Fashion Tribe: It's a jungle out there

Nadine Kam photos
Handbag designer Linda Sakraida with a selection of her newest "It's a Jungle Out There" Hadji Baba bags.

Lynda Sakraida presented her latest collection of Hadji Baba Bags, themed "It's a Jungle Out There," Oct. 29 at The Gallery at Ward Centre.

She figured if she was going to throw a party, it might as well be on her birthday, so it turned out to be a double celebration.

Whereas many artists/designers try to replicate their success as a matter of survival and cash flow, Sakraida's unique in that no two of her bags are ever alike due to a self-professed short attention span. She's also self-taught so isn't beholden to any rules, and because she's inspired by pattern, textiles, textures, findings, jewels and notions, she embellishes her work with one-of-a-kind objects she picks up on travels and in shopping art galleries, boutiques and trade shows. Some recent holiday-themed bags incorporate jewels gleaned from napkin rings.

Her jungle collection include bags incorporating textiles embellished with monkeys and parrots, as well as textured burlap bags that she painted with images of birds and flora. The one-of-a-kind nature of the bags means there's one particularly suited for each individual.
————
The Gallery at Ward Centre is at 1200 Ala Moana Boulevard. Call 597-8034. To view more of her work, visit http://gwcfineart.com/Portfolios/Pages/Lynda_SakraidaHadji_Baba_Bags.html

Lynda Sakraida's hand-painted burlap Old Crow Bag is $100.

Her Monkey bag ($315) incorporates varied textiles, leather and a vintage wood-carved flower detail.

Her Lion King bag is $250.

What's a jungle without real parrots? The red eclectus is named Maile, the green eclectus is Mulligan and the yellow ringneck parakeet nibbling at Lynda's lei is Romeo.

The birds, on Kim Kinard and Oscar Dawrs, belong to Bruce the Bird Guy, whose home I visited last year while looking for a place to board my birds before going on a trip, and trying to find a good home for a gray ringneck parrot I caught. I would have kept him if he didn't try running away every time I left him in the yard. He was too stupid to be left to fend for himself in the wild (I caught him when he took a grape and lots of other food from me, then promptly fell asleep) but he did not want to be a pet either. While there I fell in love with a lovely docile Goffin cockatoo, but he didin't seem to want to part with his birds.