I have not blogged here in WAY too long. Things have been busy with lots of projects, not the least of which is a green B&B on Cape Cod that I renovated and opened last year (check it out at www.woodsholeinn.com).

But enough about that! Let's talk bags -- where are they and what is going on? Whole Foods lifestyle store in West Hollywood still has them, and we sold them briskly on the CBS "Seen On" website especially when autographed by Jennifer Love Hewitt. She stars in "Ghost Whisperer" (CBS) and she is a fan of the bags, pushing to have them featured on the show and also on the CBS site. That was a very cool turn for Beth Colt bags. They were also for sale in Boston through my great friend Suki Bigham and will be for sale in Woods Hole this summer, because that's where I will be in two weeks.

But strange and cool things are afoot with this little brand that could. At first, when I started this business, I sold my bags mostly to friends. And my friends would tell me as they wandered the world that strangers stopped them and asked them, "Where did you get that bag?!" This was encouraging to me, even if my friend's were just being nice. But it turns out, they were not lying as in the last few months we have reached some strange critical mass where people just seem to come out of the woodwork desperately seeking a Beth Colt bag! They email me, they order them on my websote (www.bethcolt.com) and strangers have stopped me (albeit with a nametag at a conference) and said, "Are you THE Beth Colt?" Now this is odd to me, because while I always wanted to be, uhh, notorious for something, I never imagined it would be about colorful felted handbags.

So that's the story morning glory. All she wrote. I will be in Woods Hole all summer so come find me there. More bags to come in the fall, I promise:)

CBS.com -- Seen On CBS

Season premiere of GHOST WHISPERER on CBS friday october 3rd features a scene with Beth Colt handbags.

Signed versions of these bags will simultaneously be available on CBS.com "seen on CBS" -- check it out!

This is an exciting cross promotion where CBS is experimenting with luxury goods rather than just t-shirts and dvds. Fans of the line...take a look and see for yourself.

Ghost Whisperer

Exciting news for Beth Colt Bag fans -- the felted bag that has swept Los Angeles will be featured in this season's first episode of GHOST WHISPERER premiering on October 3rd on CBS at 8 pm.

Yes, in that first episode, Melinda (Jennifer Love Hewitt, seen at right) and Delia (Camryn Manheim) talk while unloading Beth Colt bags into their shop. And CBS has decided to sell the bags on their "Seen On" section of CBS.com! These will be limited editions of the bag, and some will be signed by cast members! Please log onto CBS.com in early October to check it out.

PK and I were invited to dinner at Love's house earlier in the summer and she is a) a great cook b) a really funny conversationalist and c) SUPER nice.

I love Love.

Wool is Sustainable and Eco-Friendly

I am totally committed to making my handbags eco-friendly and sustainable. This month, they are debuting at WHOLE FOODS, a company whose mission towards helping the planet I totally admire. They have this new LIFESTYLE store where they sell locally made, environmentally correct goods and they have choosen BETH COLT BAGS!

This is exciting.

I did a bunch of research for Whole Foods this week to be sure my sources were also up to their standards. I mean, I know my process is fair trade, local and environmentally correct... but what about the sources I use?

I discovered some interesting things. The vast majority of my wool comes from sheep that are grazed in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies. This US grown wool is then processed in a nearby plant that follows all US labor code and most workers there make more than minimum wage. As the owner told me, "We are getting more and more recognition for being a domestic company. It's more expensive but we support a large local economy. And as far as the great lives of our sheep, well I often say, I'd like to come back as one of them!"

I also use some wool imported from Peru, where the sheep are grazed in the Andes on family-owned farms, processed under fair trade standards and then imported to the US. And then I use a very small amount of mixed nylon and polymide yarns that are imported from Italy which has European labor standards.

So, I feel very comfortable in the fair treatment of both the animals and the people involved all the way down the chain in the making of a Beth Colt Bag.

Now that's good news!

Sam's Homemade Wrapping Paper.
My son Sam turned 7 today. He made this incredible paper in school. The color inspires me! I will be drafting my plans for next year's fall line with this in my heart. It's perfect.

holiday sale Nov 10 & 11

I am co-hosting a holiday boutique this Saturday and Sunday (November 10 and 11 from 10am to 5pm) in Hollywood which will feature my felted bags as well as jewelry by Arena Nevins, kids clothes and other really cool things.

Isn't it time to start your holiday shopping?

Beth Colt bags are totally unique and cool -- environmentally conscious (made here in LA from mostly wool which is sustainable), colorful, one of a kind...I am posting a few pictures (scroll to the bottom to see them) but please come and check it out as I have hundreds of styles!!

The boutique is at TINLARK Gallery (6671 Sunset Boulevard suite 1512) which is in the "Crossroads of the World" complex. There is ample street parking, or a pay lot off of Las Palmas.

My First Post

I am a serial felter and knitting enthusiast who manages to cram my design work around the edges of a busy life with kids, a husband and (god help me) a full time job. I have never met a craft I didn't love. I love to knit, felt, sew, cook, eat, hang out with my friends, entertain, talk politics, watercolor, swim, walk...I know those aren't all crafts, just wanted to get some basics out of the way :)

This is a recent picture of me in all my glory. It was taken by my friend Nancy Baker Cahill (a great artist) at a Tinlark Gallery opening in LA. I love artists. I am married to one, so that's a start. My husband is a writer for television (can we call that art? maybe not always but he is an artist nonetheless)-- he has written on shows like "Party of Five" and "Tarzan" and "Windfall" and most recently "Ghost Whisperer." He's a really great guy and I'm lucky to be married to him.

We have two boys in elementary school who bring me a LOT of joy (when they aren't driving me mad). I will share just one recent anecdote: I struggle with explaining to them the commercialism of day-to-day Los Angeles life -- starting with the crazy billboards we have to drive by every day. I mean really, Shuki International? What are they thinking? Or how about those "gentleman's club" ads -- now the people who respond to these ads are NOT gentleman, at least where I come from they aren't. Yesterday my son said as we drove to school: "Mummy, DON'T join the Women's Murder Club!" which made me laugh. I said, why do you ask and he said, "Well, they are advertising for members..." I guess he doesn't know that Angie Harmon solves murders on her ABC series -- he thought I might join up, which says a little about my parenting style. He thinks I'm capable of murder :) Don't worry, dear reader, I am not.

I am just launching a new website to sell my felted handbags. You can find it at bethcolt.com. I started felting a few years ago and became obsessed with how combining the colors was like painting and cooking at the same time -- you never knew how the bag would turn out after you felted it. Hundreds of bags later I can call myself a felting pro. I started selling them in local LA stores like Soolip (go Wanda Wen), Claire Joseph and Soto (Jodi Perlman rocks). Go to these stores if you live in LA -- each one is owned and run by locals and is filled with really great stuff!

As I walked around the world people kept asking me about my bags. They are really unique and they are vegan, sustainable, totally great for the environment and pretty too. People like my friend Jennifer Garner dug them, and Lauren Tom, and Marcia Gay Harden and others. The costume designer from MEN IN TREES called me and she put one on Emily Bergl in a episode last season. It's cool when people like them -- it makes me feel like my sensibility is appreciated by others.

Let me know what you think!