Old dog, old tricks. O dot.
As an artist and therapist, I am deeply committed to creating space for people to make art that honors their often raw stories. A few years ago, I led art therapy groups for women who were in treatment for substance use disorders. Week after week, they arrived at the studio with their lives carried in their bags, objects that held both struggle and possibility.
While we were making art, the women often spoke about the challenge of rebuilding—finding work, finding footing, finding self worth. That experience stayed with me and became the seed for O dot: bags that carry more than belongings, they carry stories.
I have been painting, making and collecting far too many bags for years. In 2023, I started working on prototypes of bags that merged art, design and purpose. Every O dot bag began as a sketch of a single continuous line—often found in my artwork.
O dot. makers
Design and art drive me — but craftsmanship is a collaboration.
When I first stepped into an old mill building in Fall River, Massachusetts, I met Natalie, the floor manager with her handmade hat, and Bill, the owner with his big voice and big vision. That’s where O dot bags are created. Fall River Apparel is the real deal. The factory hums with history — generations of makers whose grandmothers once sewed in Portugal, passing down their skill and pride in every seam.
Every O dot bag is crafted with care by artisans who believe, as I do, that how something is made matters.
A few of the women I met in our art therapy work are helping me launch O dot. We dream of employing more women as we grow. We are a small creative community with a deep commitment to what we are building together.