When Kate Prideaux thinks about her next design, she thinks about what people like.

And that’s what ends up on the hand-appliquéd wallets, bags and pocketbooks she makes under the name “Katrina’s Machine.” Made from upholstery fabrics and vinyl, the products are sold at the Portland farmers markets, The Merchant Co. and Pinecone + Chickadee, as well as through Prideaux’s Etsy.com shop.

“People like cats, so I do some cats,” she said. “And people like dogs. The nautical theme is kind of big right now, so I did a lot of anchors and octopus and jellyfish and lobsters and crabs and things like that. I try and keep it playful. I have some friends who go to a bluegrass camp, so I made them some fiddler crabs – a crab with a little fiddle in its claw.”

Prideaux majored in ceramics at the Maine College of Art and has been sewing for more than 10 years. The name of her company stems from a time when she worked in an “ethical sweatshop” with lots of Russian workers who called her Katrina. She now works as a preschool teacher when she’s not sewing.

Prideaux buys remnant fabrics at upholstery shops, and also searches through sales bins and flea markets. She tries to use vintage buttons and abalone buttons when she can. “If I can find stuff that I can recycle, I definitely use it,” she said.

She cuts all of the shapes by hand, making each piece one of a kind. Her octopus design was inspired by Inky, the octopus that made worldwide news when he escaped from his aquarium in New Zealand. Prideaux is working with a writer friend on a children’s book featuring Inky’s story. “They’re incredibly smart animals,” Prideaux said.


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