Jesse Burckhardt Mayer, designer and owner of the Jesse B. Collection

Jesse started her own collection of handbags 6 years ago, and has worked tirelessly to ensure her business succeeds, even in this tough economy. Jesse’s bags have been featured in Elle and Lucky magazines!

Jesse designs two major collections a year: Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter. However, she is always available for custom orders, and often designs for brides and bridal parties.

Jesse is the proud mother of a 2 1/2 year old son, Jonah. Some days are spent working while Jonah naps, or late at night, which Jesse says is when she typically gets a lot of JBC work done. If trips to fabric suppliers or contractors are in order, then little Jonah stays with grandma. On days when Jesse has to concentrate on marketing, phone calls, or sewing, a mother’s helper comes in to play. Both have been a tremendous help to Jesse. She loves that she can provide for her son by having her own business and still spend time with him.

Jesse not only fills orders for her website, but also for Ebags, the largest retailer for handbags. Jesse loves the many hats she gets to wear. She never knows what the next day will bring, and she likes it that way!

I am a graduate of Albright College with a B.A. in Visual & Apparel Merchandising. After years in the fashion/ retail industry, I am now a WAHM. I am a self-taught jewelry designer and owner of Michabella Creations.

This week’s giveaway is sponsored by Janell, from J Almodovar – Lancaster.

Janell creates handbags and wristlets from both new & vintage fabric, as well as found materials such as bulk coffee sacks. quality is a huge deal for me…She says, “I love to mix designer with vintage using lots of texture and color. I want my bags to last a long time, so quality is a huge deal for me.”

Janell explains how she started:

I made my first handbag in high school out of patches from old jeans (yikes!). At that time it was just for fun, but about 2 years ago, after getting a few wholesale accounts with boutiques and setting up my etsy shop, I was able to quit my day job and make handbags full time.

Enter this week’s giveaway to win the bag pictured directly above. It is 15″ wide at top, 17″ wide at bottom, 10.5″ high and 2″ deep. The shoulder straps measure 23″ long. It has, “2 inside pockets, one penslip and a key clip to cut down on digging time when you are in a rush. The liner is constructed of a sturdy unbleached natural cotton for extra durability and the top of the bag closes with a magnetic snap.”

To enter:

• you must be a resident of the US.
• visit J Almodovar on Etsy or Janell’s gallery and pick out your favorite bag. Leave a comment here letting us know which you like!
• to receive one extra entry, use the “Share/Save” button below (or on your own) to share this giveaway with your friends. Leave a second comment here when you do.

This giveaway ends Saturday, May 16 at 11:59pm EDT. The winner will be selected at random and notified by email.

Good luck!

This week’s giveaway is sponsored by Traci from Blue Toad, a shop full of original art & journals, and Tremundo, a shop full of fabulous bags & purses. Instead of trying to choose an item from just one of her shops, Traci wanted to know if it was alright to giveaway a whole set of goodies from both Blue Toad & Tremundo. What do you think? [Read more →]

The lovely Barb at BStauff Designs is offering this amazing, vintage-inspired, clutch for this week’s giveaway. Please read about Barb & her shop and then find out how to win at the end!

Barb, from Easton, has been around the block as far as crafts go! She can remember creating Christmas ornaments from old greeting cards. She’s worked on ceramics, cross-stitch, knitting, & crochet. But 17 years ago, her husband got her a sewing machine as a gift – regardless of the fact that she didn’t know how to sew!

Barb says, “I began making my girls Halloween costumes and special occasion dresses. Over the years, I then branched out to make my own clothes, vintage reproductions, and home decor items. Two years ago, when my youngest went to school full time, I began making handbags and fell in love with that. It was much more fun than worrying about fitting issues, and I opened my business, B Stauff Designs, in the fall of 2007.”

The common thread in Barb’s pieces is a vintage simplicity. She says, “My inspiration comes from many places. Books, magazines, nature and especially vintage fashion and fabrics. When I design a new piece, I sketch out my ideas for the basic shape and style, and then I picture one of the fabrics I have and color the design to match.”

Barb is working on expanding her business & hoping to start selling her aprons and handbags in brick & mortar boutiques. In fact, much of her beautiful work is currently being shown in a shop! But please stop by B Stauff Designs and take a look around!

And now for our giveaway!

To enter:

• You must be a resident of the US.
• Leave a comment on this post letting me know where you’d like to carry this fabulous bag!
• For a second entry, share this post using the “Share/Save” button below. HiP’s favorite sites are Facebook, Twitter, and Stumble Upon!

This giveaway will end Friday, March 13 at noon. Good luck!

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Traci from Tremundo wrote me this afternoon so that I could pass on some great deals to you. She’s got a big move planned and we all know what that means, inventory clearance! All handbags & reconstructed clothing are buy one, get one half off!

Traci loves to use found fabrics and “upcycle” them into interesting handbags. She was recently featured on the HGTV show, “That’s Clever!” – I’ve loved that show since it was “Crafters Coast to Coast.” Check out Tremundo to see her whole line!

My other tip for this weekend is to visit the Goggleworks, in Reading, on Sunday from 11am-4pm. It’s Second Sunday and that means there’ll be lots of artisans working in their studios, demonstrations & workshops, live music, and more! For more information on the Goggleworks, check out my first guest blog post at PAadventure.com.

Please leave a comment here with your sales or suggestions for places to go this weekend!

I’d like to introduce you to a hip handbag designer from Lebanon – Erin from Ruju. She makes bags from both new & up-cycled fabrics and she has an infectious spirit!

Erin began sewing & designing purses when she was pregnant with her first child. But she’s been crafting her whole life. She says, “instead of playing with barbie dolls and tea sets, I was creating on my Fisher Price loom!” With an uncle who upholstered, a grandfather who paints watercolors, and a mom who jumps from craft to craft (among others in her family!), she was born to create.

Erin finds inspiration from the fabric she works with. “Most of the time I look at the fabric, and decide what type of bag would look best from that fabric.  I think most people do the opposite, draw up a bag then find the appropriate fabric.  I love going to the fabric shop and filling up my cart with gorgeous material.”

Upcycled Quilt Tote

I always like to ask crafters which item in their shop they would purchase or that they get the most use out of. Erin told me that she loves that she never has to go to the store for a new bag! She just snags one out of her inventory and she’s out the door.

Blue Spike Football Bag

Erin also creates other useful accessories such as business card holders, check book covers, diaper organizers, and car caddies. Recently, she’s also added knit accessories! I’m especially fond of these crocheted arm warmers.

Slouchy Arm Warmers

When asked what her goals are, Erin replied, “My goals are to have fun! I love making things.  The fact that people think they are cool, and buy them and use them makes me so giddy! [...] I’m still at the point where every time one of my creations sells I do a little happy dance, just because that sale means someone is going to be using something I made.”

Please check out Erin’s shop at ruju.etsy.com and her blog at rujuruju.blogspot.com.