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It’s In the Bag

Stella & Stevie Totes Designed for the Way Women Live

     Tucked within a warehouse across from Coast Guard Island lies a concrete-and-steel room with soaring ceilings. In stark contrast to the industrial surroundings, a bouquet of highly graphic printed tote bags and kids coats line the room neatly on racks ready for shipment to a national department store. What began
in a living room in Alameda has developed into Stella & Stevie, a company offering colorful tote bags, clutches, raingear and other accessories including vintage-style clothes.
     Alameda resident Penny Crivelli and Missouri-based Gerri Mack, created Stella & Stevie in 2005 as a spin-off from their popular Mack & Co. kids clothing brand. “It started as a fun pet project, and the bags quickly grew in popularity among contemporary women,” says Crivelli. The first bag was constructed of faux fur, and Crivelli laughs at the memory of her daughter’s eighth-grade basketball team helping her fluff up the fur bags with brushes in their living room. The business grew by leaps and bounds as fans sang praises for the totes that eventually caught the eye of organizers of the Telluride Film Festival. In addition to national distribution, the totes have been wildly popular at the film festival over the last three years.
     Stella & Stevie, named after Mack’s chihuahua and yellow Labrador, infuses fresh modern prints with highly functional pieces. “I have three daughters, so I knew that creating colorful well-designed pieces that were durable, multi-functioning and washable were important to women,” says Mack, who is also the company’s designer. “It’s really important to keep the shapes that resonate with our customers and mix it up with graphics taken from nature and even pop culture inspirations.” The totes, clutches and crossbody satchels are made in canvas or coated laminated materials — a hit especially with on-the-go women. “I see our customers using the bags in all sorts of creative ways — high school girls like the large bags that can hold several books, while moms sing praises for the same bag because it has a plastic liner and they can throw wet swimsuits and water bottles inside one of the many zipper pockets,” adds Crivelli.
     Stella & Stevie, www.stellaandstevie.com, bags range from $12 for cosmetic bags to $56 for a large sized tote and can be found at 3 Wishes (1428 Park St., Alameda), Claremont Resort and Spa (41 Tunnel Road, Berkeley), and Builders Book Source (1817 Fourth St., Berkeley).