I started my handbag line in January of 2000. It was only months from making the first three to manufacturing them for retail stores here in Southwest Florida. I was asked to make a few bags for an organization called God Squad and the Alliance of the Arts for their annual fundraiser. Shortly after that, I was getting into a variety of retail shops in this area. My first handbag that I submitted to a local art event went into a live auction and was bought for $2,400. I was well on my way. It was hard at first keeping up with the demand so I raised my prices. Then, the phone rang and it was Saks Fifth Avenue wanting as many handbags as I could make to sell in their store. I had bought all the equipment necessary to make the bags from start to finish. At first, I was using a local artist metal shop to produce them. I opened up my shop and began mass producing them for retail, art and trade shows. As the years went by, my handbags were on the arms of celebrities, on the show Platinum Weddings and National and local magazines. Last year I received an invite to go to the Emmy’s Celebrity Gifting Suite in LA California.

I have been working with aluminum for the body of the handbag. For many reasons this type of metal has been the metal of choice. I have embellished them with stainless steel, copper and nickel. The inside lining is 100% Japanese silk or 100% cotton. I also include a tote bag which is custom made per bag. My audience ranges from 30-65 years old. Oddly enough the older women tend to go for the more edgy handbags. My inspiration is just life. I am fortunate to have traveled to many different parts of the world but I still reflect from what I remember from my childhood. The 70’s were actually very stylish. I think what makes my handbags so unique is there is not anything on the market that I know of like it and I have done a lot of research but can’t find anything that comes close. Men seem to be drawn to them because of their hardware. They aren’t quite sure what it is at first glance. The women like them because they are a great size, I have many vibrant colors and they just feel like they are on the cutting edge while being sophisticated.

I started at a metal shop with a metal artist. I worked for him during the day and used his shop at night for my own use. It is very dangerous in a machine shop if you aren’t supervised and know how to use the equipment. I was a little scared at first but was more excited about all the possibilities of what I could create. Once I made my first three and got into the charity fundraisers, it was all uphill from there.

My handbags have taken on a transformation over the years. Nothing drastic but they have become more sophisticated and complex. The handbags are very durable. They hold more than you think and they can last a life time.

Recently, I had a Judith Leiber moment. I was updating a bag and I came up with my own design and hoping she would like it. I drop something right in the middle of the bag. All I could think was oh no now what do I do. I had only days to get it done. I didn’t want her to panic so I came up with a new design and tried to cover as best as I could.

When I was asked to go to the Emmy’s it was very challenging because of the timeline. Not only did I have a few weeks to prepare, I had family issues that came up. I was up every day at the crack of dawn to well into the night. I was running on only a few hours of sleep a night. I really had doubts that I could pull it off. When it was all over, I finally took a look back and said wow I really did that. I really went for it and I made it through. I can now look at the photos of that great day and remember why I love what I do. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. All the blood, sweat and tears (literally) are really worth the end result. I love that fact that I have made a product that keeps getting better and better and my customers are always going to wonder, what is she going to come up with next?