Handmade in Silicon Valley

by Christine Suppes, Editor at Large

Approximately eighteen months ago, pastry chef Jennifer Chao and her engineer sister Angel decided to take an entrepreneurial risk, not exactly uncommon in the Silicon Valley, the Mecca of High Tech. The way they went about their risk is what is uncommon. Inspired by their mother’s love of European sensibility---and especially icons Audrey Hepburn, Jane Austen, “Sisi”, Empress Elizabeth of Austria, and the Duchess of Devonshire, the sisters followed their hearts and began to create ethereal handbags. Utilizing old lace from the Lace Museum in near by Sunnyvale, finds from the Paris flea market, and Asian street vendors, Jennifer and Angel began crafting delicate, one of a kind handbags for the customer who probably also wears Blahnik, Louboutin and Dior. “Our bags are statement pieces. It takes a special person to pull them off.” With up to 24 hour of handwork, these embroidered, encrusted and bejeweled bags are works of art. They will retail for between a thousand to two thousand dollars—a bargain for anything handmade in Silicon Valley. For more information, please email angelchao.info@gmail.com