What do you design/make, & what materials do you use?
I design, create and recycle two styles of handbags from men’s sports coats and jackets.
When did you start designing ?
I began creating handbags for four years, but have been creating and sewing my entire life. I worked in a fabric store in high school where I constructed sample garments for display, majored in Home Economics in college, worked as an upholsterer for a few years, taught sewing classes at a Singer Sewing Machine store for a couple of years, and finished my working years by teaching high school for 30 years.
Is this your full-time gig? If not, how do you make time to create in your hectic life?
Even though I am 61 years young and lucky enough to be retired from “working”, my life still seems to feel hectic. My husband of 37 years is also retired and that creates a whole list of challenges! I have two grown children, a daughter who is a second year medical student and a son with special needs who lives at home.
My craft is what I do for myself….it is my therapy! The satisfaction I reap from the creative process, the people I meet where my bags are sold, and fun I have sewing are awesome.
What are you working on right now?
I am always contemplating new designs and sew up samples often. The problem is when something is handmade it tends to look handmade and certainly is not the look I am going for. So for now I continue with my two favorite designs!
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