Community Happenings: Costume designer transforms used fabric

Photo by Stacy Butler Paulette Gilbert is now spending her time creating bags out of used fabric.

Community Happenings is a monthly feature of the Nevada City Advocate. This month we have reports on Paulette Gilbert, the costume director at Foothill Theatre, which is now closed; John Lenz, who recently retired from Citizens Bank, Rotary Club relief efforts for Haiti and a listing of the new board members for the Nevada City Chamber of Commerce.

Paulette collects fabric in the form of clothing, curtains or linens from local thrift stores to create totes, purses, market bags, computer/messenger bags, and her smaller “Zip” make-up bags. Some are simply gorgeous, some are whimsical and all are useful and environmentally beneficial.

  “A piece of fabric does not biodegrade easily,” says Paulette, who was the costume designer for Foothill Theatre. “We unwittingly add a burden to our landfills by throwing away fabric items we don’t use anymore. I look at the article of fabric in its original form to determine its potential. If it is clean and enough is usable, I disassemble it and transform the fabric into a useful and fun bag.”

Paulette sells her SandBags at local street fairs and online at http://sandbagsdesigns.etsy.com, where she also has a photo gallery.

“My first online sale came from Dumfries, Scotland,” she said. “It was a plaid bag made from an article of clothing I found at the thrift store. The fabric was really dated for clothing, but it made a beautiful bag.”

  Paulette reports having sold bags to customers in Columbia and Australia.  She began blogging on her web site on Dec. 31 and received over 100 responses the first day.

 Paulette discovered her love of fabric work as a child in Louisiana when she made her first apron.  She went on to win the Louisiana State Sew with Cotton Contest when she was a sophomore in high school.  Her love of working with fabric inspired her to go into the theatre business and costume design.

 If you want to know more about Paulette and her bags, call her at 530-265-4126 or visit her online gallery. She makes appointments to discuss custom bags and gladly shares her vast fabric collection if you want to pick your own from her collection.

John Lenz retires from Citizen’s Bank in Nevada City

Citizen’s Bank Vice President and Nevada City Branch Manager John Lenz has retired.

John says he is looking forward to taking it easy for about a year and then setting off in a new direction. “I’m 63 years young and I’m still young enough to do other things.”

 John managed eight or nine employees in his five years as manager at the Nevada City branch on Railroad Avenue. He personally handled the business and consumer loans.

 “We have really nice people who are our customers. It has been a real pleasure to work with them. But I live in town, so I’m not going anywhere and I look forward to seeing everyone around town!”

Julie McEnroe is taking John’s place as Bank Business Officer. She is moving from the Penn Valley branch. Heidi Daniel of the Nevada City branch is replacing Julie in Penn Valley.

2010 Chamber Board Members installed

The Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors was installed on Jan. 30 at the Stone House Hospitality Academy. They are: President Dave Painter, SPD; President-Elect Barbi Jackson, Scott Jackson Real Life Fitness; Treasurer Jim McConnaughay, Country Collectibles; Other directors in alphabetical order: Jeff Ackerman, The Union; Larry Birdsong, retired; Thomas A. Coleman, National Hotel, Steve Cottrell, associate member, Madelyn Helling, retired county librarian; Michelle Litton, The Friendship Club; Jesse Locks, Nevada City Film Festival; Karen Marinovich, Karen Marinovich & Associates; Mimi Simmons, ERA/Cornerstone Realty Group; Duane Strawser, Tour of Nevada City Bicycle Shop; Gary Tintle, Tintle, Inc., Kirk Valentine, Nevada City Classic Café; Bob Weiner, Judi’s of Nevada City.

 Rotary Club raising money to provide shelter in Haiti

The Rotary Club of Nevada City is raising money to supply ShelterBoxes to Haiti earthquake victims. The cost is $1,000. To donate, mail your check to Nevada City Rotary Club, P.O. Box 74, Nevada City, CA  95959. Donations of $50 or more should be made to: Nevada City Rotary Foundation; checks for $49 and under an under should be made to: ShelterBox and sent to the address on their web site.  For more information about ShelterBox visit www.shelterbox.org.  What follows is an excerpt from the ShelterBox web site.

“Each ShelterBox supplies an extended family of up to 10 people with a tent and lifesaving equipment to use while they are displaced or homeless. Highly trained ShelterBox Response Teams distribute boxes on the ground, working closely with local organizations, international aid agencies and Rotary clubs worldwide.”