10/23/2025
Meet Kerri McBee-Black, creator of Laurie Jean's Studio. Kerri uses upcycled materials to create bags and other textiles. She created this business in order to honor her loved ones who have passed and to share their memory with others. Read more about her work here:
"Laurie Jean’s Studio, founded by Kerri McBee-Black, reimagines donated and thrifted textiles—vintage tablecloths, denim jeans and scraps, —into one-of-a-kind upcycled bags and accessories. Each piece is a tribute to creativity, sustainability, and compassion, reflecting both personal memory and community generosity. Kerri is a Professor teaching apparel product development. Her career has included working as a children’s wear designer, production and product development manager and inclusive design research. She brings her fashion design and product development experience to every creation. Her belief in equity and inclusion spans her creative and scholarly work, focusing on adaptive apparel for people with disabilities and equity in the fashion industry.
Kerri began Laurie Jean’s Studio to honor her family members who have passed away and their tradition of taking what is old and making it new again. The studio is named after Kerri’s sister Laurie who had a knack for taking discarded items and breathing new life into them. Kerri also honors her father’s artistry of restoring and customizing antique and classic cars. She was raised to see the beauty in the discarded. Every item is handmade using repurposed materials. Kerri designs each piece using the materials to guide her process. No two pieces will ever be the same. Out of grief and trauma has come joy and connection through the art of creating."
Shop Kerri's bags and more here: https://www.serendipitysalonandgalleryshop.com/shop/laurie-jeans-studio/CNMHSVSQHHGOAID6IG43TOZ4?page=1&limit=60&sort_by=category_order&sort_order=asc
