A former real estate agent finds fulfillment in the bag

Jessica Johnson
The Post and Courier

Lissa Myers of the Isle of Palms opened In the Bag in March. It's a place where people can design handbags with fabrics of their own choosing.

Customers walking into In the Bag to make their own become overwhelmed by the choices.

They see patterns, the prints, solids, leathers, textures, sheens, microsuede, corduroys and animal prints that can be paired with 30 different purses and tell owner Lissa Myers, "I'll come back when I have an hour."

Myers waves her hand. With her help, it takes only 25 minutes to design a bag.

The Isle of Palms resident offers customers two choices: leather or fabric. Once that decision is made, she asks them about their favorite colors. Customers sometimes bring in clothing or shoes for matching.

"You hold your shoe, I will help," Myers tells them.

When designs are complete, Myers sends the plans to a New York manufacturer, who fashions the bag and mails it back to the Houston Northcutt Boulevard store about five weeks later.

Myers, a Bamberg native, moved to Charleston to take a graduate program at The Citadel, but took a real estate job instead and then grew bored working from home. "I watched way too much 'Oprah' and 'Dr. Phil,' " Myers said.

Her husband, Jason Myers, of The Island Lending Group on Isle of Palms, came home every day talking about his businesses, and she decided she wanted one, too. She also couldn't find a bag she liked.

"I knew what I wanted, and I'm really picky and I never saw it," Myers said.

The concept: a place where people could create their own bag.

Myers added her own twist, designing the model bags and offering more choices like leather and different types of nickel and gold hardware.

The shop opened in March. Already her bags are offered in area boutiques and a handful of different states. Bags also can be designed from Myers' Web site: www.InTheBagShop.com.

"When I see somebody with a really bad bag, it makes me so sad," Myers said. "It does."

Any bag with a long strap that hits the hip or one that's too small, "like this" she said holding her hands in the shape of an O, is one to throw away.

Myers will cling to a good bag for years, treating it with care. Never leave your bag on the floor to be stepped on or spilled on, she said.

But for the accidents that might happen, she offers a lifetime guarantee.

Reach Jessica Johnson at jjohnson@postandcourier.com.