Saracino Designs - meet Jane Saracino

I met with Jane Saracino of Saracino Designs this week and had a great chat. It is always so inspiring to meet artisans who are so passionate about what they do. Jane’s bags are meticulously made, they are eco-friendly, hip and fun! Jane designs bags for the professional on the go with styles that hold your everyday essentials, to bags for evening outings, walks with the dog, and weekends away.

Jane only produces limited editions of 5. Each bag is lined in either pink or red. There are pockets all around the interior of each bag to hold all your “stuff”, with plenty of room inside for even more stuff. Jane treats the bags so that they literally stand up when you set them down. She uses only the highest quality of snaps, grommets and other finishings. Her bags are made with recycled, found fabrics, everything from bed skirts to doilies have been incorporated into her bags.

mid-tote

Jane is a self-taught handbag designer. I asked Jane how she got started creating her handbags, and as is often the case is, it was a mix of someone expressing a need, an opportunity seized, and definitely the support of friends and family that got Jane started on this incredible journey.

Jane’s girl friend, Jamie, had a make-up bag that she absolutely adored, but it was falling to pieces. Jane came to the rescue, not only did she make Jamie a new one, but she added her own flair and revised it here and there to make the perfect make-up bag. As Jamie showed off her bag, the requests started pouring in. Jane’s sister needed a dog walking bag and the ‘Grab & Go’ bag was created! Now Jane has a full line of bags, everything from a little bag that fits a camera or phone all the way up to a Weekend Tote.

Grab & Go

Around the same time that Jane created the make-up bag, her Mom moved to the U.S. and left Jane with a bunch of cool fabric pieces, not one to ever waste anything, Jane was quick to take advantage of this stash of fabrics and started creating bags for friends and family.

Not long after that, Jane and her aunt were walking in Yorkville and passed a sign that said they were looking for local designers for a new store in the area. Jane’s aunt, one of Jane’s biggest fans, insisted that she give them a shout and Saracino Designs was born! Well Tart Bag was born which has evolved into Saracino Designs!

Jane has a great perspective on the dilemma many artisans face about trying to be true to themselves while offering a product that is high-quality and competitively priced. “I don’t want to be a traditional handbag designer. I create limited edition, signature bags. I want to be known for making unique handmade bags.” I loved it when she said that the tiny imperfections of a handmade piece are what sets it apart from the massed produced items. She also talked about their being a market for handmade bags and they are not the same people who want to buy something that is massed produced and that’s fine, you’re just not getting a massed produced bag from Saracino Designs!

This year Jane is co-chairing the Beach Studio Tour. It runs April 29^th through May 1^st and promises to be fantastic. If you have a chance, drop by.