Happy New Year!!

A year ago today, if someone had told me I would be head over heels in handbags, I would have laughed haughtily in his face. I rang in the early hours of 2008 with my mother, my grandmother and my best friend at the Pearl River Casino and Resort in Philadelphia, Mississippi. While we tried unsuccessfully to break the bank, I couldn’t stop thinking about all the great new things that 2008 would bring. This was the year I was going to finally be recognized at my job with more than just the usual congratulatory company-wide email for the project delivered on time and under budget. This was also the year I was going to be the break-out literary darling when my debut novel hit the bestseller list. I was going to finally clean out my closet, practice my double spins for Salsa dancing and start saving some money for the proverbial rainy day.

Here we are, in the last hours of 2008 and my closet still looks like Dick did when Dock died, I still get tangled up in my feet if I attempt a double spin and I have saved not one thin dime. But for all of its disappointments, 2008 managed to deliver some lovely unexpected gifts. My notoriously anti-academic baby brother finally said yes to the learning and enrolled in college. America elected its first African-American president. My mother, Andria and I are having the time of our lives designing and sewing handbags under our own designer label.

I haven’t scaled back any of my usual ambitious New Year’s Resolutions. We are planning an Atlanta debut in January, several fabulous designs for Spring 2009, and lots of special surprises. May 2009 offer you all the gifts you were expecting and some wonderful gifts you weren’t even looking for.

First Time’s the Charm

We both extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who made the LaurAnn Inaugural Tea and Tote the runaway success that it was. It’s an insanely busy time of year when precious weekend time is forfeited to less leisurely seasonal activities, such as scouring the city for the last Nintendo Wii game console and checking every bulb in the strand of twinkle lights for that one culprit keeping the entire strand from working. Thank you to everyone who put down their ornaments, walked away from the brawls at Toys R Us, or pried themselves out of bed to share in our latest adventure.

When we committed ourselves to designing and sewing handbags, we put our whole selves into it. Neither one of us has ever been able to do anything halfway, and we are just about ate up with Pursitis. We have been shopping stores, both real and virtual, for materials, hardware and tools. I believe my daily visits to JoAnn Fabrics is a large reason the craft giant remains solvent. We have been sewing like mad women, content to wade through the tumbleweeds of threads and scraps of fabric. We sacrificed for our craft, eating the same meal every night several nights in a row. This leftover dinner business probably doesn’t mean much to most of you, but for a retired food writer, it’s akin to a dentist deciding it’s okay not to brush her teeth.

Andria hard at work.

All of this was great fun until we realized that no one had seen the bags besides us and if we wanted to be successful, we were going to have to pull the blanket away from the baby’s face and hope everyone thought she was as adorable as we did. Sure, we had mentioned the idea in casual conversation to our closest comrades, and they were unwavering in their support, but I am a firm believer in that actions speaking louder than words thing. When I clicked the Send Invitation button on the eVite, I was positive that all of those well wishes were about to be added to the endangered species list.

When the door bell rang at 10:30 (by special appointment) with our very first customer, we knew there was no turning back. I held my breath as I hung back in the kitchen watching her make her decision. As she debated the merits of each style of bag with her husband, I was thrilled to hear her say, “This is really hard. They are all so beautiful.”

Dr. Carol Garrison, U.A.B. President, models an Isla at the Inaugural LaurAnn Tea and Tote.

The day only got better. Before it was all said and done, we managed to sell half of our inventory and accept four custom orders. By 5:00 that evening, we were both so exhausted that the only logical thing to do was to head to the fabric store to start planning for the next one. We are planning another event on December 27th in Birmingham. Make sure we have your email address (send it to laurannhandbags@gmail.com) so that you can get the next eVite.

Here's a sampling of the scenery. Many of these bags are still available!

The Gift of Bag

It all started with a yelp of excitement from my mother, Andria, while we were shopping in a high-end department store.

“OH! Look at that purse! I love it!” she exclaimed. She removed it from the mannequin’s shoulder to examine its details up close and personal. The bag was big and slouchy, but the silky satin pewter fabric lined with zebra print made it feel luxuriously indulgent. There were no screaming logo prints or metal-plated designer name tags, just a beautifully crafted tote. While she imagined the purse paired with her favorite suits, I stole a glance at the price tag and nearly passed out.

“Okay, so give me the bad news,” she said when she saw the look on my face.

“Two hundred and ten dollars,” I told her.

“WHAT?!?!” She snatched that purse off her arm like it was eating a hole through her flesh.

Before I go any further, I should clarify something for all you fashionistas who have your noses turned up in disdain at this blatant display of budgetary discretion. Like all women, we love a thing of beauty and we are willing to spend appropriately for well-made, beautiful clothes and accessories. However, we are not among the fiscally fortunate who can afford to drop $300.00 on a Ferragamo leather fringe key chain.

Doused with a cold glass of retail reality, my mom returned the bag to the mannequin and harrumphed, “This little simple thing? Child, we could so make this.” Famous last words.

Over the next few months, my mom regularly threatened to make her own version of the bag, but never got any further than that. With her birthday fast approaching, and my bank balance fast dwindling, I decided that I would do it for her as a gift. The only problem was that I had never made any kind of handbag before, and there was no pattern or photograph for me to work from.

What I needed was a guinea pig, so I chose my good friend and coworker Dianna. She knitted me a beautiful red bag for my birthday, and I figured it was only fitting that I return the favor. This would give me a chance to practice the bag on her before attempting one for my mom. After all, turnabout was fair play.

After the successful trial run on my colleague, I was ready to go after the real deal. I selected fabrics in my mom’s favorite colors and went to work. I was so busy congratulating myself on a job well done that I just couldn’t hold my peace and I spoiled my own surprised when I told my mom what I’d done.

When she saw the finished product, she was as pleased with the result as I was. High on my own 2-for-2 record, I got the notion that I could make and sell my own purse designs. But there was no way I was going to do this on my own. I knew I needed the talent, expertise and creative eye of one far wiser than myself. I made a phone call to the most qualified person I knew.

“Okay, now don’t laugh,” I began, completely aware that prefacing anything with that phrase was an open invitation for much raucous laughter. “I have an idea for a little side business for us.”

“Really? What is it,” my mom asked.

“We can make and sell handbags.”

“I like it! Can we start now? What are we going to call it?”

“How about LaurAnn?”

And my mom said, “I am so down!”

And thus, LaurAnn was born.