Woman Brings Fashion to Fenton

Fenton may not be known as a fashion mecca, but Julie Lindsay is excited about the new home for designer handbags.

Lindsay moved to Fenton from Montrose two months ago and has brought her high-fashion operation with her.

“I love the small-town feel,” said Lindsay, who is married with two children who are attending . “I’m a lot closer to Detroit, where I do a lot of business. I love it so far.”

Her designer handbags are growing in popularity, and she plans to produce her line from her new Fenton home. Her designs include a lot of Italian leather pieces and can range from $700 for handbags with suede linings to simple clutches that cost around $200.

Lindsay’s work has recently received recognition, but in the cutthroat world of fashion, Lindsay said it’s not always easy to get noticed.

She said her love of sewing and fashion helped her push through the tough times and gave her a start to her blossoming career.

“My grandma used to sew for a lot of people, and that’s want got me into it,” Lindsay said. “I just starting making things, like my prom dress, and kept going from there.”

Lindsay was struggling to get noticed in 2005 when she unknowingly sold one her bags to an InStyle magazine employee at an Artisans Market in Ann Arbor. She then received a call from magazine officials who wanted to run her handbag in a series called “What’s Hot Now.”

The magazine featured her piece, and since then, she’s even randomly spotted a model holding her handbag while flipping through another fashion publication.

“That was my first big break,” Lindsay said. “I knew I had to be prepared to have a lot more bags made.”

Business picked up, Lindsay said, adding that it was hard at first to keep up, because her handbags aren’t exactly sent down the assembly line. Each bag is handmade.

She plans to set up production in a 2,800-square-foot pole barn behind her Fenton home in the spring.

During peak production, she hires three to five people to help put the bags together on industrial sewing machines. Lindsay does all of the sampling and custom orders herself. 

At first, her computer couldn't handle the first influx of business. “I was really excited, and it was a huge thrill,” she said. “We had a lot of orders coming in. I was a 'nobody' designer, and it opened a ton of doors.”

One of those doors was a Fashion in Detroit 2010 show with swimwear designer Trisha Geftos of Michigan-based Geftaki Swimwear.

Lindsay said she could hardly contain her excitement when officials asked her to be part of the event.

“I never imagined I would get a break like that,” she said. “I’ve put in a lot of hard work, but it takes some luck to make it in this business.”

Geftos said Lindsay’s handbags were a perfect complement to her swimwear.

“They're gorgeous,” Geftos said. “They have a very unique rock star quality.  She pays close attention to detail, and you can tell in every bag.”

Even though the show was a first for Lindsay, Geftos said she handled it like an experienced professional.

“You would have never known it was her first fashion show,” she said. “We had a great time. It’s a hard business to break into, and it'ss nice to have someone from your home state with the same drive and inspiration.”

Lindsay is on track to have another big break later this year, as she said one of her bags will be carried by Kristin Chenoweth in the movie Family Weekend. She said another character in the film will also be armed with one of her handbags.

“I still can’t believe it,” Lindsay said.

Lindsay has previously tried showrooms in New York and Los Angeles, but said she likes taking and filling her own orders more.

Her handbags are available online at julielindsay.com and also in two Michigan stores, in Birmingham and Dressed L'Esprit in Harbor Springs, as well as in a handful of other stores across the country.

While she has received a few breaks, Lindsay, who is currently designing her fall line, said the business isn’t always glamorous.

“There’s parts of the industry I don’t like," she said. "But I love it. It’s my passion, and that keeps me going through rough patches.

“I made it through, and I’m still going strong.”