For Elsie Frazier, her custom made straw handbags are exquisite pieces of art. “They are unique, truly one of a kind,” she says. “My desire is that when someone walks away with one of my bags, they have a one of a kind piece and they truly stand out.”
Frazier, who founded, “Everything Comes Up Art”possesses the creativity and a natural knack for making handbags. It doesn’t stop there however. She also paints and offers classes in jewelry making. “I started off making little items, shorts and T-shirts for my boys. One day I went out and saw a bag that I really loved. It wasn’t purchased locally but I decided that I wanted one like it. The lady who owned it allowed me to look at it and I went home and made it.”
“I had the bag with me one day while at my sister’s beauty salon. Everyone asked me where I got it from and I told them I made it. A lady even asked me if I would sell it to her but I told her no. My sister decided that it needed to be sold. She sold the bag and from there people have been asking me about my bags.”
“I had never been to a class before I started but I just kept sewing and I kept getting better. That’s really how Everything Comes Up Art was born. I look at my bags as pieces of art.”
Frazier says that she has been making hand bags full-time for two years now. “I want my bags to stand out. The response has been great but internationally and locally. I find that Bahamians appreciate my work, they appreciate the value of the straw work.”
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