Artists ~ Kent Stetson ~ Providence

Artist’s name: Kent Stetson
Business name: Kent Stetson Handbags
Location: Providence, RI
Website: Kentstetson.com
Facebook: Kent Stetson Handbags


1. Tell us about your work.  When I was a student at Brown, I recall a professor mentioning in passing by during a critique of my work that I made "nice wall decorations". This comment really upset me at the time, but a couple years after I graduated I remember thinking about the way that I was framing my fine art. Instead of putting a piece in a picture frame, I decided to make a handbag out of it. I sold this piece to the first person I showed it to. I made several more bags, which were intended to be more sculptural than functional, but people insisted on using them. In a small way, I think that I have helped to cultivate a new kind of art-buyer- someone who may have a great appreciation for unique and artistic work, but may value the functional component of the bags I make and their element of interaction.

via Kent Stetson Handbags on Facebook

2. How did you come to be a professional artist/crafter? By several twists of fate, I ended up going to the World Shoe Association show in February of 2008. While I was there, I showed some samples to various buyers and was able to find representation with a showroom based in Los Angeles. Several weeks later I had sales orders from Nordstrom, Fred Segal Rocks, Patricia Fields, and numerous other exclusive retailers throughout the US and Asia. All during this time, I was managing a large real estate investment portfolio in the Providence area. I filled my orders all by hand, without hiring any assistance, and at the same time continued my "real job". I took on management of a large amount of work in my career field, and as the economy slumped, orders tapered off. This past May, I had a catharsis one day and decided that I was done with my career. I immediately started making bags and art, and entered craft shows and independent markets. Almost immediately the response was overwhelming. I made a conscious effort to focus on selling bags directly to end users, and limiting the amount of energy I had previously put into my wholesale and online business.

3. Where do you draw your inspiration? I try to draw inspiration from life. The day I quit my job back in May I went out and purchased a hammock. Lying in my hammock trying to sort out the major life decision I had just made, I took a photograph of the sky. This photograph became the basis for a pattern from which I made a bag. Toy cars, googly eyes, fabrics, and materials I encounter manifest themselves into bag designs. I try to create bags from the unexpected- which generates designs that are authentic and convey a sense of humor.

via Kent Stetson Handbags on Facebook

4. What’s your favorite item to make? I love to make things that I have never seen before. Anything that is the result of the process of discovering how to translate materials into a design that can create a unique experience for it's owner is what ultimately captivates my interest.

5. What’s your best seller? The form that sells best for me is a tri-fold envelope clutch. The bag that got me into major retailers was made from thick crocodile-embossed patent leather with 18-inch gold chain fringe dangling from the bottom. I play around with proportion using this basic design- sometimes exaggerating the dimensions or making the flap asymmetrical, creating fabrics for the lining that relate to the image on the outside (one bag has apples on the outside and a print of snakes on the inside).

via Kent Stetson Handbags on Facebook

6. How long have you been in Rhode Island? I came to Brown University as an undergraduate in 1997, and stayed here upon graduating.

7. What do you {heart} about Rhode Island? I love the anecdotes that arise from coming from such a small place- the feeling that we are all only one degree of separation from each other, the colorful politics and public figures, the amusing attitudes, the thick native accent, the endlessly entertaining subject of the weather, oysters, and the seemingly infinite space between two points that are more than a 10 minute drive from each other.

8. Please include anything else you’d like to add: What I do is ultimately about relationships. I aspire to be the kind of designer whose work you cannot find online or in a store- to generate the kind of business that is based on sharing an experience, and passing what I have made along to the person who is going to use it- seeing what I make going to a good home where it is going to be appreciated and make people happy.