Luna Jaze

My high-end Legacy bags are fully lined and adorned with antique buttons and with pockets for everything; lipstick, notebook, glasses, cell phone, and more. I also make Peace bags, which are organically shaped, unlined, one of a kind bags and clutches of varying sizes and design. Five percent of sales from the Peace Bags are donated to a charitable... organization. Current donations are going to the Braddock library in Braddock, PA, as part of the "Go Forth Braddock" project that supports the gentrification of a decaying neighborhood. For as long as I can remember I have always had a passion for art; I have been creating art since I was able to hold a paint brush. I have my B.A. in Fine Arts and have worked as an artist, but primarily in a two-dimensional form as a painter. Working in leather allows me to translate my training in two-dimensional art into three-dimensional leather art: my bags. Being a fabric artist has different freedoms from painting and I find it to be an addictive process. I began making purses quite by chance after a purse that I loved fell apart. Repairs were refused by my cobbler, so I decided to try sewing with leather. Being a self taught seamstress, I thought; why not try making a purse? The first leather bag I made was a green pebbled Murphy bag, which caught the attention of a fellow Office Depot shopper who purchased my purse instead of his office supplies! That was the beginning of Luna Jaze. Having a great network of family and friends allowed me to experiment with my new passion. They have tolerated and supported my art for many years (and still do), as I worked out the kinks inherent in working with an unforgiving medium. After several years of experimenting with different types of leathers, I have determined that using premium European leathers, primarily Italian, produces the finest bags. In the beginning I decorated my bags with my grandmother's buttons, and I now use antique buttons and beads from all over the world. All of the Luna bags are lined with a spiral-design fabric, ...Read More