Mary Alison Handbags Review & Giveaway!

What girl doesn't love to accessorize? I recently came across a shop called Mary Alison Handbags on Etsy that offers a wide range of bags to help you do just that...accessorize! Mary Alison Handbags offers diaper bags/totes, clutches/handheld bags, small & sassy bags, chic shoulder bags, and slouch hobo bags. Besides Alison's premade bags, you can also request custom orders. To do this, find a bag style you like in Alison's shop, then take a look through all the fabrics she has available here. Send her a message with your choice of bag style and fabric and approximately 2-3 weeks later your custom bag will be ready for you to enjoy!

Alison enjoys spreading the word about her bags by offering purse parties in the Milwaukee area. Hosting a purse party is a great way to spend time with friends and earn a FREE Mary Alison Handbag (please contact Alison for more details).

Here is a bit more information about Alison and how she got started making handbags (This information is a direct quote and can also be located in her profile):

"I am Alison Wolf the designer and creator of these awesome bags. I am a stay at home mom with a love for creativity and fashion. What started as Christmas presents for my family and friends has escalated into my own business! My husband was the one who first encouraged me to sell them, even though I thought he was just being nice. :) I toyed with the idea for a while but it wasn't until I was home with my daughter full time that I really started pursuing selling my bags. Since I suddenly had more "time" being at home to sew, I thought I would give it a shot. My first craft fair was overwhelmingly successful which then turned into special orders, purse parties and now my own Etsy shop."

Review
Alison offered to send me one of her handbags to review. The one I received is very much like 'The Assemble' - brown multi' that is currently listed in her shop. The only difference is that mine had round metal handles instead of rope handles and mine doesn't have a magnetic closure.

Here's what Mary Alison Handbags had to say about this bag, "Add some pizzaz to your wardrobe with this funky handbag. Fun dark brown cotton material with colorful circle pattern. Large enough to fit just about everything. Fits comfortably under the arm." This bag includes 2 metal loop handles, 2 inside pockets, interfacing (which provides increased durability), and scotch guarding (to extend the life of your bag). This bag measures 19 inches long, 14 inches tall, and 4 inches wide.

Now onto what I thought about the bag. My first impression was that I loved the funky design. I usually go with solid color bags and purses so this was a nice, exciting change! Plus, the style was different than I am used to so I was looking forward to trying it out. While testing out this bag, I had numerous people comment positively on it and ask me where I got it.

Another thing I loved about this bag was the material. The material used to make this bag is very thick and durable, which makes me believe that this bag will last a very long time. Another benefit is that the material has been scotch guarded. Since I usually have to place my purse on the ground, this will make sure that my bag stays spot and stain free.

In addition, I really liked the overall size of this bag. I could easily fit everything I needed in it for my day. I also enjoyed the 2 inside pockets because they helped me to organize my 'stuff' a bit better. Because I love pockets, I'd like to see this purse with an extra pocket on the opposite side for future designs. This isn't needed but it would be a bonus!

Although I really like the style of the metal loop handles, it was a bit uncomfortable to carry over my shoulder. I think a thicker or flatter handle might eliminate that issue in the future. Because of that, I usually carried the bag in my hand, which worked well. Not having any type of closure for the bag was a bit difficult at times because I worry about losing things and I don't like people seeing what I have in my bag. I figure that a woman's bag is her personal place! After reading and looking through Alison's new bag, 'The Assemble', I think she addressed both of these issues; 'The Assemble' bag has a magnetic closure and a different type of handle. Finally, I looked through her entire store and I didn't see any bags with a metal handle, so this leads me to believe she strayed away from using them.

Overall, I really do like the bag. I like that it is fun, funky, durable and full of space! Would I buy a purse from Mary Alison Handbags in the future? Yes. I really like her styles because they are unique and I know her products are made with pride. I would be happy to have another Mary Alison Handbag in my closet!


What can you win? One winner will have the opportunity to design their own handbag! The winner of this giveaway will receive a Tendu handbag in their choice of fabric.


To enter,Visit the Mary Alison Handbags shop and look around. Then come back here and tell me the name of your favorite bag. This question must be answered to gain an entry in the giveaway.

Each of the following will give you one extra entry in the giveaway. Please make sure to leave a separate comment for each thing you do:
- Telling me the name of the fabric that you'd choose for your Tendu bag if you won. Pictures of all the fabrics available can be found here.
- Subscribing to my blog via email or RSS (Maximum of 1 entry - please tell me how you subscribe in your comment).
- Adding my button to your blog sidebar.
- Following me on Twitter (@ihchicky). Please leave your Twitter name.
- Following me on Blogger / Google Friends Connect (publicly).
- Tweeting about this giveaway (with a link to this page) on Twitter. Please leave a link to your tweet or your twitter name. You can do this once a day.

Enter to win a custom handbag from Mary Alison Handbags http://bit.ly/2mYqJC #giveaway

- Blogging about this giveaway on your blog. Please leave a link to your blog post in your comment. 3 ENTRIES! Please leave 3 separate comments if you blog about this giveaway.
- Talking about and linking to this giveaway in any public forum or on Facebook. If you do this, please leave your user-name and a link to the post. 3 ENTRIES! Please leave 3 separate comments if you blog about this giveaway.

Important Entry Details: The above entries (main and bonus) can only be submitted once per person (except for the tweet entry, which can be done daily). Please do not use more than one blogger account or add additional anonymous comments to gain extra entries. This is not fair to everyone else and this practice is strictly prohibited. If a person is found to be using more than one account to enter the same giveaway, they will be disqualified from that particular giveaway, as well as all future giveaways.

This giveaway will end on Friday, October 16th at 11:59pm (Central Standard Time). After the giveaway has ended, the winner will be picked randomly using random.org. EMAIL RULES: In order to win, you must provide a valid email. I will be notifying the winner by email only. Please make sure your blog profile includes your email address and make sure that it is visible. If you do not have a blogger account, please make sure you have included your email address in your post. If there is no email address provided, to contact the winner, another person will be chosen. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the winning email notification with their complete mailing address (I will be forwarding all this information to the sponsor), If this information is not received within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is open to residents of the US only.

Good Luck!

Would you like to purchase something from Mary Alison Handbags for yourself or as a gift? Receive FREE SHIPPING when you tell Alison in the notes to seller section during checkout that you heard about the offer from 'Everything Up Close'. Note: The shipping fee will be refunded via PayPal.