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Hand-painted leather camo-wedge handbag, $110
Hand-painted leather camo-wedge handbag, $110
 
 
Hand-painted leather zebra duffel bag, $150
Hand-painted leather zebra duffel bag, $150
 
 
Tangerine Suede Hobo, $110
Tangerine Suede Hobo, $110
 
 

Cosa Monna Leather

Background:

What is your name? Guadalupe Salais
Where are you from? Texas but raised in Mexico
Where do you live now? Dallas, Texas
How old are you? 42
Do you have a design background? Yes.
Do you still have a day job? Yes, I sure do.
What year were your bags born? 2003
Bag brand name: Cosa Monna Leather
What is their retail price range? $120 - $350
Where can a shopper buy your bags? www.cosamonnaleather.com
For more information, contact: www.cosamonnaleather.com
Comments: [post a comment]

1. I have to say I admire and look up to you. I sew my handbags by hand and to be honest...I am still learning! They come out great, but every bag has a personality of its own and one day part of my dream is to be doing what you are doing and sometime soon! I have not moved onto leathers just yet...but its on the agenda. I guess the main part is me discovering all the little ins and outs of purses...LOL...so I admire you and your accomplishments! If you have any advice...please email me. A mentor can always be used! jadeandbamboo@yahoo.com Thanks! - Keyana Somerset from SC, April 29, 2008.
2. I have to say I admire and look up to you. I sew my handbags by hand and to be honest...I am still learning! They come out great, but every bag has a personality of its own and one day part of my dream is to be doing what you are doing and sometime soon! I have not moved onto leathers just yet...but its on the agenda. I guess the main part is me discovering all the little ins and outs of purses...LOL...so I admire you and your accomplishments! If you have any advice...please email me. A mentor can always be used! jadeandbamboo@yahoo.com Thanks! - Keyana Somerset from SC, April 29, 2008.

Story:

I Started about 5 years ago designing sandals, slippers, belts, buckles and handbags. I have a degree in Fashion and Costume Design with and Art Minor from TWU. I have been involved in the fashion industry since I was a freshmen in college. All of my work experience is in the garment side of the design business, but I thought myself how to do purses, shoes, and sandals about 5 years ago when I was a professor in one of the Community Colleges in the Fashion Design Department. I needed something to do that will keep my interest in the Fashion Industry as well as keep me updating my knowledge on a different branch of this very crazy industry which I love so much.

I decided to make a leather purse so I made the pattern, cut it then hand sewed it and it turn out great, from then on I have been experimenting with other things to still keep my interest as well as my creative side going. My Products are 100% leather, they are lined with soft pig skin and the outside leathers are either embellished with beads, hand painted and hand stitched. What inspires me to design my handbags is the idea of doing something totally different than what you normally see out there in the stores. My handbags are completely hand cut, hand sewn and hand embellished, and I do believe that make my accessories more special.

I started out of desperation when I was teaching at the Community College, don't get me wrong; I did liked teaching, but I felt that the repetitious schedule was not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I had worked in the garment industry for over 20 years and it was very hard to let it go.I needed and outlet to be able to use my creativity as well as a personal challenge. So I started designing slippers to see if I was able to do a pair, they turned out great and from then on there was no stopping me; I kept going with different things to add to my collection and here I am.

The unique side of my handbags is that they all are sewn by hand. Not very many handbags are actually sewn by hand not even the very expensive designer handbags. I used a variety of leathers from oiled tan leather to buttery soft pig skin suede and goat and lamb skin. I have to be honest, I haven't had a real design night mare story. Designing for me comes very easy in the accessory area, but I had made many mistakes and I had to start all over but in my opinion this is what make this business challenging

I guess I will considered a nightmare when my team and I had to work non stop till 3:00-4:00 am to be able to ship my product to some of the specialty stores who order it. This is when the night mares start when you have multiple orders that must be shipped the same day and be on the road the next day to be able to reach the stores in time....... or otherwise this means a cancelled order...... My personal greatest achievement is been able to actually show my accessory line at all National Markets and be able to design and sell what I love to stores located all over the USA as well as international.

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