University of Wisconsin graduate Maggie Welsh, who recently launched her own handbag line in Madison, always kept in mind the adage that her dreams lay on the other side of her fears.
“Those thoughts of failure are always going to enter your mind, but I know this is what I want to do and I just keep going,” Welsh said. “I don’t see myself actually failing because I’m a problem solver and will rework it if I have to.”
Welsh, who graduated from UW in 2012 with a degree in textile design, pursued her dream of designing handbags right out of college when she moved to New York, enrolled in the Fashion Institute Technology and soon after joined the industry designing bags for Nicole Miller, Lucky Brand, Jessica Simpson and Franco Sarto, she said.
Having returned to Madison with her husband to take advantage of the affordable cost of living and growing start-up climate, she embarked upon launching her own line of handbags under the brand name “Maggie Modena.”
She said her bags are meant to be loud and liberating. She said this stylistic approach helps bring out one’s true self, something she struggled with herself as a child.
“I was the kid that didn’t talk and was drawing all the time,” Welsh said. “That was the way I expressed myself, and that’s essentially what I mean by loud is liberating. I actually enjoy the company of others and I’ve had to bring that out of myself by my outward appearance. By wearing something a little bit louder you can feel a bit more like yourself.”
One of the challenges of maintaining her line is production, something most people forget about, Welsh said. She said she commits herself to having her handbags made and materials sourced locally. According to her website, she sources all materials from the United States, which are cut in Madison and sewn in Milwaukee.
Although she admits she was more artful than most growing up. It wasn’t until mid-college she realized combining creativity with her career was obtainable, she said. After becoming dissatisfied with her study of anthropology, all while selling hand bags on the side, she embarked on some soul searching and soon switched her major to textile design.
After choosing this path, she felt relief at finally being able to turn her hobby into something more and took advantage of the UW program’s focus on artistry and experimentation with textiles, Welsh said.
In her career and personal life, Welsh said she enjoys taking inspiration from music, musicians and nature. Now that she’s back in Wisconsin, she said it is easy for her to draw from her environment and apply it to her work.
“My first collection mostly surrounded around a friend’s farm at sunrise,” she said. “I was picking him up one day and it was just the most beautiful sunrise with dark white and crazy looking tree silhouettes.”
Regarding the future, Welsh said for her next collection she looks forward to collaborating with some male artist friends from Austin, Texas, who she said can contribute to adding a masculine perspective to her designs.
“I need to keep with it, being loud but still wearable for someone who is not afraid of wearing something intense,” she said.
A previous version of this article misquoted Maggie Welsh. The Badger Herald regrets this error.
