|
By Monique Bos This spring, trendy celebrities may be sporting handbags designed by Savannah College of Art and Design alumna Claire Sanchez. Less than two years after graduating from SCAD, Sanchez already has garnered national publicity for her handbags, totes and purses. One design, “Precious Metals No. 1,” was included in the gift bags for presenters and press at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in February. Despite her current success, Sanchez said when she graduated from college she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. She had come to SCAD from Baton Rouge, La., which she characterized as a town that “doesn’t promote art as a career.” She had always known she wanted to be an artist, so she decided to attend an art college. “SCAD was the best choice I ever made,” she said. “I think that was one of the key things about going to art school — you specialize.” She tried several majors at SCAD, including graphic design, industrial design and furniture design, before settling on painting. She appreciated the insight of faculty members in these areas of study, but she wasn’t satisfied. “I knew there were other things out there that I wanted to explore artistically,” she said. “I was feeling very limited by the format.” With two courses left in her major, her adviser suggested an introductory fibers class. “I knew that I was missing something,” Sanchez said. Although she had no idea what to expect in the fibers department, she soon discovered a new passion. “I absolutely knew that was what I was supposed to be doing,” she said. “Everything I wondered about had been answered. I found my creativity exploding.” Sanchez developed surface design techniques through classes such as Images on Fabric, Screen Printing and Embellished Surfaces. She became skilled at dyeing fabric and created a shade of avocado green that has become a signature color for her. She also began to explore functionality and incorporating artistic techniques into everyday items. “I really became interested with the art of the object — how objects affect us, our connection to things around us, who made this object,” she said. Her first experiment was a pillow made in avocado green. She thought the finished product resembled a purse shape, and she approached fibers professor Pam Wiley, who creates handbags, for assistance with design and sewing. Sanchez practiced creating handbags, experimenting with shapes and discovering ways of sewing to produce various effects. She found both the materials and the processes fascinating. “I have this sort of obsession with things that repeat themselves — patterns, tasks,” she said. “I love to solve a problem. I love a puzzle.” Ultimately, all her work paid off. “I came out with a purse that I was really happy with,” she said. The first Claire Sanchez handbag was made of clear vinyl and featured postcards of pinup girls, a nod to themes of gender and social identity that had informed her earlier work. Sanchez changed her major to fibers and remained at SCAD for a year and a half past her original graduation date. She also served as the president of the Fibers Club and sold her handbags at the department’s biannual trunk shows. She approached shopSCAD — then Exhibit A Gallery — about carrying her products, and that resulted in her big professional break. “The [handbags] really showed well with what they had there at the time,” she said. In fact, she continues to market her work through shopSCAD. “The best retail outlet I have is shopSCAD. They’re just wonderful, and I think the customers there really appreciate what they’re looking at.” When Sanchez graduated, she returned to Baton Rouge with no concrete plans for what to do next. At about the same time, however, Country Living magazine editor Monica Willis visited Savannah, stopped by shopSCAD and discovered Sanchez’s handbags. The magazine told her they wanted to feature her work. They gave her six months lead time and advised her that reader response to products highlighted in the magazine was high — usually about 20 percent. “I was still buying my fabric retail,” Sanchez said. “I knew nothing about sales tax or buying bulk. I was still working on a sewing machine.” She learned quickly. She established Claire Sanchez Studios LLC, set up a Web site (www.clairesanchez.com) and built a working relationship with a factory in Bogalusa, La., two hours from Baton Rouge, to manufacture her products. The magazine came out March 1, 2004, and Sanchez’s phone immediately began ringing. “It was a really good kick to start off a business,” she said. She has developed a strong relationship with workers at the factory, which had been part of a textile park before a number of jobs were shipped overseas. “They’d never made a purse before, but they were willing to try,” Sanchez said. “They have a lot of input. They know I care what they think. They’re just as excited as I am.” She has remained very hands-on, creating all of her designs, finding vintage fabrics and showing the factory workers how to perform each step of the process. “I make all of my own patterns,” she said. “No one knows how to do it but me. The [workers are] going to do exactly what I tell them to do … You just have to learn to speak their language.” She is pleased to be able to contribute to the local economy, she said. “I’m close to everyone who is in that factory. I’m so proud that my [product] is being made in the United States, that it’s being made in Louisiana, that I’m able to utilize their services and their talent and keep part of their industry here.” She also employs an assistant, currently a fashion design student at Louisiana State University, and has spoken to a high school AP art class about artistic careers. In fact, she said, that’s how she found her first assistant. “She wrote me an e-mail and said I changed her life, so then I had to hire her,” Sanchez said. “It was hard for me being in high school here, because people would always downplay art.” Nonetheless, she is contented to develop her business in Baton Rouge for now. “I’ve actually come to appreciate it more,” she said. “It ended up being a wonderful choice for me. There are people here who want to see me succeed … People support me 120 percent.” Her family also has encouraged her, and relatives have participated actively in the business. “I was very fortunate to have parents who really believed in me,” she said. “My grandmother still puts the strings on the hang tags, and she loves to do it.” An old friend who works in Los Angeles encouraged her to contact SAG about placing her handbags in the award gift bags, she said. Although her work had about a 50-50 chance of being accepted, she felt confident. “I think I make a really good product,” she said. “It’s unique; it’s eye-catching. I think it’s something that people in L.A. probably haven’t seen before.” For anyone considering starting a company, she offers some advice: “Believe in your product. Know your market inside and out. Take it one step at a time. It needs to grow organically for me. When the time is right to make your move, make your move. Be patient and do your homework and research. It takes a lot of time to work through all the problems.” The rewards of the hard work are well worth it. Sanchez’s handbags are available in retail outlets throughout the Southeast as well as online, and she continues to enjoy designing her products. “I love the process of making something. I love the process of creating. I love watching it come to life,” she said. “To see your idea come to fruition is the coolest thing in the world.” |
 |
||||
