Ever have a desire to transform your dad's most coveting article of clothing into a chic handbag? No? Well, that's exactly what Ashley Watson did, and the outcome is a covetable line of handbags, totes and messenger bags designed for the urban woman.

"I made a bag with an old jacket of my dad's because I wanted to make myself a bag and was too impatient to wait to buy leather," says the Vancouver native. "After I had made it, I realized that there was so much there to work with - the seams, the existing pockets, the details, the colors."



With nothing left to pilfer from her dad's closet, Watson sources most of her jackets from charity thrift stores and rag warehouses. Each bag is made from a single jacket, giving it its own unique character, with zippers, buttons and pleats and gathers as accents.

The colors, in particular, are always a big draw, with bags spanning a range of hues from neutrals to sherbets to traditional black. "The colors of the leather are totally based on what we find in the jackets that already exist, so each bag is made from one jacket/color that we probably won't ever be able to find again," she says. "Bright beautiful colors are a jackpot when we find them."

But while quirky details are important so is ethical production and sustainable design.

"My design philosophy is creating ethically responsible design but not compromising anything for it," says Watson, who has a fine arts background. "I enjoy using recycled leather because it has a history to start with and makes each one of a kind bag or wallet new and exciting."