Bags to Butterflies in Detroit is offering purse designing classes this holiday season through a program called "You Design It."
In the classes, attendees will receive a board and will be instructed on how to paint their own gorgeous handbag on it.
Brenda Austin is one of the designers and instructors for the classes.
She says it's one of her first jobs after spending 20 years in prison; "I did not think I was going to make it out, but once I made it out, I had to regroup my life, basically start over."
Austin says it was extremely hard to find anyone to hire her when she got out of prison in October of 2021 which is why she's so grateful for this job.
Bags to Butterflies' mission is to help women like Austin re-integrate into society after prison by employing them.
Founder Michelle Smart told reporter Sarah Grimmer; "We’ve had 17 women come through this program since we’ve started. It’s a 12-month transition to employment initiative so when the ladies come home, they know they’re coming home to employment."
Smart says none of the women who she's employed have gone back to prison.
Men and women have taken part in the You Design It classes already this month, the bags make great Christmas presents.
After you paint your bag in class it will take 5-7 days to dry and be cut into a bag, then it's yours to pick up.
"By inviting the community into our space and designing with our ladies, they get to know them for who they are today," said Smart.
As boards are re-purposed to bags in these classes, the lives of instructors like Austin are also being re-purposed.
Austin says she'd like to use her experience here to one day open her own gallery; "It’s very important to have somebody on your side because like with me, I had nobody."
