Skinny Bags Giveaway!

Spotlight on a Los Angeles handbag designer

It’s such a coincidence how some things work out. I received an email from Elena, designer of Skinny Bags, saying that she spotted me at an LA Fashion Week event. It turns out that Elena and her husband had just released their handbag collection during Fashion Week. When I checked out her site I was instantly in love! Literally “statement” bags, these clutches are definitely on my wish list! Over the past week I’ve been getting to know Elena through emails and soon we’ll be meeting up to shoot with one of her clutches…I’m so excited!

Boho Bunnie: You have a background in fashion…when did your love for fashion begin and what inspired you to start designing and creating handbags?

Skinny Bags: I have more than 5 years experience as a Fashion Buyer for the top Russian apparel companies. Russia is an extremely challenging, demanding and complex market. Because of my job, I traveled a lot to the USA, Italy, France, Japan, China, Vietnam and other countries, where I gained my inspiration. It was a great experience in my life. Over these years I learned a lot about fabrics and materials, manufacturing processes, product mix and so on. Only after one year living in Los Angeles, I totally fell in love with this city and became obsessed with the unique fashion designs, created by the local emerging designers. That is how it all started. I reached the point where I decided to share my experience and implement my ideas, inspired by positive spirit of Los Angeles and sunny California. And as many other women I have always been obsessed with handbags.

Boho Bunnie: What is the process of creating one of your bags?

Skinny Bags: “Skinny Bags” are produced in Los Angeles. I love handmade items, but I strongly believe that automated process helps to increase quality and reliability. The quality of “Skinny Bags” clutches is crucial for the company. It took a while to find suppliers, manufactures and people with whom I want to have business and build a strong reliable brand. It was the most challenging step. Creating something in LA is 100 times more complicated than somewhere in Asia. Luckily, we made it and we are very proud of the result we have.

Boho Bunnie: Who is your personal favorite handbag designer?

Skinny Bags: It’s hard to name one. Of course, I do love “Big Guys” like Coach and Michael Kors. At the same time, I am a big fan of small boutiques and local emerging designers. Abbot Kinney Boulevard is one of my favorite places in LA.

Boho Bunnie: Do you take custom orders for your bags, i.e. color or book titles?

Skinny Bags: Yes, we do! This feature will be introduced at skinny-bags.com soon. Of course, everyone is unique and a custom handbag is a great way to express and individual style.

So about this giveaway…enter to win the “My Diary” clutch above! Click on the link here to take you to the giveaway page.

Skinny Bags / Twitter / Facebook / Instagram

The custom order question got me thinking…if I could pick a book to have Skinny Bags replicate it would be “Fairy Tales.” What is your favorite…”Holy Bible,” “My Diary” or could you imagine a custom creation? Let us know in the comments below:)