Borsa Bella all started with a desire of wanting to be home with my babies back in 2004. I knew my husband and I could make it work if only I could bring in a few hundred dollars a month into the budget.

My mom (who volunteers her time to help me and my small business) had just broke her leg while on a camping trip and needed to find a bag she could carry around with her that had everything she needed while she recovered because getting around just got a lot harder. While looking online she found eBay and Etsy and realized this could be something I might like to do. I loved sewing, fabrics and fashion. I never thought before about actually using those interests to make money.

I started making totes and purses and before long not just friends and family were buying them. So, with faith, I quit my good paying day job as a Lead Educational Planner at a college. My friends and family all pitched in and helped wherever they could. A good friend of mine made my website for me. My sister is a photographer, so she took the photos, another friend was a writer, and she did the descriptions. Having a bachelor’s degree in business became quite handy at this point.

My online sales were slow at first but eventually picked up momentum. The help of a celebrity photographer who happened to find my bags while browsing the internet was the starting point of something big. She blogged about how one of my wristlets fit the new Kindle perfectly. Overnight, I had 40 orders! I still giggle at myself when I had to Google what a Kindle was. They were quite new back then. I had lots of research to do and eventually added a few more designs. I soon had a Kindle myself and realized what a great device it was and saw it catching on.

Needless to say, other electronic readers like the Nook came out and my customer base grew. Then the iPad and other tablets joined in and while I was making electronic bags, I decided to add a few laptop and cell phone bags while I was at it. I now have purses and handbags with electronic pockets in them after hearing how many of my customers were tired of the boring black bags that were on the market for carrying your hand-held electronics.

I now sell my handcrafted bags all over the world with Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom being my largest international countries that I sell too. In 2011 I was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year by GWATA. In 2012 I was in Better Homes and Gardens Online Gift Guide.

It still blows me away that the desire I had for being home with my boys started all of this in motion. I feel very blessed by the business but mostly by the people I get to meet every day while wearing my slippers and sweats from the comfort of my own home.