Joanna Baker: From Handbag Fan to Handbag Designer
If you want to find Joanna Baker in a large, crowded department store, there’s only one place to look: in the handbags section. A passion for handbags not only keeps Baker admiring stylish creations at the department store but it has also led to her creating her own line of handbags and her own store, Jobie Boutique, which is named after a nickname her grandmother gave her.
“I always take note of other handbags and see what is missing from them, what things I like and what I would change,” said Baker. “After admiring and studying them for a while, one day I decided to see if I could make one. After a few attempts, I came up with the Jobie Large Tote.”
Maryland born and raised Baker is a full time student at a liberal arts college in her home state. At first, she started creating handbags just to see if she could. Pretty soon she was selling them to her friends and realized that there was a market for her creations. Having web design experience, there was only one logical step to take next; she started her own website and began selling her bags: www.jobieboutique.com.
Baker says that her style is influenced by her favorite handbag designers, Michael Kors and Kate Spade, and that she strives to bring style, quality, and character to every bag that she creates. “I think my handbags are bright, fun, and functional. I’ve tried to create bags that are simple yet stylish.”
Since she is a full time student, Baker only gets to devote part-time hours to her love of handbags. More often than not, she finds herself doing a lot of multitasking to keep it all going.
To create her unique handbags, she uses a standard Kenmore sewing machine and a special sewing lamp. With the help of her Dad, she was able to make a wooden thread holder that spins and has places for more than 150 spools of thread. And when it’s time to pack up and go to school, a sewing tote by ArtBin helps her keep everything organized.
According to Baker, the most frustrating part of making handbags is failing to create the piece that she had envisioned. “It’s frustrating when I measure out and construct a pattern that ends up not being the final product I had envisioned,” said Baker. “You really have to think in a different way and do a bit of math when making your own patterns.”
Baker has already started branching out from her original designs and started to experiment with different types of bag closures including a clutch purse with an interior metal frame closure. She plans on adding some new designs to her collection and may even be adding some new fabric choices later.
