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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Stitches in Time: Karen Meyers Handbags
Today's Date -- July 8, 2008
“Elegance is refusal.”
-Coco Chanel
Karen Meyers has a rather writerly approach to designing and sewing her namesake handbags. That is to say, like a novelist with a juicy but unwieldy chapter, she works best by starting a bag, pondering it, then returning to her studio to finish it only when her creative vision knits together as impeccably as a vintage Missoni scarf. This approach, while somewhat painstaking, is what fashions the expertly sewn, cheerfully refined
bags that garnered her an Independent Handbag Designers Award in 2007 – the same year she launched her line. “I don’t like to settle,” Meyers says. “If I can’t come up with the correct combination of texture and color, I put the bag on an unfinished shelf and let it brew in my mind for awhile.”
Meyers founded her label after 17 years of working as a seamstress for other designers, where she honed both her professional sewing techniques and the design sensibilities she first explored while pursuing a degree in Textiles from Indiana University. She works primarily with natural fibers, preferring the richly authentic textures and hues found in wool, corduroy, silk, burlap, barkcloth, and other high quality fabrics. A
favorite material is cabled wool from “resurrected” thrift store sweaters, which Meyers fancies as much for their beauty as for the sustainable fashion statement they make. “Ever since I can remember I have collected fabric, and I have a lot of it,” says Meyers. “I have a special fondness for vintage wool and other materials because they make really handsome bags.”
Meyers’ bags, while made of diverse natural and vintage materials, all come to life with minimal, thoughtfully considered adornments – a vintage wood button anchoring a loop closure, a single, exceptional bead for a zipper pull, or a gentle curve of piping. “I want my bags to look effortless,” says Meyers. “The craftsmanship has to look perfect so it won’t get in the way of noticing good design. To me it is
about working within constraint...that tension seems to create magic, and it’s not something that you can necessarily replicate.”
While Meyers focuses largely on her handbag line, she also experiments with complementary accessories such as fanciful hats made with vintage prints and another of her favorite trims, rickrack. “When I was a little girl I sat by my mom at her sewing machine for years waiting until I was old enough to learn how to sew,” says Meyers. “Creating beautiful things from whole cloth is still my passion, and I love
seeing other people respond to the finished products.”
In addition to being honored with the IHDA award, Meyers has gotten the nod from fellow designers on Etsy.com more than once, being placed on the front page of the popular online craft marketplace twice since debuting her brand last year. In addition to Etsy, Meyers sells her bags at Beehive Co-op (http://www.beehiveco-op.com) and at notable craft fairs including the Independent Craft Experience (ICE). To learn more about
Karen Meyers Handbags, visit http://www.karenmeyers.net.
For More Information Contact:
Karen Meyers
Atlanta Georgia
Internet: karen@karenmeyers.net
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