Local designer Amy Steele has won first place in the Independent Handbag Designer Awards. Her “Festival Belt Bag” was one of five finalists in the “Cutting Edge Bag” category sponsored by Nasty Gal.
Steele’s sketch was chosen from among 1,500 submissions by designers from 28 different countries.
"Winner winner chicken dinner! Oh man...what a night. Thanks everyone for all of your support and well wishes. I still can't believe it," Steele announced on her Facebook page.
See: North Bay handbag designer named awards finalist
This is the second time that one of her designs has been a finalist in the awards.
Although Amy does not have formal fashion training, she does come from a long line of talented sewers; her grandmother was a dressmaker and designer and her mother is an accomplished quilter, designer and teacher. Each Amy Steele bag is handmade in North Bay, in a studio overlooking Trout Lake.
