With dedication and a passionate spirit, Kelli D. Turner has turned her dream into reality with Kelli Diane Designs. She creates handbags for us based on her extensive history of loving and often buying every sort of purse she could afford (which is not always exactly easy when you’re in college and living on Ramen Noodles – I know this). But like any woman knows, as you get older your craving for quality increases. Turner realized that she wanted to spend her time doing something she had a genuine passion for doing. Enter, her love affair with bags! Merging fashionable vision with care, Turner makes handbags to covet. (Especially like the charmingly classic Uptown Hobo in brown, seen above.)
Merging fashionable vision with care, Turner makes handbags to covet.
The She’s Smart Appeal: It’s probably not a MAJOR surprise for you all to learn that I love all sorts of purses – from big bags to clutches. I pretty much want them all! I even once bought a shockingly bright patent leather lavender hobo bag with special trim that I almost never carried around, but still loved seeing on my wall-o-purses. Now, clutches are are great purse option because they’re big enough just for the essentials (my essentials include: ibprofin to ward off my constant headaches, Burt’s Bee’s Honey Lip Balm, tiny bottles of lotion from haute hotels I haven’t visited but my sisters have, a click-top pen and a mini notebook a la Harriet the Spy).
Another thing I like about clutches is that they really let you accessorize how you want because they are small enough to be like little pieces of art. In this case, the red is awesome because while you might not always want to carry a big red bag, a smaller red clutch not only can match anything but also provides a nice pop of sophisticated color. You could wear a chic black dress and then have an accent piece like red heels and then carry this clutch – it’d look very posh.
I received the Sheyla Clutch in red from Kelli Diane Designs to review. Packaged along with it was an reusable eco-friendly bag and T-shirt – both with the super-cute Kelli Diane Designs logo that features wings.
The She’s Smart Pro’s: Right away I notice that the clutch has that fabulous leather smell that reminds me of being in shopping centers and walking through the handbag sections. We react to that scent well, don’t we? Hehe. The red color used for the clutches is a rich, deep red. If it was more of a Fire Engine red I wouldn’t like it nearly as much. Color choice is important! It has a removable wrist strap and comes with a little silver tag with the Kelli Diane logo that I found it to be a sweet little touch to make it stand out. Ask anyone in the fashion industry – the details and small touches are what often make or break something.
Zippering open the clutch goes smoothly which is a relief, since that’s not the case with every purse. The inside is lined with a almost whimsical-in-feel bandanna pattern, and has a logo tag as well as a surprisingly generous zippered compartment.
It’s the perfect size to hang on your wrist or carry in one hand. Ideal for when you are going to a a concert – I’d say this works for just about any type of event where you’ll be busy but still need some crucial items like money and your very favorite Clinique lipgloss. And you can easily incorporate putting this clutch inside of another purse if you are in a hurry.
The t-shirt is super cute and has a bit of a V-neck. The shopping bag looks and feels very durable and I’ll be using it to carry library books since I’m always getting so many things from the library – heh!
The She’s Smart Con’s: It’s difficult to pick what color of a purse you want, when they offer all of those choices. I have a very difficult time making up my mind when it comes to picking between a couple different things I really like! What? That IS a problem!
I can’t actually find any flaws with this – no frayed thread or anything. When holding it, something just feels SPECIAL – because it is from a very special designer (don’t call me hokey!).
The She’s Smart Bottom Line:There’s simply something special about having a piece by a designer not everyone knows about just yet, you’re secure enough with to take anywhere, and that you adore. This covers all three bases.
From reading Kelli’s story on her website, I know how much she loves purses and she’d never put anything out that wasn’t up to her high standards. When people say cheesy things like “these cookies were made with love as the special ingredient” that’s kind of like these purses. The passion is the extra bit that means there’s distinctive care taken with them. Without passion, a company can only do a sub par job. With passion, there is no limit to how far they’ll go. Become a part of Kelli’s life and story by being a proud owner of one of her creations.
Shop the site: Kelli Diane Designs. Just in time for the holidays, they are offering 10% off each purchase when customers enter promo code: HOLIDAYKD at checkout. Good until December 15th. In addition, they offer free shipping on purchases over $100 dollars with the promo code: FREESHIPKD.
Giveaway: ONE WINNER (1) will receive the Shelya Clutch in red, worth $39.99.
IMPORTANT! You must be a subscriber of the She’s Smart daily newsletter to be a verified winner for any contests on our site. You can subscribe via a link on our right sidebar. Winners will be checked, if you win but are not a subscriber with a validated e-mail you forfeit your prize! That’s no fun!
Mandatory First Entry – Shop Virtually!: E-mail shescontests@gmail.com with your name/address and the name of an item from Kelli Diane Designs you’d really like to buy (other than what is offered in the contest). Please note that you’re a Shes’s Smart newsletter subscriber, or subscribe at this time. Your e-mail subject line should be: Kelli Diane
Additional Entry #1 Tweet!: E-mail shescontests@gmail.com with your name/address and your Twitter name so we can see if you’re following She’s Smart on Twitter , and provide a link to you tweeting about this contest with the phrase “Kelli Diane Designs Contest”. Not sure how to show a link to a tweet? Just click on the date and it’ll provide you with the individual tweet you made. Please note that you’re a Shes’s Smart newsletter subscriber, or subscribe at this time. Your e-mail subject line should be: Kelli Diane
Additional Entry #2 Stumble!: E-mail shescontests@gmail.com with your name/address and your StumbleUpon name – stumble this page or site. Please note that you’re a Shes’s Smart newsletter subscriber, or subscribe at this time. Your e-mail subject line should be: Kelli Diane
Additional Entry #3 Blog!: E-mail shescontests@gmail.com with your name/address and provide a link to a blog post you’ve written about this contest of at least 100 words. This can be a blog hosted anywhere – blogspot, livejournal, etc. Your e-mail subject line should be: Kelli Diane
Additional Entry #4 Blogroll us!: E-mail shescontests@gmail.com with your name/address and provide a link to a blog where you’ve put us on your blogroll. This can be a blog hosted anywhere – blogspot, livejournal, etc. Your e-mail subject line should be: Kelli Diane
USA residents 18+ only, no P.O boxes. Winner chosen by random.org. The winner(s) will be e-mailed. The winner is picked on December 4th, 2009!
Good luck to all of you smart ladies, and have a sparkling day of genuine smiles. You deserve it. XO – Jessica Rae
(YesIHaveAMajorCrush.) But what kind of fun sneakers can you come up with? I found six pairs I think are cute.
