These recovered and refurbished vintage bags are from Argentinean firm Carterarte -a word formed by ‘bag’ and ‘art’ in Spanish-. The designer behind them is Carolina Spago, who gets all kinds of old bags and purses from flea markets and second hand shops and paints them back to life. “It all began when I wondered fairs with my mother: the idea to buy used was installed at home”, the designer says. So one day she found a quality bag that was too plain and thought some paint would do it no harm. It went so good that she realized she could do this with other bags. "The thing is that usually bags are in perfect shape long after they’re thrown away”, she explains. Two years after that she has her own showroom and sells in four different shops; and she has also begun offering his services by request when a client wants a makeover for a beloved accessory. If you're in or around Buenos Aires, Carterarte workshop and showroom is in Rodriguez Peña st. 1150, first floor (Mondays to Fridays from 3:30pm to 8pm and Saturdays from 3 to 7pm); and the shops that sell the designs are Freak (Niceto Vega st. 5254, Palermo Soho), Te he visto (Eduardo Costa st. 930, Acassuso), Las Santos (Charcas st. 2576, Barrio Norte), Crisantelmo (Estados Unidos and Piedras st., San Telmo). Prices go from 40 to 180 pesos (13 to 60 US dollars). Contacts by mail at carterarte at yahoo dot com dot ar ::Carterarte (Provisory fotolog until the firm’s website is ready)

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