Dr. Maya Angelou once said, “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use it, the more you have.” Susan Jordan of Valrico would agree with Dr. Angelou because she uses her creativity to create beautiful purses made out of cigar boxes, which she calls ‘Humadorables.’
“I’ve always loved handbags and jewelry and had quite an extensive handbag collection before I started making my Humadorables,” Jordan said. “I was at a party one night and there was a friend at my table that had a stunning cigar box purse. I went home and dreamt about it and couldn’t stop thinking about it. My husband, Robert, said, ‘Why don’t you just make one,’ so I made 10, then 20, then 100 cigar box purses, and at that point decided to start selling them. A common reaction to these darling little cigar box purses was, ‘That’s adorable!’ So, I named my business Humadorables by Susan.”
She recently expanded her business to offer men’s products as well.
“I now make cigar box valets for the guys too,” Jordan said. “They have ornate feet, knobs and are lined in black velvet. These are perfect for a dresser, desk, bookcase or bar and make great groomsman gifts and guy gifts in general.”
All of the cigar box purses are lined and finished. Most have beaded handles, tassels and are adorned with recycled brooches and or paper mache images.
“I do lots of custom designs for my clients, and the sky’s the limit,” Jordan said. “The cigar boxes are found locally and the job of finding the boxes is one of her favorite parts of the job. I’m enamored by cigar boxes and some of them are gorgeous before I ever get my hands on them.”
Her inspiration comes from fashion, jewelry and whatever beauty she finds in everyday life. She dreams about what kind of cigar bags she’ll do next and has a long list of ideas and gets great ideas from her clients as well.
Jordan believes strongly in shopping local and keeping things local.
“The importance of shopping small and local is a big deal to me and I try to buy from local artists and local businesses,” Jordan said. “Artists and friends helping each other out is never a bad thing.”
To learn more about Humadorables by Susan or to purchase one of her purses, visit her website at www.humadorablesbysusan.com.
