At the back of her new store on North Main Street, Stephanie Flanders sits at a sewing station making a small change purse to add to her inventory, the same style of bag that initially captured her interest back in 2020.
During the pandemic, as Flanders looked for new mask patterns, she stumbled upon a creator on YouTube making small, square change purses and she thought she’d give it a try. When the first two she made came out well, she picked it up as a hobby.
The rest was history. She told her friends and coworkers, and they began requesting bags and other handmade items whenever they needed a gift for a certain occasion. Realizing her products had potential, Flanders decided to pivot from her 30-year career in healthcare to fulfill her passion.
She opened her business, George S Wallace Bag Maker, in Warner in 2021. In December, 2025, she moved to downtown Concord.
“I started doing it for stress relief, especially during COVID, and then I thought maybe I could make something out of it,” she said.
Flanders owes her confidence to her two grandfathers, George Covatis and Wallace Emerson, who she describes as the most influential men in her life. She honored them in naming her shop — the S between their first names represents her own first initial.
She initially learned to sew from her grandmother, whose Kenmore sewing machine Flanders inherited and still uses to make many of her products.
Before moving to North Main Street, Flanders said her shop in Warner did not get a lot of foot traffic. When a storefront opened up in downtown Concord, she jumped at the chance to move.
As she did with her friends and old coworkers, she gives customers the option to request a custom bag. They can customize everything from the bag’s style and size to fabric.
In the process of requesting a custom bag, customers can choose from fabrics Flanders already has on hand or they can provide their own fabric. Her fabric cabinet is positioned near the front of the store so customers can take inspiration from the variety of options.
Some customers have approached Flanders to make meaningful pieces out special fabrics or upcycled clothing to memorialize a loved one who has passed away.
“I have a custom order I’m working on right now that a woman brought some fabric back from India and she wanted something made out of it,” she said, “She decided that might be kind of a cool thing so she brought that in.”
In the future, Flanders hopes to implement sewing classes for people who want to learn. Although bags can intimidate first-timers, she said they’re the perfect beginner project.
“I hate to say it, but bags look complicated because they’re three dimensional,” she said, “If you can kind of sew a straight line, you can make a bag, and I am not joking.”
Before embracing her dream, Flanders hadn’t touched a sewing machine since she was a teenager. “It’s like riding a bicycle, I watched a couple YouTube videos and I was like, ‘Wait I remember how this worked,'” she said.
Her shop has provided learning opportunities in business management and creativity, as well.
“I don’t have a background, I’m just kind of learning as I go,” she said.
