A woman has painstakingly recreated her own Hermès Kelly bag for $940, a fraction of the iconic bag’s high price.
Brooke Denault decided to take on the tedious task of creating a custom version of the world’s most coveted bag back in March because she “thought it would be intriguing.”
In November, she shared videos of the roughly 40-hour process on TikTok as Brooke told DailyMail.com that she’s just “a pretty average person trying to make a bag.”
Denault, who works alongside her husband Michael at their company Makers Workshop in Maynard, Massachusetts, used a variety of materials to remake the luxury bag, including chipboard, paper towels, cardboard and hot pink faux crocodile skin.
An authentic Kelly bag, with the same fuchsia crocodile finish and best-selling palladium hardware, is currently up for resale at Sotheby’s auction house for $72,870.
Throughout the grueling process, Brooke remained very transparent about her version of the bag, admitting that she didn’t “recreate it perfectly,” but she still thinks that if someone saw it on the street, at first glance, it might look real.
The expert maker also noted the cost of each product she used, as she spent about $250 on leather, about $90 on hardware, and about $600 in labor costs, for a total of $940, not including the use of his $16,000 laser. cutter who helped her along the way.
She revealed that the bag’s sewing time was “substantial,” and praised the skilled artisans who hand-sew each bag for the high-end French bag company.
“Supposedly a Kelly bag has 26,000 stitches and it takes a trained craftsman 25 hours, which sounds pretty reasonable when I first heard it, but now that I’ve done it, no, it’s incredibly fast,” Brooke said.
Brooke Denault, an expert creator, decided to recreate her own Hermès Kelly bag, while documenting the entire process on TikTok.
The expert maker also noted the cost of each product she used, as she spent about $250 on leather, about $90 on hardware, and about $600 on labor costs, for a total of $940.
“I’m nowhere near even close to that pace with my laser cut holes that are kind of a trap in the first place.”
The artisan estimated that her total labor cost was about $600, since it took her 40 hours to create it and she multiplied it by the minimum wage in her area: $15 an hour.
His journey began in early November when he shared a video about how his idea became a reality.
Brooke first achieved a “perfected pattern” by tracing images of the luxury bags before using her giant laser cutter to cut out pieces of chipboard, a material made from pieces of wood and epoxy resin.
“Pattern making and laser cutting are in my comfort zone,” Brooke told DailyMail.com.
The laser created all the little stitching holes that she replicated from the photographs of the Kelly bags.
As the process progressed, she began to worry about getting all the seams right, but she stayed positive and kept working.
She then used hot glue to construct the base of the bag while taking the time to explain the bag’s deeply rooted history.
The bag was originally launched as a saddlebag and was called Sac à Dépêches,” Koffsky previously explained to DailyMail.com.
Former Hermès CEO Robery Dumas created the basic bag in 1935.
An authentic Hermès Kelly bag in hot pink crocodile skin (pictured) cost $98,000, but Brooke made her replica for just $980.
It wasn’t until American actress Grace Kelly got her hands on the bag that the name was changed, as paparazzi iconically photographed her using the bag to cover her baby bump after announcing her engagement to Prince Rainer of Monaco.
In 1977, the bag’s name was officially changed to the Kelly bag, in honor of the princess and movie star.
“Right now, it comes in many colors, leather types, and hardware types and sizes,” Brooke explained.
“At this point, no two are alike, which I think drives up the price considerably on the resale market, especially for unique colors, textures and things like that.”
Dedicated buyers have to go to great lengths to get their hands on the bags, which are They are made in limited quantities and are typically only offered to customers who have a long purchasing history with the brand.
The iconic bag has been worn for years by celebrities such as Sofia Richie Grainge, Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez.
He joked that if Hermès actually created a cardboard Kelly bag, it would probably work very well and “be worth a lot.”
The next step was to cover the base of the homemade bag in leather, which Brooke ordered herself from a company.
He then connected all the hardware he purchased from a seller on Etsy.
‘This is the skin of a hot pink crocodile. No, it’s not. Although it seems that way,’ he said.
Genuine Hermès Kelly bags are made from real crocodile, alligator skins and luxury leathers, adding to the enormous value of the bags.
In 1977, the bag’s name was officially changed to the Kelly bag, named after American princess and film star Grace Kelly after she was seen using the iconic bag to protect her baby bump in 1956.
The iconic bag has been worn for years by celebrities, including Sofia Richie Grainge, (pictured) who rocked a dark wine Kelly bag.
Brooke soon added some upholstery material she had lying around to create the interior lining of her bag.
She then secured the nude striped fabric to the faux leather with a “very, very generous coat” of spray glue down the middle of the material.
‘This was stressful. ‘I didn’t want to mess it up so much,’ he admitted before putting painter’s tape on top of the fabric and placing it in the laser cutter.
Despite adding “crazy spots” to the inside of the leather with the laser cutter, Brooke proceeded to paint the edges of the leather with a matching pink edge coat.
Once that was dry, she began the arduous process of sewing the leather with pink thread to attach the straps.
“I’ll be here next month sewing,” she joked.
To finally complete the recreation, Brooke used a bungee cord to replicate the purse strap.
She described how it took her almost a day to sew the cord to a strip of leather, after removing the metal pieces and using matches to get rid of the frays at the end.
‘We have a finished bag. The inside looks wild, but I like it even more than if it came out perfect,” Brooke said as she put the finishing touches on the bag.
She then wrapped a silk scarf around the handle of the bag, to truly replicate a Kelly bag.
‘Even if I had perfectly recreated a Kelly, which I didn’t, it still wouldn’t be a Kelly bag.
‘Its value will not be appreciated. It is not an investment for that reason. “It doesn’t have the weight and history of the Hermès brand behind it,” Brooke added.
Although she knew the bag would never come close to the real thing, Brooke said she became “very emotionally attached” to the bag after spending hours and hours making it.
“I feel like if I was walking past someone quickly, you probably wouldn’t notice it wasn’t one, but if I was sitting next to a real Kelly, it would be pretty obvious which one was mine,” he said. .
Brooke said she won’t sell the bag and will keep it for herself.
He said he is considering selling the pattern, but only after modifying it to his liking because he only sells his world when its “quality is 100 percent.”