Mary Frances began designing her bags in the 1980's when she decided that commercial real estate was just not for her. She felt a need to express herself creatively and had always loved costume jewelry, with it's glitter and glamour. Mary Frances really wanted to create this jewelry but also did not want to be stuck selling her creations one by one at local craft fairs.

She visited a friend in the Philippines in 1989 and found a factory to manufacture her jewelry. Trends in large costume jewelry declined in the 1990's and Mary Frances decided to design bags that incorporated her love of jewelry.

The Motif collection was introduced in 1999 and became a hit. She decided to price her bags reasonably and not to compete with Judith Leiber, who sells her high end bags for thousand's of dollars.

Mary Frances's bags are growing in popularity and retail for $150.00 to $200.00. the designs incorporate buttons, bows, stones, fringe, and other 3 dimensional concepts. About 150,000 bags are produced per year and Mary Frances designs 250 different styles each year. Her revenues were 13.6 million in 2005 and there is projected growth rate of 505% in 3 years.

These beautiful bags are especially popular with women in their 40's and in January of 2008 she will be introducing more casual street bags for everyday wear.