Handbagdesigner101.com - The Handbag Designer Resource

Would you rather buy a new handbag than pay for your car insurance? These are some of the ideas discussed on HandBag Designer 101. The site is a resource for independent handbag designers and enthusiasts. Beyond the discussion forums, the site regularly profiles independent designers and charts celebrity bag trends. Recently, HandBag Designer 101 launched an awards ceremony, which hundreds of designers from around the world flew to New York to attend. The site has been around and growing strongly since November 2006, and now boasts the largest network of independent handbag designers, anywhere.

“Welcome to Handbag Designer 101, the handbag designer resource. You are joining the largest network of handbag designers in the world.”

One of the most interesting things about the site (at least for a casual browser/ non-designer) is the designer profiles. Not only do they display photos and provide basic information on the designer, they give ample space (often three paragraphs or more) for the designer to recount their “story,” or their trajectory to becoming a designer. The “Bag Trends” section is also witty and interesting. Finally, it is impressive that the site has really taken on its role as the “largest network of handbag designers,” creating an awards show and featuring regular events.

Can there be more ways to organize the designer profiles and handbags? Now, it is only organized by name (which, if it is an unknown independent designer is pretty useless), and date of publication. While users can *search* by terms, if the bags were organized under multiple headings (ie, materials used/ style of bag/ cities/ price) it might be more meaningful.