One rockin’ bag
Sculptor carves classic Hermès from stone
Barbara Segal’s handbags are so heavy, they would give any chiropractor a fit.
“You can’t carry them around,” the Yonkers artist says, “but so many women with Birkins just stare at [their bags].
“They’ll say, ‘My bag is a work of art.’ Mine, too!”
Segal carves her 100-pound versions of the Birkin — the iconic Hermès tote — out of stone like orange calcite. “[Stone] transforms it into an almost religious item of worship,” she says. “It’s turning [the Birkin] into a historical relic.”
Segal, a graduate of Pratt, got her start making product models for Avon Cosmetics in the 1980s. “I learned how to do [perfume] bottles with incredible precision, to a thousandth of an inch,” she says. “One day, I thought, ‘I bet I could make a striped shirt out of stone.’ ”
Segal next focused on bags — first Chanel’s quilted classics, then Hermès’ iconic totes.
Her biggest challenge? Authenticity. Thanks to Hermès’ notoriously elusive Birkin policies, Segal couldn’t find a bag, much less afford one. “They won’t even let you hold one in the store!” she exclaims. “Fortunately, the Internet is an amazing place,” she says, citing Malleries.com, a secondhand marketplace, as a trusted source for Birkin dimensions and high-resolution photos.
Her “bags” are true to size and bear immaculate detailing, including the status tote’s signature leather folds, tight stitching and even the lock — which she carves from the same rock as the bags, then paints in metallic shades. Segal acquires material from quarries all over the world — from the Grand Canyon region to Iran — and uses traditional carving tools, including chisels and stone cutters. A bag typically takes her three months to finish. After she started tagging her Birkins on Instagram, galleries worldwide offered their services. Among them is Krause Gallery on the Lower East Side, which will display her “Black Candy” bag from this coming Wednesday through Oct. 5 as part of its “Emerging to Established” group show.
Segal’s works run from $45,000 to $65,000 — a hefty sum, but a real Birkin recently sold for more than $300,000 at Christie’s. (Bought new from Hermès, the bags reportedly go from $12,000 to more than $200,000, depending on materials and customization.)
The fashion industry has been biting. “I sold a Chanel piece to someone who works at Chanel,” confirms Segal, a professor at the School of Visual Arts.
She even created a 3-foot-tall Chanel bag from white Utah marble that weighs a literal ton. “Moving it from my studio was a major ordeal,” she says. “It took four men.”
As for her art bags trying to convey any message about consumerism, Segal demurs. “I’m not trying to say if it’s good or bad — they’re . . beautiful!”