My Zippurses are made of one continuous nylon zipper that can be zipped and unzipped over and over again. Why, you might ask, would you do that? You just do because it is funny and can be quite therapeutic. the straps are also nylon and the bottom of the totes is pleather. My leather bags took so long to make and yet people went instantly nuts over the the zippurses. And so it seemed as though I had hit something big.  My target audience is from young to old. I sell the makeup bags, handbags, backpacks and cell phone bags to teens and college age. The cell phone bags, makeup bags and totes sell very well the the older audience since they are light weight and travel well. The backpacks and totes work well for the working woman since the backpack can hold a laptop (and works as a diaper bag too.) What makes the bags so special is there uniqueness, they are fashionable, functional, lightweight and washable.

I began designing hand stitched leather bags in my garage. After my first child was born I had no time to sew all the leather bags and began trying to come up with new fabric designs that could be made on a machine. One day, I had some zippers lying around and my mother asked for a purse made out of zippers, so we decided to make a competition of it. We found a roll of zipper, split it in half and went home to our sewing machines. My completely un-zippable purse was so entertaining that my mother ordered a few and so did the stores. The Original ZIPPURSE was born.  Although people buy my bags the first time for the fun gimmick, it is amazing how often those same people come back for more as gifts and for themselves. They are very comfortable, fun, affordable, but you will still get compliments everywhere you go.

My design nightmare story is quite a nightmare. I have worked so hard to create a business that I could run from my home while raising my two sons. I have spent money on lawyers and patents, yet there are so many companies out there that are only interested in making money regardless of who they hurt. I was deliberately copied by a large company that forced my to license my product to another company in order to finance the protection of my patents. It has been quite a long haul, but I am happy to say that I have my company back and am bigger and stronger then ever. Right now I have 5 styles and up to 8 colors. I have so many ideas for all kinds of bags that turn into other functional items, fun zippurses with interesting fabrics and details that will bring the line to a whole new level. But I am trying to take baby steps, get the name out and then slowly introduce new bags each season. I see a great future for BAM Bags and am trying not to throw all my cards on the table to quickly.

There is nothing like creating something that people truly love and enjoy.  It makes me laugh when people call BAM bags to order a bag and when I answer the phone they cant believe it. They think I am famous. That alone just makes my day...my week.  It amazes me that people across the country love my bags, just a fun little idea that I have been able to turn into a real business that I love.