In my search for a new bag, I stumbled on The Counterfeit Crochet Project. Too, too cool. Created in 2006 by Stephanie, a San Francisco visual artist, the project has since expanded to include knitters, weavers and sewers too! It has even been made into an art exhibition and in 2007 traveled to Manila, Beijing and Istanbul. Here's a pic of one contributors "Gucci" purse in progress:

Project creator, Stephanie, says, "It all started out as a lark--could I hand crochet a designer bag? And if so, would it look...good? Or bad? Does it matter what it looks like in the end, or is the attempt at the interpretation important? Would I be embarrassed wearing such a blatantly homemade knock-off bag? Is it like when your mom handmade your clothes when you were little because you couldn't afford new ones? Or would people--in a weird way--believe it was "real" because it had the logo on it. I wondered about all these things and more."

Above, a finished "Dolce & Gabbana" lookalike. Check out the Project's site for a great photo gallery, information on upcoming events and details on how to sign up and join the project. I think I might just have to take up crochet and give one of these bags a go!

Eileen