BAY VILLAGE, Ohio — Local maker Sarah Larson creates Ellie Jane bags from coated canvas, leather and other durable fabrics, featuring durable, practical designs in earthy tones.
Sarah Larson took a bold step when she left her career to found Ellie Jane Bags. She makes durable, functional bags and sells them nationwide. (Photo courtesy of Kailey Marie Photography)
Larson, 38, designs and sews her line of bags from her home studio in Bay Village. She’s been working hard for the past five years while also growing her career. When she was pregnant with her third child, she decided the smartest move would be to quit her demanding job as a behavioral intervention specialist for the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities. “I work a lot of school during the day and I’m home visiting at night, and sometimes I have to go two full days before I get to spend time with my kids,” Larson says. So she took a bold and difficult step toward her dream.
She had done brave and courageous things before. Before retiring, she taught school for eight years, including several years in Colorado. After graduating from the University of Miami, she made a bold move and headed west alone, with no friends, no family, and only a job. That’s where she met her husband.
“I never thought I’d retire. I loved the kids and I loved what I did, but I always felt like I should be somewhere else. I wondered if I was really making a difference.”
After Ellie Jean was born, Larson decided to quit her job to pursue her ideas and plan her own company. “I want to tell Ellie Jean that you can do big things, you can do bold things, you can do brave things,” Larson said.
Larson’s first sewing creation. She made this slouchy bag when she was 18. (Allison Carey/”Sincere Dealer”)
“My ancestors came from a family of seamstresses,” she said. “My mother always had a sewing room, but I never wanted to learn.” When she was 18, she went home for the holidays during her freshman year and suddenly got the idea to sew bags, so she asked her mother to teach her how to sew and show her a few sewing techniques. She made a simple boho bag with a long shoulder strap. The bag is made of green corduroy with colorful batik patches on the front.
Today, the bag is worn and faded, sagging noticeably, stained with ink, and held together by a few safety pins. It hangs in her studio like a beacon or a reminder of something. It is the beginning of everything and the change of everything.
The Remy bag is made from African fabric and leather and is available in a variety of colors. (Photo: Kailey Marie Photography)
After learning to sew, I became interested in sewing. I tried my hand at sewing clothes, sewing blankets and children’s clothes for friends. I learn by doing. I sewed a bag for myself, and a friend asked me to sew her the same one. Our bags are identical.
Larson goes on to tell a story that many other creators would tell: First, she makes something for herself, then something for a friend, and finally, someone stops you somewhere and asks where you got your bag, wants one, and wants to pay you for it.
She started with small items like a makeup bag, and after a lot of practice and refining her designs, she says things started to fall into place. “The only way to improve is to keep creating. So I’m constantly making new bags, trying out different techniques, and learning new materials. I have several buckets of finished and semi-finished bags that I make to keep improving my technique.”
Then, everything fell into place. “I applied to be on season three of the Cleveland Flea Market. I got accepted, and it was amazing. I couldn’t believe that someone would spend money on my stuff. I was so excited,” Larson recalls. “It was a huge confidence boost for me. I started experimenting with new materials and bag ideas.”
“I think people are drawn to the small batch size, the uniqueness and the one-of-a-kindness of these bags. You can’t buy these bags in a store,” Larson said.
As she attended more shows, she increased her sales and gained some notoriety. “My best show is the Avon Lake Summer Market. I’ve been doing that for three years now,” she said. “I started selling through my website and Etsy, and sales started picking up, and then I started doing more pop-ups.” Today, she ships all over Ohio, and more than half of her sales come from within the U.S., with a small portion coming from outside the country.
Being found and seen by the Etsy team can be a huge boon to your business. About a year ago, my Sawyer bag was featured on their landing page. I keep getting these alerts on my phone. I must have hit some kind of cycle in January because my business quadrupled compared to last January.
Larson is also great at social media. “It takes a lot of time. Someone told me that if you’re not doing something well in your job, find someone who will and pay them. So I hired a photographer to take pictures of me. After we take the pictures, I can post them on social media.”
Larsen said the situation has gotten better each year. “I’ve been so busy with production, my own sales and events that I haven’t been able to sell wholesale to stores and boutiques, even though some of them wanted to,” she said.
Her designs are inspired by the spirit of adventure and practicality she experienced while living in Colorado. “I didn’t want to make a bag out of cotton, so I was looking for a more durable material. I hadn’t tried leather yet. I did some research and found waxed canvas. I bought a yard and made a few bags,” she said.
I fell in love with it at first sight. It’s durable, suitable for outdoor use and comes in a variety of colours. I’ve always been drawn to functional bags with a clear purpose. I started making bags that I wanted to carry with me all the time. I’m not into high fashion, I like sweaters and jeans, so I wanted a bag that reflected that.
A friend accidentally spilled a glass of milk in her bag and couldn’t get the sour smell out. Larson found a better fabric to line her bag with. She now lines her bags with Cordura, which is waterproof and easy to clean. “My goal was to design something that people could continue to use after they no longer needed a diaper bag.” Ellie Jane bags can be easily adapted for a variety of uses.
Most of Larson’s bags have cute names, like Charlie, Sawyer, Joey, Alex, Sammy Blaine, and Cameron. She originally named the bag based on a list of baby names she and her husband considered before settling on Ellie Jane for their daughter. “We like some boy names that would work well for girls,” she said. “We ran out of names and are now looking at new ones.”
As for her other projects, “When I find a new fabric that catches my eye, I sometimes create a new bag for a limited time, like the Remy bag. It’s made from African mudcloth, a fabric from West Africa that’s dyed with fermented earth, leaves, and natural resources. I love the rich texture, colors, and design. The Remy bag won’t be around forever, but for now, it’s a fun new addition to the Ellie Jane family.”
Larson is a local manufacturer that supports other American companies. Its strap leather comes from a tannery in Pennsylvania, its case leather from a Chicago tannery, and its canvas from a century-old family business in New Jersey. Its mud cloth comes from a California supplier that imports from Africa, and its hardware comes from a travel bag company in Solon, Ohio.
Larson used batik canvas purchased from a longtime family business in New Jersey, paired with an earthy palette. The light swirls at the top are waterproof Cordura, which she uses to line her bags. (Allison Carey/”Sincere Dealer”)
As Ellie Jane moves into the future, “I need to figure out what scaling means for me. I need help with cutting and shipping materials,” she said. “Sometimes my mom helps me, but right now I’m doing it all by myself. Eventually, I’d like to move the production into a studio so I can open it up to the public occasionally. I don’t need a storefront, at least not yet.” She’s also working on new designs, including a backpack.
Larson noted that making Ellie Jane bags requires a steady hand and a keen eye—qualities that are also necessary to make bold, heroic moves in the business world. She says she loves adventure, and we believe her.
Larsen’s studio is filled with African-woven crossbody bags and totes from London. (Photo: Allison Carey/The Plain Dealer)
You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @AlliArtStyle and on Facebook at fashion journalist and photographer Allison Carey.
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