Jacci Adams, Louisville resident and entrepreneur, organized an open house to kick off a new product line. 

Last fall she started selling for Bagolitas, a handbag company based in Iowa City, Iowa.  She also sells for Arbonne International, LLC, a skincare and wellness company.
Both Bagolitas and Arbonne products were displayed. 

She kicked off the business by offering proceeds to breast cancer research. “I am a cancer survivor of 16 years and fund raising of important causes is important for me,” Adams said.  “I want to fund raise for causes that are near and dear to me.”
Adams, a 44-year-old wife and mother of one, survived Hodgkin’s disease, a cancer of the lymphatic system.

The story behind Bagolitas caught her attention.  A friend of hers, who was selling both Bagolitas and Arbonne, told her the story and introduced her to the company.

Janice Baldes, founder of Bagolitas, was trying to keep busy during a long break between projects in her former career as a graphic designer.  She recovered her kitchen chair cushions at home and then discovered her husband didn’t like the floral fabric.  She salvaged the material by sewing a purse.

Her friends liked the bags she made for herself so she decided to create a handbag business.

As a one-woman business, Bagolitas was inundated with orders.  Baldes said a prayer and asked for help.

Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in August of 2005. 

Baldes’ church sent an e-mail to its members stating Herren Rueda, a Katrina survivor who fled to the Iowa City area, took in Elsa Narvaez’s family after the storm. 

One of Narvaez’s children needed a tenor saxophone, and Baldes had one in her basement.  She offered it to the family, but by that time, it had already found one.

Baldes found out Rueda and Narvaez were distant cousins, and both were looking for work after the storm.  Baldes also discovered not only could Rueda sew, but as a teenager, she worked in a New York City garment district sweatshop. 

Both Rueda and Narvaez were hired. 

“They felt so embraced by our community that they stayed here instead of returning to Louisiana,” said Baldes.  “The people who work for us are part of the story.”

The Narvaez family now lives in the Iowa City suburb of Coralville, and the Rueda family moved to the Cincinnati area.

“Our goals are to build a sustainable company, one that will be around for 10 or 15 years,” Baldes said.  “The goals behind our company are not to make a lot of money, but to give back to the community.”

Adams is one of the first Bagolitas sales representatives in Northeast Ohio.
It’s an “all about women kind of a company,” she said.

“I’m extremely excited and am hoping people in Northeast Ohio embrace it,” she said.  “It’s a company that is giving back to communities in ways such as giving living wages and giving good starts … It’s a phenomenal thing.”   

For more information about Bagolitas or to schedule a purse party, please contact Adams at jacci@3x4consulting.com.     

Customers can view the Web site at www.bagolitas.com.