Holly Bedard: Smokin’ Hot Cigar Box Purses
Handbag designer Holly Bedard can’t sew. “When I first saw cigar box purses, I knew I was in trouble. I immediately thought, ‘Finally, a purse I can make.’”
Girls’ Night Out Designs evolved from Bedard’s love of handbags. “I’ve always had an unnatural addiction to handbags. I’m constantly looking for them in different sizes, shapes and colors. I frequently come home with new ones. It’s become a problem! I need to have them.”
She creates her bags from boxes purchased at a cigar store near her Manchester, New Hampshire home. “I pick through them all, looking for interesting shapes and unique sizes. Then, it’s on to the image. Most of my purses feature vintage images. Once I pick the one that matches the shape, it’s on to the color. I have a wide selection of paints. I pick a complementing color and get to work.”
Bedard’s customers are able to get involved in the process of making their purses. “Most often, I get requests from people who want to design one for someone they know. I let them pick the box, the image and paint color. They have complete control, all the way down to the handle. This makes such a personal gift. It’s something they can tell their sister or friend they had made especially for them.”
The purse-loving sister of a friend was the first recipient of a Girls’ Night Out Designs cigar box purse. “(My friend) was looking for something really unique. I mentioned the cigar box purses and showed her a few. She picked her favorite box from my stash, chose her photo and the paint. That was the first purse I sold. I then started to make more of them to put up in my online jewelry store.”
After three or four years of making cigar box purses, Bedard has learned a lesson about patience. Once she gets an idea in her head, she wants to see it realized immediately. But it takes many coats of paint and sealer to make her bags beautiful.
“In the beginning, I would get impatient and not take as much time on the many steps that go into making the purses. For instance, the initial sanding is a fairly lengthy process. It can go pretty slow when all you want to do is get to the painting. I’ve learned to take my time.”
Bedard normally works on two or three boxes at a time, so that while one coat of paint is drying, she can work on the next. “This saves a lot of time in the process.”
Anyone interested in checking out Holly’s cigar box purses for themselves can go to her online store at www.girlsnightoutdesigns.com.
