PERFECT PURSES

I’m Tracey and  I’m a purseaholic.  This week on TIPS I’m introducing you to a new line of fantastic handbags that have just come to our shores.  Last week, thanks to my friend Mary Busby I was put in touch with a little powerhouse called Debby Ruth who has just launched the American debut of of Dutch designer Hester Van Eeghen. Hester is very well known throughout Europe and actually people don’t just buy her bags they collect them, as each one is almost a work of art. She is all about design, form and function.  And actually one of her bags, The Harmonica is part of the permanent collection of the Amsterdam Historical Museum.

This is the Harmonica.

This is the inside. It’s like a  little traveling make-up case on one side. And one side is black and the other pink, so you are basically buying two bags for the price of one. Oh, and did I tell you, her prices are really good. For the quality and the craftsmanship, not to mention Hester has these made in Italy and works with the same leather workers who make the Chanel and Fendi bags. This is a sampling of some of  Hester’s bags.
Why are some of these floating artistically and others are on white backgrounds? I cannot tell you. I tried to get them all to float but gave up.

One of the many wonderful  things about Hester’s bags is they are all colorful on the inside as well as being amazingly well organized for all your things. There are multiple compartments. Hester not only wants you to look chic, and effortless but she wants to help you so you are not always in a fight with your handbag, digging around for keys and phones and lost boarding passes, etc.

This bag is one of my favorites it is called The Macaroon.

The inside of the Macaroon. It really does look like a Macaroon.

While Hester was here I got to spend a little time with her and she explained to me what goes through her mind when she is designing a bag.  She really thinks about what we need and what we don’t. She actually helped me organize my bag, or my things using one of her bags.  The inside of  THE WOODY bag after Hester has organized it.

One can actually see everything!  The other thing we did while she was here was we shot a 50@50.

But what I really wanted her to share was her thoughts on what we need to take and what we don’t.  If you are like me you drag half your life around you all day. My back always aches, I carry too much, but oddly can never find any of it. Glenn says the most consistent image he has of me is sitting on the floor dumping the contents of my bag out in order to find something. Or my yelling, “I lost my cell phone.” Only to find it buried under sixteen things at the bottom of my purse. So, there are things to do, if you can,  treat yourself to one of Hester’s bags! Mother’s Day is coming up.  You will be instantly organized as they have the best compartments. And in the meantime listen to what she has to say about  how much we really need to take with us each day and how to declutter our purses and thus our lives.

Hester is a wonderful and from what I hear her shop in Amsterdam a must see if you end up there. But for those of us who are here, her website has her entire line.

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