Timmy Woods makes purses. Her purses are solid treeware; shaped by hand out of the naturally fallen branches of Acacia trees. These fanciful designs are carved to resemble three dimensional dogs, horses, slot machines, telephones, and more. The sizes and weight are pretty close to solid wood cigar box purses, but with much more vibrant colors!

Kaylene Peoples from Agenda Magazine did a great job documenting the labor intensive carving and shaping process. It takes at least 30 days for a carver to complete a handbag, and the hand crafted character makes each purse unique. All bags come with a registration certificate that entitles the holder to limited edition offerings of short run purses. The company does accept commissions in case you’re wanting a replica of the White House bag that Timmy made for Laura Bush.

Priced from $150 to $2,500 these hard case clutches and shoulder bags are not for the squeamish. These signed works of art are delightfully functional for those occasions when making a statement is required: Sure they’re over the top, but that’s the point. And in an emergency you can probably beat a mugger senseless with one.

Spotted at CubeMe