Monday, November 15, 2010

At Home With Sicilian Gypsy



















On Saturday I had the great honor of being invited to the home of the mother/daughter team (Maria and Susan) behind Sicilian Gypsy (http://www.siciliangypsy.com/). They have several collections and lines ranging from handbags to jewelry to hair accessories to tanks. I was amazed at the quantity these women produce. Maria's gorgeous house was filled with bags, brooches, and gems in every corner. The quality of their work is exquisite as well. My favorite bag (so far) is the red one with golf print of furniture on it. They call it Chanel's Apartment and attached a vintage Chanel pin to it. Their dress form, Sophia Loren, boasts an exquisite pin collection where customers can match a brooch to their bag when they make a purchase. Being the vintage costume jewelry junkie that I am, I was in heaven. The white dress on the dress form is actually altered from three generations of lace and is meant for Susan's daughter, Chanel. Chanel is quite the aspiring jewelry maker herself. This talented family of women poured me coffee, allowed me to shop, and even showed me their sewing studio. Can you believe all the fabric? The keys are actually from Maria's home village in Sicily.


With such a warm welcoming I truly felt at home with Susan and Maria. I learned so much about them by seeing their work, their history, and their space. I learned that Susan collects everything Chanel (a woman after my own heart) and that Maria studied sewing and textile in Argentina. I learned how they work together: Susan designs and sketches the bags then Maria makes them. They put so much love into their process; it's a true family affair.
Thank you Maria and Susan for taking me in and teaching me so much about your art and sharing about your lives. Stay tuned for upcoming issues of Haute Handbags and possibly a few other magazines to see more of their work. In the meantime, you must check out their site, http://www.siciliangypsy.com/.

4 comments:

  1. My Favorite.....the keys! I do love everything but the keys are something that you can't replace. I actually brought back some of similar keys from Sicily.The custode=custodian of one of the castles close to my home town gave them to Deano. They changed the locks and she kept the keys and found out the Deano loved keys and gave them to him. So special. Ciao Rita

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  2. Love, love, love those two girls!!!!!!
    Mother and daughter, goodness through and through :-)

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  3. Wow, yes, those keys are so awesome. Everything looks amazing, like an entire fantasy playground!

    xo
    gramercyboutique.blogspot.com

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  4. three generations of beauty and talent, their goods are so dreamy, I love these ladies and I love my beautiful bag.

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