Recycle | Re-use | Re-purpose
EXPLORE MORE ABOUT US !
All Handbags and Accessories Handmade - Since 2008
HOW IT ALL STARTED
Years ago, I had a friend who was a projectionist in a theater. She gave me a trailer of my favorite movie at the time, Slumdog Millionaire. She told me that the theater had lots of trailers left over and that they usually threw them away or employees took them home to make crafts using the film.
The Slumdog Millionaire trailer sat on my coffee table for a few months until my friend’s birthday rolled around. I fancied crochet and since she was a projectionist, I tried my hand at crocheting her a little purse out of the film as it seemed a perfect gift for her! The film was also a perfect material to crochet since it had pre-punched holes along the edges of the film and the frames of the movie were easily seen. Each frame was a positive image, not a negative image, so they looked exactly like you would see them on the big screen, when you hold it up to the light, only much smaller.
She loved her purse, and it was her who introduced me to the distributors. Before I met the distributors, I made the two men a couple of ties using the film. They loved them too, and the rest is history!
Julie Lewis, Owner
How Durable is it?
It is extremely durable because it is Mylar film, not celluloid or silver nitrate. A purse made of Mylar film can carry several pounds of weight, up to 7-10 lbs in styles that are large enough to carry that much stuff. It will not crack or show fingerprints and it is impossible to tear. The yarn that is used to crochet the strips together is extra strong mercerized cotton and the stitch is one that is used when items need to be especially robust.
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Isn’t it Flammable?
No! Flammable Silver Nitrate film was used in the 1920’s to early 1950’s.
When theaters caught fire it was due to the extreme flammability of silver nitrate in the film. Just the heat of light shining on the film during projection could ignite it. When the industry tired of theaters burning down, they switched to another celluloid film which did not contain silver nitrate. That composition lasted until the mid 90’s when the industry discovered Mylar. Mylar film is not only durable, but non-flammable. In 2012 the industry turned totally digital, making film no longer relevant 🙁
Deja Bags makes film relevant once again by offering items in Mylar film fashions! However, we do offer a few celluloid films from the 70’s (lined with clear Mylar to make them more durable) . Some are classic films such as “Being There” with Peter Sellers as well as “Pink Panther”, and others are adult films from the 70’s; please see “Adults Only” tab to view the offerings.
