In Enid, his 2021 memoir about his parents, ranch life and the birth of Collins of Texas, Jeep Collins explains that the now-famous haute couture handbags began as gifts for friends. Working at the kitchen table, Enid drew designs, Frederic cut leather and sculpted brass, and they put it all together. Fred sold the first Collins of Texas collection in 1946, to Neiman Marcus for $500. More orders followed, and soon enough even bigger success, when Enid had an idea for handbags from wooden boxes.

Frederic built a woodworking shop to make the boxes from exotic woods while Enid sourced faux jewels from Europe, Hong Kong and Japan. In 1956, they moved out of the kitchen and into commercial space in Medina. The first Collins box bags were manufactured by a staff of just 11, supplemented by little Jeep and Cynthia (who later became the original “Collins Girl” model in the company’s ads). In 1958, Collins of Texas incorporated and four years later built a 7,000-sq.-ft. factory with the modern equipment. Still, much of the work was done by hand, including application of the jewel patterns that were making the bags instantly recognizable, and coveted by patrons of the most fashionable boutiques. By the mid 1960s, Enid’s box bags were sold the world over.

After Enid and Frederic divorced in 1970, the company, which had relocated to Fredericksburg, Texas, was sold to Tandy Corp. Enid continued as head designer but left not long after. Tandy continued to produce Collins of Texas bejeweled bags, at first using Enid’s designs then switching to derivatives by various, unattributed designers. Today, Collins of Texas is once again privately owned by the Parstabar family and back in Medina, producing fine leather bags and a “Classics” line that uses vintage designs from its archive of Enid’s original drawings and patterns.

After leaving Tandy Corp., Enid semi-retired in Fredricksburg and continued to work as maker and patron of fine art. She died in 1990. Today, her designs are prized as important, original pieces of what Enid always told us that they were: wearable art.

About Karen Adler

Like Enid Collins, I am a bit of a hybrid: part artist, part entrepreneur. As Enid Collins might put it, “I’m a mixed bag.” I completed doctoral study in cultural anthropology at the University of Colorado at Boulder, hold an M.A. in Cultural Anthropology from Northern Illinois University and a B.S. in Journalism and Spanish from Southern Illinois University. Prior to launching Finding Enid with LOVE, I worked as a painter, photographer and gallery owner while raising two children on a ranch in the Rocky Mountain foothills. I also served 20 years as a flight attendant with United Airlines.

I am inspired by exploring unknowns and discovery, especially when encountering “ordinary” or overlooked art, and connecting with the people and stories that emerge from their design, fabrication and everyday use. I founded Finding Enid with LOVE in 2012 after discovering a vintage 1968 Enid Collins LOVE box purse in a Chicago thrift store. I featured it and additional Collins works in a “Tramped” show at my Niwot, Colo., manifest ART gallery and began studying Enid in earnest. Today, I am earning a Professional Certificate in Museology at CU Boulder. My vision for Finding Enid with LOVE is to assemble a comprehensive collection of original artworks that I may preserve and share in its own permanent home someday.

• American Alliance of Museums

• Association of Academic Museums and Galleries

• Catalogue Raisonne Scholars Association

• College Art Association