Carol Gilbert made her first handbag when she was just a little girl. She also made the fabric for that handbag by hand-weaving through a square loom, again, when she was just a little girl. Color us impressed.
Gilbert's passion for creating textiles and designing handbags evolved into Yorktown Road, a SF based company that fits our criteria for fabulous local design: unique, sturdy and well priced.
Yorktown Road's collection is a tight assortment of accessories and homewares that use fabric and shape to create interesting, yet simple designs.
And while seemingly so, the designs are anything but simple.
Gilbert starts by using earthy jewel tones to hand-dye her high end linens and wools, which she also sells as custom textiles. She further alters the dyed fabric with random folds and hand-sewn pleats, to create an entirely new textile that's ready to take form. The fabric is then sewn into life with Gilbert's original patterns, which feature functional, bold shapes and unique proportions.
The bags range from large signature totes to elongated zip clutches. The homewares include mix-and-match throw pillows, and note cards with hand-sewn fabric swatches. Because of the fabric making process, each piece is one of a kind, and made with love.
Check out the full collection at the Yorktown Road Etsy store.
Lily Ko (lily.7x7 @ gmail.com) studied fashion design and merchandising at Central Saint Martins and the Academy of Art University. In addition to writing for 7x7, Lily is an editor at SF Station, works as a freelance stylist and covers food, fashion and fun on her blog, Curated SF.
