about
Finding Enid with LOVE is a multi-disciplinary project based in Longmont, Colorado, that collects, researches, documents and curates the artwork of Enid Collins (1918-1990), a mid-century designer and entrepreneur whose name has become synonymous with the bejeweled box purses that made her a fashion legend.
Mission: To discover Enid Collins through her handbags and the people who wear them. We seek to assemble a museum-quality collection of Collins original artworks so that we may illuminate her significance as an American decorative artist, designer and female entrepreneur.
History
The start of something big: the collection’s first Enid Collins bags were featured in “Tramped”, a 2012 show at Karen Adler’s Manifest Art gallery, in Niwot, Colorado.
Home page of the project’s first website, 2015.
Finding Enid with LOVE was founded by Karen Adler in 2012 to formalize her collection of original vintage box bags and other works by Enid Collins, and share her growing knowledge. She discovered Collins in 2011, when she stumbled upon a vintage “LOVE” box purse in a Chicago thrift store. She hunted down some more and featured them in a tramp art exhibit at her Niwot, Colorado, “manifest ART gallery” (now closed). As she acquired and studied bag upon bag, her casual interest evolved into a serious project. Applying her professional background in art and cultural anthropology, she began in earnest to collect and study as many original Collins artworks as possible. She dubbed her method “purse anthropology.”
Adler launched an Ebay store to offer some of the authentic replacement jewels she was accumulating, and in 2013 started to refresh and sell original bags on Etsy (she now retains at least one example of each design). She quickly built a reputation for expertise among collectors and resellers, particularly in authenticating and dating bags, and identifying Collins’s signature faux jewels. In 2015, she published her catalog online to share it with the world and raise awareness of Collins as an important folk artist. It included more than 400 box bags and became a valuable reference for collectors old and new.
Adler organized the project as an L3C, a type of limited liability company that also serves a social purpose, in 2022. Today, her museum-quality collection includes more than 1,000 original Enid Collins box bags, totes, bucket bags and papier maché, derivatives and imitations, plus photos, vintage ads and documents. Through study of Collins artworks, she seeks to build understanding about this important American artist, preserve and exhibit her art, and educate and inspire all who seek to know Enid—with love!
Quick Facts
| Created: | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Location: | Longmont, Colo. |
| Founder: | Karen Adler, M.A. |
| Business type: | L3C, social enterprise |
| Collection type: | Physical |
| Collection size: | More than 1,000 original artworks, derivatives & documents |
| Collection scope: | Box bags, totes and other items designed by Enid Collins from 1961 to 1972, and by competitors and imitators through today. |
| Bags restored: | About 650 |
| Bags resold: | About 355 |
| First acquisition: | "LOVE" 1968 square box bag, for $180 |
| Notable works: | “Autograph Hound”, “Fiesta Flambeau”, “Forbidden Fruit”, “Green Thumb”, “It’s a Whole New Sound” (with built-in transistor radio), “Winner’s Circle” |
| Oldest work: | Leather clutch, approximately 1960 |
| Largest acquisition: | More than 300, from a private collector, in 2018 |
Vintage Enid Collins designed box bags
Vintage Collins canvas and other totes
Original faux jewels in glass and plastic
Most spent to acquire a single bag, “Green Thumb”
Least spent for a bag, a “Tres Flores” missing most of its jewels
Different styles of faux gems and embellishments
people
karen adler
founder & director
Michèle van haecke
communications & development
