Exhibit: Cocky Collins
Birds were one of Enid Collins's go-to motifs for both box-bag and tote designs. Roosters stand out as favorites among her many feathered friends, and she created several variations on the cock theme.
Note for collectors: if you're searching for these "cocky" designs, note that Enid sometimes played with word choice, so be sure to search for the French "coq" as well as the English "cock."
Exhibit: Wordplay
Enid Collins is renowned for her stylized, whimsical, nature-based designs (and bling-happy jewels!). But she's equally beloved for the sly comic wit conveyed through her imagery and design titles--especially when she's playing with idioms and puns.
In some designs, Enid takes her wordplay to another dimension by mingling text and graphics in ways that invite us to consider the design as a we might a game of Anagrams or some other word puzzle. Translating verbal language as image puns, she transforms threadbare cliches into engaging visual texts, delightfully surprising.
Exhibit: Bill Bristow Designs
In 1971, Enid Collins commissioned San Antonio artist William Bristow to create funny, pun-ny bird designs for her box bags.
A San Antonio native, Bristow is a popular painter and illustrator who has shown works coast to coast. Bristow is also renowned as a humorist, and has provided comic illustrations for books, magazines and films. He served as a professor of art at Trinity University.
Exhibit: Bye-Bye Bling
When we think "Enid Collins," it's impossible not to imagine three things: box bags, vivid color and gobs of glittering jewels. But in 1970, Enid went minimal and created a line of box purses screenprinted in sober black and white, and without nary a gem in sight.
Drawing on both the British mod style contemporary at the time and also hearkening to Greek classicism, these black-black-and-white bags stand out for their attention to stripped-down style that nevertheless retains that unique Enid Collins artistry and wit.