Sally Bags by Janet Durkee-Prescott

Living with happy fabrics

What says spring better than a new floral print handbag? Sally Bags, designed and sewn by Janet Durkee-Prescott of Center Conway, sing the praises of the season with contemporary fabric designs.

Over the past 14 years the bags have been fine-tuned with the help of customer comments. Associate Siiri Grubb says that they personally use the bags themselves as a way to test the design and have made the bags bigger, changed handle design or added more pockets because of customer input too. Of course, every bag now has a pocket for a cell phone. And the Day Tripper bag was enlarged enough to hold an iPad.

Nine sizes of Sally Bags are offered in a variety of fabrics and are changed twice a year for  fresh spring/summer and fall/winter appeal. They are made with fine upholstery materials and finished on the inside with a similar, but contrasting fabric design. Inside zippers have beaded pulls for a bit of glitz. The bags are machine washable, plus the material is Scotchgarded for stain resistance. Diaper bags and cosmetic bags are finished with a rubberized cotton on the inside for easier cleaning.

Durkee-Prescott and Grubb are attending the Castleberry Memorial Day Craft Festival at Mill Falls Marketplace in Meredith, May 24 to 26. This August will be their second year at the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen fair at Sunapee. Sally Bags are also available at a variety of League shops, including Littleton, Meredith and Nashua. They can also be found at Asset Jean Co. in North Conway and Hudson News at the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport. Prices range from $26 to $120.