Handbag Designer 101 invites you to compete in the 6th Annual Independent Handbag Designer Awards, the only handbag competition of its kind in the world. This is your opportunity to submit your handbag and compete for one of nine awards in handbag excellence, international recognition and a variety of coveted prizes at the awards ceremony held at the Time & Life Building on Wednesday, June 13th, 2012.

To participate in the open call, you are required to upload one digital jpeg image any one or more of the following categories:

Best Handbag in Overall Style & Design – Winner will receive a booth at WWDMAGIC, the opportunity to develop a capsule collection for Saks Fifth Avenue, a free trip to Bogotá, Colombia to visit the International Footwear and Leather Show and a collaboration with 2012 ICONOCLAST Recipient Kenneth Cole.

Handbags.com Best Student Made Handbag – Winner will receive the opportunity to design a collection for Handbags.com’s successful private label leather line, Piazza Handbags.

Best Handmade Handbag – Winner will receive a designer feature on Singer Sewing Company’s website and Facebook as well as a full Singer Sewing Studio with all the items a designer needs to be successful as well as a pattern collaboration with the Simplicity Creative Group.

Best Green Handbag – Winner will receive the chance to collaborate with Timberland & Amorim Cork Composites to develop a product for sale made of cork in its stores.  (You even get free cork samples to make your bag!)

Most Socially Responsible Handbag – Winner will receive a marketing feature with The Patron Spirits Company.

Audience Fan Favorite Handbag – Based on Finalists Selected hosted by InStyle.com.

All winners will be featured in the September issue of InStyle magazine. For more information visit www.handbagdesigner101.com or www.hbd101.com.  The deadline for entry is Friday, April 28, 2012.

HandbagDesigner 101 & Handbags.com present THE HANDBAG DESIGNER 101 WORKSHOP: Insider Secrets and Tips for Designing, Making, Marketing Handbags and More.  Click {here} for the full itinerary.  It’s going to be packed with priceless information. If I could get to NYC for this event, I would totally be there!  I often dream of launching my own handbag collection some day.  I know that it takes an extraordinary amount of hard work, so I would happily settle for working in design or production for one of my favorite brands – Tory Burch, Rebecca Minkoff, Meredith Wendell, Botkier, or Vince Camuto, to name a few.  For anyone who is interested in designing, making and marketing handbags, this event is definitely for you!

Today’s haute handbag is from my own closet, and part of my Street Style Feature at What’s Haute!  Here’s an excerpt from the post:

Staci shares our strong love for accessories, so it’s only natural that her handbag, earrings and shoes would be the showstoppers of her outfit.

***If you’re curious to see the rest of my outfit, click {here}.***

Back to the event – it was a fun evening filled with fabulous women who were excited to enjoy a few hours of guilt free shopping, a martini luge and mixing and mingling.  There were one-of-a-kind, handmade bags and designer bags from all over that caused quite a stir.  In the end, every bag sold and 23 women joined Women In Philanthropy!  It was definitely a night to remember.  In case you missed it, check out the pics below.

Using my passion to help make Women in Philanthropy’s Power of the Purse a success has been such a fun and rewarding experience!  I have met some of the most amazing, dynamic women in the Midlands.  I want to thank all of the wonderful designers and companies that were generous enough to support us.  Click {here} and {here} to see more Power of the Purse pics.

**If you want to donate to the 2012 Power of the Purse, please email me at pursepower@handbagreport.com**

Power of the Purse is a silent and live auction that features bags donated by businesses and individuals from around the Midlands. With food, wine, and even a martini luge, this is sure to be an exciting event, with all proceeds benefiting women and children. Anyone may attend and have the opportunity to bid on the fun and unique bags.

“We have purses from all over,” said Stephanie Parrish, Program Coordinator for Women in Philanthropy. “Even some that our members picked up from travels in different parts of the world. But our best sellers the truly unique ones, those that are one of a kind, as well as those by well-known or boutique designers.”

A popular local blogger, The Shop Tart posted a preview of some of the fabulous bags to expect at Power of the Purse!  Click {here} to see the slideshow.  Here are a few of the generous designers and companies that donated bags -

What’s Haute, Mahogany Communications, PurseN, Sevda London, PurseN, amykathryn, Mia Cotone, m.clifford Designs, Ecoist, Spartina 449, Ellen Allen Annapolis, Onna Ehrlich, Felix Rey, JALDA, Sequoia Paris, Post -, psnob, Imprematura, Resale-Riches, and many more!

Funds raised during the event will support various causes that help women and children in the Columbia area. Last year, Women in Philanthropy grants supported teen suicide prevention, reading programs in local schools, and a program to teach healthy habits to girls of single parents, among other efforts.

Admission to Power of the Purse is $40 per person. Online registration is closed, however, you can pay at the door!  See you there!

HandbagReport.com is thrilled to be involved with a fundraiser called “Power of the Purse“, hosted by Women In Philanthropy, a group of women in Columbia, South Carolina investing to improve the lives of women and children through active leadership and collective philanthropy. The investments of Women in Philanthropy create positive, measurable, long-term change in the lives of women and children by focusing on root causes and pooling resources to increase our impact.

In addition to community philanthropy, Women in Philanthropy stimulates positive change in community leadership by increasing women’s involvement in the community, increasing women’s community networks and increasing the personal development of all women involved.  They have awarded over a half million dollars in grants since 2002.  The event is in its 8th year and includes a silent and live auction of purses to benefit local women and children charities.

Here are more details on the 8th Annual Power of the Purse:

What: The opportunity to bid on fabulous, unique handbags

When: May 26, 2011 ~ 5:30 to 8:00pm

Where: Capital City Club

**Tickets are $40.00 and selling quickly.  Register for the event and purchase tickets here.**

We collaborated with an incredibly talented web designer, Dan Vogt of DVo Designs, to create a more user friendly, functional shopping site to better serve our readers and customers. HandbagReport.com was born in 2006, and has gradually developed into a popular blog that features handbag designers, new labels, trends, events and all things related to handbags. We attend accessories shows and are constantly researching new brands to share with the world. HandbagReport.com also offers a personal shopper service to assist with finding your next fabulous bag!

InStyle and Handbag Designer 101 announced the finalists for the Independent Handbag Designer Awards ™ (IHDA) honoring excellence in design. Thirty-five finalists were selected from more than 900 submissions. Winners will be announced June 16 at Parsons The New School for Design. Vote for your favorite handbag design at InStyle.com/IHDA, now through June 7, and enter to win the Audience Fan Favorite bag. Ariel Foxman, editor of InStyle, will present the Fan Favorite award. Click {here} to vote!

If you’re interested in attending the Independent Handbag Designer Awards on Wednesday, June 16th, click {here} for more details.

I hate to miss out on a Rebecca Minkoff sample sale! If you’re in New York, stop by and check out the amazing deals! Let us know what you find!

In celebration of their fifth anniversary (on April 1st), Hayden-Harnett is offering special giveaways and discounts! They are already in week 3 of the festivities, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late to join in on the fun. The festivities will run through April 8th. See below for more details!

Click {here} to find Hayden-Harnett on Facebook and {here} to follow them on Twitter