Emily BlumenthalHandbag Designer 101: Everything You Need to Know About Designing, Making, and Marketing Handbags

This is exactly what I was looking for to help me design and make handbags. This is not a book for a beginning sewer and intermediate sewers may struggle with drafting the patterns and some of the instructions. I design and make costumes for theater companies, renaissance fairs, etc, many times without a pattern (have to make my own). I was looking for something that would help me design and make my own handbags and maybe a few custom orders from time to time. This fits the bill. It has listings for suppliers plus how to market your handbags. One of the things I like about it: they make every handbag out of the same boring white material so you can see how the bag looks instead of being enamored (or distracted) by the fabric.

This is more than a simple instructional book; the author covers all commonly used types of purses and handbags without going into a deep, boring discussion of particular styles. The collection of bag-type foundations is offered with a spirit of encouragement to push the boundaries of expected designs with excellent examples of many award-winning bags.Well written and focused section on the business of handbag design/marketing is easy to understand but, of course, mastering this side will take as much work as designing your award winner. But Ms. Blumenthal is encouraging here as well.If you're wanting to design purses and/or handbags, buy this book. But, just as important, READ this book and apply the knowledge the author imparts to us all.

I purchased this book because my best friend and I plan on starting our own handbag line. The book is broken down into two sections, how to make and create and the business. It shows the components to making handbags and how to create a handbag by hand. We plan on having them manufactured, but it was good to learn all of the components and lango. The business section was very informative. It tells you how to get your line up and running. There are tips from pros in the industry. If you plan on starting your own line or just plan on making bags this is definetly a great start.

I was originally discouraged about what I had heard about the book - That it didn't offer anything to use for projects and that it had no real usable patterns (they must be photocopied first).Once I had finally gotten a library copy of my own, I discovered this book is an absolute must-have if you are passionate about bag designs and construction. The patterns weren't important to me in this case, but they were certainly better than I had expected -- Well worth a little time with your copier to get them printed out.I absolutely love this book and am so very glad I got a copy of my own.

I have enjoyed reading this book immensely - it has great information! BUT, I started making the envelope clutch pattern in the book, on page 51. The first thing I realized is that some text seems to be missing, because some steps seem to be skipped. Also, there are typos in the text "cit" instead of "cut" - which I could live with if those problems were the only ones. But when I finished both the exterior of the bag and then completed the lining, I was ready to put them together and found out that the exterior and interior are different sizes! And I ended up with an extra pattern piece left over (for the second "facing" piece; pattern said "cut 2"), and no instructions what to do with it. LOL. The lining (interior) is about 3 inches longer than the exterior bag; that's a huge difference. I thought I must have resized the pattern pieces wrong (you have to copy the pattern pieces from the book and then resize them 200%), so I retraced the exact pattern pieces in the book without resizing, cut them out and taped them together - the pattern piece for the lining section is too tall for the bag. It's not me, it's the pattern. Now I will have to re-sew the entire interior section of the bag after I cut it down myself to fit the exterior. It's a cute Clutch, so I don't want to throw away my hard work. I wish the publisher would have set up an "errata" web page with corrections. Did no one ever test the pattern in the book and its instructions before the book was published? I'm so discouraged. I have only tried the clutch pattern so far, so I don't know how many other mistakes there are in other patterns in the book. P.S. Since I haven't yet completed the final step (sew interior to exterior and turn the finished bag right side out, with the lining inside), I don't know if there are other mistakes in the final steps.

This book truly is written to educate you on being a "handbag designer 101". It covers so many wonderful subjects educating you not only the process, tools, and materials but also finical aspects (it even gives you a worksheet). Unlike the other handbag books out there this one doesn't require you to cut out your pages to follow the templates instead it gives you access to a website where you can download them and print them out to 200%. It provides so many templates (even a wallet) and references to many different designer handbags on the market today. If you were going to buy one book this is the book.

This book is almost useless. I contacted the writer because I was trying to make a bag. Well none of the pattern sizes are right. There are instructions missing and trying to make any of the bags you will find pointless. The author informed me that the publisher made a ton of errors. So I wasted my time and my money purchasing the book, buying materials to make said bag and my time doing so and attempting to construct the bag.

Handbag Designer 101 is essential for any person looking to become a handbag designer. Emily provides an all-in-one source that takes you through the styles of bags, tips on sewing and creating bags. It also covers important business fundamentals such as production, development, sales and publicity. The book is full of helpful stories and great photography that makes it rich in information, yet easy to read. If you want to be a handbag designer, this book should be the first step in your journey.Brian Meert, CEO Handbago.com