Friday, September 12, 2014

Vintage discontinued brands: Princess Gardner and Florida Keys Handbag, inc.


Here are some of the new vintage items available at Steamray and a history about the companies that made them way-back-when.


Princess Gardner 
Princess Gardner was a leather working company out of St Louis, Missouri. It was founded in 1955 and registered for the sale of "BILLFOLDS, KEY CASES, FRENCH PURSES, POCKET SECRETARIES". In 1966, This company was purchased by Swank, Inc. A new factory was built in 1978 to handle the budding popularity of Princess Gardner products.

Many of Swank, inc.'s products, including Princess Gardner, were available for sale at Belk stores. After a 5 year decline in sales, however, Swank, inc. ended it's contract with Princess Gardner in 1989. The company would, however, continue under their trademarked name until 1996, likely disbanding afterwards. 



 Florida Keys Handbag, inc.

This company was also known as the Original Florida Keys Handbag company. It was registered July 12,1976 as a for profit corporation. The now closed Florida Keys Handbag Factory was located at mile marker 91.5 (Tavernier). At one point the factory employed over 40 employees creating handbags to be sold in select locations along the Florida Keys and Florida's mainland.  One such place was Mademoiselle Fashion in Holiday, Florida.


The leather they manufactured with is the same material used to make boat seats which makes it both soft and durable. Each bag would be created by a designer and individually painted. The original seemstress was Rose Holbrook and the original designer was Bonnie Staryk.


The company, sadly, didn't last through the recession, but their factory can still be found on maps of the area as it used to be a bit of a tourist destination.


The tag included on this particular bag reads:

"The florida keys handbag story

What began as a hobby several years ago in a tiny island shop sewing yacht upholstry and marine goods... has resulted in The florida keys handbag
Heavy duty D-rings, cockpit-cuchion snaps, ship bunk's "Rot-gaurd" linings, hurricane-proof snail stitching, and weather-proof fabrics make the bag what it is!

The classic shape and handy features... combined with a seaworthy, heavy-duty marine fabric produces this popular andpractically  indestructible handbag. Simply wiping with a damp cloth keeps your bag fresh.

True... our small family company has been asked to sell to many large department stores. But we decided years ago to remain small, making each handbag a custom work of art - still; one at a time. Happy customers are our best salespeople.

So... from the productive hobby of Rose Holbrook, our original seamstress... and our first proud orders for personal handbags, to our growing custom handbag business today, the basic bag remains unchanged.

On our coral island, artist Bonnie Staryk sketches many original designs for you. The washable handpaintings which are richly embossed into the fabrics add that fashion bit of color.

You now own a florida keys handbag ... from small tropical islands, just 90 miles north of cuba and 70 miles south of florida - on the overseas highway to key west.


 a product of the florida keys, u.s."


https://www.etsy.com/shop/Steamray


3 comments:

  1. I worked as an artist for Rose and Henry Holbrook at the factory. I love painting these purses and would paint in the storefront shop, almost all the time. Customers could choose the fabrics textures, the color, the piping colors, and colors they wanted to be incorporated into the paintings. We would paint custom orders also, from pictures customers brought into the shop.

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    1. hi. I came to Tavernier in '44 and would like to start selling these hand bags again, if possible. are you available to talk? email, nampilot@cox.net

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  2. My first job was at the Tavernier store & factory when I lived in upper Keys 1989-92ish.We regularly gave tours(often by ��load!) and "special orders were the norm! The interaction with and enthusiasm of our customers made for fond memories ������‍�������� and having to shoo-sweep the �� before opening �� was a new experience! Truly sorry to hear about the closing �� It was a unique and popular Fla Keys stop.(I was looking for the perfume etc...guess ����?!) Thanks for the quick trip down memory lane,truly enjoyed! God bless y'all there!!!

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