Bogg Bags From Wyckoff Could Win Woman National Contest

WYCKOFF, NJ —Kimberlee Vaccarella could never find the right bag to take to the beach.

The bags her family used on their frequent trips to the Jersey Shore were either too small, wouldn't stand upright, or got filled with sand and were difficult to clean. So, she made a bag of her own.

Vaccarella is a Ridgewood native whose company, Twenty-Six Designs, is based in Wyckoff. She is one of 10 finalists in the UPS Store's Small Biz Challenge, a national contest that honors small business owners. The winner will receive $25,000.

Vaccarella and her husband got the inspiration for bags from Crocs shoes their kids had.

"We wanted a bag that would work," Vaccarella said. "We saw that the material they were made out of is what we needed, but we couldn't find it."

It took some time, but Vaccarella finally found a material that worked. She and her husband founded Twenty-Six Designs in 2008, but Bogg Bags did not come out until about seven years later. A former controller for a commercial real estate company, Vaccarella worked part-time for the first few years.

"In the last two years, it's just blown up," Vaccarella said. "We have people all over the world who love the bags."

Vaccarella also used 1,000 of bags to create packages for Superstorm Sandy victims at the Jersey Shore.

"That gave us a little spark," Vaccarella said. "We got emails from people saying the bags were the brightest spot of their day."

The top six vote-getters in the contest will move on to the finals. To vote for Vaccarella, or more information about the contest, click here.

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com