Au Courant makes a... Woven Folio Clutch.

One can never have too many handbags, non? However, when one is as decidedly frugal and as picky as I tend to be, buying a new handbag can be an ordeal.

I am the sort of annoying shopper who stands in Barneys, meticulously inspecting the lining of a bag to see if it's worth the sticker price; I even turn the bags inside-out, in order to get a better look...

So instead of going through that process over and over, I often resort to crafting the things I want. Hence the woven, Straw, Jute + Leather Folio Clutch, above, for Au Courant.

I've been on the hunt for a sizeable, yet structured clutch with a casual finish for sometime, and making one just seemed easier than searching forever; it fits snugly under my arm and holds quite a bit, without feeling too heavy.

It took what still seems like forever to plait and weave the entire thing, but it was definitely worth it in the end.

The other three pieces are a few of my favourites, especially that tiny, wooden one - yes, it's completely made of wood! My Auntie Rita gave that to me back in my girl days, so I'd have somewhere to put my handkerchief and collection money for Mass.

Because every time she'd give me $5.00 for collection, I'd mysteriously lose it before the basket came to our pew.

Poor lady. What she didn't know (God forgive my childhood lies!) was that I'd sneak out to the front of St. Dominics under the guise of going to the restroom, and I'd spend the money buying sugar cakes, Chinese mangoes, and Tamarind balls from Fatima the Snack Lady, which I would then hide in my handkerchief for the duration of the Mass.

Forgetting my lies for a minute, here's the real problem: Why was there a Snack Lady selling goodies in front of the Church, during Mass?!

Anyway...

The sweet, little Snakeskin-print Leather box bag was a gift from my Mum, and the large travel case is a vintage Samsonite women's piece I found in a dingy corner at the Williamsburg Flea Market; it was such a mucky shade of blue, I eventually dyed it black.

It's way too heavy to take anywhere, so I just keep my jewelry in there. How the hell did those '50s ladies ever travel 'in style' with a weighty case like that, I do not know.

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