Designing a Bag for 'Bath in Fashion'

British Bagmakers are creating a pop-up-manufacturing unit in Bath City Centre for Bath in Fashion 2013 (13?21st April 2013), to help celebrate the return of British manufacture to luxury leather bag-making. Along with fashion celebrities like milliner, Stephen Jones; interiors expert, Nina Campbell; super model, Jade Parfitt and fashion writer, Iain R Webb, I was also invited to design a bag which will be made into a one-of-a-kind accessory during the week for all to see.

No surprise that I therefore thought it would be appropriate to design a sports bag! My first thoughts were that I wanted it to be in our British colours of Red, White and Blue, keeping it as patriotic as possible. I wanted it to be a size big enough to be able to hold enough sports kit such as trainers, wash kit, towels, training diaries, and everything else you may need for your fitness session. Having sketched a design and sent it off to the designers.

I was then lucky enough to be invited along to the British Bagmakers factory (where my bag would be made) which is located near Radstock on the edge of Bath, the company makes their own brand Liz Cox as well as a number of top Bond Street brands. It was fascination to see the step-by-step processes from the moment the leather is picked and cut, through to all the individual components of the bag, and then at the end of the process it is boxed up and sent to the shops.

So what will happen to this bag that I have designed? A special charity Celebrity It Bag Auction and Lunch is going to be held on Friday 26th April at the Bath Spa Hotel. The bags will be auctioned by The Right Honourable Don Foster, MP for Bath. All funds raised will be for The Forever Friends Appeal's Cancer Care Campaign, which aims to raise £5 million towards the construction of a pioneering Cancer Centre at Bath RUH hospital. The clinical skills offered by the medical team at the RUH are exceptional; however, the current cancer centre poor quality 1940s single story buildings are not ideal and do not enable the clinicians to provide a positive environment necessary to support the healing process. The RUH treats over 2000 new cancer patients every year, making this project crucial.

Tickets for the Celebrity It Bag Auction & Lunch cost £28 per person or £250 for a table of 10 this includes a 2 course lunch with a glass of wine and fizz on arrival. Tickets are available to buy at www.bathinfashion.co.uk or 0844 8475256

Tickets are now on sale for events during Bath in Fashion (13?21st April 2013).

Please come along and show your support for this very worthwhile cause.