I truthfully describe myself as a translator by profession and a hand bag and jewelry designer by accident. I literally stumbled my way into both. ?I didn’t study fashion design or anything even close but years ago I discovered a certain creativity inside me that was begging to be set free. I initially started with jewelry and when that still didn’t satisfy my creative spirit, I ventured into designing hand bags. Being African, I’ve always been exposed to African fabric and textiles and had always wondered why these beautiful pieces of artwork had remained so under-utilized in the fashion world, although things are changing. So, I decided to experiment by making a bag using African fabric and Italian leather which was a combination that I felt had potential. I made one sample and put it on Etsy. I really didn’t know what I was doing. I just figured I’d give it a try and see what responses I would get. I wasn’t at all expecting the bag to sell. I think I was more focused on actually working through the process of coming up with an idea, transforming it into a tangible product and getting it onto my website to test how people would respond to it. Well, to my utter amazement one of the Etsy staff contacted me asking for precise measurements of the bag and more details. It never even occurred to me to include the bag measurements and other relevant info. She ended up buying that bag which sold for $135.? She sent me a follow up email after she received it saying that not only did she love the bag but that people had been asking her where she had bought it. But what made me truly happy was her comment on quality and how well-made it was. This marked a turning point for me and from then on I decided to just go for it.