Washington, D.C. - October 19, 2009

Hide and Seek

Erin Templeton's Recycled Leather Bags

The only thing you like about old bags is that you aren’t one (not yet, anyway).

But Erin Templeton takes a more enlightened view. The Vancouver-based designer makes impossibly soft bags and coin purses from recycled leather.

With an eye toward the environment (and the economy), Templeton searches near and far for discarded jackets, purses, and the like, which she laboriously cleans and matches for color.

The smart olive tote begs to carry a few back issues of The Believer; the drawstring gunnysack makes backpacks obsolete while you bike around town.

Deceptively large coin purses in color combos like lavender with lime zippers or black and orange with turquoise trim give just the right splash of color to a monochromatic ensemble.

Wouldn’t want to look like a sad sack.

Available at Proper Topper, 1350 Connecticut Avenue NW, between N Street and Dupont Circle (202-842-3055 or propertopper.com); online at mudsharkstreetwear.com. To see styles, go to erintempleton.com.

Photo: Karin Bubas / Courtesy of Erin Templeton

  Ecofriendly, Hipster