YellowBird handbags made in Adelaide and about to launch new Signature range

PRACTICAL meets pretty in YellowBird handbags which are made in Adelaide but in demand around Australia.

YellowBird handbag designer Lynley Slater at Brick+Mortar. Picture: AAP/Keryn Stevens

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PRACTICAL meets pretty in YellowBird handbags which are made in Adelaide but in demand around Australia.

The bags are handmade by Lynley Slater, of Seaford, who launched her business seven years ago with the aim of creating a flexible job she could fit in around her children.

More than 500 bags later, the brand can be found at shops in the city and regional SA, as well as the Art Gallery of WA.

“I’ve gone from a simple envelope clutch — because my daughter asked me to make her one — to the Evelyn clutch which is our signature,” she says.

“It’s our biggest-selling item and I’m so busy making them that I don’t go back to the earlier designs.”

Lynley says the handmade quality and individual design of her bags, priced between $119 and $189, have made them sought at markets and in artisan gift shops.

“People love the structure and fabrics as well as the combination of wood and fabric,” she says.

“It’s unique and when I initially looked at making it I spent six months making sure no one else did anything like it and that the design is practical.

“There’s no point if it’s not practical, if it doesn’t open wide enough and if you can’t get your hand into it.”

Despite the success of her brand, Lynley says the hands-on making process and the arrival of colourful new fabrics are the things that motivate her.

“I grew up making and with my mum teaching me to sew. I was making Barbie doll clothes when I was seven,” she says. “It’s calming and centring for me.”

When she’s sourcing fabrics, Lynley says she looks for colourful prints with a story behind them.

Her latest bags have been inspired by indigenous print fabrics she found at Publisher Textiles, in Sydney, earlier this year.

“The prints are by Arnhem Land artists and they’re amazing artworks with beautiful stories,” she says.

The new Evelyn Signature bags are being launched at Bowerbird Design Market, at Wayville, from November 24-26, where Lynley estimates at least 80 bags will be needed to meet customer demand.

“I’ve been involved in Bowerbird for about five years and the number I sell there is growing — it’s incredible,” she says.

The launch of the Signature collection marks the start of a new phase for YellowBird, with a trip to the Melbourne Retail Festival planned for early next year.

“We’ve spent about a year getting serious about the business and the Melbourne show will be our first trade show,” she says.