Handmade Bags :: vintage // repurposed // reclaimed

There is something I find so romantic about vintage fabrics and clothing: I always imagine the life of a delicately hand-stitched wool skirt, or a beautiful vintage leather jacket.

Where had it traveled, what had it seen, who was it’s owner?

It’s my way of slowing down and connecting with the past in our modern digital world.

I believe in creating well-crafted, functional, and durable bags in an environmentally and socially responsible manner using vintage, re-purposed, reclaimed and eco-friendly materials.

All the creating magic happens in my sewing studio in Charlotte, NC. After trading busy city life in Brooklyn, NY for sunnier days in the south, I continue to draw on my surroundings as inspiration. A traveler and dreamer, I am inspired by the many places I have lived and visited around the world, finding endless beauty in the complexity of cities and the simplicity of nature.

I am equally inspired by the act of making things by hand. By being a maker, purposefully and thoughtfully I infuse each piece with its own character. Searching far and wide, I collect vintage and one of a kind fabrics and seek out beautiful materials that would otherwise be forgotten or discarded. This practice lends each Sans Map bag it’s own individual personality borrowed from its former, or long forgotten, life…whatever that may have been.

The name Sans Map is the combination of the French word ‘without’ and the English word ‘map’— fusing together the two worlds that I live between and love.

Sans Map is my philosophy: living life as it comes, taking the uncharted path and embracing the unexpected.
Living life without a map…

PROCESS:

Sans Map promises to be mindful of the environment while making smart business choices and continues the thread that links the past with a sustainably conscious future.

All leather at Sans Map is carefully hand selected and sourced from industry remnants or thoughtfully repurposed from leather garments.

Original stitching and seams (or pockets) and natural leather imperfections lend to the unique quality of Sans Map bags, no two will be exactly alike.

By incorporating reclaimed and repurposed leather into my designs and utilizing existing textiles, the need to consume raw materials is greatly reduced.

When new or reclaimed-new fabrics are incorporated into my designs, I strive to source from high quality and good-practice manufacturers and those who produce fabrics such as certified organic cotton and sustainable fabrics like hemp, bamboo and recycled fibers.