Announcement    Welcome to AbsolutelyBrilliant. Thanks for your interest in my shop. You'll find a mix of refurbished leather handbags and accessories, and my own handmade items (including shell creations, such as decoupaged shell lamp finials). There are also a few vintage cut crystal pieces and antiques.

I like a challenge. I look for high-quality vintage leather items that have a lot more life in them and yet look shabby and sometimes downright dilapidated. It gives me a thrill to bring them back to their former beauty and usefulness. It is often very time-consuming, involves the use of several different conditioners, the refurbishment of the brass or nickel hardware, and sometimes resewing the leather on parts of a bag.

When a handbag has been well-used for years, it accumulates dirt and stains, gets scratched, and is usually no longer holding the shape it was intended to be. It took a lot of learning and practice, as well as mistakes along the way, to develop my rehab skills. Sometimes the end result is a handbag that looks like new. Sometimes the leather bag ends up with a burnished look, retaining a few marks here and there, but showing great character- it has been well-loved, and well-used.

A few years ago, Jane Fonda vowed she would never buy new clothing again because it was damaging to the environment. (According to the scientific journal Nature, the fashion industry produces more than 92 million tons of waste per year. It also uses 79 trillion liters of water in manufacturing.) Repurposed and refurbished fashion items are good for the environment and for the budget-minded, and they have also become chic. What’s old is new again! Some manufacturers are even buying back their old merchandise, refurbishing it, and reselling it (at today’s prices, of course)! Coach is selling rehabbed old Coach bags now, and charging top-dollar for them.

The New York Times reported after the 2023 Academy Awards that the dazzling array of old but stunning outfits worn by Hollywood stars attending the event was “asstsgram good an ad as any for the idea that new is not always better.”


My goal is to sell at reasonable prices, but ultimately I must sell! I'm open to fair offers somewhat lower than the marked prices. If you're interested, make me an offer. You never know - they who ask sometimes get!

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