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Loretta's Last Purses

Loretta's Last Purses

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Verna Stiles
Handcrafted by Loretta ("Retta") Halcomb
★★★★★ 4.8 (795)
Loretta's Last Purses

Loretta's Last Purses

$49.00
$49.00 $69.00
SAVE $20 Sold out

Halcomb & Daughter · Berea, Kentucky

Drawn at a Bench on Dogwood Ridge Road

Loretta “Retta” Halcomb is sixty-eight. Her father, Otis, opened Halcomb Leather Goods on Chestnut Street in 1949, and she started at the end of his bench at fourteen. Fifty-four years later his name is still on that window, and she still opens the shop on Saturdays.

For eleven of those years she stitched this purse herself, one at a time, about fourteen hours apiece, for women in the county who asked her for one. The waiting list got to fourteen months. Then her thumbs gave out.

Twelve hundred were made in one run, paid for out of her own savings. There is no second one.

1,200 In the only run
54 Years with leather
14 Months getting it right
19 She pulled back out

“I bought a purse at a department store — third one that year — and the strap frayed at the ring inside of five weeks. I set it on the bench next to a wallet I stitched in 1979 that a woman at my church is still carrying, and I thought: nobody makes anything with any love in it anymore. So I made myself one.”

Loretta Halcomb, Berea, Kentucky
What you receive

Everything That Ships With Your Purse

The purse 7.5 × 4.5 × 2.5 inches. Clear touch window on the back panel, six card slots, a bill slot, a zip coin pocket, and two zipped compartments alongside the phone slot.
A strap that comes all the way off Detachable at both ends and adjustable to 52 inches, so it sits at the hip rather than under your arm. Unclip it and the purse drops into a larger bag without a strap tangling everything else in there.
Whatever colour is still on the shelf Eight colours went into the run. What you can pick from is simply what has not gone yet. When one runs out that is the end of it — there is no reorder and no second run.
Ninety days to send it back Carry it for ninety days. If it isn’t right, whatever the reason, send it back for a full refund. One email is enough.
Seven samples, six sent back

She Kept the List

Fourteen months went by before one of the samples was right. She wrote what was wrong with each on the back of a feed store calendar page, and she has not thrown it out.

Samples — what’s wrong with them

  • Strap too short — hits under the arm
  • Card slots won’t take a license
  • Flap needs two hands
  • Zip pull too small to grab in January
  • Won’t close over a phone with a case
  • Window wrinkles when you press it
No. 7 — this one’ll do
Why this one

Six Things a Nine-Dollar Phone Pouch Cannot Do

Most small purses with a clear window are drawn backwards from a landed cost. This one was drawn by a woman who spent fifty-four years repairing the exact places where other people’s bags come apart.

01 — Material

It is not real leather, and she says so first

“I have worked real leather my whole life, so let me be straight with you: this is a man-made leather, and I picked it on purpose.” Real leather in this size, done properly, would have to sell around $240 and weigh half again as much. It wants a year of carrying before it softens, it marks in the wet, and it does not forgive a July afternoon in a parked car. This wipes clean, stays light, and does not crack.

02 — The test

Pull on the ring where the strap attaches

This is the four-second check, and almost nobody has been shown it. Take up the slack on the strap ring and watch the panel behind it. On a purse built down to a price, that panel puckers — the ring is set through a single layer and it will let go inside a year. Hers is anchored through a reinforced panel and the material does not move.

03 — The strap

Fifty-two inches, because forty-two is useless

Sample one came back with a strap that hit her under the arm. “A crossbody that rides under your arm is just a purse you cannot get into.” This strap adjusts to 52 inches and detaches at both ends. It reaches the hip on a tall woman, shortens properly on a small one, and comes off entirely when you want the purse inside a bigger bag.

04 — The fit

It closes over a big phone with the case on

This is the complaint that ends most purses of this kind, and it is the sample she sent back twice. The phone compartment takes a large modern smartphone with a protective case still on it, and it shuts. If your phone is unusually thick, measure before you order — and if it does not fit, that is what the ninety days are for.

05 — The window

What the window does, and what it does not

Read a text, answer a call, skip a song, punch in a code, all with the phone still in the purse. The window is stitched in rather than glued, because glue lets go in a hot car. What it will not do is read your fingerprint or your face. No purse of this kind will, hers included. “Mine never did either. I punch my code in and get on with my day.”

06 — The layout

Cards, change and phone do not share a pocket

Two zipped compartments plus the phone slot, six card slots sized for a US driver’s licence, a bill slot and a zip coin pocket. “Loose change in with your cards is how you end up digging anyway. If you have to dig, I have not solved anything.”

From the shoebox under her bench

“Dear Retta — I have carried the little purse you made me every day for six years. Somebody asks me where I got it about once a week. I tell them a woman in Berea made it and they never believe me.”

Before it goes in the box

What She Looks At First

Fifty-four years of mending other people’s bags taught her where they die. She checked every one of the twelve hundred herself and pulled nineteen back out.

Her own bench note “Small bags came into Daddy’s shop for two reasons and it was almost never the material. It was the strap anchor, where a ring had been set through one layer and had slowly chewed its way out under load. And it was the corner of a card pocket, where the stitch stopped instead of turning. Both are decisions somebody made to save four minutes on the bench. So that is what I check: I pull the strap ring and watch the panel, and I run a thumbnail along every cut edge to see if it is sealed or fuzzy. Nineteen of them did not pass. Those are in a box in the wash house and they are not going anywhere.” Loretta Halcomb — Dogwood Ridge Road, Berea, Kentucky
The run

Eight Colours Went Into It

She named them after what she can see out of the wash house window, and after her father’s shop. What you can choose from is whatever has not gone yet — nothing here gets restocked.

Light Pink
Dark Pink
Soft Green
Brown
Grey
Blue
Red
Black
What comes with it

Five Things You Get With Every One

She will not let anybody call it handmade This one is not stitched by her hands and this page will never say it is. Her thumbs gave out two years ago after fifty-four years of saddle stitch. A hand-stitched one takes her fourteen hours and would have to be around $240, and she could manage perhaps thirty a year.
A sealed edge, not a fuzzy one Run a thumbnail along any cut edge. It should feel slick and closed, not soft and fibrous. An unfinished edge drinks water and frays outward from the corner. “Daddy would have sent the whole batch back over an edge like that.”
A window stitched in, not glued Look at the seam around the clear panel from the inside. Stitched through, all the way around. Glued windows are cheaper and they lift at the corner the first hot summer the purse spends in a car.
Checked by her, one at a time Every purse in the run went across her bench before it went into a box. Nineteen did not pass and are still sitting in the wash house. She is the last word on all of it — she drew it, she picked the material, she sent six samples back, and she is the one who says whether a finished one ships.
1,200 in the run, and no second one This is not a closing-down sale. The shop on Chestnut Street is still open — Saturdays, and the first Thursday of the month — and her father’s name is still on the window, which is the reason she will not let it go. But the run is one run, paid for once out of her own savings. When these are gone she is not ordering more.
Where it ends up

Built for the Days You Have to Get Through

The checkout line Errands and the school run Walking the dog Church on Sunday Airports and cruise ports Theme parks Farmers markets Concerts and county fairs Inside a bigger bag
If it isn’t right

Ninety Days, No Questions

Carry it for ninety days. Send it back for any reason.

Your errands, your walks, an airport if you have one coming. If it isn’t right — whatever the reason — send it back for a full refund. No forms, no questions. One email is enough.

“I only want these with people who are actually going to use them. If it sits in a drawer I would rather have it back and give somebody else the chance.”

Small differences between purses are normal: a stitch line that wanders by a hair, a slot corner that sits a fraction off, a shade that came off a slightly different roll. People occasionally write in to apologise for pointing it out, which she finds funny. It is not a fault. What would be a fault is a strap ring that pulls the panel out of shape, and that is the one thing she had the workshop change three times.

If you call and nobody picks up, that is because her daughter Renae does the phone in the evenings after her shift at the hospital in Lexington, and Loretta does not answer it at all. There are two of them. They will get to you.

The details

Specifications

Dimensions
7.5″ H × 4.5″ W × 2.5″ D (19 × 11.5 × 6.5 cm)
Material
Soft pebbled man-made leather. Not genuine leather. Wipe-clean, does not crack in heat, holds its shape.
Touch window
Clear panel on the back, stitched in rather than glued. Read texts, answer calls and enter a passcode with the phone still inside. Does not support Face ID or fingerprint unlock.
Phone fit
Takes a large modern smartphone with a protective case on. Measure first if your phone is unusually thick.
Inside
Six card slots sized for a US driver’s licence, one bill slot, one zip coin pocket, two zipped compartments plus the phone slot.
Strap
Detachable at both ends, adjustable to 52 inches. Crossbody, over one shoulder, or removed entirely.
Hardware
Brushed gold-tone zippers and lobster clasps. Zip pulls sized to grab with dry hands.
Colours
Dogwood, Redbud, Sage Hollow, Harness, Creek Stone, Chicory, Barn Red, Sunday Black. Sold-out colours are not restocked.
Care
Wipe with a damp cloth and mild soap, air dry. No machine wash, no tumble dryer, keep away from direct heat.
Variation
Minor differences in stitch line and shade between purses are normal and are not a defect.
Designed by
Loretta Halcomb — the wash house on Dogwood Ridge Road, Berea, Kentucky. At the bench since she was fourteen.
Made by
A small workshop to her specification. Not hand-stitched by her, and not described as such anywhere on this page.
Checked by
Loretta, one at a time, before boxing. Nineteen of the twelve hundred were pulled back out and are not for sale.
Made to date
Eleven years of purses stitched entirely by her own hand, about fourteen hours each, sold or given to people in her own county. None of those are for sale.
The run
1,200 purses, paid for once out of her own savings. No reorders.
The shop
Halcomb Leather Goods, Chestnut Street, Berea — opened by Otis Halcomb in 1949, still open Saturdays 9–3 and the first Thursday of the month.
Sold by
Halcomb & Daughter — the only place these are sold.
Shipping
Ships within 2–4 business days. Free returns for ninety days.
Guarantee
90-day full refund, no questions asked.
Retta Halcomb Berea, Kentucky
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The Final Sale

Message from the Artist:

After years of making things by hand, our workshop is closing. These are the last pieces we'll ever ship. Every item on this page was made slowly, carefully, and with more love than any factory could replicate. Nothing rushed. Nothing outsourced. Just real craft from real hands.

We're proud of every single one. We hope they find good homes.

When they're gone, they're gone — and so are we.

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Shipping with UPS / USPS

Free shipping across the United States

- Delivery time: 7–14 business days
- Insured: Every package is fully insured

🌳 Carbon-neutral shipping with UPS / USPS

View full details

800+ Happy Customers

Excellent 4.9

What Loretta's customers are saying

My neighbor bought hers first and I gave her no peace until I ordered one too. Now we both wear them into town and I have quit carrying a handbag entirely. Mine is the pink, hers is the blue, and between us we have had three people stop us on the sidewalk to ask about them. For thirty-nine dollars I expected far less than this.

Verified

Wanda K., Columbus OH

I dumped the whole thing out on the kitchen table because my husband did not believe me. Glasses, hairbrush, lipstick, keys, tissues, cards, cash and the phone — all of that came out of one little bag that still zips shut flat. The card slots take my license without a fight, which is more than I can say for the wallet I carried for nine years.

Verified

Denise M., Little Rock AR

My daughter calls around seven most evenings and I used to miss half of them hunting for the phone. Now I tap the green circle right through the clear panel and I am talking to her. It works every single time, no pressing hard, no taking the phone out. I have had it since March and the window has not clouded or wrinkled once.

Verified

Sharon B., Spokane WA

I took a picture of myself in the hallway mirror before church because I could not believe how little it shows. It sits flat, it does not swing, and it holds everything I actually need. My old purse is still on the closet shelf and I have not touched it since the day this came. The red is prettier in person than on the screen.

Verified

Rita D., Minnesota

Grocery day is what sold me on it. Card in the front, keys in the back, phone in the window, and both hands free for the cart. I am not setting my purse down in the child seat and then panicking halfway to the car anymore. It goes under the seatbelt without coming off and it does not slide around while I drive.

Verified

Nancy F., Ottumwa IA

My neighbor bought hers first and I gave her no peace until I ordered one too. Now we both wear them into town and I have quit carrying a handbag entirely. Mine is the pink, hers is the blue, and between us we have had three people stop us on the sidewalk to ask about them. For thirty-nine dollars I expected far less than this.

Verified

Wanda K., Columbus OH

I dumped the whole thing out on the kitchen table because my husband did not believe me. Glasses, hairbrush, lipstick, keys, tissues, cards, cash and the phone — all of that came out of one little bag that still zips shut flat. The card slots take my license without a fight, which is more than I can say for the wallet I carried for nine years.

Verified

Denise M., Little Rock AR

My daughter calls around seven most evenings and I used to miss half of them hunting for the phone. Now I tap the green circle right through the clear panel and I am talking to her. It works every single time, no pressing hard, no taking the phone out. I have had it since March and the window has not clouded or wrinkled once.

Verified

Sharon B., Spokane WA

I took a picture of myself in the hallway mirror before church because I could not believe how little it shows. It sits flat, it does not swing, and it holds everything I actually need. My old purse is still on the closet shelf and I have not touched it since the day this came. The red is prettier in person than on the screen.

Verified

Rita D., Minnesota

Grocery day is what sold me on it. Card in the front, keys in the back, phone in the window, and both hands free for the cart. I am not setting my purse down in the child seat and then panicking halfway to the car anymore. It goes under the seatbelt without coming off and it does not slide around while I drive.

Verified

Nancy F., Ottumwa IA

My neighbor bought hers first and I gave her no peace until I ordered one too. Now we both wear them into town and I have quit carrying a handbag entirely. Mine is the pink, hers is the blue, and between us we have had three people stop us on the sidewalk to ask about them. For thirty-nine dollars I expected far less than this.

Verified

Wanda K., Columbus OH

I dumped the whole thing out on the kitchen table because my husband did not believe me. Glasses, hairbrush, lipstick, keys, tissues, cards, cash and the phone — all of that came out of one little bag that still zips shut flat. The card slots take my license without a fight, which is more than I can say for the wallet I carried for nine years.

Verified

Denise M., Little Rock AR

My daughter calls around seven most evenings and I used to miss half of them hunting for the phone. Now I tap the green circle right through the clear panel and I am talking to her. It works every single time, no pressing hard, no taking the phone out. I have had it since March and the window has not clouded or wrinkled once.

Verified

Sharon B., Spokane WA

I took a picture of myself in the hallway mirror before church because I could not believe how little it shows. It sits flat, it does not swing, and it holds everything I actually need. My old purse is still on the closet shelf and I have not touched it since the day this came. The red is prettier in person than on the screen.

Verified

Rita D., Minnesota

Grocery day is what sold me on it. Card in the front, keys in the back, phone in the window, and both hands free for the cart. I am not setting my purse down in the child seat and then panicking halfway to the car anymore. It goes under the seatbelt without coming off and it does not slide around while I drive.

Verified

Nancy F., Ottumwa IA

My neighbor bought hers first and I gave her no peace until I ordered one too. Now we both wear them into town and I have quit carrying a handbag entirely. Mine is the pink, hers is the blue, and between us we have had three people stop us on the sidewalk to ask about them. For thirty-nine dollars I expected far less than this.

Verified

Wanda K., Columbus OH

I dumped the whole thing out on the kitchen table because my husband did not believe me. Glasses, hairbrush, lipstick, keys, tissues, cards, cash and the phone — all of that came out of one little bag that still zips shut flat. The card slots take my license without a fight, which is more than I can say for the wallet I carried for nine years.

Verified

Denise M., Little Rock AR

My daughter calls around seven most evenings and I used to miss half of them hunting for the phone. Now I tap the green circle right through the clear panel and I am talking to her. It works every single time, no pressing hard, no taking the phone out. I have had it since March and the window has not clouded or wrinkled once.

Verified

Sharon B., Spokane WA

I took a picture of myself in the hallway mirror before church because I could not believe how little it shows. It sits flat, it does not swing, and it holds everything I actually need. My old purse is still on the closet shelf and I have not touched it since the day this came. The red is prettier in person than on the screen.

Verified

Rita D., Minnesota

Grocery day is what sold me on it. Card in the front, keys in the back, phone in the window, and both hands free for the cart. I am not setting my purse down in the child seat and then panicking halfway to the car anymore. It goes under the seatbelt without coming off and it does not slide around while I drive.

Verified

Nancy F., Ottumwa IA

Freqquently Asked Questions

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Got a question? Here's how to reach us.

My wife and I personally respond to every single email — as fast as we possibly can. Whether you have a question about your order or just want to talk craft, we're here.

You can reach us:

  • Mon – Fri: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM (CT)
  • Saturday: 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM (CT)

Email: info@craftfolk.com

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Can I return my order if I don't like it?

Of course. We stand behind everything on CraftFolk 100%. If you're not happy, neither are we. Just shoot us an email within 90 days and we'll make it right — no hassle, no headaches.

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Every single product on CraftFolk is 100% handmade — crafted by hand, using only premium quality materials. We're proud to carry on a tradition of craftsmanship that has been passed down through generations.

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