Handbagista

Littlearth have done it again.

I make no bones about it - I’m a fan of recycled goods being used.

Rebagz, Conserve and Littlearth produce good quality, well made bags that have an added “air” about them - due to their use of old material, recycled into the bag.

Now Littlearth have gone on better by jazzing up an existing product with the simple addition of some bling - Swarovski crystals to be exact.

They’ve taken the already nice, colorful and vibrant New York Skyline Super cyclone purse and made it even more vibrant and jazzed up, creating the New York Skyline Superflair purse.

Have a look for yourself.

This is a gorgeous blend of colors and shapes that works incredibly well.

Add the sparkle of the crystals and the unique look of the recycled licence plates and you have an almost 100% certainty of being asked what your bag is and where you got it from.

The purse itself uses a bottle cap as the closure device - also adorned with crystals - and the inside is lined in felt with the standard lipstick elastic holder.

The handle is made from recycled tire but don’t worry, it’s a mix composite so you won’t be walking around with black stains of bits of flaky rubber on your hands.

Most importantly for a unique and special edition bag such as this - each one comes with a signed and numbered certificate of authenticity!

Keep hold of that plus your receipt and you might just find yourself with a handbag that slowly increases in value over the years!

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written by Ruth

Recently the anti-aging skin care company Just Nature moved into the handbag arena and released their first foray into the world of Couture with a small range of eco friendly bags.

Now, it’s fair to say that the eco friendly area is A) Under developed and B) Growing rapidly. (I can’t wait to see what the larger design houses will be doing on this line of manufacturing - can you imagine a Louis Vuitton made up of old bits and pieces?!?! Oh hold on - they did, didn’t they! $50,000 worth of recycled “stuff” but not that eco friendly I suspect! Not worth $50,000 either, to be honest.)

So - the more serious entrants are always eagerly welcomed and their wares as eagerly reviewed. Let me introduce you to the Conserve range of recycled handbags - otherwise known as the Conserve Fair Trade handbags.

In this range of recycled material bags are the London, the Milan and the Paris - as shown in that order left to right in the image below.

Now each of these bags is made from over 50 recycled plastic shopping bags - those annoying carrier bags that you can never think of what to do with once you’ve taken out your purchases!

Each bag is named after the city from which the designer originated his idea - they just don’t mention who each of these three designers are. Don’t know about you but I’d like to know - mainly because I’m so nosey!

The finished bags are made by collecting the plastic bags together once they’ve been washed (naturally) and sorting them by their main color. They’re then laid out onto a blank canvas in layers to make up the color pattern and this whole sheet is then passed through a heat unit that warms and fuses the bags together, making a tough, durable sheet of handmade recycled plastic.

These sheets are then taken by underprivileged women, who are now paid a sustainable and fair wage, who cut them out and sew the various bags together.

Each bag is therefore unique in that, although it follows the same style it is different in color and final creation.

Any profits from the bags sales go straight back into buying more equipment and hiring more staff - increasing the number of bags that can be made as well as increasing the number of people who can get jobs making the bags. Currently, output is around the 100 bags a day mark but that should and will increase as more bags are sold and more profits are returned to the mix.

The bags themselves are fine. Sturdy enough to withstand most general knocks and real life issues any other bag has to endure, they have enough capacity to carry around the normal essentials.

The bags are lined with silk interiors and any trim is done with suede.

The London also has a hand stitched butterfly motif on each bag (so another aspect that breeds individuality on each bag).

The shoulder strap on the Milan range can also be removed, turning it into a clutch which is a good selling point - most of us like bags that can double up on their usability.

I have to say - I do like my Magenta Milan. It’s not going to ever win an award for sheer OMG (Oh My God!) value but I love the color and I love, love, love the fact that it helps in some small way.

I would like to know though - just how eco friendly is the heating process that makes the recycled material - or am I just being too picky?

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written by Ruth

Like many of my friends, I try to do my part to keep the Earth green. I’m a conscientious recycler, I shop online to cut down on beaucoup trips to the mall, and I own a Littlearth Classic Fender handbag. Actually, I own two and I may have to get a third because I think they are absolutely adorable. Kind of put-the-pedal-to-the-metal funky, if you know what I mean.

I am definitely not alone and, in very good company apparently. Jay Leno, Brooke Shields and members of the Van Halen have purchased Littlearth products. Oprah Winfrey featured the bags on her show and they have been spotted on ER, Melrose Place, Party of Five and MTV. Company sales were estimated at about $4 million in 2005 and have mushroomed 60 percent during the past five years. Not bad for a company that started out in a Pittsburgh basement in 1993.

The brainchild of married partners, Robert Brandegee and Ava DeMarco, Littlearth began as a project in an entrepreneurship class attended by Brandegee. The couple, with a background in design and marketing, thought it would be cool to produce something trendy and fashionable out of recycled materials. They initially produced their license plate, hubcap and recycled tire rubber purses in the basement of their home but soon the number of orders forced them to move the company from the subterranean space into larger quarters.

Today more than 40 employees produce the company’s line of recycled accessories which include handbags, photo and CD wallets, belts and key chains made from recycled hubcaps, bottle caps and license plates which adds up to 40,000 plates, 30 tons of rubber and 250,000 bottlecaps just last year. Their socially responsible company philosophy extends to their work force too, as many of their employees are former welfare recipients as well as immigrants, some political refugees, from third world countries.

I love the classic Fender and Cyclone styles the best but if you feel you just need a bit more bling than the standard Littlearth fare, how about grabbing a Littlearth Designer Fenderflair bag embellished with hundreds of Swarovski crystals. Now, that’s a bit of self-indulgence we can all feel good about.

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written by Gail

You know, we’ve seen many weird and wonderful handbags, totes, clutches and all things baggy over the years to, well, write a blog about. But Rebagz really do stand out as unique and damn well clever.

For those of us who have an urge or guilt to look towards being as eco friendly as we can be in the products we buy, the Rebagz handbags are a good step forwards.

Made by Half The Sky Designs (www.halftheskydesigns.com) the various bags in the range are all made from recycled water-resistant, recycled juice packs that are cut into strips and woven together to create bright and cheerful items. They range in price from $27 to $90.

Styles available in the Rebagz range are:-

• Small and Large Tie Totes,
• Carry Alls,
• Travel & Book Bags,
• Bringing Up Baby / On the Go Bags,
• Sport Pouch,
• Four Corners Shoulder Bags,
• Mini Bags
• Messenger Bags

And if you’re thinking that these will be cheap, useless items - think again. The Rebagz items use unique neck-tie closures, zip closure and internal cellphone pockets in their different shapes to give the type of detailing that put the bags into the boutique end of the market as opposed to the rubbish offerings section!

Rebagz is the brainchild of Marty Stevens-Heebner, founder and president of the California-based Half the Sky Designs who was a human-rights worker from Buffalo, N.Y. Stevens-Heebner, who graduated from Cornell University, is not only looking at this from the fashion angle either, but also considers the fair trade aspects, ensuring that any of the workers who actually make her bags get fair pay and good working conditions.

Now we have to be honest and say that none of us here at Handbagista.com have yet laid our hands on one of these bags so we can’t speak from first hand experience as to how comfortable, durable or useful they actually are.

So maybe you can help us out? Do you have a Rebagz that you can give a review on or know someone who does?

Leave a comment - tell us all what you think of them and whether or not you’d rate them as a good buy!

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written by Karen