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HOW ABOUT A PURSE FOR CHRISTMAS?

What if it’s made from a cigar box?

Los Angeles, December 15 – One of the new fashion crazes of the past couple of years has been the “cigar box purse.” Go figure.

Made from empty (of course) cigar boxes, the purse craze has helped smokers (and their familities) “recycle” their empty boxes by the thousands on eBay and has turned handy arts-and-crafts types into work-at-home merchants, crafting one-of-a-kind pieces for the chic set.

The Wayland Town Crier recently featured the purse-work of two Massachusetts sisters, Susan and Julie Bowhers, who started making the purses after receiving them as bridesmaids for their brother’s wedding last year.

“We thought they were the cutest things,” Susan told the Town Crier. They started making them for themselves, then family members, then a hobby/business was born. In a year and a half, they’ve sold more than 300 and have an on-line store at JuSyB.com.

The Bowhers get their boxes from liquor and cigar stores and then go through the process of turning the box into a purse. Naturally, they have to be cleaned, padded on the inside, sanded and varnished on the outside and then covered in fabric to create the theme of the purse. For most boxes, which use nails for closure, a clasp is added and then a handle is added and some other decorative touches such as ribbons or tassels.

One of the results – called “Gossip” – sells for $65 on sale and started life as a box of 50 Macanudo Caviar (4 x 36). The box label remains visible to show off its start in life as a cigar box.

We saw cigar-box purses at the Retail Tobacco Dealers of America (RTDA) Convention and International Trade Show this summer in Las Vegas for the first time. While nail-closure boxes work, the best boxes for use as purses seemed to be those made from boxes which are already rectangular and have clasps. The intricately-carved Arturo Fuente Flor Fina 8-5-8 box, all of the Excalibur series boxes and the new, glossy Partagas Cifuentes Seasonal Blend Series boxes would appear to be top-of-the-line candidates for conversion to purses. We haven’t seen any which make use of slide-top cedar boxes; it’s much easier to use those with hinges.

The Bowhers sisters sell their purses at gift shows, at open houses and, of course, on-line. Prices range from $40-75 and if you host the cigar-purse equivalent of a Tupperware party for ten or more, you’ll get a purse thrown in for free!

If you did the math, you’ll agree that this isn’t a full-time job yet, so Susan (23) holds on to her steady job at Fidelity Investments while 24-year-old Julie is a graphic designer.

Hammer Time:
Jarheads continue to roll out their credit cards for offerings on eBay. A hard-to-find glass jar for Havana-made La Corona “Grandees” cigars from the 1950s drew spirited interest from 13 bidders before being sold for $280.00. A similar jar for La Corona Grandees, from 1953, is up now and will end tomorrow (Thursday).

A Ramon Allones Sevilla Humijar from the 1970s (pictured above) was also up yesterday and finished with 13 bids and an astonishing final price of $610.00. This is all the more unbelievable because the unit has a broken lid which has been nicely repaired; otherwise, the final price could have been in excess of $900!

On the block for the third time in two weeks is an exquisite Faberge-made silver and enamel ladies’ case which could have been used for cigarettes or small cigars. Made around 1910, it’s 3 1/4-inches long with dramatic craftsmanship and includes a mirror, tiny writing pen, space for paper and for cigarettes/cigars if desired. It drew a top bid of $1,716, but that was well below the reserve price of the item. Definitely a jewel, the newest auction will end on December 23.

The Hans Wagner cigar advertising tin offered last week for $22,000 . . . drew no bids. Sorry, Hans.

Short Fillers:
As promised by J-R Cigars’ Lew Rothman, the Mocha brand is being re-introduced a size at a time. First the Robusto, now the Churchill. Made by Nestor Plasencia in Honduras, this is a 7 1/2-inch by 50-ring double corona. True to the Mocha heritage, it’s an excellent value at just $38.00 for a box of 25, but only through the end of today (Wednesday), while supplies last. After today, they’ll run you $59.95 the box . . .

When the corporate tax-and-tariffs bill which contained the “tobacco buyout” passed earlier this year, U.S. Representative Henry Waxman (D-California) predicted that the ending of quotas could lead to the expansion of tobacco growing in the U.S. Now, the grower’s cooperative is getting ready to find new and larger markets for U.S.-grown leaf. The Flue-Cured Tobacco Cooperative Stabilization Corporation was formed in 1946 to run the Federal price-support program, but will now morph into a leaf dealer for farmers from Virginia to Florida. An Associated Press story from December 12 indicated that the Cooperative, known for decades to the trade as “Stabilization,” may even market its own brand of cigarettes! For cigars, the market isn’t as promising, although U.S.-grown tobacco from Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Kentucky is widely used in cigars . . .

How does S.T. Dupont ensure that its lighters emit the customary “ping”? With inspection after inspection at the end of the production line. Only certain lines of their lighter series have the signature sound and each finished lighter – which starts off as a piece of solid brass – is tested for the correct sound and pitch. If it doesn’t measure up, it’s sent back to the workbench until the ring of the “ping” sings correctly!
~ Rich Perelman

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