Functional art has become increasingly important to me in recent years, and areas such as accessory and product design showcase this concept in tremendous ways. While taking an accessory design class, I challenged myself to create a bag that was multifunctional, brainstorming with different home products as a base to work from. Out of the mix came a clock, and the perfect hybrid was born.

In designing the clock bag, I chose to depict a very simple, almost caricature clock, as opposed to something ornate to play along with the comical nature of the concept. I wanted the design to look as though it had come from a child’s imagination, or the stereotypical wall clock you may find when searching “clock clipart”. This also allowed for the craftsmanship to take the forefront, with more attention being paid to the surface techniques and clock face.

Many dye tests were performed using the final material, veg tan leather, to attempt a wood grain finish. Veg tan was chosen as it would take well to the dye while serving as a rigid body for the bag, which was constructed in a hatbox style. A full mock of the bag was created from oak tag to test for size including the clock mechanics. The clock hands and mechanics were from a standard clock kit, with much of the other hardware such as the lock, hinges, strap, etc. being purchased.

Before constructing the final bag, I decided to create a custom screen printed lining utilizing one of the patterns from my Michael Graves Revisited collection. This involved having a screen made to-scale with the design and repeat-printing it onto cotton yardage.

Once the lining was created, I began cutting the veg tan from a refined pattern I had made using the oak tag mock. When cut, the leather was ready to be dyed in the wood grain technique and finished with edge coat. The main gussets of the clock were glued and sewn to their fronts using a custom jig, which ensured they could successfully be fitted in a proper form. The four lines of the clock face were satin-stitched, along with the hands of the interior mini clock that covers the battery pack. Much of the interior was created from a firm illustration board covered in the custom lining. The remaining components and hardware were puzzled together through a unique order of operations, resulting in the final bag.

The bag has many interesting details, from the functioning clock hands to the miniature interior clock. One of my favorites is the ability to add or remove the chain straps and their connectors, making this bag multifunctional and hence achieving my goal. It is most certainly impractical as a bag, and a little bulky as a wall clock, but the piece serves as an interesting interpretation of time and definitely delivers smiles.

-JA