Bag Lady

I am a one-bag lady. I like to have a neutral-colored purse that I can use every day. I keep a little black evening bag for occasional use, but other than that...it's the same purse, day after day.

For the last three years or so, I've been using a handmade, hand-tooled, leather purse made by my fantastic father-in-law. I've carried this beautiful purse with pride.



I really love this bag. However, it's gotten scratched and stained, and, well...after three years, I was ready for a change! But after using a fantastic, custom purse, how could I buy something "off the rack"?

So I decided to look on Etsy, a fantastic website where creative sellers hawk their wares. I looked through photos of thousands of handmade bags--some adorable, some hideous, and all unique.

Finally, I found just the right design--the Nap Sack by MimsMaine. But there was a problem. The only one they were currently listing was made of white fabric. I am way too clumsy to keep a white bag clean.

So I contacted Natasha from MimsMaine, and she happily agreed to make me the bag with my choice of fabric. I found a beautiful, dark brown, home decor fabric and sent it to her. I let her choose the lining.

It arrived Saturday, and I love the result! It's a great size. I'm very petite, and it doesn't overwhelm me, but it's big enough for a lot of stuff.



And here's what is just ingenious about this design. In the photo above, and the one below, it's a shoulder bag.



But by tugging on the straps, it becomes a nap sack (backpack.) This will be fantastic when I need my hands free for kid-wrangling. My shoulders are nearly nonexistent, so bags often slip off if I move around too much.



Natasha did a great job choosing a bright, fun lining fabric.



This is a worthy follow-up to my homemade leather purse. And the experience of ordering a custom bag was exciting.

But I'd better be careful on Etsy's handbag section. Spending too much time there, I might become a two- (or three- or dozen-)bag lady. That could be a dangerous thing.