An Artist And Designer That Makes Handbags And Clutches While Living In Her 28-Foot Vintage Airstream Trailer Called Homer
Though she’s been making handbags and clutches since her college days, artist and designer Sally Keiser’s creative process is about to change dramatically. That’s the way it goes when your home is a 28-foot vintage Airstream trailer and that Airstream is also your creative studio.
“As an artist I’m like ‘Go, go, go! Rush, rush, rush! Do, do, do! Make messes!” Sally explains. “And RV living has really changed that. I have to be very Zen-like and think about my actions.... I have to balance my movements and really think before I can get up and move around…. But that’s fine. I love the challenge. I love challenging my creative process.”
Sally’s 1979 Airstream Excella will be her home for the next two years as she takes to the road to travel, meet new people, visit new places, and to sew. From managing her living space to choosing just the right materials for her handbags, Sally’s space constraints will require her to be intentional about every aspect of making her beautiful, one-of-a-kind handbags.
“I went from a 500 square foot studio to about 10 square feet…. Because I don’t have a large cutting table, I don’t have the space to spread out and make five or six bags at a time like I used to. So I’m focusing more on each individual bag. I want to spend an entire day on each bag and make it absolutely perfect.”
Sally has always been a seamstress. When she was in college in Lansing, Michigan, she sewed small bags and iPod cases to sell. While working at a local bar, she got the inspiration to make bags out of old band t-shirts.
“A friend at a local record store started carrying them and I started a Myspace page. I just really loved being in my sewing room all day, getting lost in cutting up old things and making stuff out of it.”
In 2008, Sally founded Sally Ann, her business and brand name for her one-of-a-kind handbags and clutches. Many of her bags are made from recycled materials--rugs, upholstery fabric, leather jackets, and zippers pulled from old luggage. The logo for her company was inspired by her first vintage camper: Shelby. The 1973 Shasta Compact was Sally’s mobile boutique for three years while she lived in Jacksonville, Florida, where she moved in 2013.
Sally recalls, “[The logo] really elevated the brand to the next level.” The camper made Sally and her bags very memorable as she became involved in Jacksonville’s local arts scene. She moved her studio into a prestigious artist space, CoRk Arts, and sold her bags at Riverside Arts Market, the largest weekly arts market in Florida.
“Jacksonville has been so receptive to my work. I have so many supportive clients that I’ve come to know as friends. And there are people here who only wear my bags, and when they need a new bag, they come to me and buy one…. It’s such a great feeling”
Now, Sally is pioneering a new type of mobile studio.
“I think I’ve reached my peak in Jacksonville, and it’s time to move on. Instead of going to the next level and... hiring employees, I want to sidestep that and change the production. And that’s what I think RV living will do for me…. I’ve always wanted to live in an RV. Last year, I was in some transitions in my personal life and I just decided I was going to go for it. I decided that I didn’t want to be in one spot anymore. I was balancing six days of sewing every week and one day at the market selling my work. I felt very stifled. I wasn’t feeling enough exposure to the outdoors.”
So, last October, Sally decided to chase her dream. She starting looking for a buyer for Shelby and found one in January. By May, she was the proud owner of her own RV, all of its parts original and in working order. A fresh coat of paint later, and Sally was ready to move in. She’s been living in the RV for about a month now, though she knew that before she took off for her maiden voyage, the RV needed a name.
“I decided to give it a man’s name because it’s very masculine and it’s like my boyfriend on the road. And I started reading Homer’s The Odyssey again recently. I thought of this as my Odyssey. You know, [Odysseus] was traveling to get back home to his family, and to me it’s more traveling to find love and family all over, to meet people, and build relationships with people I’ve never met before. So that’s why [the RV’s name is] Homer.”
The beginning of Sally’s journey will take her north, through Savannah and Augusta, Georgia, then to Chattanooga and Nashville, Tennessee, and finally to Michigan, where she’ll spend some time with family. Sally believes her first month on the road will be a sort of test drive.
“I think the first month will be really roughing it compared to how it will be in the future,” she predicts.
There are any number of logistics to consider for her travels. How far should she drive in a day? Where can she park the camper overnight? What kind of electric hookups will each location have? How will she manage the small, 4x6-foot trailer she is pulling in addition to the 28-foot trailer she’s driving?
When she finds the best place to park at each stop, Sally may sell at a local show, explore the town on her bike, or spend time focusing on her online sales. She hopes that the novelty of small living and mobile living draws more people toward her website and ultimately to her bags.
She’ll be chronicling her adventures on her blog, so that everyone can follow along from destination to destination. She’ll also be telling her story through her handbags. As she travels, Sally plans to scour thrift stores and flea markets, looking for unique fabrics to incorporate into her bags as a way to share with others where she’s been.
Sally is looking forward to the challenges and embracing a wandering, nomadic spirit. She’s ready to roll with the punches of RV living.
“I’m still making the rules. What I say I’m going to do tomorrow might be completely different [tomorrow]... I might change it all up. But for now I’m headed north, and after that, I don’t know. But that’s great.”
Kailyn Clay
A graduate of Trinity Christian College in English & Political Science, Kailyn has written for Brilliance Publishing & GEMS' Girls Clubs among others. She enjoys hiking and cooking.
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Sally Ann, an artisan handbag company like no other. Traveling cross country in a mobile studio and tiny home, sourcing fabric from each city, and using these found textiles to create the finest handbags.