What is Jo's Bags?
My mother is a breast cancer survivor. During those trying times of surgery, treatment, reconstruction and recovery she decided that she must focus on something enjoyable to her to distract from the constant worry about her condition. Realizing that worry would not help, she began sewing. She had worked on sewing projects when she had time. Now it seemed she had the time, but no projects. She began making purses and tote bags. Treatment and recovery seemed slow. But sewing got faster. She made hundreds of purses and totes. Not wanting to take time to sell them, she began giving them away to friends and family.
About once a month I would get a package from her - a box of purses. They were great purses and totes. I decided that they looked like a fun project and started making them. My daughter became interested and has made them also.
Well, things were going nicely until my husband said "I can't believe what our monthly fabric and thread costs have become. Please find a way to pay for all this fabric in the future." Realizing he was right, I began placing a fee on the bags to help pay for materials and people began helping with the material costs.
This is not now nor will it ever be a business for me and I keep it small. But it does permit me to buy fabric and continue my hobby. For that, I am always grateful for your help. That is why most orders can be custom orders on purses and totes with different print patterns on the outside and inside.
My mother is doing much better. However, she has taken so much personal pride in her purses that she finds she is unwilling to part with them. She still gives away about 10-15 a month, but cannot part with her "private collection" (about 500 purses). They are excellent!
The ripstop REUSABLE GROCERY/SHOPPING bags are an entirely different matter. Recently, a nearby community began charging 20 cents per plastic bag (city ordinance) to slow the use of the bags. I made an attempt to purchase bags and found canvas totes and other designs. But most were heavy and cumbersome. Almost all bags seemed to cost about $15 when you included shipping. But they were not really what I wanted. Our REUSABLE GROCERY/SHOPPING bags have FREE shipping if you order 5 or more. I also tried the paper mesh bags from the grocery store. At .99 I thought they were a bargain. As it turns out, they are not. DO NOT carry cold items (such as milk, vegetables or ice cream) in these paper mesh 99 cent bags. We have humidity here and the condensation on the bottle will soften the paper and it will not make it to the refrigerator.
That is why we are here. But it is important that we all start using reusable shopping bags. Where you get them is not important. A little search on the internet will bring out startling facts relating to the massive use of plastic bags and their impact on our economy and the environment. Some of the environmental impact information is also listed on our Reusable Shopping Bag page. We hope we have the opportunity to help you.
Thank You, Jo
We are located in Kansas City, Missouri and Branson, Missouri. All shipments are made from Kansas City and are shipped via USPS Priority Mail service.
Shipping to locations other than the continential United States may require special provisions and increased shipping costs.
To contact us, please go to the CONTACT Page.
To order bags, please go to the ORDER Page.
About once a month I would get a package from her - a box of purses. They were great purses and totes. I decided that they looked like a fun project and started making them. My daughter became interested and has made them also.
Well, things were going nicely until my husband said "I can't believe what our monthly fabric and thread costs have become. Please find a way to pay for all this fabric in the future." Realizing he was right, I began placing a fee on the bags to help pay for materials and people began helping with the material costs.
This is not now nor will it ever be a business for me and I keep it small. But it does permit me to buy fabric and continue my hobby. For that, I am always grateful for your help. That is why most orders can be custom orders on purses and totes with different print patterns on the outside and inside.
My mother is doing much better. However, she has taken so much personal pride in her purses that she finds she is unwilling to part with them. She still gives away about 10-15 a month, but cannot part with her "private collection" (about 500 purses). They are excellent!
The ripstop REUSABLE GROCERY/SHOPPING bags are an entirely different matter. Recently, a nearby community began charging 20 cents per plastic bag (city ordinance) to slow the use of the bags. I made an attempt to purchase bags and found canvas totes and other designs. But most were heavy and cumbersome. Almost all bags seemed to cost about $15 when you included shipping. But they were not really what I wanted. Our REUSABLE GROCERY/SHOPPING bags have FREE shipping if you order 5 or more. I also tried the paper mesh bags from the grocery store. At .99 I thought they were a bargain. As it turns out, they are not. DO NOT carry cold items (such as milk, vegetables or ice cream) in these paper mesh 99 cent bags. We have humidity here and the condensation on the bottle will soften the paper and it will not make it to the refrigerator.
That is why we are here. But it is important that we all start using reusable shopping bags. Where you get them is not important. A little search on the internet will bring out startling facts relating to the massive use of plastic bags and their impact on our economy and the environment. Some of the environmental impact information is also listed on our Reusable Shopping Bag page. We hope we have the opportunity to help you.
Thank You, Jo
We are located in Kansas City, Missouri and Branson, Missouri. All shipments are made from Kansas City and are shipped via USPS Priority Mail service.
Shipping to locations other than the continential United States may require special provisions and increased shipping costs.
To contact us, please go to the CONTACT Page.
To order bags, please go to the ORDER Page.