She’s a stitch
North Carolina’s Holly Aiken is known for her playful collection of retro-styled vinyl bags that are chic and sleek.
The founder & company: Aiken earned her degree in art and design at North Carolina State University. She made bags for friends before starting Holly Aiken Bags in 2004 in Raleigh.
The goods: A range of totes, messengers, backpacks, wallets and small personal accessories.
Materials: Primarily made of vinyl and bold, black webbing trim accented with stripes or crisp geometric shapes.
Best sellers: Coupe (medium tote, $104); Turbo (large, side-snap tote, $148); and Blast (large wallet, $59).
Other favorites: The Auxiliary (cross body, $108) and the Beacon (bucket, $118).
Custom too: Select any style in the line then choose from six patterns and more than 25 colors.
Claim to fame: The North Carolina Museum of History has acquired a selection of bags for its permanent collection as part of the History of Style in North Carolina.
What's next: New materials and a men's line of bags and accessories.
Where to buy: www.hollyaiken.com or at Stitch, Aiken's design studio and retail shop in downtown Raleigh.
Boot up
In New Orleans, Stephany Lyman uses cast-off boots, belts and other recycled goods to create her classy, quirky purses and bags.
The creator: Lyman, an Emory University graduate, taught English for 31 years at the University of New Orleans. She created the first purses in the early 1990s from old cowboy boots. After her younger sister Marea's death in 2012, her pastime became her calling.
The company: SideKick, in memory of Lyman's sister and childhood sidekick, started in 2012 in New Orleans. A portion of each purchase is donated to Grace House of New Orleans, a nonprofit that helps women in their journey to recovery.
The goods: Purses ($115 to $265), hip bags ($165 to $265) and glasses cases ($25).
What's popular: Red bags, purses that have outer pockets for cellphones, and hip bags (with a loose, low fit, like a holster).
Other favorites: Purses with cross-body straps.
Big break: Being accepted as an artist at the 2013 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
Where to buy: www.facebook.com/sidekicknola. In New Orleans at GoGo Jewelry, 2036 Magazine St., and Dutch Alley Artists' Co-Op in the French Quarter, 912 N. Peters St.
French connection
Veronique Lindell once worked for Ralph Lauren in New York. Today the Georgia designer makes casual and fashionable bags from vintage fabrics and old military materials.
The founder: Lindell graduated from Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and landed her first job at Polo Ralph Lauren, where she established her style cred and learned how to reinvent, retell and redesign a piece of fabric.
The company: She started Ocean Rock Design in 2010 and named it after her two sons: Merrick and Slater. Mer means ocean in French and Slate, her Rock. Lindell and her mother sew the bags in a barn-like studio on a 17-acre farm in Canton.
Inspiration: Her grandmother and mother, who were seamstresses in postwar France, and all the textiles, patterns, threads and buttons in her childhood home.
What's popular: Roomy bags ($100 to $350).
Other favorites: Whale pillows ($35 to 55).
Materials: Old military canvas, such as duffle bags (often with owner's name and rank) and tents. Also, plus postal bags, boat fabric and men's work clothes. The bags' inside linings are colorful and feature vintage fabric the 1940's to 1970's. , she uses old leather belts or equestrian tack for handles and straps.
Fun challenge: Making a bag from an old fire hose.
Where to buy: OceanRockDesign.com. In Atlanta, find goods by Ocean Rock Design at Crafted West Side, 1000 Marietta St N.W., Suite 102.
Best of the South
Do you have favorite finds from around the South that you give as gifts, buy for your home or rave about to friends? If so, please write me at: lljerkins@gmail.com. Find more Southern-made products at Southernfinds on facebook or on twitter@lindajerkins.
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