Scissors on the concrete floor

Design has always been my greatest passion. When I was younger, I would create my own clothing, sketching out the final piece, tracing fabric and cutting it with my shears, and wearing the finished skirts and dresses to school. But it wasn’t until three years ago that I decided to delve into the art of handbags. I was at a consignment store in Manhattan and saw a Mulberry purse with clean stitches, perfectly sewn leather ruffles, and brass hardware. It was beautiful, but it cost $900. Looking at the steep price tag, I knew if I ever wanted a very well-constructed purse, I would need to learn how to make it myself.

I began delving into this desire to create my own handbags while I was in California working at a wearable tech startup as an electrical engineer. One day I was really sick and stayed home, spending the whole day watching every video I could find on how to make leather purses. I was so eager to start getting my hands on materials and work on my own craft that I went into my office over the weekend to use the space’s sewing tools and draw out a pattern of how I thought I could make a purse. I drew the pattern on large pieces of paper and used scissors to cut everything precisely out. I then taped all the pieces together, to see what the purse would end up looking like. Unfortunately shortly after this exploration, the startup I worked for ended up going under. But my purse aspirations followed me back to my parents’ home on Long Island, NY, and carried me through my search for a new job.

I was excited about being in New York again because it meant I could go to the garment district in Manhattan, which contains stores for fashion design, including leather stores. I put $60 into various leather tools in order to create my first purse completely by hand. I would first draw out a pattern on paper, cut it out, then lay the pattern over the leather. I’d then begin cutting out the pattern with my fabric scissors that I bought when I was I first got into sewing. Stitching holes in leather by hand is no simple feat. After cutting the pattern out, I took my leather chisel, hammer, and rubber mat to my parent’s garage - the only surface hard enough for leather stitching - to noisily punch through the tough material. Through trial and error, I finally created my first handbag. Although there were many flaws in it, I was so proud. I was satisfied that I figured out how to make a purse from start to finish.

Now, I felt that I was ready to do what I always wanted to do with a handbag: express my thoughts through visual representation, using a purse as both a canvas and a statement. My first self-expressive purse, Golden Ice, seeks to make a mockery of the flashy materialism of the super-rich and harkens back to my experience at the consignment store. I wanted to flip on its head the idea that only the exuberantly wealthy can afford a well-designed handbag by making a flashy one for a fraction of the cost. I brought my passion with me to Boston, where I started a new job and devoted my free time to creating Golden Ice. I started sketching out the design for the purse, drawing gold drips and cutting them out with my shears. I found myself hammering in the basement of my building and on the concrete sidewalk out front, hauling my materials wherever I could to craft the purse. As I stitched on the rich gold fabric, I could feel the purse coming alive. The thrill of seeing my message come across on this unique canvas was unparalleled.

Through my love of fashion, purses have been a way for me to find my voice and express my thoughts. I'm always so excited about the new ideas that I'm working on. Currently, I'm working on a piece that involves casting people's noses, sculpting the cast, creating a silicone mold of the sculpted nose, and then epoxying these molds. The final product is a purse covered with multicolored noses. The meaning behind this purse is to express my thoughts on sniffing people out and discovering someone’s true colors. I'm so excited about all the new creations I can make by using my scissors, a chisel, a hammer, and some leather. Through this unique art form, I am able to express who I really am. Purse-making is my happiness, and I hope it inspires you to find yours.