As the saying goes, “When one door closes, another opens.” Lisa Marie Grillos was one of the casualties of the economic downturn. She was let go from her job as production manager at Williams-Sonoma.
But instead of looking for another job or just sitting around the house, she decided to take matters into her own hands and become a business owner. Together with her brother, Hernan Barangan, Grillos started Hambone Designs http://hambonedesigns.com/ creating small bags cyclists can use to carry their wallet, bills, telephones and keys.
She stumbled on the idea after her brother Hernan created a bag for their youngest brother’s bike last Christmas. She realized that there is a need among the bicycling community of a product that will make it easy for them to carry these small essentials.
The bag, which they called Velopocket, hung from the top tube of the frame making it convenient for the cyclist to access. Their goal is to provide a convenient and fashionable way of carrying the small essential things that are important to the bikers.
From the original leather bag, Hambone Designs now offers bags in various fabrics. They’ve also created a smaller version of the bag called the Balzac. All their bags are hand made and made in the USA.
Grillos opened a virtual shop on the online auction site Etsy.com http://www.etsy.com/shop/hambonedesigns, as well as sell their products in San Francisco street fairs. They are working to get their products into the stores.
