Luxury handbags use recycled inner tubes -- an unlikely spot sells them

Ever look at an old tire and think, “Man, that would make a gorgeous handbag?” Me neither. But the creators of Passchal sure did. Passchal handbags, for women and men, are high-end, luxury accessories made of recycled tire inner tubes, as well as leather. Celebrities such as Taylor Lautner of “Twilight” fame and “90210’s” Annalynne McCord have been seen toting around the bags. And now, the handbags are getting some local love, but in a really, really strange place: a tire shop. In an effort to be more “female-friendly,” Waukegan Tire, 3444 W. Washington in Park City, has started carrying the bag line. Julie Serritella, in charge of design and marketing at Waukegan Tire, says it’s the first tire shop to ever carry accessories. “Women like getting their car repaired as much as they like going to the dentist. But 85 percent of the women in America’s households are making decisions about cars. And we wanted a higher level of satisfaction for our women consumers,” says Serritella. “So the eco-friendly purses, it fit with us just perfectly. We are marketing toward women, auto-friendly and eco-friendly.” And the response has been more than favorable. They even had to reorder the bags twice in one day. Of the 30 handbags at the tire shop, you’ll find a credit card holder for $22, a gorgeous women’s hobo bag with mismatched patterns for $219, a men’s briefcase for $229 and a travel bag for $385. Since each bag is created from a different tire inner tube, no two are alike, and each has its own ridges or markings. “You would not think this is an inner-tube material,” says Serritella. “It is so pliable and soft and luxurious to the touch.” Ten percent of the shop’s bag sales will benefit the United Way of Lake County, says Waukegan Tire Vice President Julie Scroggins, who admits, along with Serritella, that the focus on purses has brought her a nice change of pace from tires. “We find the purse business very exciting. We have to remember to do our other jobs.”