Not Quite Coach, but Nice!

My next creation was due to a challenge of sorts. As I was working on the mosaic of my nephew Trust, my sister-in-law Laura, who also lived in Philly (where we lived at the time) asked me to do something for her. Since she was graduating from college that June, I agreed, and asked her what she wanted me to make for her out of LEGO bricks. Strangely enough (or not so strangely - she was a fashion design major!) she decided that a purse was the natural next project for me to embark on. So I built a purse out of LEGO and finished it just in time for her graduation celebration dinner (barely under the wire, I was not sure the glue had dried when I wrapped it up, and was immensely worried that Laura would open up the package and have a pile of bricks with tissue paper stuck to all the seams. Fortunately, it turned out okay) Here is a closeup of her unwrapping the purse:

This is the second, and to date last, LEGO creation that I glued. From a practical perspective, I had no choice on this one, but fortunately the purse, consisting, in essence, of a big brick made of smaller bricks, didn't suffer from warping the way the earlier mosaic did.

Laura has assured me that she has actually taken the purse out with her on a couple of special occasions (and of course been VERY careful with it!). It seems pretty sturdy, from what she has said (although it does weigh a ton, as you can imagine). The only non-LEGO elements involved (other than the glue) is the strap, which is a colored rope I found at a fabric store (probably meant for curtains or something) that just happened to be in exactly the right colors.

Here is a shot of Laura holding the purse. Note how I worked her initials into the design, as well as her favorite colors:

The purse 'works': If you look closely, the small 'plate' on the top is the clasp. Once that is removed, the purse opens and has two compartments inside, large enough for some cash, ID, and a (small) cell phone.

Here is a little diagram to show how it opens (imagine viewing the purse from the side):

Although this was built quite early in my return to LEGO, it remains one of my favorite creations. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to photograph it properly before giving it to Laura, and she now lives in Ireland, so it's unlikely I will get another chance soon. Hopefully, these photos and the accompanying description will give you at least a little bit of an idea regarding the coolest purse on the planet.

Roy