Sometimes, when it comes to your vocation, you have to make gutsy decisions. Eda Atay Pastirmaci knows best. Born inĀ Istanbul, Atay Pastirmaci earned a BA in Electrical & Electronics Engineering, and a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Kingston University, UK and had worked more than five years in technology and consulting. All this to say that her decision to transition into sewing wasn’t taken lightly.
Now based in Seattle, she founded her own handbag brand, Boejack Design, in 2011, specializing in bags that combine art and fashion. āBefore Boejack Design, I had a very boring engineering career,ā she admitted in an interview with the Etsy blog. āI was in need of a hobby; I wanted to create something from scratch. I found this old sewing machine of my grandmotherās, and I taught myself to use it.ā
Jump forward some years later, and she now sells her bags by the hundreds. Her designs blend a playful use of color with a minimalist yet functional style. All bags are hand-sewn in limited numbers, with emphasis on small batch production and local materials.
āIt always starts with the question of how something is going to be used,” says Atay Pastirmaci. “First I decide what itās going to be, say, a makeup bag or backpack. After I come up with a prototype, I use it (and ask my friends to use it) for a couple of weeks. Then I ask their opinions about the particular style: Do I need to add a zipper to the opening? Change the size? Add another pocket?ā
The finished product is both practical and stylish. A perfect gift for a friend or for yourself.
