Have you ever been to Bagolitaville? I hadn’t either until recently, when I spied the coolest purse I had ever seen. This purse had fringe and a wild print that exuberated personality all on its own. I have been to Bagolitaville and quite frankly, I want to live there to bask in the upbeat mood experienced in its presence.

The whimsical purses were started in April of 2005 when Janice Baldes of Iowa City attempted to recover some chairs in her kitchen. She picked out the fabric and when her husband came home from work, he told her he wasn’t interested in sitting on the fabric she chose. She was on a budget and didn’t want to just throw away the material, so she made herself a handbag. Janice’s friends, and even strangers, kept complimenting her on the bag, which led to “Bagolitas by Janice.” Her grandmother Vonnie had given her some money with a card that read, “Use the money for opportunities you weren’t expecting.” That is just what she did.

Janice had several parties and sold so many bags that the demand had her sewing more than she could handle alone. After Hurricane Katrina, she and her husband noticed an ad that one of the victims of the storm needed a tenor saxophone for her child. Ironically, they had one in their basement that they could donate. When they called the family said they had already received one, but that they did need jobs! In laughter, Janice asked if they could sew, and the answer was yes! Herren, the mother, had actually worked in a sweatshop in the garment district in New York when she was younger. Janice hired Herren and another woman named Elsa, both experienced seamstresses, and that is when the business exploded. You might say it was a little fate between the grandmother’s gift and the end result of offering help.

Just last year, Tanya Alford, the wife of the Iowa men’s basketball coach and former Hoosier, purchased a bag for herself and gave the other coaches’ wives each one for Christmas. Obviously, those bags were done in black and gold!

The bags are still made in the USA by a talented team of women who adhere to the mission statement of the company, which is, “Our mission at Bagolitas is to provide an opportunity for women to redefine themselves through a career partnership or the statement they make when carrying one of our bags.” Janice describes the purses as “spunky” and a “mood lifter,” and they come in a variety of styles. The bags start out at around $40 each.

Visit www.bagolitas.com to pick your favorite or to browse all of the combinations. Each bag is named with a “b” name like Biddy, Brady, Beverly, Benny, Bernie and Booker except for the Vonnie bag, which was designed for her grandmother, a breast cancer survivor.

There are a couple of options for obtaining these wonderful bags locally. Contact Susan Bilbrey, our local Bagolitas Consultant, at 847-8810 or susan-bilbrey@bagolitas.com. She is planning a trunk show on December 2nd at Lucky Lou (8962 E. 96th Street) from 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Also, Lucky Lou offers the collection at their store. Visit Susan or Lucky Lou and go to Bagolitaville soon! It’s a great gift idea for the holidays!

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