Spot-light on: Candy Purse

Meet the Mom Behind Candy Purse!

Who is Candy Purse? What makes your purses and products so unique?
Candy Purse is a punky and sweet couture line of handmade fashion accessories. I design leather handbags from scratch and add beautiful touches. Such as hand-painted and hand-drawn detail. Some bags that I design come with accents of real Python and lamb skin. I have a line of bags that come with handcrafted pure silver pendant necklaces adorned with diamonds,yellow Sapphire and other precious stones. Another line that comes with vintage beads and findings. These necklaces can be taken off the bag and worn. I also do embellishments, and hand-painted detail on jeans, tee's, hoodies and tanks. Each pair of jeans comes with JBJ jewelry (jewelry box junky). Candy Purse creates other cool stuff like belts, leather cuffs, necklaces and earrings. What makes my products unique is the fact that I don't make two of the same thing. Every single item that I create is only one of one. When it comes to the embellishments, the art work remains one-of-a-kind.


How did you come up with your business name? Where are you located?
My name is Candy Short for Candace. As a child I loved candy (and still do as an adult). Any time I paint or draw something it is bold and colorful and tasty to the eye. Color is beautiful and God, my Lord and Savior made color. So I took all of those factors and strive to make really cool accessories that no one has ever seen before. I live in a really cool and posh city called Allen, TX which is about 20 miles north of Dallas. Ok, not every part is posh. I live on the East side, which is still nice.

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
Well, it was my only option from dropping out of college. I struggled a lot in the not so creative areas of college. You know math and stuff ( me and math don't get along). I had to take a silly state test so that I could move forward with my major. I never could pass that darn math section. So I prayed about it and ask the Lord what I should do. I was lead to start my own business. It was a freelance design business called Design Revolution. Then I decided to venture into fashion with no formal training at all.


How did you get started?
I studied Graphic Design, Drawing and Painting. A perfume box was my inspiration. I could not bring myself to throw it away. An idea popped into my head to turn it into a purse. I wore it out, got an insane amount of compliments. I made more and added different styles to my line.

Boutique after boutique began picking them up along with my jewelry.

What motivates you to keep your business going?
I am constantly inspired by what is around me. Creating is in my blood and it is who I am. Besides, it helps me keep my sanity. My kids try everyday to make me crazy. I say Lord, please keep me creative and loving for my family's sake. You know that children can be a blessing and a curse. I get a bit of both from my 3 crazy kiddos. I love them so much and they are part of the reason why I do what I do.


How do you advertise your business? Which methods proved successful/effective?
I make TV appearances, I send my wares to magazines and they give me shout outs and show off my punky and sweet artables.

I need some help with the high end magazines. For some reason they don't give a chick love. What's up with that?


How do you juggle family and work at home?
Well, I lock the kids in the closet and throw in some toys and snacks and tell them mommy has to work. When my husband gets home I tell him that he needs to cook because he has it so good being able to leave the house to work. That man is so stinkin' lucky! No, just kidding, ok, that wasn't funny. You know you want to laugh.

But seriously, It can be a little difficult at times. My husband totally supports me. I have to travel a couple of times a year. He takes off about 4 days from work just so I can do business. He is such wonderful encouraging man, and it doesn't hurt that he looks good. I take care of the kids during the day. At nap time I work, and get other things around the house done. At night I stay up a little after my husband goes to bed.


What advice would you give to moms seeking to become a WAHM?
Make sure that you have a good support system. Get a routine down as best as you can.

Try not to work while your children are awake. If you don't want grey hair early, keep this advice to heart and take it. Make sure your product or service is of the highest quality you can afford.

This is so embarrassing but I have to share it. Back in the day when I first made my purses out of boxes (not cigar boxes), I did not use the best of materials. I had no idea what I was doing at the time. I just loved to make purses and people liked buying them. Well I went in to a very high end boutique in Dallas. You can find Jessica Simpson and Angie Harmon shopping there from time to time. As I was showing the manager my wares, the strap of the purse broke and beads went everywhere. She was so shocked and just flat out told me no. My face turned red and I bolted out of there so fast that I just left the beads on the floor. My friend Jennifer was with me we both laughed and cried at the same time.


Anything else you'd like to add about Candy Purse or about being a WAHM in general?
I have a book called Craft Candy coming out late November. In this book, I teach the reader how to make handbags, necklaces, cuffs and chic home accessories. If you think you might like to check it out, you can go to www.bn.com, www.borders.com, www.amazon.com or www.buy.com and pre-order a copy.

I would like to thank all of the moms out there that choose to first raise their children at home. We are raising a wonderful generation of kids that will change this world we live in. I want to just encourage you all to keep going. Love what you do, take breaks when you need to, and treat your self from time to time. Never ever stop laughing and loving.


Visit Candy Purse at: www.candypurse.com



(Note: Logo, product images and interview responses courtesy of Candy Purse. Please respect their work and do not copy and/or alter their images and words. Thank you! )