Bagful of surprises

Jyoti Kalsi takes you into Brenda Wholey's world of ceramic handbags

Brenda Wholey's bags are beautiful. In unusual shapes with pretty bead handles; they are embellished with lace daisies, sequin butterflies, peacock feathers and other decorations. Add to it an Arabic name like Nafeeza, Sakinah or Zuhur. Pick them up and you realise these are not bags. They are ceramic containers moulded, painted and decorated by hand to look like bags.

Brenda, who lives in London, specialises in ceramic handbags, which she sells under the name 'Portmanteau'. She was in Dubai recently for an exhibition of a collection specially for the UAE. The collection is available with her daughter Sarah, in Dubai.

"My first handbag evolved from a flower vase on which I put some strings. My friends loved the idea and my research showed that such bags were not available elsewhere.

"I chose the name Portmanteau, meaning 'carrying receptacle' for my ceramic bags because they can be used as vases, containers for jewellery, gloves, coins or stationery or simply as objects d'art," said Brenda.

"I have always been interested in art. As a teacher for children with special needs I used art to reach out to them. I gave up my job three years ago to explore my creativity. My husband supported my decision and converted the garden shed into a studio for me," said Brenda.

"I chose ceramics since I did not want to restrict myself or my students to any art form and ceramics allows me to use elements from all my other interests," she added.

Brenda was inspired to do a special collection for the UAE, when she visited her daughter early this year.

"I fell in love with this place - with the architecture, the mix of cultures and the colours of the textiles.

"I love the energy that comes from this part of the world. Hence I have used bright colours and embellishments like seashells and peacock feathers from here," she said.

The bags in this collection are decorated with Indian block prints, wax orchids, textured with lace imprints or trimmed with a ceramic fringe. Yet others are speckled with melted broken glass.

"I like to personalise each bag with a name that reflects its unique style and decoration.

"For this collection, I researched Arabic names," said Brenda. "I enjoy creating customised bags to match a specific interior décor or personality and will be happy to take commissions from art lovers in the UAE," she added.