Karen Cardoso’s Bolsa Nova Handbags: Italian leather in Hewlett

Before owning her own store, Karen Cardoso had quite the fashion and design history.

Cardoso went to the Fashion Institute of Technology and earned a degree in fashion illustration. After graduation the lack of jobs in her field made it difficult to find employment. She eventually found a job as a graphic designer for an accessory company.

“I kind of just moved my way up the ranks over the years to become a full handbag designer,” Cardoso said.

She worked for over 25 years in New York City as a ghost designer for major brands and headed up many teams and projects for major department stores.

“My name wasn’t on it, but I was actually designing it,” she said.

Cardoso opened up her own company — Bolsa Nova Handbags — seven years ago. She came up with the name Bolsa Nova because it means “new bag” in Portuguese, paying homage to her husband who is Portuguese and helped with the logo and brand development. 

“It was a long process to get the name because so many names were taken and we really wanted to have a name that we owned,” Cardoso said. “It’s kind of what we ended up with, I thought it sounded chic and it had a connect to us so that was nice.”

Cardoso always knew she wanted her handbags to be leather, because she was fed up with the vegan leather trend.

“It’s all plastic and it didn’t really give the value that the customers were sold and I wanted to do a high quality bag for a good price,” she said.

Her first line was originally made in China and then she moved production to Italy, when she found Italian washed leather that she fell in love with.

Cardoso’s designs are inspired by comfort and wanting to have a soft bag when you touch it.

“I like that the bag has a story, that it looks lived in a bit when you buy it, it has a lot of character the leather,” Cardoso said. “It’s the old world Italian leather you just don’t find anymore.”

She loves the business and wouldn’t know what to do without designing.

“It’s in my blood and I’m really proud of what we’ve done so far, it’s been a lot of fun,” Cardoso said.

Christine Rizzo, Bolsa Nova Handbags director of marketing, does everything from boxing up orders to sending out emails and supporting sales staff.

Rizzo really enjoys working for Cardoso and appreciates her boss.

“She’s super patient and never gets frustrated, she’s always thinking ahead and she’s always out to support other women owned businesses,” Rizzo said.

While only being there two years, Rizzo has learned many facets of owning a business from Cardoso.

“I had been a stay at home mom for quite a while before working with her and it got me back into the business world and it’s been great learning the wholesale business and what it takes the build a business from the ground up,” Rizzo said.

Rizzo mainly uses Instagram for publicity, the page is @BolsaNovaHandbags. She also sends out email blasts to customers.

“Karen is a great leader she is very inspirational, the product that she has developed and manufactured in Italy is something that you can not find everywhere,” Rizzo said. “It’s a unique product available right here on Long Island.”

Bolsa Nova Handbags has many five star reviews on their website, BolsaNovaHandbags.com from happy customers.

The store is open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and by appointment. It is located at 8 New Street, Hewlett. (516)-286-8985