ISLAND STYLE
Purse-onality: Accessorize with creative handbags
By Paula Rath
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| "We finish each handbag with the Chinese character for happiness. This final touch signifies the happiness we hope our bags will bring."
— Jeri Lynch "There is such joy in creating handbags from scratch i from blank canvases they evolve into artistic expressions. Each handbag has its own unique personality." — Fay Scherr Photos by Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser |
These are not the utilitarian backpacks, fanny packs and messenger bags of recent years. In 2003-2004, bags are inspired by the ladylike looks of the 1950s: luxurious, feminine and laden with details.
Four designers are answering the call to arm Island women with fun and fashionable bags.
Two Bag Ladies
This spunky little handbag company is made up of two close friends who are as different as day and night. It began with a birdhouse.
Jeri Lynch and her son Riley, age 12, made wood birdhouses decorated with Japanese washi papers for a school auction. Thinking the concept might work as a handbag, Lynch, who had been searching for the perfect handbag for more than a year, made a sample.
She e-mailed a photo to her friend, jewelry designer Fay Scherr of Two Hands Designs, whom Lynch met at a parent orientation at Punahou. Their first outing together was in search of a handbag at Ala Moana.
Voila! Two Bag Ladies was born as Scherr applied her sewing and design skills (she graduated in fashion design from the University of Hawai'i-Manoa) and Lynch, whose background is in advertising production, applied her painting and organizational skills to the business of handbags.
The bags are crafted by hand in a room in Lynch's house that was formerly a Japanese furo. They spread out the wood forms, washi, vintage obis, Chinese coins, bamboo handles, jade and beads and start playing with them until they have the combinations just right.
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| Jeri Lynch and Fay Scherr of Two Bag Ladies | |
Lynch (who is also working on a novel) names each bag and writes a fictional account of the woman for whom it is named, tucking the card into the bag.
Two Bag Ladies purses are available exclusively at Riches Kahala. They sell for $145. Although the business is only two months old, Riches is barely able to keep them in stock.
The cigar purse
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| "The overwhelming public response to a purse that was originally a gift ... is very rewarding."
— Chris Akin |
It all began when the entrepreneur, who formerly worked at Goodwill as a social worker and at Merrill Lynch on Wall Street, made a cigar purse for his former girlfriend and continuing muse, Amy. Her friends loved it and wanted to order one. He then made one for his mom in New York and, in turn, her friends began ordering them.
Akin finds his raw materials — the cigar boxes, buttons, fabrics, leather, handles and Chinese coins — in both Honolulu and New York.
He fashions handles from bicycle chains and leather belt blanks he embellishes with buttons and beads. He buys handles of bamboo or faux tortoise shell. He likes to maintain the original cigar box art as much as possible, leaving the labels and the pop-up art that sometimes appear inside. He lines the bags with luxe fabrics such as velvet or brocade.
Akins' purses sell for $120-$140 at ChinaChina in the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center, Joe Pacific on Queen Street, the Soap Cellar in Hale'iwa and at shops in New York and the Hamptons.
They are also available online at www.thecigarpurse.com.
Denise Tjarks Designs
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| “I like taking inspiration from everywhere and everything and turning it into a work of art. It gives me pleasure to see Honolulu women change their look with a new bag every day.”
— Denise Tjarks |
She bounces back and forth between design and merchandising because "I'll get frustrated from lack of creativity in retail," and, as the mother of four, she "quit retail between each child." During her 20 years in Hawai'i she has worked for Sato Clothiers, Pomegranates in the Sun, Jacqueline de Michel and Wet Seal. She also made custom bridal gowns and one-of-a-kind garments.
In 1996 she began making hats to sell at craft fairs, then bags to go with the hats. The hats didn't sell nearly as well as the bags, so she took a new direction. 'It's got a life of its own," she said of her burgeoning business. She currently has 200 bags back-ordered and is looking for help with manufacturing.
"Hawai'i women are smart, savvy shoppers and they want quality at a reasonable price," Tjarks said.
She's a good listener and has designed bags based on the needs of specific customers. Sue's Library Bag was created for a librarian who could never find a bag large — and sturdy — enough to hold all her books. The Vegas Bag is round and exactly fits the cups that casinos give clients for their gambling tokens. All in all, she makes 30 different styles of bags, most of which are completely reversible.
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She scours thrift shops, scooping up old mu'u mu'u she cuts up and makes into little shifts with matching handbags. Among her favorite raw materials are Pucci print napkins, Andrade, Alfred Shaheen and Carol & Mary prints and garments.
Denise Tjarks bags sell for $30 to $100 at Shasa Emporium in Kahala Mall, Silver Moon Emporium and Global Creations in Hale'iwa, Bikinis & Things on Monsarrat Avenue, A Gift for All Seasons in Kaimuki and Naturally Hawaiian in Waimanalo. Her vintage dresses and bags are sold at Two Hula Girls and a Surfer in Kailua.
Correction: Chris Akin's cigar purses are available online at www.thecigarpurse.com. An incorrect address was given in a previous version of this story.
