My handbags are unique: each one-of-a-kind piece is created from "found" items and embodies a theme or story. A key component of my work is the title of each piece and its brass Dress Up Cat logo tag showing off its name. My (humorous, sarcastic and sardonic) themes frequently evolve around Time, Safari, Love, and the Old West. (Titles have included Time's a Wastin', Alligator Mambo, I'm Leaf-ing You, and Marabou Buckeroo.) Last year, my bag "Summertime" was selected as a finalist in the Independent Handbag Designer Awards for the Best Green Handbag, and that honor really launched my line to another level. I have since accumulated several additional accolades for my designs and the unique aspects of my line, and my sales have grown accordingly.

My works are nearly all from found and recycled items. I work with pristine vintage and older leather bags along with antique house wares, discarded feather boas, and unstrung vintage costume jewelry, among other things. I work with these "found" components because I vividly see the themes, shapes and textures coming together from the components, and I love the beautifully-made, older bags that have so much remaining "life". I 'm also a bit of an environmentalist, and in general I don't think recycling is getting the attention it should in our efforts to "green" up our collective act. "Re-fashioning" these components into special pieces that say something to--and about--the women who carry them, while simultaneously recycling and repurposing, is hugely satisfying for me. My target audience is largely professional women who appreciate the quality of the materials, the wit of my themes, the "green factor", and the fact that each is one-of-a-kind.

I started created my bags in 2005 for my own amusement and (unbeknownst to me at the time) as stress relief. I have spent my entire career in business, mostly in analytical and quantitative roles, so venturing over into my right brain (creative) side has been a delightful and wondrous experience. My bags immediately started drawing inquiries once I started wearing them out, and within three months I sold my first piece for my asking price of $595.00. At that point I started rethinking my hobby as a potential business.Currently, Dressed Up Cat Art Wear will be debuting this summer at the Licensing Expo in Las Vegas. That means that soon anyone who cannot pick just one Dressed Up Cat Handbag will be able to have a selection of them: in a book, on note cards, calendars, stationary, linens, and other merchandise items. Stay Tuned!

This has all been a process which I have embraced.  Learning to follow my instincts about texture, size and shapes--which have sometimes flown in the face of logic--was a new experience for me but it's become second nature. On May 13th, I will be speaking to the Arizona Costume Institute at the Phoenix Art Museum about our fascination with handbags, sustainable fashion, and the latest pieces in my line. I was recently included Phoenix Magazine's 2009 "Cool" Issue as one of the "Hippest People, Places and Things in the Valley". There have been other wonderful accolades, and they've ALL come back to that first anonymous stranger's comment to me: "I LOVE that bag"! I think I am the most proud of being able to take that input and run with it!