Hand bags with lights built into them for when you are out.
Hand bags with lights built into them for when you are out.
This is a familiar story:
You open your bag to look for your phone, a pen, glasses, keys, wallet, tickets, contact book — but all is swallowed in darkness.
Finally, and fortunately for women everywhere, one woman thought: this simply isn't good enough and came up with two brilliant ideas: one was to put a light switch inside the bag so all its "secrets" would be revealed and the other was to add lights outside the bag for a funky and daring effect which no Aussie has yet seen.
Violet Reusch, a Sydney resident who once lived in Germany, toyed with the "light in the bag" idea for a couple of years and overcame personal setbacks before finally biting the bullet and making it happen.
"Any woman would want a bag with a light inside," Violet said. "It's so frustrating having to forage for items inside dark-lined bags, especially at night. For two years I thought about how it was possible to place a light in the bags, and who could do this for me," she said.
So Violet went to the Canton Fair in China to look for a bag maker.
"I had a small, good quality leather bag made, but when it came to placing the light inside, I was told 'We are bag makers, not electricians.' I then sourced electrical people to show the bag maker how to install the light. When the first bag was finished the bag maker called me at 10 that night, wanting to see me urgently. I immediately thought there was a problem. But, on the contrary. He was so thrilled with the results he could not wait until the following day to show me the prototype."
Violet returned to Australia and got a patent. She was well on her way to making a bag light up the way a fridge lights up when you open its door.
"At the moment you need to push a small button to turn on the light which is battery operated," Violet said. "Soon I will devise a system which will make the light come on automatically, as soon as you open the bag."
Violet believes her concepts will revolutionise the bag industry.
"To date bag makers have focused on the outside appearance of bags, neglecting the interior," she said. "All my designs are unique and different from what is on the market. My bags are beautiful, original and, most importantly, practical."
But not only has she come up with an interior light to make bag contents more accessible, some of her bag designs also feature an "outside" light phenomenon.
"Some of my bags have outside lights which are used as pipping and can even vibrate to attract attention. These are especially designed for nightclub fans and evening bags," Violet said. "It's a fabulous talking point. It's such a funky and fun feature."
■ Details: Call 0422 588 477 or visit violetcollections.com for up-coming products, or email: violet@violetcollections.com.
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