Cute Factor
Issue #20
Chicago accessory design duo Qylaar specializes in handmade adorability
By Xylia Buros
Published: June 1st, 2004 | 12:00am
What do striped owls, pink flowers, and houses with felt roofs have in common? Besides being charming images, they all come to life on Qylaar's tote bags, small pouches, and felt flower pins.
Designers Jordana Robinson and James Matthews create their items out of vintage and new fabrics and felt — anything they think is cute. "If something is referred to as 'cute,' it usually means pleasing and empty. But color choice, scale, and content, it's all important," Matthews explains.
Good friends since high school, Robinson and Matthews started making and giving handmade tote bags as gifts to friends, which started a demand for their work. While attending the School Of the Art Institute Of Chicago as a second-degree student, Robinson was influenced by an accessory-design class in the fashion department. She then decided that crafting accessories was something she wanted to do seriously. "Making bags isn't as scary as making clothes," she says. "You can make a really weird bag and people will still buy it."
The duo's combined interest in quilting fabric, stuffed animals, and 3-D art pieces eventually led them to form Qylaar. In addition to selling their goods in boutiques and at fredflare.com, Robinson and Matthews have shown off their style in The Cute Show at Chicago’s Heaven Gallery (see thecuteshow.com for photos). For now, they're busy revamping qylaar.com to allow customized bag styles, fabric, and color combinations — all of which will be cute, no doubt.
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