Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites

Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites and Ilene Hochberg Wood present a virtual auction of beautiful, one-of-a-kind, handbags crafted by local artists in honor of saying goodbye to the blockbuster exhibit PURSEonality: A Stylish Handbag History.

The auction features handbags customized by artists, some of whom have work in Ilene Wood’s collection! It will be like taking a part of the exhibition home with you! Enjoy added benefits like access to a live virtual tour with Ilene Wood and prize drawn admission for Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites Historic Holidays: Christmas in the Quarter. We are also pleased to announce the prize drawing of a designer BSWANKY handbag valued at $2,200.

Purchase prize draw tickets for your chance to win at $50 and register for free to bid on all listed bags. We can’t wait for you to join us for this stylish send-off! 

Register for free

• Register to bid for free
• Anyone who places a bid will have access to the live, virtual closing tour with Ilene Wood. Learn about what is up next for PURSEonality!
• Tickets to enter the Prize Draw for designer, BSWANKY bag are $50 each.

Ilene Hochberg Wood and Gretchen Bauer, owner of BSWANKY at PURSEonality: A Stylish Handbag History

Enter our prize draw to win this gorgeous Sofita Cosmopolitan handbag by BSWANKY, valued at $2,200!

BSWANKY Designer Handbag Prize Drawing

Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites would like to thank BSWANKY for generously donating one of their beautiful handbags to be a part of our prize drawing. BSWANKY, founded by Gretchen Bauer, crafts handbags in the U.S.A. out of their own Sarasota, Florida-based atelier. BSWANKY was born on the principle of uplifting women in the U.S. garment industry, and are committed to not only their employees, but designing the perfect bag for their clients as well.

Inspired by the elegant vintage glamour of cosmopolitan life in cities like Paris, Barcelona, and Milan, this bag brings the party back from the past. Made of fabulous rare screen-printed hide and finished with gator-embossed leather trim and our iconic nickel hardware, only 1 of these one of a kind hand bags can be made! This charismatic and chic handbag has timeless appeal, but won’t be around for long!

• Can be worn as a shoulder bag or a backpack
• Fits a tablet, continental wallet, 500 ml water bottle all at once!
• Bag measures 12’’ w X 10.5’’ h X 5’’ d, strap measures 28″l x 1″w (includes closure)
• Weight: 2.5 lbs
• Interior hook closure for added security
• Front nickel closure opens to expand the bag
• Two D-ring attachments to wear in backpack form
• Large interior with one zip closure pocket, one open pocket, pen pocket and interior clip key holder
• Convenient swivel snap closures hook onto exquisite grommet details
• Four purse feet to protect base of bag

Express your interest in crafting a handbag!

If you have any other questions, please feel free to reach out to Director of Collections and Programming, Lindsey Jancay, at ljancay@historicbethlehem.org.

PURSEonality: A Stylish Handbag History is being exhibited at Coral Gables Museum, Coral Gables, FL from September 15, 2020 - January 15, 2021!

Over 250 bags were safely packed up for the transfer, pictured to the right.

Want to see Ilene Hochberg Wood's incredible collection right here in Bethlehem? More than 400 handbags are still on display at the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts, and can only be seen through private tours of 6 or fewer people. Tours can be scheduled directly with Lindsey Jancay before the exhibit closes at the end of October.

Docent-Led Tour: $12 per person, $10 for members
Curator-Led Tour: $20 per person, $15 for members
Collector-Led Tour with Ilene Hochberg Wood: $30 per person, $25 for members