Art, life and leather

Spring Into Art teacher will pass on lessons in life and leatherwork to prospective students Leather designer and craftswoman Staci Schubert is a Laguna Beach and Sawdust Art Festival success story.

After losing her corporate job when the Internet bubble burst in 2000, she started selling handmade bags with the Craft Guild on the cobblestones at Main Beach, and last summer had her first stint with the Sawdust Art Festival.

Now she is on the cusp of major success.

Schubert’s line of hand-made bags and accessories debuts this week in New York City at the new Shecky’s Shop in SoHo.

She was chosen as one of 35 designers to launch the flagship store of this major new boutique.

Schubert’s bags, made of Italian leather and lined with suede, have a hand-made quality without losing chic, with laces, sturdy rivets and etched designs that add subtle touches.

Schubert’s story is one of boom-to-bust to self-made woman.

Since the dotcom bust (or “dotbomb,” as she calls it) Schubert has morphed from Internet marketing executive into a small businesswoman, designing, making and marketing her own line of wares from her home studio.

And she is ready to teach what she calls lessons she’s learned from the “school of hard knocks.”

Schubert will teach leather-working as part of the Sawdust Festival’s Spring Into Art class series, along with some two-dozen other Sawdust exhibitors.

She also teaches at Saddleback Community College, and serves as a mentor-for-hire through Vocation Vacations to those who want an inside look at what she does.

Schubert, who grew up in New York City, has a background in design, graduating from the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design with a graphic-design degree.

She migrated to Laguna Beach 12 years ago, and spent years working for large companies as a graphic designer and art director, until a stint designing Toshiba’s website led to a position in Internet marketing. But she yearned for a creative life.

“I was handling million-dollar projects, but it wasn’t me anymore,” she said of the corporate world. “I was sleepwalking through life. I said, let me try to find myself.”

Laid off, she took a year to discover herself -- and took classes at Saddleback in various handcrafts, including metalwork, sewing, and other basic skills. She started off selling beaded jewelry, but her leather bags were a hit.

“The first time I brought bags to the Craft Guild sale, four sold for $47 each, and the girls who bought them told me I was charging much too little,” Schubert said.

“When I got into the Sawdust, it was a pinnacle for me. I was selling bags nationwide, but not making enough money because of the retail mark-up. I got a great number in the [Sawdust] lottery, and opened a little retail store, and it was the best time of my life, because of the camaraderie with other artists.

“It catapulted me into the boutique in New York City.”

Her handmade products include cozy cell-phone bags, Ipod bags, and messenger bags in various shapes -- all made by her own hands.

She is also exploring a line of kicky “fantasy” leather wear with feathers and straps, and plans to move into fashion design as well.

For the Spring Into Art class, Schubert will teach some of her techniques, including hand-sewing, decoration and applique, as well as design techniques.

“Leather is an amazing medium, because you can do so much with it,” she said.

But the most important lesson she wants to teach is that of creativity and life skills.

“I will open their minds to thinking outside the box,” she said.

Schubert’s two-day class will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, March 25 and 26. Classes are limited to 10 students. The cost is $150, including continental breakfast and catered lunch and all materials. Registration: Mollie Bing, (949) 497-0520.20060217iur92qncDON LEACH / COASTLINE PILOT(LA)Laguna artist Staci Schubert will teach a course in leatherwork and bag handcrafting at the Sawdust’s Spring into Art classes.