New Business / May 2005
Bella Bags
 Adrienne, with Trinity and Marcus. |
By Pat Lawrence
Adrienne Gonzalez has a pocketbook full of dreams. Her sassy, classy line of designer handbags has been such a hit, she's adding factory production to meet the demand. The North Carolina transplant moved to Charleston as a young teen. Though she started college at Marshall, she followed her interest in fashion to a school in New York. In the next three years, she married and had her son Marcus “two weeks before the towers fell.” She says,
“Everything was very scary, very stressful after that, whether it was going out or staying in the one bedroom apartment we lived in.” She convinced her husband to move back to West Virginia. After a year at home taking care of the baby, she enrolled in the University of Charleston, taking classes in interior design. “I never dreamed I could do fashion in West Virginia. I thought I was giving up all the dreams that had taken me to New York.”
She finished her second year in school and added her daughter Trinity to the family. “I was learning to sew and started making handbags. I always like bright colors and flamboyant fabrics. Color theory was my favorite subject! Everywhere I went, people liked the bags so I made up business cards, and began making handbags for other women.”
Last June, her husband left. “So, I had to really concentrate on the business.” Her concentration has paid off. The Bella Bags business has taken off so quickly, it has grown from a one woman operation to a thriving enterprise with seventeen employees, four retail locations, an Ebay store and a contract to support factory production of four of her thirteen collections. In April, she submitted those four collections of Bella Bags for consideration by QVC. Ten seamstresses and eight sales representatives work full time to support the effort. At Mrs. Manchin's request, she presented her unique designs for the legislative wives at the governor's mansion.
Adrienne says, “There are times when I don't sleep, thinking of new designs and all the things that have to be done. But, it doesn't seem like work to me, ordering and selecting fabrics is something I really enjoy.” The SBDC is helping her with plans for the future. She is already restructuring the marketing side of Bella Bags, which initially was focused on home parties.
In addition to her signature handbags, she has added totes, a zipper bag, a clutch and a selection of matching bags for mothers and daughters called, Mommy and Me. For summer, she is making the Islander, a bamboo handled bag in two sizes. And, she's very excited about the Messenger pack, a laptop carrier and book bag. “It's a great diaper bag, too!” Adrienne has a colorful diaper bag collection, “but this is a more contemporary look.”
She has started a skirt line, which is being sold at the Charleston boutique, Charlie, and is developing a line of embellished aprons. “I try to find creative ways to use all the fabric I buy. We've even begun decorating wonderful flip-flops for the representatives to sell.”
Besides their high style, custom design and quality fabric, women appreciate Bella Bags for their affordability. They start at $15 and the most expensive one is $65. Adrienne does all the design work herself, but ten women in Kanawha County do the sewing and she chooses from over 150 fabrics that she gets “from another stay at home mom!”
It turns out, Adrienne “can” do fashion in West Virginia after all.
For more information, call 304-542-8840 or email apullins@yahoo.com
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Femme Fair 2006
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