Photo by Nicole Roegner

Phoenix resident Loretta Matthews is making yesterday’s news into tomorrow’s fashion accessories with her FrontPageBags. She refashions discarded magazine covers, newspapers, comics and maps into stylish purses and wallets available at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market, held Saturday mornings and Wednesday evenings.

“Magazine covers are so admired for their beauty. Now, we’re making something functional out of them,” Matthews says.

Full-sized purses ($35) featuring iconic Arizona scenes from Arizona Highways and Phoenix Home & Garden are among visitors’ favorite finds. Even the cover of PHOENIX magazine’s November 2007 issue, fittingly the Green issue, made its way onto a handbag. Totes with “hunky guys,” like George Clooney and Matthew McConaughey, also are instant hits. Matthews also has created bags with a political bent from Newsweek covers with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and with an artistic flare from Vogue. Matthews’ personal favorite is a vintage-inspired bag using pages from a 1940s sewing catalogue. FrontPageBags also accepts custom orders.

Carolyn Bertram, of Phoenix, has purchased several bags, including her favorite custom creation using a Phoenix Home & Garden cover highlighting San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where she spends half the year.

“I always get lots of compliments on the bags because they’re so personal. It’s not something you can buy at a department store,” Bertram says. “They’re also lightweight and easy to carry.” She says the passport pouch ($12) is the perfect size to hold a few items while running around town.

To create the purses and wallets ($12), Matthews cuts the pages, applies a vinyl bond, sews the bags and attaches the straps. The bags can be wiped clean with a damp cloth and are durable, Matthews says.

She started the business with her sister, Rita Chard, two years ago. Matthews says she wanted to start a business that would tap her creative talents and complement her life as a stay-at-home mom.

Repurposing used products is important to the duo’s business philosophy. “As a society, we need to think more about recycling. We shouldn’t be such a throwaway society,” Matthews says. “I’ve grown as a person since I’ve started making these. I look at things differently. I’m always thinking ‘What can this become?’”

They say their clients appreciate this philosophy. “Our customers find the thinking behind the bags as unusual as the visuals,” Chard says. “They like having something made close to home.”

Although she’s had several offers to sell the bags in retail stores, Matthews wants to maintain her low-impact business practices.

“We want our business to be as sustainable as possible. So we want to stay small and at the [Downtown Phoenix Public] Market,” she says. “Phoenix is a big city, but it doesn’t feel big when you come to the market. We love interacting with our customers, and there’s a support system here among the vendors.”

To see more bags, log on to flickr.com/photos/frontpagebags.