2x2...two 2's
22nd.... two 2's...
2008.... two, 2 zeros, then 8-the # of new beginnings!...and four 2's

2.It was on a TUESDAY ...2's day!!!!!!

This may all seem insignificant to you reading it, but to us these facts and numbers were an eye-opening reminder that God is leading us and guiding us in this business adventure! How else could we have come up with that perfect date, one that is so significant to the meaning of our company? We couldn't! And we believe that God led us to this point and wanted us to realize it in a very tangible...albeit humorous way! Realizing these amusing and amazing "2" facts gave us a huge push to move ahead, knowing that God is going before us and we are smack-dab in the middle of His perfect timing!

Other interesting and fun facts are sure to unfold, so stay tuned to find out what happens next in this amazing journey... the shaping of a company named DIENGIE !

Friday, May 9, 2008

Let's Make Bags

That was our only thought when we started this
business- "Let's make bags!" Wow,we thought that was
all there was to it!
Now we are over our heads in details, details,
details... and we're realizing that there is a lot
more to a "bag business" than making bags! It seems
like there are decisions to make every day...little
details that need to be attended to. Getting a small
business up and running is very time consuming and
energy intensive! Its not unlike having a baby and
taking care of all the little details of their life
while they are growing and changing. There is always
something new,always something urgent,
always something routine and always something
fun thrown in there to keep you pushing on
through all the other somethings!
And like being a parent, the creative business
owner/partner thrives on all the attention their
little ones attract. It is nice to know that other
people think your creations/babies are adorable, and
well... just about the most wonderful "baby" they have
ever seen! And its even nicer when they tell you so!
It has been so exciting to find diengie on other blogs,
to get such a positive feedback on etsy, and even to
receive wholesale inquiries. We are just creating bags
that we love, and finding that others love them too is
a great encouragement... makes us want to create more
and more! I guess to have others really "get" what we
are doing and love it too makes the long hours and
hundreds of decisions less taxing. Of course we would
do what we do even if we never heard a word about
other people loving our bags... but the positive
responses help us more than we can express.
So, even knowing all the other things that need to
be done, and all of the details that will need to be
addressed... Let's make bags!!

Monday, May 5, 2008

Off to a running start

We are so excited about the response we have gotten over the past 12 days. Our Doppios are flying off the shelves, er, out of the studio at an astounding rate, to us anyway. We are still new at this business, but we are off to a running start. Aside from great sales, we've been featured in a few 'handpicked' lists on Etsy and made appearances on a few blogs! While this may seem like nothing to some people we are basking in the glow of our red hot bag business. We are adding new bags just as fast as our little hands can make them. So, I'll cut this blog short and get back to business. . .

Green-tings friends! (from Earth Day)

Green-tings friends!

Earth Day will soon be here. I'm sure you have heard of many companies and organizations making extra efforts this Earth Day to get people to 'go green'. There are so many ways--simple ways--we can make changes in our daily lives to become more eco-friendly. (Check out our R3 page at http://diengie.com for ideas.) At Diengie we are doing our part by releasing our brand new line of bags. We have named this line our 'Green Bean Collection". The term 'green' is quickly becoming a household word for one who is 'concerned with or supporting environmentalism'. We can call our bags 'green' because they are made entirely of refreshed and recycled fabrics, burlap is biodegradable, and we strive to use every bit of those goods to avoid excess waste. Also, the burlap used in our bags has been transformed from sacks which were once filled with 'green' coffee beans. A 'green' coffee bean is one that "has made it to all levels of processing except the actual roasting. Green [coffee] beans will store well for years without loss in quality." We feel the same way about our Green Beans. While we don't want you to store your "Green Bean" for years, we do stand behind our product and are confident it will last for years. Our top-quality, handcrafted bags will stand the test of time.

Visit our website, starting this Tuesday, April 22, when we will release our two newest bags. We will feature our Doppio Grande and Doppio Petite. For those of you familiar with coffee terms, these names will make sense. For the rest of us, I will offer an explanation. Doppio is the Italian word for 'double'. Grande, of course, means large, and petite, means small. We used the word doppio for two reasons (are you seeing a theme?). Our bags are fully reversible. Thus, double--two bags in one. Burlap on the outside and unexpected linings on the inside, or visa-versa, depending on your mood. Also, our name, diengie, means two. We love designing second uses for discovered treasures.

Our main purpose in creating these bags was to encourage more people to stop using plastic bags. If we all stopped using plastic bags we would make great strides in protecting our Earth. Yet, these bags are not only suitable for use as a market bag, but as an everyday carry-all. The possibilities are endless.

*******Be one of the first 20 to "go green in style" and get a free Green Bean key chain with the purchase of a Doppio Grande or Doppio Petite bag!

Please visit http://diengie.com or http://diengiedesigns.etsy.com to view and purchase your very own Green Bean bag this Tuesday! Pass along this email to your friends. Go green, in style!

Sincerely,
heiDI, karEN, anGIE

P.S. We will soon be releasing our littlest Green Bean pouch, the Peaberry (also a coffee plant term!). Check back often to see our newest additions.

Bag Race Anyone? (from 4/4/08)

As our bio suggests, we love to shop for a bargain and find new uses forseemingly useless things. In Ann Arbor, Michigan there is a fun andunique store called The Scrap Box. It is just what its name suggests. They have tons of'scraps'--anything that would have otherwise been thrown away bybusinesses and consumer households. They receive donations and thepublic can then go in and buy these items for use in any way theirimagination can dream up.

Last year we wereexcited to find decorator fabric sample books. We were sure we couldput the beautiful, albeit tiny pieces of fabric to good use. Some ofour small pouches on Etsy are made of the fabric from those sample books!


Wehave made yet another discovery at this fabulous store. Karen took theplunge and bought 26 very large burlap coffee bean bags. Some of thebags still contained raw coffee beans! Our plan? Why, stylishreusable shopping bags, of course! Unfortunately, there is not ashopping-bag-making fairy. Taking these bags from The Scrap Box barrelto stylish carry-all is quite a feat. In fact, we are finding thatthis process is, of course, longer than we expected.


Here is a peek into a day in the life of Karen:


'Itook all 26 burlap bags to the laundromat and washed and dried them. They had the whole place smelling like wet burlap! I got a few curiouslooks from people as I was hauling them from place to place. Finally,one brave soul ventured over to ask the question burning in everyone'smind. . .'What are you going to do with those?' I told her they weregoing to be transformed into shopping bags--'green' shopping bags. Shewas satisfied with my answer, I guess. She said, 'Well, yes, that willwork.''


Once we finalized our designs werealized we would need to find a supplier of burlap coffee bean bags. Karen contacted a local Ann Arbor coffee roaster and specialty foodscompany called Zingermans. They graciously offered their supply of burlap coffee bean bags to help get us started.


Andthat is just the beginning of the coffee bean bag to stylish shoppingbag process. We are that committed to creating unique bags you willlove to carry. Each of us at Diengie has started carrying our own'green' bags everywhere. We use our 'green' bags as a purse, tote andreusable shopping bag. Gone are the days of stockpiling mounds ofearth-polluting plastic shopping bags. Many retail stores are jumpingon the 'green' bandwagon with their own reusable shopping bags, but whowants to carry boring, generic shopping bags? We are excited to soonrelease our own 'Green Bean' collection--great bags in two differentdesigns! With an earthy feel on the outside and unexpected linings,our original designs are not only functional but attractive. With sucha fashionable bag you won't be limited to carrying it in and out of thestore. Our 'Green Bean' bag can easily be an all-purpose carry-all. The possibilities are endless. It may just become your bag of choice.


View and purchase our products at http://diengiedesigns.etsy.com

Our 'Green Bean' collection will be released soon! We will notify you by email when they are available for purchase.