Shoreditch Inspiration

In London, my flat was in the Chelsea-South Kensington part of London – full of beautiful shops, fashionable restaurants and perfect white townhouses.  Kensington Gardens and Palace, the V&A museum and the French Cultural Institute were all in a 5-10 block radius from my flat.  And so for several weeks, I did not venture outside of this area much. 

After awhile, though, my neighborhood seemed almost too perfect, and I was restless for something to push the boundary a bit.  I don’t even remember how I found the Shoreditch neighborhood of London.  One of those lost memories of falling in love with a city and discovering it anew each day. 

But I do remember it was different from any other part of London I had visited.  Shoreditch is full of artistic energy – you can feel the creation and imagination and experimentation all around you.  Alexander McQueen actually had his first studio in the area.

  

Every corner you turn there is amazing street art; daring, little stores; and welcoming yet inventive restaurants.  And then the beautiful, winding back streets – full of stories I’ll never know.  I kept coming back to Shoreditch during my time in London – and I always discovered something new – a new art gallery, a new food stand, an undercover sample sale.  And I always left feeling inspired.

The Original Box Purse

I recently visited my aunt and uncle in Houston.  While I was there, we explored an area of Houston called The Heights.  We meandered in and out of vintage and antique stores.  In one of the stores, we came across this enormous collection of Enid Collins handbags.  Holy Toledo – what a find!

Enid Collins was an artist from the Texas hill country.  She began her purse making business when she was the young wife of a Texas rancher.  In the beginning, she created the bags to help make ends meet and sold them in local gift shops.  But when Neiman Marcus began carrying the purses, an Enid Collins bag became a “must have” item for many women in the 1960s and 70s.

I ended up purchasing the “Flower Box” bag.  I am crazy about the handle and the bejeweled flowers.  My favorite feature is that when you open the purse, there is a little inscription that says, “Hand decorated for you!”

When I was flipping through some of my magazines the other day, I was struck by how many spring and summer bags, with their bright colors and embellishment, are reminiscent of Enid Collins purses.