TynanDesign

Ashley Tynan Maclin, I am the founder of Tynan Design bags and a student at the Savannah College of Art and Design, my work is heavily interspersed with southeast contemporary flair, old vintage industrial warehouses and its hardware, growth, death, erosion, rustic style barn yards, my childhood growing up in a relaxed coastal town called Seabrook, Texas, and my current lifestyle here on Tybee Island, Georgia.
I grew up in a very fun, talented, and creative environment with original people starting with my mother. I never understood how talented she was until I found one of her old sketchbooks stashed away in a utility closet, which gave me inspiration for my own work. From there, mom gave me my first sketchbook and I started making all different types of footwear. I was unaware at that time, that this could be a potential job or career in my future. Having been told that, mom explained to me that I had the opportunity to make something amazing with my life like footwear design, something that she never had the fortuity to do. Captivated by this theory, mom provided me with my first Bob Ross paint set to help me get motivated and still to this day I still have this set established in my studio.
I wanted to make something rare and extraordinary with my life so as a child I started immersing myself very independently into sewing, painting, ceramics, swimming, water polo, running through the sandy trails, bike riding, baking and playing in anything that consisted of water especially with my dog.
My first memory of being completely connected to the water started when I was old enough to play freely, I would ride my bike down to our private bay area and build giant forts with big boulders and driftwood that would line our edges of the jetties. In between these giant rocks I could find little trinkets, driftwood, and anything I could acquire access to that activated my liking to carry home by myself.
After graduating with my bachelors for fine arts at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, I was utterly fascinated with rustic old tools and the earthly smell of leather. I still find leather genuinely exotic and new to me even after all these years, that through my process leather is what sparks my passion for my composition.
Finding my ability after all these years on my own seemed to come naturally after going to school for mastering footwear design and handbags seemed effortless. I decided to make my very first bag without patterns eventually selling it the same year at art sales. I started my business in August of 05’ for handbags till now I then was bestowed with my very first industrial sewing machine in 2010, which I still use to this day. It was one of the most zenith gifts I have ever received. My work still depicts a vintage, raw, and natural vibe. I admire the roughness of the uneven edges and surface of leather, the scarred brandings engraved in the hide, not educated or polite just raw. The texture of leather in itself is appealing and genuine.
Every single bag I create and craft is made one-of-a-kind, no one is alike. I love the worn look, vintage or even used like bomber jacket leather that still holds an authentic and antique presence but also appeals to a story behind the leather it’s self. Old leather from a couch, horse saddle straps, harness, and bridles are examples of excellent additions to these small but unique pieces of art. The Tybee driftwood and metal scrapings that fall off shipping rigs and cargo vessels I find for many of my bags replaces hardware and handles.
All my bags convey coziness as well as edgy, yet playful. You can wear them to work or beach as well as take them out on the town at night. Recently my bags are starting to have made up hardware from scratch that is water inspired by oyster beds and found objects that have found their way from the sea adrift, to the shore. I like a bag that does not follow the seasonal trend it is the timeless enduring direction you can see every year and never get tired of it. “I believe that a bag has a soul to, it’s important to have an bag that tells a story that you can relate with especially when you will be the only person carrying this rare bag inspired by natures abandoned gifts. ”
To make a truly perfect bag, there has to be the aspect behind it that speaks to the person that is interested in that one piece of art. The person intrigued to buy or even to just admire the bag would seem to have something about the bag it’s self that speaks to them on a personal level. In essence, there has to be a particular part of the piece that speaks to a person. Since all people have different tastes, a bag has to be made in a way that not only conforms to the base fashion appeal, but to the interest and personality of the person who admires the work. That is why each handbag that I’ve made is different from the others. Basically, no two are exactly the same. This plays to the personality of mys