TOMBOY TOTES are as unique as the woman who owns one. Constructed for the bold, spirited, independent, female, whether a TOMBOY, diva or a girly-girl! These durable vinyl totes can be retro, funky, hip or even sexy in the right owners hands. Each is fun, classy and sassy, PURSE-onalized [with a charmed key chain] for the trend setter with her own style. Currently available in 6 different product lines with more to come.

Tomboy Totes are made from simple hardware found at the hardware store, hence the name "TOMBOY TOTES". These totes are fabricated with minimal sewing, constructed with upholstery nails, studs, grommets, and handles made from vinyl encased cable. The bottom is cut from from a piece of wood, branded or laser engraved with the Tomboy Logo, and finished off with nail feet. I love experimenting with new hardware and you'll have a better chance finding me at the home improvement store than at the Mall, as I am always creating new designs in my mind and then off to find that new piece of hardware or vinyl pattern to create a new tote. I love antique stores with record albums [Yes, I make record Album totes as well], locks and keys, billboard banners, and such vintage components that would be great for recycling and creating one of a kind totes. My latest discovery is English horse brass [A brass ornament used for the decoration of harness gear, especially for shire and parade horses. Used since antiquity, they became especially popular in England in the 1800s, and remain a collector's item today] to adorn the front of my Totes, making each tote ONE OF A KIND!

Tomboy "Team Totes" sports line [ designed with Team colors and school mascots ] are fun to carry to sporting events. The Oregon Duck’s Team-Totes are a favorite. Fans attending the 2010 Rose Bowl game in Pasadena loved them, and they flew off the shelves, with Tote divas waiting in line to get them from Divismo's , a local retailer. Team Totes are also available for High Schools, showing off school colors and purse-onalized with basketballs, footballs , high school name, and even the school mascot on the keychain. They are fun to make and fun-to-tote to sporting events. You will be the talk of the stadium!

The newest Tote line is the ~Bella Couture Tote~ for little girls. They are whimsical creations of art, mixing fabrics and textures, combined with hardware and the softness of cotton, satin and bows. I created an exclusive line for Bella Couture, a little girl boutique here in Springfield, Oregon. Daintily made with charming designer cotton fabrics, and accessorized with a little added viva la sparkle for the little miss. I also make Wine totes for my local Gift shops as they make a perfect gift for wine Connoisseurs.

As a retired dental assistant of 30 years I love my job these days. It allows me to stay home and raise my youngest daughter. It gives me the freedom to dream, design and create something I have a passion for...handbags. I love them all and tote around many of my own creations! I am a self taught handbag designer. I started hammering out Totes in 2007 as an outlet for my creativity and as stress relief. My step daughter was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma, a childhood cancer that year. Building Totes helped me cope and kept my mind busy creating something meaningful and useful as I watched a young life being destroyed by a debilitating disease. After my first Tote creation I TOTED them out in Public. They immediately started drawing attention and people were asking where I bought them. I received so many orders that I started rethinking my hobby as a potential business venture .

I donate yearly to Relay for Life silent auctions hoping, someday, like many that there will be a cure for all forms of cancer. To my surprise my first donation , a Lone Star Texas Tote brought $950 to the "Veteran's Salute to Heroes Auction" in Texas in 2007! What a great way to honor and help support the men and women who fought for my freedom to live FREE and do anything I dream.  I continue to have Tomboy Tote "In-Home" parties where custom orders are taken. Each Tomboy customer designs her tote to suit her taste [colors shape etc] and I construct it according to her blueprint. I have a few stores that carry my totes, and even have one store in the Gateway Mall in Springfield that has given my totes a home, but my goal is to expand Tomboy Totes to major/specialty stores nationwide. I’ve heard a rumor that the wives of the Oregon Athletic club wants 150 totes soon which will force the business to grow overnight and employees will have to be hired.

I am thankful for sites like Handbag Designer 101 as it gives me the opportunity to show others my designs… and who knows... someone might like them enough to make my next dream come true! I know now, even at 52 years young, if you can dream it...you can still do it as the greatest risk is not taking one!