Bag lady: TT Coles unveils her latest creative venture

When pressed for a way to describe herself, TT Coles offers up the title “pop-up entrepreneur.” It’s a fitting label for a woman who, in the course of a few short years, has served as an acclaimed photographer and the owner of a vegan Popsicle company. These days, however, she’s thrown her energies into a wildly different role: the designer behind the new handbag line Baggage. Coles recently opened up to Slo*Mo about the inspiration for her latest endeavor, what drives her creativity and more.

On the birth of Baggage:

“I just recently learned how to sew, and one of the things that I do best is take something and run with it,” says the Pennsylvania native. “My first bag was horrible! But I was determined to make something I was proud of. … So [what started as] ‘maybe I can make a cute bag for myself’ [went] to ‘let me see what I can do with leather.’ … And almost immediately after that — because that’s how my mind works — I thought: ‘I could sell these.’”

On where her creativity comes from:

“There are things I’m gonna do in the future that I have no concept of right now. Once I get an idea in my head, I’ve already convinced myself I can do it … so then I run with it. I’m just a creative person. But right now my creativity has taken me to fashion.”

On Baggage’s near-term future:

“I am creating constantly because I have plans [to launch Baggage] by this March. I have my Etsy page up and running (search TTarice on Etsy.com) and then I’m gonna do a couple of trunk shows. I’m trying to creatively figure out how I’m gonna do this … but it’ll be interesting.”

For more info, follow TT Coles at: www.instagram.com/ttarice.