I always try to avoid using pre-manufactured handles and closures if possible. This is why you will see dressmaker snaps on my purses, and not magnetic snaps. I want you to KNOW that a human being created your purse, not a machine, and that your purse is singular and unique. There aren't a hundred of them out there in the world. Anyone can go to the local fabric store and buy a plastic handle. I MAKE my handles. I use my skills to create something individually suited for that bag.

When I was 7 years old, my mom taught me how to sew on her secondhand Singer sewing machine. While my sister played with the Barbie's, I made clothes for them out of mom's scraps. I also taught myself to crochet, and cross-stitch. My love of textiles was born! As I grew up, I earned an AA in Fashion Merchandising and a BS in Marketing. The first 20 years of my career was spent in all aspects of the jewelry business. I went from piercing ears to buying and selling estate jewelry. But I wanted more. Finally, I opened my first boutique: The Wedding Store and More. While I had that store, I participated in several fashion shows, numerous bridal show exhibits, and created custom wedding accessories for a select few clients. Brides grew to depend on me for sage advice and good fashion sense. I became the local wedding expert. But I still liked designing and creating the best but I knew this just wasn't enough.

During the last 5 years, I've been re-igniting my love of fabrics, trims and beads. I've discovered the rich brocades and silks that come from the interior design community. Oh! and I so love the texture and richness of India's sari's! I even have a treasure trove of secretly stashed fabrics from the windows of a famous jeweler (that I can't say who...) Everything my eye lands on has potential to become a purse! Jewelry parts become zipper pulls. Broken necklaces transform into purse handles. Sometimes I even hijack the tassels from friends' pillows. (Now those are true friends!!) Making my wrist bags has been an evolution in the textile arts. I get such joy from combining diverse materials into a single unique expression, which also happens to have a practical use. It makes me so happy to see my creations go to a fine and deserving home. I love that my childhood passion for organization, and for fabrics, color and texture has evolved into a skill and an art, which fuses form, function and design into something useful and creative that many people can enjoy.

Speaking of which, I have a funny story related to that. Once I was in the "zone" and was cutting out several bags at once. Well, of course, I accidentally cut through too many layers and nicked through another purse front. Well, necessity is the mother of invention... I created 2 corner patches to cover my 1 mistake. It looked like it was an intentional part of the design. That was one of the first bags that sold at my next show. Irony is everything, go figure.