workbag stories from across the globe

Jackie Hall, development director of the Georgia O'Keefe Museum
uses her Gearbag on a daily basis for work and, in this occasion, play!

This is seven month old Gabriel in the Picnic Tote!
HIs mom Katie Dry and dad Guillermo use this as a Baby Bag -
now we know it will hold at least 15 lbs~!

Carol Shaw-Sutton's Toolbelt (modeled by Danica) filled to the max
This S.STEIN Toolbelt and two other styles of will be on the website by April

Carol Shaw-Sutton sent in these shots of her S.STEIN Toolbelt full of
tools for her job as a Fiber / Textile arts teacher at
California State - she says "before I got this wonderful belt
for Christmas, I was always calling on Danica (her lab tech)
to find my scissors, keys, cellphone, and even my tangerines!
Now, when I wear this belt, I have everything I need!"

Jennifer Quiles of Miami sent these shots of her son with
the Baby Case and Toolbag, with this story:
" My son was born April 29, '09, and I had the worst luck with diaper
bags. Not a single one would hold all of the necessities for an outing.
I never realized how much stuff a baby required, just to go to the doctors.
My mom mentioned that Sherry was creating a diaper bag and I was thrilled.
This is the best bag ever!!! I do not know how I functioned without it-
space for everything and anything, and all snaps up and you are ready to go.
My Toolbag also functions as a mini-diaper bag when on a quick errand.
Thank you so much for making all my outings so much easier!"

Miriam Seger is a set designer based in LA, and was on a job

in New York when she sent me these photos of her Toolbag at work.
Miriam's Toolbag with Walkie-Talkie in the open end pocket

Isabelle Mortemard is a designer in Paris, and works for the design agency
Aesthete also based in Paris with clients such as Lanvin, Yamamoto,
Cartier and Dior. She ordered a Studio Tote and Small Toolbag last spring
and sent shots of her bags in her Paris apartment, awaiting assignments!

My sister Char was leaving her house with her arms full of stuff one morning, her
Toolbag over one shoulder and across her chest - when she tripped over a
construction marker cord and did a perfect face-plant onto the flagstone walk.
The S.STEIN Toolbag was covered in dirt but broke her fall, saving her face
from untold facial and head injuries! We were able to clean it up
with several swipes of a wet sponge Char has a great boutique in
Santa Fe with a webisite: www.chardesigns.com

This is the Site-case of Alette Simons-Jeminez, a Miami based artist and art
dealer - this was a special order in black canvas with shade and lavendar.

Her gallery Artformz in Miami can be viewed here www.artformz.net

under the volcanos

a quick get-away to the lovely country of Nicaragua. We headed for the small
beach town of San Juan del Sur, (a surfer's paradise) and stayed in a great little
hotel La Posada Azul, which is a real haven for relaxation, and maybe even a
little work? (yes, they have internet!) We spent a night in the magical city of
Granada, where I took a shot of a light blue church in the last rays of the day.
The rock profile with cloud shadow - a physical phenomenon or just coincidence? hmmm....

photoshoot in MARFA - cast and crew

We traveled down to Marfa, Texas for four days in early September to shoot
a story for my new line of bags ( plus skirt and apron) for the new website and
catalog. Marfa is an incredible tiny town out on the plains of West Texas which
defies explanation - you actually just have to go there to understand the allure.
Part of the adventure was staying at the Thunderbird Hotel, shopping at the
Get Go, eating at the Food Shark, and visiting Chinati, home of Donald Judd
and Dan Flaven installations.

our multi-talented crew: photographer Peter Ogilvie, and assistant Bill Stengel,
stylists Lisa Neimeth and Char Vazquez - location scout Susan Bell, and
model and singer Kirstiann Bushman with boyfriend David Loughridge
(as her boyfriend in our story). Support staff was Cynthia Jones Stengel and
two month old Chloe. Our photo line-up is in front of a mural at the Riata
bar in Alpine Texas - Marfa and Alpine were the location for the 1956 movie
Giant starring James Dean, so artfully portrayed on his horse in this mural!

S.STEIN photo shoot in MARFA

Our story begins with our cool, adventurous girl driving into Marfa to see
what all the buzz is about, armed with her trusty Poloroid camera and guitar.
She checks into the Thunderbird Hotel, checks out the amazing architecture,
does her 'best James Dean' in a small cafe, views the Donald Judd art at Chinati,
plays her guitar in a local club, meets an artist, eats at the Food Shark and
pays a visit to the Prada store installation by Luke Warm....all with an
S.STEIN bag by her side.

The Marfa collection will be available about October 15th on my newly
designed website - each bag guaranteed to take you on a wild adventure!

check out Peter Ogilvie's photograpy at www.peterogilvie.com

new mexico summer

Summer is divine down here. My good friend Nancy Bauch
of White Forest Pottery came for a visit this month and we
headed up to Abiquiu to Ghost Ranch to collect rocks and
generally recharge our batteries. We took along a PROJECT
BAG from my collection, which was perfect for collecting.

the brower center in berkeley

if you happen to be in the Bay Area, check out the Brower Center in Berkeley,
new home for environmental groups and presently a show of Salgado photos.
This is a wonderful all-green building with many fascinating architectural details.
(bravo, Peter Buckley, who made this project happen!)

above the clouds in Ecuador

My sister Jude and her husband Mike live in Ecuador from January
to July each year, so this spring I traveled down to see them and
to check out the house they've built in the villiage of Canar. Jude
is a photo-journalist and writer - here's a link to the book she wrote
about Canar - "A year in the highlands of Ecuador"