Grab your cup of tea and settle in for a fun little Q&A! If you would like to shop their collection of beautiful handbags and accessories than you can do so here. Be sure to follow their sweet account on Instagram here too! They have the best posts and I have so much fun watching their stories!
How did Sassy Sparrow come to be?
In November of 2011, our lovely mother decided we needed to find something useful that we could all do together. One day she was talking to a wonderful woman from our church who had previously had a successful purse business. She then offered to teach us everything she knew about the business and suddenly, presto, the Sassy Sparrow was born!
It’s always a little different with each bag, but most of the time we leave it up to however inspiration strikes! What we've discovered is that when we try to design something on command to fill a need or a hole in our line, it just comes out forced. So we’ve learned to leave things alone and just let the inspiration come in its own time. In practice it looks like this: someone randomly has an idea, draws and measures it out, takes it to other people to get feedback, adjusts the idea accordingly then takes it to the sewing room and spends a solid few hours working out a mock-up. Basically if it’s an idea that the designer loves, its pretty much sure to turn out!
Yes and no. Over the years we've switched around jobs a great deal, gradually settling into what we all know we're best at. The beauty of having a business made of five sisters, is that the roles can be pretty flexible and different girls can work in different jobs in different seasons. Right now, Hannah is pretty busy with two daughters of her own but fills in wherever there's a need, whether its snipping, shipping, or decision making! Lydia is our main sewer, leather worker, and hardware lady. She's also the head of shipping! Grace is in charge of the manufacture of the specialty leather bags like the Debussy, and loves working out new leather designs! Leah is our social media manager/scheduler/planner extraordinaire who keeps us all on track! Naomi fills in at home with lots of cooking and cleaning, and baking cookies, which keeps us all running! And our mom is the mastermind behind it all who keeps all the plates spinning and inspires us daily.
We love pretty much anything that lets us spend time together. We love taking day trips to go hunting through thrift shops for vintage finds, or days at home where we spend all day in the kitchen baking goodies while simultaneously watching movies. We also have relaxation down to a science though, and it basically involves an evening spent in our pajamas drinking tea and watching pretty much any movie that involves women in poofy dresses.
Can you share a little bit about your process of
creating and designing purses?
creating and designing purses?
Does everyone have a unique and specific role in the business?
Yes and no. Over the years we've switched around jobs a great deal, gradually settling into what we all know we're best at. The beauty of having a business made of five sisters, is that the roles can be pretty flexible and different girls can work in different jobs in different seasons. Right now, Hannah is pretty busy with two daughters of her own but fills in wherever there's a need, whether its snipping, shipping, or decision making! Lydia is our main sewer, leather worker, and hardware lady. She's also the head of shipping! Grace is in charge of the manufacture of the specialty leather bags like the Debussy, and loves working out new leather designs! Leah is our social media manager/scheduler/planner extraordinaire who keeps us all on track! Naomi fills in at home with lots of cooking and cleaning, and baking cookies, which keeps us all running! And our mom is the mastermind behind it all who keeps all the plates spinning and inspires us daily.
What do you girls do for fun?
We love pretty much anything that lets us spend time together. We love taking day trips to go hunting through thrift shops for vintage finds, or days at home where we spend all day in the kitchen baking goodies while simultaneously watching movies. We also have relaxation down to a science though, and it basically involves an evening spent in our pajamas drinking tea and watching pretty much any movie that involves women in poofy dresses.
What are some of your favorite books and films?
I think we can all agree on Pride and Prejudice (but which version?). Seriously though, we love pretty much all period dramas. I think we’ve seen every single version of Jane Eyre but the Mia Wasikowska version is definitely best. We’re also (unfortunately) marvel nerds. We have a special weak spot for Cinderella, Star Wars, and Brooklyn...in other words, it’s all over the place! As far as books, we love the classics, anything Bronte or Austen, or books like North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, WWII novels, sprinkled in with what we like to call “fluff” I.e. the lighthearted stuff!
What is it like owning a family business?
It’s... complicated. It can be fun and exciting, scary and exhausting, and overwhelming yet rewarding all at the same time. And totally worth it. We have had so many adventures and met so many amazing unique people while taking this road less traveled. Whenever we get tired and frustrated all we have to remember is that we get to do this amazing creative job at home (in our pajamas most of the time) working with the people we love most in the world instead of a 9-5 and it makes it all seem worth it!
If you girls could travel anywhere in the world
where would you go?
Ireland, Scotland, Italy, basically, a grand tour of Europe is all we’re asking for. We haven’t been able to travel much internationally yet but it’s something we’ve always dreamed of doing!
Hannah
Lydia
Grace
Leah
Naomi
What are some random fun facts about each of you in age order?
Pam (otherwise known as mom): our mom is obsessed with the card game skip-bo. Everyone else thinks it’s the most boring game you could possibly play but she still always manages to get somebody to play it with her. She’s magic like that.
Hannah: you could bribe Hannah to do pretty much anything if you offered her homemade pasta or cheesecake. Seriously, anything.
Lydia: Lydia’s nickname is Black Eyed Susan and we think she most resembles a beautiful mix of Snow White and our Cherokee great great grandmother.
Grace: is our resident piano maestro. She’s currently attending college on a piano performance scholarship and has strangely enough mastered the art of playing the piano upside down. She is also the most undramatic of us all, unless it’s hot outside.
Leah: Leah’s wit keeps us in our toes and in stitches as well as sometimes making us want to throw up with her incredibly wacky “Would You Rather?” scenarios.
Naomi: Among us all, Naomi is the most likely to seamlessly fit into the life of a pioneer woman. Her dream life involves gardening, raising goats and other assorted farm animals, mastering sourdough bread (she’s well on her way), and having a bajillion beautiful little children. Oh, and a husband too.
Hope you enjoyed getting to know Sassy Sparrow and the amazing women behind this fabulous brand! Be sure to follow along on their adventures (here) and show them some love!
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