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When Edwina Ferro embarks on a new textile project, she listens to the voice of her material.
“The fabrics actually speak to me, they get my attention; the fabric decides what shape it wants to be, it knows what colors it wants to be matched with and the size it wants to be,” she said. “There’s something that comes alive in that creative process for me.”
Ferro makes upcycled, handmade handbags using vintage fabrics obtained from a variety of salvage sources – including scrapyards, estate sales and thrift shops, cast-off upholstery and more – which she carefully collects and squirrels away until inspiration strikes.
“I have a fun archive of finds organized by weight and pattern. In my studio it’s pretty organized. I think if someone came in they’d be like, ‘What’s going on here?’ but I know exactly where everything is,” she laughed. “Sometimes I find a piece of material but I don’t end up creating something out of it until, like, a year later.”
In addition to her creations’ one-of-a-kind aesthetic, she also specializes in “pristine quality precision” craftsmanship that she sees as being in contrast to most mass-produced goods. In keeping with her sustainable ethos, her work is meant to stand the test of time and be well-loved, not fast fashion.
“That’s something that I think customers really, really appreciate. It’s something that I take a lot of pride in,” she said. “My bags are long lasting, for use and abuse – and of course the originality.”
Ferro was born and raised in San Mateo, where she’s still based, and she traces her lifelong interest in textiles, art and reclaimed materials to the influence of her mother and other loved ones.
“I come from a family of highly creative people and artists. My mom would always take me to fun yard sales and craft fairs and garage sales, where I found an intense interest in unique things I came across, and the feeling and story each item held within it,” she said.
As a teenager, she and her friends spent their weekends combing thrift stores for treasures, and she began designing and making her own clothes using her mother’s sewing machine.
“What I wanted to wear wasn’t in the stores,” she said. “I would come across cool fabrics and vintage materials. I was starting to make bags that I imagined, and then I found it so satisfying to reclaim the materials and give them new life in a fun way,” she said. “That’s where I find freedom and joy: I can make whatever I want however I want, and it’s never going to look like something else.”
For college, she headed to San Francisco State University, where she earned a degree in clothing design and merchandising and did a summer design program in New York. She then opened 401 Clothing Boutique in Burlingame (named after her childhood house number), which specialized in underground and hard-to-find brands. Ferro would sew and sell her handbags in the shop, which soon attracted an enthusiastic clientele.
Eventually, she sold the boutique and embarked on several new adventures – motherhood, for one, and becoming a yoga instructor. But the call of upcycled design was still strong.
Under the brand Edwina Reinspired, she now sells her wares online and sometimes in a select number of Peninsula brick-and-mortar boutiques such as Mystic Flora Apothecary in San Mateo, Lark in San Carlos and Peacebank Yoga in Redwood City (where she’s also a teacher), as well as at local pop-up markets. As a “bag whisperer,” as she’s described on her Etsy page, she also especially enjoys working one-on-one with clients to create just the right pieces.
Her next pop-up appearance will be at Little Green – A Plant Bar in downtown Redwood City on July 20.
“I am a one-woman show and a mother of two so my production varies,” she said.
The time each bag takes to craft also varies. “Sometimes it happens in an hour, sometimes it could be weeks or longer,” she said, “looking for that right piece of material or fabric or texture that’s going to match with that other bag.”
What makes something the right piece of material? She said she’s especially drawn to handmade and handwoven textiles that have “withstood the sands of time. I’m looking for real beautiful qualities, authentic patterns; I love all colors. I’m looking for that life, that wants to continue to be living in the fabric.”
Her Etsy shop currently showcases Bohemian-style bags of several types, from totes made from handwoven tapestries to shoulder bags to wristlets, as well as jewelry also made from reclaimed materials.
“All the materials I have are obviously already existing; that includes zippers, leather, and non-leather remnants,” she said. She also has a collection of 100% vegan bags.
Though she has a history of working in wholesale with her former shop, she feels most inspired when working on bespoke creations, as well as meeting folks through craft fairs and events.
“There’s something really beautiful in that connecting to the customer,” she said. “Building those connections, that’s what I thrive off of – connecting my work into the world.”
Edwina Reinspired; Instagram: @edwinareinspired.