GOURMET PURSES BENEFIT
BREAST CANCER RESEARCH, AWARENESS
PurSé...original, one-of-a-kind and limited-edition purses

The first time I wore one of my handmade purses out in public, three women admired it enough to ask me for a business card. So I went home and made 30 more purses on my kitchen table. I totally ceased all cooking and took up purse-making. It struck me that anyone stumbling upon the colorful chaos spilling from my kitchen cabinets, table, pantry, countertops and walls might think I was running a purse bakery. Now, as my family and friends would be quick to tell you, I'm a flattery-powered device.

It's true I make them with the finest ingredients -- luscious upholstery fabrics and trims, rich silks, appliqués, ribbons, lace, vintage costume jewelry and buttons, metal, gems, shells, paint, craypas, decoupage, and "found art." And they do look good enough to eat -- though I don't recommend it. The purses are gift-wrapped in cake boxes tied with ribbon, and for those who want to have their purse and eat it, too, deluxe gift-wrapping includes a large, colorful, frosted, purse-shaped cookie made by a local cookie baker.

A business communication specialist and self-taught mosaic artist, I had long wanted to try my hand at making purses but was handicapped by my inability to sew. When I stumbled upon some wicker totes, I solved that problem and now use them as bases for embellishment, creating original, one-of-a-kind and limited-edition purses. What flatters me most is that when women see them they know immediately the purses are not mass-produced, because they're not like anything they see at the malls. They have a great appeal particularly to women who collect purses, who are fashion-conscious and who don't like run-of-the-mill anything.

Women love them so much, in fact, that they've been known to snatch them right off my arm or out of my shopping cart and exclaim, "I love your purse!" That scenario has repeated itself more than once. My customers also have a tendency to buy them two at a time.

When one of my closest friends was diagnosed with breast cancer, I decided to use my purse-making hobby to benefit breast cancer research, education and awareness. Each year, 200,000 women are diagnosed with the disease and 40,000 women die from it. I believed I could use my writing, graphic design and public relations skills to market the purses directly, donating $10 from the sale of each wicker-based tote to charity.

I set a "pursonal" mission to raise $5,000 for The Cause.
And that's how the PurSé project was born.

Currently, most of the purses are wicker-based, though other models are in production, including all-fabric totes and sling bags, as well as child-size canvas purses. The purses are available online at www.pursebakery.com, where you can view photographs and descriptions, shop online through PayPal, or download the current catalog. Subscribers to my email list get the first peek at new designs, are entered into a drawing for a $25 gift certificate, and receive notices about events and invitations to private viewings.