DIY Leather Handbags

How many women would love to design their own high quality leather handbag exactly how they want it?

Do-it-yourself is a pretty popular concept these days, but have you heard of do-it-yourself custom leather handbags? Well, two entrepreneurs are helping ordinary women become accessory designers.

Laura Kofoid, co-founder of Laudi Vidni said, “The reason it took us three and a half years to start the business is the first two years were spent being told no, that it couldn't be done."

But the two founders of Laudi Vidni proved the naysayers wrong. After buying the idea from another entrepreneur for one dollar, they changed the name, expanded the options, and added high end leather. And Laudi Vidni was born.

Co-founder Grace Tsao said, “We did find factories in China, but we decided at the end of the day to come back to Chicago because we had great handbag manufacturers in the United States."

in fact, they make the leather bags in Chicago at a family-run factory, the store is actually online, there you can pick which bag you like, then you choose the leather, lining, and the hardware.

Customer Rose Lizarrago said, "American women like what we like and now we can get it in a handbag." So she decided to host this handbag party as a fundraiser for the Illinois Education Foundation.

Ester Viti -- a customer – said, “I picked out the shape of my bag and then I got to pick out the different materials and it was really cool because with her help I designed a really cool bag."

Customer Stephanie Thompson said, “Actually I went online when they first launched and I fell in love with a bag and I just for some reason I wanted to feel the fabric."

There are eight silhouettes and counting all the fabric and hardware choices there are literally 10,000 different options.

Tsao said, "These bags are the same quality as a $1,500-$2,000 dollar bag, so our customers are really pleasantly surprised at how well-priced they are."

"I had a woman say to me, I asked her, 'What do you think about the price?' and she said, 'It's what you have to pay to get a good quality leather bag," Kofoid said.