This invertible “body bag”, for picnic supplies or hands-free city trips, is one of the original handbags Ivy Mangan has crafted to stock her new store. The Simply Ivy boutique, at 957 State Street, holds its grand opening Friday.
“I’ve been a seamstress all my life.” Though Mangan has never had a store of her own, she’s kept with the craft all along, alongside day jobs in banks. “Even when I was working with Fleet Bank, I was making bags as a stress reliever.” When the company merged and she stopped working there, she debated her next step.
“I was going to go back to Jamaica, buy a piece of land and raise some chicken. Then the store came up through my niece and here I am!” She was planning to sell the meat to KFC’s and fried chicken shops. But, “You plan something and God has a different plan for you. I was really going to do it.”
So she crafted a roomful of handmade bags for the shelves of the small, sun-filled store. Each one is different and signed in thread. Bright fabrics are decorated with “whatever I think of” —‚Äù shells, bamboo handles, bows —‚Äù tailored for everything from weddings to the beach. “I never know how a bag is going to end up. Inspiration comes from all different kinds of ideas. Honestly I don’t know until I sit down.”
She sits down, grabs some fabric, and invents. “Working out all the steps and intricacies” can prove difficult. She pointed to a denim-colored purse (pictured). “This one kicked my butt.”
Mangan learned the craft from her mother as a child in Jamaica. “My mother was a seamstress. Back in those days, you always learned a skill in the summer.” She moved to the U.S. from Jamaica 30 years ago, following her sister. Now her family is rooted in New Haven. She never expected to set up shop on State Street, but she’s already made visits to neighboring vendors and procured some interest before the big opening day.
The shop caught Veronica Segarra’s eye as she stopped in for Chinese food across the street. She ended up with a couple pairs of new earrings. “I’m really into jewelry and accessories.”
The store will be open Wed. to Sat. from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The grand opening, complete with ribbon-cutting, is Friday, April 21 at 11 a.m. The opening celebration continues Saturday from 4 p.m. to
7p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.