From Kim White: A Handbag Named Desire

I try to make it a perennial resolution not to spend much of my mental energy coveting other people’s talents. But then I read about women like Kim White, and I turn (a distasteful shade of) green with envy.

Once upon a time, as the story goes, White just happened to stumble upon a warehouse full of unused vintage fabrics originally manufactured to upholster cars from the ’70’s and ’80’s. Unfortunately (or perhaps, fortunately), they never got their day in the sun due to the collective American realization that gaudily upholstered car seats were ugly. Whereas I might have looked at that pile and said, “Huh, interesting. Now where did I see that Dunkin’ Donuts,” White realized that what might have made for an ugly car seat could instead be transformed into a showroom full of gorgeous handbags, and so she purchased the entire lot. And made a bunch of gorgeous handbags. I, on the other hand, made no gorgeous handbags and gained 5 lbs from eating all those donuts. Life is so unfair!!

Rather than whine at length about my lack of artistic vision, I will share a link to Kim’s site so you can look at her craftswomanship yourself. I have seen and touched these works of art at Eco-tique in St. Paul, MN. They truly are awe-inspiring. Warning: If you are a purse-purchasing addict in recovery due to the economic downturn, do NOT click the following link to read the rest of this entry.

You just couldn’t help yourself, could you? This little beaut here was made from fabric destined to cushion the tushie of a 1974 Plymouth Flurry owner. Much better this way, no? Click here to check out her entire collection of handbags and other accessories.