I was searching for a snap purse I had seen at the store the other day – a cheap one, covered in purple rosebuds, when I came across Kathleen Dustin’s webpage (thanks to the search term “rosebud purse”). The “exquisite evening bags” on her website really are something unique, and lovely. Of course, seeing as they are works of art, they are a bit out of my price range ($700-800 for a wrist bag). But I still wanted to share some of the pictures from her site with you all, because the bags really are gorgeous…

The bag which came up in my search results is this rosebud bag.

There are some other interesting bags, including gourds, artichokes, and this “opening seed pod” bag.

And these stone bags are really neat.

On the mainpage, there’s a blurb about the artist:

Widely recognized as one of the world’s leading polymer clay artists, Kathleen Dustin has been a pioneer, an educator, and source of inspiration for those interested in this emerging medium. Her exquisite evening bags and polymer clay jewelry are celebrated for their translucent depth of surface and vibrant colors as well as attention to the details of the natural world that inspires her. Kathleen’s desire is to make wearable art that can enable anyone to embrace Oscar Wilde’s sentiment, “One must either be a work of art or wear a work of art”.

There’s also sculpture and jewelry listed on the page’s gallery, but for me its the handbags / purses which catch my eye most.