ONE TO WATCH - NAOMI ELSHOFF
"Don't throw away, recycle for another day"
This month in ONE TO WATCH, Naomi Elshoff, owner of Nabags. A company that sells handmade bags produced from old banners. Naomi is on of the participants of the very first edition of the Crafty Älmhult market. We at Craft Älmhult market fell in LOVE with her gorgeous bags. Time to get to know her a little better
Can you tell us a bit more about yourself?
My name is Naomi. I am 21 years old and live in Zaandam, the Netherlands. I am the owner of Nabags. In Zaandam I have my own studio together with a lot of other designers/ crafters.
How did you get started?
My neighbour ask me if I wanted to join a Craft Market I said YES! But afterwards I realised that I didn’t had any stuff to sell. Luckily a few months before I had pulled some old banners out of the dumpster. I decided to use these old banners and to make some shoppers. The shoppers were a great success and I decided to make some more.
How did your style develop?
Often organisations and companies throw away their old banners. Shame because you can make great things using these banners! Every banner is very unique because they have an unique own image.There is only one in the whole wide world. I usually start with designing a model according to my own style. Then I let people try the product and I ask for their opinion. It is very important to me that a product suits everyone's wishes.
Sometimes people ask me to design a product for them and I am happy to do that!
Where did you get the idea to make bags out of banners?
Recycling is one of the best ways to have a positive impact on the world in which we live. Recycling is important to both the natural environment and for us.That is how I got the idea to recycle old banners. What’s fun about designing?
Translating your idea into a fantastic product like a wallet or bag. What inspires you? The possibility to give things that people throw away a second life. What have you learned from running a (web) shop? That there is always something to learn and that you are never finished with designing your webshop. There is always something you can put in your webshop which makes it more easier to use but also nicer to watch. What are your dreams?
Joining the next edition of the Crafty Älmhult market. It was an amazing experience last year.
Do you have any dreams or plans for your brand? To design new models and to sell all the products in different shops. Do you have any advice for us? Nice websites, magazines, businesses? A very nice website is froot.nl but I also am a big fan of dawanda.nl
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