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SPRING
2013
29
only go back to their
old ways once out of
prison,” she said. “I
wanted to stop this
vicious cycle.The
only way is to have
them work.”
It never occurred to Beydoun that her
idea may fail. Kara managed to get her
a permit to enter the prisons at will and
Beydoun went ahead and ordered several
small wooden weaving machines. Her
idea was for them to make bracelets.
But after a few tries, she had to admit
that bracelets were unimaginative and
certainly unsellable.
It was then that she had her Big Idea. It
was simple, fashionable and doable. But
most of all, it involved her personal pas-
sion: handbags.
During that time, she was helping her
brother who was managing a retail
store that brought stocks from the
US to sell in Lebanon. Among those
stocks were defected handbags. To
repair them, she sought the help
of an artisan. As she watched him
work, her idea began to take form.
Why not have the women sew de-
signs and give them to this artisan
to create handbags?
But Beydoun knew little about sew-
ing or creating designs. A bookstore
was her first stop. As she was buying
several books about sewing, the woman
manning the bookshop noted her interest
and offered to take her to several bead
wholesalers. It was there that she came
upon canvases. She bought one and,
armed with her books, set to work. It took
a long time but somehow she figured
out how to work the canvas. Excited, she
took it to the artisan who turned it into
a handbag (which today, is framed and
displayed in her office). It was a turning
point.
She knew that she was on to something.
She took several canvases to prison and
explained her idea to the women. Many
opted to join in and thus began her first
team of workers.
By now it was 2000, and custom-
ized handbags were in fashion and in
demand. “It was
odd,” she recalled.
“Everything con-
verged together as if
the universe conspired
for me to do this.”
Now, the next test.
Would the bags sell?
There was only one way to find out.
Beydoun put up a table in the weekly
“Souk al Barghout” (flea market) in the
downtown area and displayed her bags.
Her first customer was her mother who
lovingly bought the first bag. But slowly
and surely, other customers began mak-
ing their way to her table. By the end
of the day, not only had she sold all the
bags but had orders for more.
More displays followed in other markets.
The bags were sold every time.
Demand increased and Beydoun found
herself training more women. Before
long, she opened a small atelier and
hired designers to help
her. Crochets and
scarves were intro-
duced. Again, they
sold immediately. Her
business had taken off
and the prisoners were
earning an income with
any surplus directly go-
ing to improve the con-
ditions of the prisons.
Today, 150 people
make up Sarah’s team,
among them 65 women in both Baabda
and Tripoli prisons. Moreover, teams of
women in many Lebanese towns and
villages are working diligently to produce
the bags. Each team is led by a former
prisoner. For, once out of jail, most of
the women form their own groups and
continue to work for Beydoun.
Sarah’s Bags have managed to break into
the highly fashionably arena of Parisian
society. Her bags have been spotted carried
by famous notables among them Queen
Rania of Jordan, Lebanese diva Sabah and
French actress Catherine Deneuve.
As for the women, some have used their
incomes to pay off debts, some to hire
lawyers and others are simply saving their
money.They are getting what Beydoun
wanted to give them from the beginning:
another chance at life.
As for Beydoun, mother of two (one of
whom studies at IC), Sarah’s Bags has
been one big adventure which started
with an idea. Inside every bag, she inserts
a small paper. “It all started with a bag.
What if every woman in prison could
stitch, bead or sequin her way out?”
“For me, every day is exciting,” said
Sarah. “Meeting new prisoners and see-
ing how they change is exciting. Going
to the atelier every day is exciting. I love
what I do.”
For more information go to http://www.
sarahsbag.com/