Budding Star Handbag Designers?
For some women, handbags are an obsession.
And we may have learned of handbag household names of the future Wednesday night when the latest Independent Handbag Designer Awards were handed out in Manhattan.
Twenty-five finalists were chosen, and their designs are in the window at the famous Henri Bendel's on Fifth Avenue.
But only five were called the best.
And Early Show viewers got a look at them Thursday when Emily Blumenthal, founder of The Independent Handbag, stopped by.
The categories: Best Student-Made Handbag, Best Handmade Handbag, Best Green Handbag, Most Socially Responsible Handbag, Best Handbag Overall.
You never know -- perhaps one or more will become classics!
Blumenthal is herself an independent designer. She made it big after her "Yasmena" bag was featured in the fourth season of "Sex and the City." She wore her bag to the Early Show set.
For complete details on all the winners, and photos, click here
WINNERS AT A GLANCE:
Lui Antinous: Lui Antinous, www.luiantinous.com
Designer makes bag him or herself, by hand or machine
Darren Wallace
Students who have successfully started their lines while still in school
Clara Yoo
Bags that meet certain ethical and moral standards with respect to production, employment and philanthropy, and have impacted the local culture of the country of manufacture
Bridget Reid: PFYH, www.pfyhalpaca.com
Bags made FROM sustainable, recycled or organic materials
Helen Marcoschamer: Ecoist www.ecoist.com