narcissistic news
"Life is a journey. Better take a great bag."™
A bit about me and my bag...
 It all started when I was searching for a red velvet bag - couldn't find one anywhere. So I made one: a deep red, velvet number. I lined it with Chinese silk brocade of black, green, and Bordeaux dragons. I made my bag as beautiful as it was sturdy - just like a woman. I made my purse as beautiful inside as it was outside- just like a woman. I made a bag that could hold all my womanly things and not look like it was made to hold all my womanly things. Then I added a secret (a very important part of being a woman... ) a hidden pocket. I felt special every time I put that purse on because it said something about my style and me. It said I am sexy and fun and have a sense of fashion uniquely my own. I guess other women thought that, too, because everywhere that bag went, women noticed it. Strangers approached me in stores and on the streets asking where I got my red velvet bag...Friends clamored for them. I made another velvet bag- chocolate with reclaimed vintage mink handles. Each new design and new shape sold out to friends as quickly as it was made. Stores started clamoring for my line of bags and that's how a business was born. My bags are now carried by stylish woman everywhere: across the country and around the world. They have appeared on celebrities and on celebrity shows. They are sexy, sophisticated, and luxurious, with understated beauty. Functional purses with delectable interiors, great colors, and vegetable dyed leathers hand made bags. They beckon to be taken out on the town (just like a woman). 2 lines- The Rustics line is inspired by the great American West - the City Slickers by the world metropolises. The Rustics represent my love of the "worn in". The line includes vegetable dyed leathers reminiscent of horse tackle, old saddle bags and cowboy chaps. External construction, and details from nature feature prominently. These bags, like jeans, get better with age. Just kick back and live.
City Slickers evolve from living in Paris, New York, London, Milan, Tokyo, and Sydney. I love the lights, art, fashion and culture of these metropolises. The bags go 24/7 like these cities. They glide effortlessly with you from weekday to weekend, city to city, office to dinner, or party to party with ease and sophistication. They like dressing up or dressing down and showing off.
My background in architecture gives my bags a structure different from all others. Beauty equals form following function. I engineer the bags to be worn comfortably on the body. I make everything in USA, sweatshop free, and often in limited editions. After all, every woman is unique, shouldn't her bag be too?
My ethos: Do no harm. I am big believer in environmental sustainability, so my bags are made with nature in mind. Because I want to tread lightly on the earth, I employ the principles of reduce, reuse, recycle to every aspect of my business. The goal is to get as close to zero waste as possible. To that end, I design:
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using no extraneous hardware. Metal feet are absent on the bottom of my bags because 1) those little metal feet use our precious natural resources, require a highly toxic process to coat, and do not biodegrade 2) feet are redundant on my bags because the leather I use can sustain long years of use without wearing through.
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using all remnants. I endeavor to use the entire hide. You can find note cards, ribbon cuffs, and one of a kind purses at my studio in Venice- all made with waste materials. Come on by!
- using no filler- most leather bags today use a thinner leather to save money, and then back that leather with vinyl. It is a hidden environmental disaster. Most Beth Springer bags "stand on their own".
- with 100% organic linings - 100% organic hemp or cotton linings are used in several styles. Check out my Ecovertible the trim is reclaimed leather - that means the leather has been saved from the land fill and made into something beautiful for your pleasure. Ecovertible is lined with organic hemp linen.
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with vegetable dyed leathers- vegetable dyed leathers are colored with plant dyes. No chrome is used.
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with leather that is by-product. No exotics are used.
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the tags are made from recycled paper, attached with organic hemp cord and printed with soy ink. All paper the company uses is 100% post-consumer recycled. Beth Springer ships in reused boxes whenever possible, so the boxes are ugly, but the world remains beautiful. Please recycle or reuse them. I do! (I reuse stuffing and packing, too.)
Enough about me. Write and tell me your thoughts! Peace and prosperity, Beth
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