Umpie ride

UMPIE Bags is a new business which weaves a family history into the bag you carry. It is the brainchild of three women in the same family, inspired by the generations who went before them, who found a treasure trove of old materials in their family home and transformed it into a fashion accessory name which is already being picked up by quality shops.

Going for the vintage look, the two sisters and a cousin promote Yorkshire goods with a passion, sourcing high-quality remnants from Yorkshire mill shops and using traditionally- made Yorkshire tweeds for scarves and ponchos. Umpie Bags can also be made from people’s own favourite pieces of material that they may have held onto in their own families.

The recycling idea is taking off fast, but it was never intended to be anything more than a hobby when the first bag was made by Ruth Umpleby, in the bedroom of her home at Romanby, near Northallerton.

In fact, despite coming from a long line of accomplished seamstresses, Ruth laughs when she remembers that just a few years ago she hadn’t ever sewn anything in her life, leaving it up to the other experts in her family. Grandmother was a professional dressmaker and made all the family’s wedding gowns and her mother and sister had inherited the same creative streak.

But when her mother died, Ruth found that she was drawn towards the craft. She had already discovered a heap of beautiful remnants and fabrics collected over the years in her mother’s house, which she felt were just too beautiful to waste.

She took a course in soft furnishings and found that being at the sewing machine brought her close to the mother she missed so much. One day she made a bag, and thought it was “quite nice” .

She made more with her cousin, Alison Booth, and soon had friends and people they met admiring them.

The decision to call them Umpie Bags came from the family name of Umpleby.

The women took their wares to a fair at Hornby Castle, Bedale, and the interest they generated made them realise they were onto something big, but it was only when Ruth’s sister Joanna decided to move back from Spain to Yorkshire, that Umpie Bags began to take off.

As a former design director for Jane Shilton handbags and accessories in London for 20 years, she immediately spotted a business potential .

She realised they would have to make them faster and better quality, and, with a view to making more, they began to branch out into different shapes, which they named after all the female family members who had been influential on family life as they grew up together as children.

Gertie, for example, is a deep luxurious travel bag, named after their shared “grandma Umps” and described as “as beautiful inside as outside” with rich, thick, hard-wearing exteriors and an extra layer of a different material sewn in to line the inside.

Others are named Mabel, Annie and Connie.

The bags are available from Lewis and Cooper in Northallerton, Patchwork Rose in Bedale, The Fat Sheep in Reeth, Bear Cottage Interiors, an interior design shop in Hawes, and other outlets specialising in Yorkshire goods.

The bags are also selling well through their website, which has added a new generation to the family business as it was designed by Ruth’s son Tom. Joanna’s partner Glynn takes the publicity photographs and many of the goods are modelled by Ruth’s daughter Sara and Alison’s daughter Victoria.

“We grew up together and when our children grew up, we wanted to work together too,” says Ruth.

• To see the full range of bags, scarves and ponchos, go to umpie.co.uk

Network for women in business

WORKING women can find out how to climb up the career ladder by signing up to a new networking group. Aimed at professionals in the Tees Valley and North Yorkshire, Forward Ladies is being launched at Crathorne Hall, near Yarm, on Wednesday, May 18.

Founded in 2000 by Etta Cohen, the organisation has now grown across the north of England with more than 13,500 members. The programme of events will range from business and personal skills development to spa breaks, golf and surf lessons.

Etta says the network is very inclusive and welcomes members from all walks of life, whether they are sole traders, part-time, or working in industries ranging from law, accountancy to marketing.

Siobhan McArdle, managing director of The Strategy House consultancy, which is helping to co-ordinate the event, says: “We are also expanding further into North Yorkshire with more events planned over the next few months in Ripon, Skipton and Harrogate.

“Our main aim with this network is to simply create an environment which recognises and builds upon the important contribution Teesside and North Yorkshire-based businesswomen make to the economic growth and development of our region.

We also hope to provide an environment where women can laugh, learn, share experiences and celebrate their achievements with women just like themselves.”

For more information and to book for the free launch event, visit: forwardladies.com or call Lucy Tait at The Strategy House on 01642-785116.

The pampering before the packing

NEW research has revealed the attitudes of women towards their body before their annual holiday, with the average female stating that they wanted to lose 8lbs before heading off to their destination.

Online independent travel agency sunshine.co.uk carried out the study as part of research into the effort women put in to preparing for a holiday abroad. 1,614 UK females were asked what steps they took before a holiday in order to prepare for it physically. Dieting was top, with 67 per cent, followed by:

Tanning (fake or sunbeds) – 48 per cent
Hair cut and/or colour – 39 per cent
Waxing – 24 per cent
Manicure and/or pedicure – 22 per cent

Only nine per cent of those polled said that they didn’t take any steps to prepare for their holiday with regard to their appearance.

Those who did take steps to get ready for their holiday were asked to estimate how much money they put towards things like beauty treatments, tanning, dieting and hair cuts in total. The average spend was £162.