Amazing Stratford artist who creates handbags from saddles and Tweed jackets
AN ARTIST who transforms horse riding saddles into handbags says she’s never been happier.
Griggsy, upstairs from Ya Bard in Rother Street, Stratford, is a fashionista’s dream – packed with individually hand-crafted bags of every shape and size and vintage clothing.
Their creator, Debbie Griggs, uses her talents to cannibalise and breathe new life into old saddles, tweed jackets, jeans, rugs and even vintage grain sacks to create an eclectic collection of stunning shoulder and messenger bags, backpacks, satchels and weekend holdalls.
‘Griggsy bags’ are almost all hand stitched and made from high-quality material, so built to last.
Priced from £35 upwards they’re snapped up by all ages and genders.
Debbie said: “Each of the bags is unique – people often walk in to the shop, go straight up to one and exclaim: ‘Oh, I love that!’
“It’s not about someone choosing the right bag, it’s more that the Griggsy bag finds the right person,” she added.
It takes anything from two days to a week to make one of the ergonomically designed bags.
“I love taking old tweed or a Barbour jacket, kilim rug or saddle that’s had a previous life but no longer fits the purpose and turning it into wearable art,” Debbie said.
“It stops the leather or fabric from going into landfill, so it’s planet-friendly and each bag is as individual as the person who wears it,” she added.
Much of her sales come through commissions – one customer brought in a cow hide bean bag, which Debbie transformed into a stylish weekend bag.
Other examples include turning the saddle from a much-loved childhood pony into a shoulder bag; and re-purposing a favourite kilt belonging to a father who died, to create a keepsake and practical bag for his young son.
Debbie, 56, studied design at De Montford University and started off focusing on interior design before her artistic passion took her in an unexpected direction.
She explained: “They let me loose in the metal workshop and I made six chairs out of stuff from the recycling bin in one afternoon.
“Ever since, I’ve been hooked on vintage and the idea of using quality fabrics that are about to be thrown away and I love re-fashioning them into something new and different.”
She started her career in point of sale design and went on to work with homeless youngsters for many years but the hankering to make and create things was always there.
“I wanted a double-decker bus so I could turn the downstairs into a shop and live upstairs,” she recalled.
Although she sat and passed her coach driver licence, she never quite managed to buy her bus but instead opened a little attic shop in Market Harborough, from where she sold vintage clothing, while making, creating and painting behind the scenes.
When a friend gave her an old Parker Knoll chair to ‘do something with’, she grabbed six vintage Harris tweed jackets off the sales rail and used them to reupholster the chair.
The chair was snapped up quickly, which made her realise people loved the idea.
Meanwhile, left with a bunch of tweed collars and cuffs, she idly draped one around her neck and thought it looked like a shoulder bag – her eureka moment.
Debbie, who lives in Bidford, stocks a collection of vintage jackets and other clothing in her store as well as the bags and has become a favourite destination for creatives looking for something a bit different.
She also sells her bags online and via Etsy.
Other pieces of creative art she makes include hand-twisted wire sculptures and jewellery.
As it’s just her making everything and running the shop, it’s pretty full-on.
“I live, eat, breathe and sleep this but I’m so lucky to be doing something I love,” she added.