HISTORY
Today
These days you can find me developing products for local companies, catching up on travel, and getting back to basics making stuff in my new Edmonds, Washington studio. I have small batch and one-of-a-kind goods available on my website, and my jewelry line is offered in some terrific stores around the country.
Beginnings
Laura Bee Designs began unofficially in Seattle in the late 1990s, when I had my first art studio. On a lark, I screen-printed sew-in fabric tags with my nickname, Laura Bee. It was around that time that I bought my first Pfaff sewing machine and started making bags for friends and family.
Laura Bee Tags
In the early days, I switched from screen printed to woven sew-in tags that my team and I stitched into each bag. Every two thousand tags, I changed the color, so each bag or wallet has a recognizable place in our timeline. Over the years, we had more than sixteen tag colors. When I do the math, I am amazed to realized that we handmade more than thirty-two thousand bags and wallets over twelve years!
Brick and Mortar
After a brief tour of the craft show circuit in 2001, I rented a studio space in Ballard that was also zoned for retail, and so I opened up the Laura Bee Designs brick and mortar store in 2002. During the twelve years of owning and operating the shop, I worked with terrific employees, got to know many fascinating local women, both as customers and vendors. You can learn more about our custom design and brick and mortar years in our blog archive here.
Laura Bee Bags
I loved sharing my passion for fabric, color, and design with the women who visited from all over the world to custom design in our studio. We carefully stitched each cruelty-free bag to order, adding pockets, embellishments and special touches such as vintage buttons and ribbon trims. In 2015, we retired the custom bag service and took a hiatus from daily retail operations.
Jewelry and Other Products
In addition to our sewn products, we always dabbled in jewelry, hair accessories, greeting cards, and other products. In 2012, I began to develop a more comprehensive line of jewelry, which took off immediately in our store, on our website, and via our wholesale clients. In addition to earrings, necklaces, and bracelets, I created an exclusive line of Laura Bee lockets to my collection, and offer a photo insertion service for the ultimate personalized gift.
These days you can find me developing products for local companies, catching up on travel, and getting back to basics making stuff in my new Edmonds, Washington studio. I have small batch and one-of-a-kind goods available on my website, and my jewelry line is offered in some terrific stores around the country.
Beginnings
Laura Bee Designs began unofficially in Seattle in the late 1990s, when I had my first art studio. On a lark, I screen-printed sew-in fabric tags with my nickname, Laura Bee. It was around that time that I bought my first Pfaff sewing machine and started making bags for friends and family.
Laura Bee Tags
In the early days, I switched from screen printed to woven sew-in tags that my team and I stitched into each bag. Every two thousand tags, I changed the color, so each bag or wallet has a recognizable place in our timeline. Over the years, we had more than sixteen tag colors. When I do the math, I am amazed to realized that we handmade more than thirty-two thousand bags and wallets over twelve years!
Brick and Mortar
After a brief tour of the craft show circuit in 2001, I rented a studio space in Ballard that was also zoned for retail, and so I opened up the Laura Bee Designs brick and mortar store in 2002. During the twelve years of owning and operating the shop, I worked with terrific employees, got to know many fascinating local women, both as customers and vendors. You can learn more about our custom design and brick and mortar years in our blog archive here.
Laura Bee Bags
I loved sharing my passion for fabric, color, and design with the women who visited from all over the world to custom design in our studio. We carefully stitched each cruelty-free bag to order, adding pockets, embellishments and special touches such as vintage buttons and ribbon trims. In 2015, we retired the custom bag service and took a hiatus from daily retail operations.
Jewelry and Other Products
In addition to our sewn products, we always dabbled in jewelry, hair accessories, greeting cards, and other products. In 2012, I began to develop a more comprehensive line of jewelry, which took off immediately in our store, on our website, and via our wholesale clients. In addition to earrings, necklaces, and bracelets, I created an exclusive line of Laura Bee lockets to my collection, and offer a photo insertion service for the ultimate personalized gift.
