clippy tote bag

Good evening (I can say evening now, right?) my lovely readers! I bet I can safely say on everyone's behalf that I'm glad it is finally Friday evening. I've had a busy week of unexpected shifts at work, and yesterday, I also ventured back down to Southampton to move my things in and show my brother and sister the shopping delights of the city. While there, I had to get to my back door to retrieve the key, and was involved in a brutal scuffle with a thorny bush. Talk about a thorny welcome home(!) Needless to say, I am currently sat in comfies, nursing my battle wounds!

A few weeks ago, Connie contacted me about an accessories brand based in London: Clippy. Firstly, it was really lovely to hear from a PR representative who genuinely enjoyed and had read my blog, I love being able to speak to PR people from both a personal and professional level. The first bag was created by Calypso Rose a few years ago, and after being stopped by various people on the street, enquiring after her bag, she decided to produce a few hundred more, and begin business on Portobello Road. I then browsed the Clippy website and was very taken by the huge range of products available, and especially so by the idea of adding your own touch to each piece.

I selected the black-trim 12-pocket tote, and when my bag arrived, I knew I wanted it to represent me as an individual, but not extremely obviously so. After much pondering, I went for a mixture of textures, magazine and newspaper clippings, used train tickets from Paris and London, handwritten words and advertisements of my favourite fashion houses. I also dithered about including some pages of an old diary that I didn't quite make full use of, I bought it in Hong Kong way back in 2008, and adore the pages which each have different illustrations on.

By far, the best thing about my new bag is the ease of which I can change the style of it. One side is quite muted in colour and style, and the other features some vibrant colours and designs, meaning I can pop it on with any outfit! I really like the size too, not too large and not too small, it'll fit all of the things I like to hoist around with me on a day-to-day basis, and will be perfect for my final year library trips at University.

Clippy are running a competition where readers can vote for their favourite customised-by-a-blogger Clippy bag, over at their Facebook page. The winning blogger will receive prizes to giveaway to their readers, i.e. you! Don't forget to head over and 'like' their page, and I'll give you all a heads up as to when you can begin voting!