NAMING MY FIRST BAG INIZIO (ITALIAN FOR BEGINNING) WAS PROVING TO BE PROPHETIC….

Inizio truly was a beginning for me. Now with newly sourced (high-quality!) cork in my hot lil’ hands, my design ideas were oozing from my brain like jelly from a donut (Mmmmm! Wenchell’s strawberry filled to be exact!). I greeted Ron with two fresh designs and my roll of beautiful new cork. Our little family was growing. Inizio was going to be a big sister to the sweetest little clutch named Gigi, and a stylish tote named Yvonne.

The new cork wore beautifully. And in several colors. Bingo! I had quality cork and killer designs, but I didn’t quite have the quality workmanship I was after. My cork designs were sexy, with subtle lines and eye-catching curves. My samples were flat. Boring.

Friends, I am LOYAL. To a fault. My heart said to go back, try again. My brain said, “Paula, Ron sews garments! Find yourself a manufacturer that crafts handbags!” Ouch. I loved Ron and his enthusiastic yes when I asked him to try something new! But, I knew it was time to find a manufacturer willing to take on this wellness guru turned purse designer and teach her the ins and outs of handbag manufacturing!

I joined an online marketplace whose sole purpose was to connect designers with US manufacturers. Imagining something a little like internet dating, I uploaded photos of my samples and waited on the perfect manufacturer to swipe right. Within weeks, I had connected with 12 manufacturers who were interested in bringing my line of cork purses to life. I weeded through, researching each one, finally landing on 5 that I wanted to meet with. Although I live just two hours from Los Angeles, a major manufacturing hub, all five were located in the East Coast. Hellloooo, New England clam chowder, and lobster rolls!     

“Eeeeeeerrt! Break lights!” You know how the road of life can sometimes throw you curves, just when you are finally getting up to speed? In our case, it was news that my husband needed heart surgery, and soon. True to his encouraging nature, he pushed me to visit the potential manufacturers before his surgery. So, just three weeks later, we found ourselves on a cross-country flight, visiting five manufacturers, four carefully mapped out Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives (we’re super fans!), two recommended pizza joints, getting in some baby nephew snuggles, and ALLLL the historical sights along six states during our five-day tour!

Following my heart has never led me astray, so when it led us to a manufacturer in Connecticut, I followed. My heart led me to Russ, an honest-to-goodness purse manufacturer and all-round great guy. Eeek! And, two weeks later, while my husband underwent surgery, Russ was manufacturing his first sample. My life was literally in the hands of a surgeon and a handbag manufacturer.

 p.s. Miss part one? Head over here to read the beginning of the story.

WINDOWS DOWN, MUSIC TURNED WAY UP AND MILES OF ROAD STRETCHED BEFORE ME. EVEN SPEEDING DIDN’T MAKE THE HOUR LONG DRIVE PASS ANY FASTER.

Waves of anticipation radiated off my limbs, making me tingle with excitement. Today I was going to see my first professionally sewn sample of Inizio.

With the squeal of tires only slightly louder than the music pouring out of my windows, I whipped into a parking place and rushed into Ron’s office. Holding Inizio felt like hugging an old friend. She was perfect. Visually, she didn’t look much different than what I had sewn myself, but instead of days, Ron’s sewers only took hours to create her. Bam! Time to take her to the streets and wear test her again.

Over the next few months I put Inizio through the ringer. She went anywhere and everywhere with me. The cork wore well, and cleaning was a breeze. Inizio’s design was still turning heads and the more I wore her the more I fell in love with how easy she was to use. Eeeek! I was so close to putting her into mass production….BUT, there was one request. Did Inizio have a brunette twin or was she only available in blond?

I ordered another yard of cork, this time in dark brown. Ron created another sample in the new color and I took her out for a wear test. FAIL. Like trip and fall in front of your ex, kind of fail. The cork wore off the fabric backing within weeks. This was NOT what I was going for. I was perplexed at why it would wear well in one color but not another. Knowing that quality should be consistent no matter the hue, I gave the cork supplier the boot and dug back into to researching the cork forests of Portugal.  

I’ve heard it said that FAIL means the First Attempt in Learning. Heck yeah! The relief I felt at having tested it out overwrote any frustration I felt with backtracking to find a new supplier. I was learning more and more about quality cork, and you can be damn sure that my next sample would wear well in every color!

Want to read my story form the beginning? Click here! 

WITH INIZIO STUFFED FULL OF MY HOPES AND DREAMS, I MADE MY WAY TO SAN LUIS OBISPO TO MEET WITH A REAL LIFE MANUFACTURER.

Los Angeles is a crazy hub for garment production, so imagine my surprise to learn that a quality manufacturer was actually only 60 minutes from me! Kismit!

Ba Boom. Ba Boom. My heart beat with such volume I was sure everyone within range could hear it’s thunderous drumming. My sweet angel Arcy, her friend Lawren (a fab garment designer) and I were walking into meet with Ron, my (soon to be) manufacturer. My dream hadn’t just grown legs, it had wings! And I felt like I could fly away with excitement.

The unassuming storefront for sportswear didn’t prepare me for the cacophony of sound and color that greeted us as we entered the workshop. Bolts of fabric splashed color against the whir of machines sewing garments. Ron led us on a tour of the production floor, learning the names and operations of each piece of equipment and meeting the sewers who were sew (see what I did there?) carefully crafting dreams into reality.  There was a music, a dance to the energy of the room and it swept me along with it!

Handing over my personally sewn sample to a professional was a little nervewracking... “Quality craftsmanship! Who made it?” Eeek! I almost asked Ron to say it again. I will never tire of having my dream affirmed.

Over tacos and margaritas, we discussed the possibility of Ron sewing my first professional sample. He was intrigued by my cork fabic...though he’d never seen or worked with it before. Thankfully he was up the challenge to work with it...and with me! I was giddy. And it definitely wasn’t from the tequila!

I left my sample Inizio with him so that he could construct a pattern and he left me with a to-do list. My craft cupboard was nearly bare from my previous forages, so I set off to purchase the needed items on my list. Though my hands were empty, my heart was full.

THOUGH I BARELY NOTICED THE INIZIO’S WEIGHT ON MY SHOULDER, IT WAS HEAVY WITH PROMISE.

My sample was good. Like really good. My fellow students peppered with requests to buy her.  No way! I mean...it was tempting, but I needed to see what she could do. How she’d wear. Plus, I wanted to take her to the streets and show her off a little.

Inizio was a looker. Her minimalist lines and stylish design were subtly sexy. And, people were in love with the cork fabric. Not to brag, but I knew they would! Only one reoccurring request was keeping people from falling fully under her spell. They wanted an interior zippered pocket.

Brilliant. Of course, a bag that was designed with an active life in mind would need a secure spot for essentials.  Back the craft closet I went. Now, with more cork from my role, another yard of pretty interior fabric, and a zipper, I sewed sample number two. Can I tell you what a beast putting in a zipper is? Whew! But now she wasn’t just another pretty face. She was smart, with all of the style and strength to tackle any adventure.

Her second time out and about, Inizio continued to turn heads...but this time, without any suggestions for improvement. She was ready (and so was I) to meet with a manufacturer. I knew the stylish public was waiting for a purse like this and it was time to introduce Inizio to them.

This journey has been a series of one angel leading me to another. Now it was Arcy’s turn, this time introducing me to a manufacturer who could sew a professional sample. It was in meeting Ron that I knew I wasn't dreaming this thing anymore. I was making it happen.

YOU KNOW THAT TENACIOUS ITCH TO START SOMETHING NEW, THAT ONLY INTENSIFIES THE LONGER YOU WAIT? THE BEST REMEDY IS TO SCRATCH IT, AND THAT’S JUST WHAT I DID!

With the yard of Portuguese cork now on it’s way to my hot lil’ hands, I tore apart my beloved “a-ha” purse to see how it was constructed. My mind was brimming with possibilities: an improved strap attachment, cell phone pocket… Eureka! Now I had a purse with the style and function to take on any adventure!

Foraging through my craft cupboard, I pulled out bright floral lining fabric....because I dream in color Baby.....and some matching thread. I scoured the internet to find a magnetic snap and buckle (fun fact, we are still using this supplier for our current designs!) gave my high school Singer sewing machine a good dusting and waited on the FedEx truck.

The day before my cork arrived, a mailer from the local college arrived to my mailbox. I had just graduated the year prior ('cause it's never too late to create a life you LOVE) and typically tossed those straight into the recycle bin. But, fate, serendipity, destiny….she had her sights on me, so I opened it. Flipping through I spotted a sewing class. I knew some basics, but my dream deserved more than a passing knowledge of how to stitch something together. So, armed with a newly purchased sewing kit, my aspirations, and some snacks stuffed into a bag, I showed up to the first day of school. Again.

Much like every other step of this journey, I met another soul to lead me through to the next stage. Arcy, my instructor, lovingly guided me through the construction of my first sample. And as I held my newly sewn creation in my hands, I could feel the pulse of a new beginning; and so she was named, Inizio. Beginning or start in Italian.

If you are itching to start a journey or just looking for your next adventure, we’d love to be a part of your beginning. Won’t you take us with you?

You know those moments when you get your best ideas? It’s always when you’re least inclined to write it down – in the shower, washing the dishes, driving on the highway. For me, it’s usually when I lie down to fall asleep after a long day. But my best idea, the one that led to the very site you’re reading this on, was (quite literally) a gift.

Once upon a time, I was gifted a cork purse from Portugal. I was delighted, to say the least. I’d seen plenty of wine and champagne corks in my lifetime, but never anything else made from cork until that moment. As a personal stylist, I’m always on the lookout for unique accessories, so I was intrigued. Okay, and it helped that it was beautiful and stylish. Naturally, I started wearing it.

You could say I have a thing for purses. I switch them out pretty frequently, always wanting to highlight a new one. But whenever I wore this cork purse people were mesmerized. No exaggeration! Strangers and friends would pepper me with questions: