 Kerry Stansfield |
In 1997 I took a hiatus from my job in the corporate world of high finance, purchased a small truck with a canopy cover, put a wee bed in back and facing east into the wind, meandered the back roads of Canada for four months. In a small seaside town in Nova Scotia I placed a phone call to my office in Vancouver and quit.
The question became'now what?
I was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta but have spent a goodly portion of my life in Vancouver, B.C. It occurred to me that I have an affinity for all things Western, no doubt garnered from my early years amidst the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, quietly soaking up the cowboy way. The Calgary Stampede, horses, hay bales, grain elevators, prairie dogs and cowboy boots.
Thinking of cowboy boots triggered something in my brain as I have always appreciated a fine pair of footwear in any guise.
Eventually the road led me to Oklahoma where I learned the difficult art of cowboy boot making. The original plan was to open a custom boot shop in Alberta but in the end I discovered, I didn't really enjoy boot making. Contemplating this unanticipated turn of events forced me to think of alternatives to use my skills and aesthetic sensibilities.
Experimenting with different leathers, patterns and hardware I forged a new medium to apply my artwork. I created two different hand bag styles. One is executed in the same manner as making a cowboy boot top. The other is a dainty hand held bag with a fifties feel. I am mostly inspired by traditional and retro cowboy and western themes as well as cocktail nation kitsch from the Eisenhower era.
The leather I use is Italian kid skin which comes in a wide variety of brilliant colors that are key to my design ideas.
My purses have been featured in:
- 2004 January "Ottawa Citizen Newspaper" (Canada)
- 2004 July "Calgary Herald Newspaper" (Canada)
- 2003 December Issue "Cowboys and Indians Magazine" (U.S.)
- 2003 "Western Design Conference" Cody, Wyoming Designer runway fashion show
- 2003 Spring Issue "Avenue Magazine" (Canada)
- 2003 July "The 'A' Channel Big Breakfast" (Canada)
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BUCKAROO BAGS
Kerry Stansfield
Penticton, B.C.
Phone: (250) 492-2129
E-mail: buckaroobags@shaw.ca
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