Gingham Check Scallop Shell Bag & Purse
Evocative of long summer days, this gorgeous Gingham Check Scallop Shell Bag and coordinating detachable purse are perfect for beach days or strolling to the farmer's market.
Hand-crafted from blue heavy-weight cotton and trimmed with a decorative pleat, the bag and purse are both fully lined, making them sturdy and stylish.
The bag features a hand-embroidered scallop shell worked in whipped backstitch, a handy internal pocket and a lobster clasp for attaching the matching purse.
Our Shell Bag & Purse is one of the first products to emerge from our new textile workshop within a women’s prison, where we deliver fortnightly sessions, with a focus on skills-based learning. The workshop gives the women the opportunity to embrace their creativity, build their confidence, and consider their next steps.
"I am slowing building up my confidence to make things. I have broadened my skills with Fine Cell Work, as I have never sewn before, and now I have accomplished making bags and purses, and adding frills and so on." ~ Fine Cell Work textile workshop stitcher
- Bag measures approx. 37 x 29cms, with 7cm pleated trim (14.5 x 11.5", with 2.75" pleated trim)
- Bag strap length approx. 74cms (29")
- Purse measures approx. 15 x 13cms, with 4cm pleated trim (6 x 5", with 1.5" pleated trim)
- 100% Cotton
- Gentle Wash
UK delivery starts at £3 and is completely free for orders over £200.
We also offer international delivery.
We hope you'll be delighted by your new Fine Cell Work items, but just in case you're not, there are several circumstances in which we will refund your purchase, subject to the item being returned within 30 days of receipt.
Our production process
Each of our products goes on a long and impactful journey before it is ready to be sold. And every one of our items touches the life of at least one prisoner or prison leaver in some way.
Our needlework kits are put together in our prison workshops before being distributed from our London hub to our wonderful volunteers. These inspirational supporters teach people in prison the necessary skills to craft each piece. The completed stitchwork is then returned to us, to ensure it meets our exacting standards, before finally being sent back into a prison to be 'made up', turning it into the final product (e.g. stuffing and adding zips to cushions).
In total, this process can take up to 200 hours and over 70,000 stitches (per piece!)
We know that every single one of our products boosts self-esteem, builds confidence, has a positive impact on a stitcher’s mental health, and gives them the opportunity to transform their lives.
By purchasing a product, you become a part of that journey.
Over 25 years of transformation
Rehabilitating over 8,000 prisoners
Renowned designers
Supported by esteemed designers to create one-of-a-kind, limited edition products
Breaking the cycle
We help break the devastating cycle of reoffending and repeated imprisonment
Support our work
£10 donation
Provides a prisoner with the materials for one tapestry cushion (100 hours of creative activity).
£20 donation
Will enable us to continue providing paid, creative and productive work to even more prisoners around the UK, helping them to build a brighter future.
£50 donation
Sponsors a prisoner to train as a volunteer 'class coordinator', teaching and mentoring other prisoners.
£250 donation
Covers the volunteer costs of a stitching class in prison.
£500 donation
Pays for the training, materials and support for one prisoner for an entire year, helping them to rebuild a meaningful, independent,crime-free life.
By giving prisoners hope that transformation is truly possible, they can envision a meaningful life after release. But nobody tells the story of how Fine Cell Work has helped them better than the prisoners themselves:
“Stitching allows me to use a totally different part of my brain and personality. I can move away from the more difficult reflections and anxieties and feel creative and purposeful. This means I no longer feel that my life has come to a halt and that I am of no use to anyone else.”- Tom, FCW Stitcher -