I’ve always been drawn to colour. For as long as I can remember, colourful clothing and accessories felt like a way of expressing who I was and how I wanted to move through the world. Even on difficult days, I found myself reaching for pieces that felt bright, uplifting, and full of life.

 

Life hasn’t always been easy. I’ve faced cancer, significant life challenges, and the loss of my fiancé. Like many people, I’ve experienced moments that changed me forever and altered the direction of my life.

 

After such loss, I found myself searching for a new way forward. Creativity became part of that journey.

 

The first handbag I created wasn’t intended for a business. It was for me.

 

I wanted something meaningful to carry through a difficult season of life—a reminder to keep going, to step back into the world, and to find moments of joy when life felt heavy.

 

What began as one bag quickly became many. The ideas and sketches kept coming, each design developing its own personality through colour, pattern, and detail. Before long, what started as a personal creative project had grown into Shandy Designs—a collection of intuitively designed handbags created during a season of rebuilding, healing, and transformation.

 

The butterfly featured on every bag is a symbol of transformation and change. For me, it also carries a deeply personal meaning and serves as a reminder that even after life’s hardest chapters, we can continue to grow into who we are becoming.

 

Today, every bag is designed and created for women navigating life’s in-between moments—those seasons of change, rebuilding, and becoming.

 

Choosing joy isn’t about pretending life is easy. Sometimes it’s simply the decision to keep moving forward, one step, one day, and one new chapter at a time.

 

 

Life is hard sometimes.
Joy is a choice.
Keep going. Rebuild. Transform.