Tina Frantz Designs creates fashion, home, and beyond. This is where fashion and interior designs intersect, co-mingle, delight, and beautify.

Frantz has been making amazing handbags since 2012 such as clutches, cross-body bags, shoulder bags, and tote bags. This business was conceived when she worked in New York for several interior design businesses. The reps would come in the stores pull all the old hanging

swatches down and throw them away in a dumpster. Frantz looked at all these stunning fabrics going to waste and decided to collect them and turn them into something beautiful. This evolved into Tina Frantz Designs. She collects the samples and upcycles them keeping them from being in a landfill.

When Frantz first started she created one-of-a-kind handbags. Deciding to branch out, she looked for a mom-and-pop manufacturer in LA. She was able to do several runs with them until COVID forced them to close down. Attending the Magic Tradeshows in Las Vegas, Frantz found another contact for a manufacturer in India. She was able to hire them when she was given a PP Grant during COVID-19. This allowed her to manufacture a higher-priced handbag. She selected two of her classic designs: The Cheetah Print Bag, and the Extra Wide Clutch.

Today, she is continuing her interior design work at Le Dimora. This is a full-service interior design business at The Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch. She continues on her mission to repurpose textiles and help eliminate waste on the planet. One of her next creations will be crocodile leather bags made from the swatches that would have been thrown away.

Frantz said she originally received her inspiration from her aunt, Yukiko Okugawa, who went to dressmaker school in Japan. Okugawa was a career seamstress working at boutiques during her life. I asked her what would be new in the future for her. She said that her aunt left her boxes and boxes of exquisite fabrics. Using these fabrics, she has been creating an apparel line with caftans and dresses.

If you would like to know where you can find her, she said people can always find her online. In the future, she will have her handbags in the boutique ‘eco de corps’ downtown. She sells at many shopping boutiques for fundraisers. The next one coming up will be at the Soroptimist International Boutique and Fashion Show on March 9. See upcoming events for details. For more information about Tina Frantz Designs go to https://tinafrantzdesigns.com/.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Saturday, Jan. 27 to April 27, A Splendid Decennium: Victorian to Vanguard – featuring the art of the fiber artist Mary Ornish at the Gaslamp Museum at the Davis-Horton House (gaslampfoundation.org/visit) and the Vila Montezuma Museum (villamontezumamuseum.org). Check websites for days and hours.

Saturday, March 9 – Soroptimist International of San Diego at the Sycuan Casino. The afternoon will have a fashion show produced by Gretchen Productions and feature the “Live Your Dream” awards. For information: 619-670-9880.

Sunday, March 10 – Sip and Style Secondhand-Embrace sustainability and come and fill a bag with clothes while you sip an alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage at the Kairoa Brewing Co. on 4601 Park Blvd. starting at 11:30 a.m. For tickets: https://bit.ly/3SQm1D3.

Monday, March 18 – installation reception for “Epic Expressions: Shahnameh by Seven Female Artists” at the Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park from 5-7 p.m. Registration is at the door and is free. Installation runs through May 31.

Diana Cavagnaro is an internationally renowned Couture Milliner based in the San Diego area. Learn more about our Hat Designer, Teacher, and Blogger at DianaCavagnar.com.