Prac�cal Purses

PRACTICAL Purses

My name is Joanne and I am a purse maker!

I have been sewing since I was a young girl. My first memory of sewing was when I was about 8 or 9. My grandmother was a teacher and she wanted my older sister and me to learn to hand sew before I learned to machine sew. I was taught how to hand embroider on pillow cases. She was an awesome lady. When I was 10 my mom started teaching me to sew with an electric sewing machine. I was a quick learner and was soon involved in 4H and was entering my projects in our local fairs. My senior year of high school I was entered into the state fairs for both sewing and cooking. I won blue ribbons in both categories. I continued to sew after high school and into college.

I graduated from college with an AAS in Radiology and specialized in mammography. During my work life I also had an entrepreneurial spirit. My first foray in to the world of cra�ing was when my girls were young. I started tole pain�ng and selling at local bazaars. I did that for almost 10 years. Bless my husband for his pa�ence with my cra�ing. I did take a break from cra�ing while my daughters were in high school so I could be involved in their sports and events. I started my first Etsy shop on a sugges�on from my oldest daughter. I was making aprons and giving them away when she said “Mom, you should sell them on Etsy”. Well, I had no idea what that was! I did what I always do…dive right in. I started my first shop TheCra�LadyCo in 2016. I have enjoyed the journey. I decided about 3 years ago that I wanted to sew a purse. I found my niche! I started my second Etsy shop to showcase my purses. Wow, it has been an interes�ng �me. I have “evolved” so much.

Continued...

Then at the beginning of 2021, my fatherin-law passed away. During that �me, I had to stay at home while my husband stayed overnight with his mother. As we all know, this is a tough �me and not exactly a safe world. I then decided I needed to learn to defend myself by taking lessons in shoo�ng a pistol. So, I went to our local gun range and started taking classes. I loved it! I grew up with guns but was never taught how to shoot a gun. One thing I started no�cing was that it was not easy to find stylish conceal carry purses. I no�ced that at local spor�ng goods stores that most of all the CC purses were of a western style. While that is ok, it wasn’t what I wanted to carry. I wanted a conceal carry purse that looked like a regular purse. Being the crea�ve person I am, I started looking for CC purse pa�erns. I have found several pa�ern designs that I could adapt to look high end. I have even used “regular” purse designs and have adapted them into CC purses. I now make conceal carry purses of many styles. I create my purses with high-quality faux leather, cork fabric and real leather. A�en�on to detail is my passion. I also make non-conceal carry crossbody purses, stylish backpacks, tote style bags & wallets. Everything I make is handmade with love. I now have my own website for my purses. www.JoJosBags. com. I hope you enjoy looking at my purses and look forward to hearing from all of you. Have a blessed and safe year.

www.JoJosBags

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