Tell us a bit about yourself.
I am a stay-at-home mom of two beautiful girls, 3 miniature dachshunds and a very loving husband with whom I have been best friends with since High School. I relocated from Boston to the suburbs of New York (Darien, CT), to be with him. Prior to my handbag company, I worked in financial services, in the law and compliance division and had very long hours. After our second daughter was born, I returned to work for about 3 months. I thought I would
always work outside our home but life started to feel pretty stressful for me.
After about 2 weeks of being at home, I was at my sewing machine designing my first bag. Previously, I would only take my sewing machine out to decorate our home, weekend projects that included headboards, pillow cases, nursery linens, and of course curtains. My first bag design was a little pearl handle wristlet for the bridesmaids in my best friends wedding. I wasn’t too excited about what the bridal shop offered and wanted something to hold my
lipstick, the bare necessities. After this design, I realized that I didn’t own a handbag; I retired my briefcase & laptop bag and never really cared for all the bags at department stores. I wanted something original and small; this
was not an easy task when 2007/2008 was the oversized bag craze. This left me constantly carrying my phone and credit card in my pocket. I set out to design a little bag for me which resulted in the first Itty Bitty Bag. I posted a
picture to Facebook and my friends started to ask me to make bags for them. Eventually I needed a more efficient way to show them my design and accept money. I also realized that if all of my friends loved my designs, maybe others
would too. I researched and found Etsy and knew instantly that Etsy was the right fit.
Do you really make all of these lovely items yourself, do you have any help?
All of my items are handmade by me in my home studio and I take care of most of the business aspects of my company as well. I do receive a tremendous amount of technical support from my husband. He designed my fabulous
website ittybittybag.com and also designs my marketing materials. He is an Artist and takes the most beautiful photographs. He taught me how to photograph my products.
Apart from creating things, what are your favorite things to do?
I have been an avid runner since the 8th grade. I fell in love with the sport immediately. I ran very competitively in college and there after. I had dreams of being an Olympian. I wasn’t far from this dream with only a couple seconds
separating me from the Olympic Trials. In one fell swoop, I realized that this was not why I loved to run. I run for me and not just to say that I am better than the next gal. So now I run when it feels right and for peace of mind. I
take in all my surroundings, it is quiet and I am alone with my thoughts. My other favorite past-time is cooking, which is a very good thing because we have a whole host of food allergies in our house. I love to spend a quiet evening
with my best friend, aka, my husband, watching a movie and having a glass of red wine.
Where does your inspiration come from?
I am often inspired by my mom. She is one of the most artistic people I know. She can sew, knit, paint, draw…I am not sure there is much creatively speaking that she hasn’t tried or been successful at. It is this whimsical behavior that is the essence of my shop. I don’t just make bags, I make so much more. I love that friends and neighbors come to me with their creative challenges, from batman capes to Easter baskets. You don’t see all of these items in my shop but you’ll find them in my blog and they often include how to’s and tutorials.
How do you balance being at home and a home based business?
In addition to my mom inspiring my creative process, she also gave me a lot of responsibility as a child that most girls my age did not have. I have 3 brothers, two of which are younger than me. So I had to help my mom often
around the house, cooking and cleaning. We did not have a lot of money growing up, so my mom returned to school and often worked until 4 or 5 at night. It really taught me how to manage my time and how to have a career and a family.
What does handmade mean to you?
Handmade is actually best quoted from my 7-year-old and shows that I am instilling the same values that my mom instilled in me “Handmade is special because it is made by someone who fills it with love and that is what
makes it special.” and “Buying stuff from a store is something that anyone can have, I don’t want what everyone has.” I love her with all my heart and soul.
Who has been most influential in your craft?
I have to say Martha Stewart. At a very young age, I started buying Martha Stewart Living magazine. She always had the most amazing crafty ideas. I love that you don’t have to make just one thing that is beautiful. I love that
her ideas taught me that I don’t have to work from patterns, though patterns may inspire me. I always put my own touch or twist on an age old idea. I love that Martha is all about the home, garden and cooking. All things that I love.
So she has been the most influential.
When did you know that you were an artist/maker?
I have been an Artist all my life, from taking my security blanket and turning it into a wedding dress at the age of 3. I’ve always loved being creative and crafty. In school, Art was my favorite subject. I took every art class I could in Junior High and High School. I thought of applying to Art school, created a drawing portfolio and everything but I also wanted to run division 1 Track and Cross Country. So it was hard to pursue both. I did minor in Art in college but didn’t finish my requirements as they interfered with running practice. I studied exercise science while in college which armed me with an enormous amount of information on running and nutrition.
How would you describe your creative process?
It is probably a bit more scattered than some. I get these visions in my head and I sketch them down. I take in everything from my surroundings, even my daughters math homework which includes zipper pouches with money or my 3-year-olds polly pockets. I love going to my studio and saying “What will I make today.” I think of the holidays approaching, the seasons arriving, and select a fabric. I think about items in my shop that are starting to run low
and then let my mind wander and be creative. I love trying new things and even if I fail, I learned something.
What makes your handbags different than other designers?
There is no shortage of handbag designers on Etsy. I offer clean lines, a touch of old school, and an ever changing assortment of items, fabrics and designs. Also, I let you customize your designs. This speaks to who I am. I can’t ever order straight from a menu, I always know best and even the chef didn’t know how good it could be. I work the same way. Many of my custom orders have become new designs. It is fun for me, I love the conversations, and I love
meeting people and hearing their ideas. I love seeing the finished product and making people happy.
How do you compete with other famous handbag designers of the world?
I know that I am not these designers, for one, they are on a mass production level. Two, when you look at our styles they are very different. They have machine capabilities that my Professional Viking is not capable of doing. So I make up for where they lack. You can not call Vera and say “your phone cozy does not fit my phone, can you make it larger by 2 cm?” Also, I offer so many different fabrics, I think I am close to 200 different fabrics and all are in 1 yard increments. I only buy them by the yard to keep everything unique and totally original.
If you could peek inside the studio of any artist, designer or craftsman (dead or alive), who would it be?
Wow, there are so many to choose from but I think it would be Ralph Lauren. He is an icon in my humble opinion. Though I wish his women’s fashion was back to the way it used to be and less project runway. I would love to know
more about his life story and how it came to be that he chose a life of fashion. My husband and I absolutely love and use many of his ideas to decorate our home. I love plaids and nautical and he represents this theme best in my mind.
What handmade possession do you most cherish?
It is one that I don’t currently own but will forever be in my mind (I still have the pattern from my mom) and that is my Junior Prom Dress. I wanted this Jessica McClintock dress so very badly. And we just couldn’t afford it. I
feel bad that I made such a stink out of it to my mom but learned a very valuable life lesson. My mom made me the almost exact same dress by hand. It was lovelier, it was one of a kind, and it fit like a glove. I never worried about anyone having my dress at that Prom.
How do you get out of your creative ruts?
I will make something special for my girls. I really love to make pretty dresses for my girls. I also love to decorate my home, making curtains and buying furniture. Getting out of the studio and soaking in your surroundings
can be very inspirational.
Where would you like to be in 5 years?
In 5 years, I’d love to have a more consistent schedule for work and more than a few hours a day. I will continue to push and challenge myself every day. Trying a new technique and pushing my creative talents. After all, we are
all artists here and I don’t believe any of us set out to be a hub and spoke or to be just another production line. I feel my shop is the essence of that.
Where would you like to be in 10 years?
In 10 years, I would love to have a small factory in town with a group of seamstresses, all working to together to bring back quality handmade products for the home, clothing and accessories. A girl can dream, right? When
I tell others in town about my dream…they swoon over the idea, so I know it is possible.
Looking Backwards and challenging yourself going forward
Best advice ever! Look at the first items of any successful Etsian and what you will see is 1) courage to take the first step 2) not giving up when sales were down and 3) always pushing themselves harder and challenging themselves to create something unique every day. The most important item when you are selling online is what you write and trying to take better pictures every single time! Never giving up hope of being a “Featured Seller” or “Quit Your Day Job”. I push myself way too hard. I am my worst critic. Every time I step up to the sewing machine, create something or photograph my items, I try harder. I never settle. There is always more that I can do, if only I had more hours in my day. Though I am sure I’d fill them up pretty quickly. To my friends, thank you for all your support, don’t give up on your dreams and try harder every day and you will see something beautiful (but don’t forget to take some time off to enjoy the beauty…Ha!).
