HandmadebyChez66

Handmade Portuguese Cork Handbags and cork products

After many holidays in Portugal and always loving their cork craft products, I decided to have a go at making my own cork handbag and now,18 months on (Dec24), Im very happy with the results and sales that I get, albeit on a small scale having recently sold my 100th item. I sell regularly at craft markets in Pickering and Malton, have an Etsy shop that again has had success on a hit and miss basis by nature but I have been selling to the USA on a regular basis and recently sold items by word of mouth to New Zealand. I also sell other cork products on my stall, such as mens and ladies wallets that I buy in from my cork merchant in Lisbon, or pick up on my holidays. For 2025 I have made the decision to expand the markets I attend and having done around 12 in 2024, have around 35 in the process for this year and I am on the look for me as I consider trying to make what was basically a hobby, more of a part time business. I gained more sales towards the end of the year as my product clearly sits in an ideal Christmas gift range but I know from discussions and feedback that many people are buying the bags for special occasions like weddings and social parties. Therefore selling in the springtime for those type of summer events is now a target. In talking with clients at the markets last year I was really encouraged how interested they were in the cork growing process as the fabric that I use is a natural, eco friendly, sustainably grown and produces durable, naturally water resistant products, cork is used to make so many products. Cork trees are first harvested when they are mature, around 25 years of growth, from when they are only harvested every 9 years to allow for regrowth of the bark, with a tree living for over 150 years making the process sustainable!