April 15-21, 2004

cover story

In the Bag

Photo By: Michael T. Regan

by Debra Auspitz

Everybody loves a freebie, even celebrities.

That’s why the ubiquitous awards-ceremony gift baskets used to entice A-list presenters have become more and more elaborate, with businesses lining up to donate items.

Or, in the case of Philly-based handbag company Viv Pickle, you get involved by coincidence.

Pickle owner Susan Murphy's two-and-a-half-year-old business has steadily been gaining steam and celebrity recognition, with Scarlett Johansson stopping by Murphy's new location in Manhattan and folks like Tom Hanks and Ed Rendell lending their autographs to bags sold for charity. But nothing compares to Murphy's latest streak of luck.

Murphy produces her bags out of a studio in Old City near Front and Arch. She became friends with a neighbor in her building, who subsequently moved to L.A. and had a baby. A random conversation at the park revealed that another young mom was arranging the gift baskets for the Screen Actors Guild Awards and was in, well, a pickle. Her handbag supplier had backed out with the ceremony right around the corner. Murphy's friend quickly recommended Viv Pickle, and the rest is history. Now Murphy's bags and a $100 gift certificate are in the hands of Jennifer Garner, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Meryl Streep and many more. Murphy has gotten a few orders so far, mostly from assistants who are dodgy about which celeb they are shopping for.

The good news is, Murphy hasn't let a brush with Hollywood go to her head. Her ingenious business -- allowing women to purchase ready-mades or, through a simple process, design their own handbags, still offers wares to Philadelphians for extremely reasonable prices ($35-$65 for custom-mades, and even with premium fabrics, $55-$85). Murphy says her streamlined production process helps keep costs low and her prices have to pass her own personal test: "I know what I'm willing to pay for a handbag."

Murphy stumbled into her successful line of work after being laid off from her corporate job, turning what was once a hobby into a traveling business. She hosted "pickle parties" where groups of women would get together and design their own bags. By August 2002, she opened a boutique in Old City, and last September she expanded to New York. All of the bags are still made at her Old City studio.

As for the company's name, Murphy's nickname around the office was "Vivacious Pickle," a playful attempt by her employees to redefine what the "VP" in her title stood for. Post-corporate America, Murphy took the name with her.

The Old City boutique allows two options for customers. "If you come in looking for instant gratification," Murphy says, you can simply pick up one of many bags and wallets in a variety of shapes and colorful fabrics. Otherwise, Murphy takes you to a wall of hanging fabric samples. You pick a shape (anything from a long baguette clutch to a backpack to a beach bag), a fabric (a popular one right now is an adorable blue-and-yellow striped print with beach chairs and palm trees), a lining color from a Rolodex filled with samples, a strap material from a wooden slab with examples of each type and any extras you might want (zippers, pockets, fringe, etc.). Murphy measures you for a perfect strap length, and then you are on your way to having a unique handbag made just to your taste. "It's kind of like an a la carte system," Murphy says. You can also still have a pickle party, though Murphy is booked (with about five parties a week) through the end of the year.

If you're looking for more incentive to make yourself a new spring bag, visit Viv Pickle between May 1 and June 10. If you bring a "gently used" handbag, Murphy will donate the bag to Career Wardrobe, an organization that helps prepare welfare-to-work moms for their new careers, and give you a 20 percent discount.

Viv Pickle, 21 N. Third St., 215-922-5904.

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