Jennifer Brickel took a huge leap of faith when she left her corporate job of six years to design handbags. With heart, talent and determination Fashionjenn Handbags was launched and there has been no turning back.
Having an avid seamstress mother and a master carpenter father allowed Jennifer to spend many hours as a child painting, creating and learning to sew. Attending a high school with a flourishing art department allowed Jennifer to further explore her creativity through classes in various media. During high school she also took classes in painting and portraiture through a local Arts Center. It was there that Jennifer received A SIlver Key Award from The Scholastic Art Awards for one of her paintings.
Utilizing this training as well as a BA in Graphic Design and Visual Communications Jennifer began making handbag patterns, cutting, sewing and experimenting until the collection began to take shape.
As Jennifer explains, her designs "start with an idea that accessories are art, not just a mass produced object with little respect or thought given to it's origin". She finds inspiration in the most ordinary places yet turns her ideas into the extraordinary. There is a great deal of labor and love that goes into each handbag.
Working in her Chicago home studio, all of the handbags are made from animal friendly/man made materials. Jennifer will often add touches of interest by utilizing screen printing inks. The wooden handles are crafted out of Baltic Birch and finished with a variety of paints, stain, lacquer and other embellishments. Every bag gives her a new idea, a new inspiration, a need to create more. "I lay in bed at night and dream about handbags, how to construct them, how to wear them...I guess you could call it an obsession!"
The bags are all fully lined and reinforced to ensure lasting quality. The handbags are completely customizable; Jennifer is always willing to work with clients to design for their own personal tastes. Productiion on each design is limited as she feels that there should be a degree of exclusivity to each one.
With hundreds of handbags on the everyday market, what a breath of fresh air to find a product that is not only unique and beautiful, but is the quality that will allow you to savor your bag for many years. Fashion and function; what a great combiination. Fashionjenn Handbags can be found on etsy.com and smashingdarling.com.
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