The 2019 Gathering was a mile-high with excitement, enlightening presentations and meeting up with purse collector friends.
Thursday evening kicked off with the registration and open-bar reception.
Then we enjoyed Maya Debus’s Mae West presentation. We saw clips from Mae’s early movies and even some of her purses.
A break for buffet dinner before the Purse Auction. There was serious competition with buying and selling at the Purse Auction conducted by our auctioneer extraordinaire, Carlann Matz. One of the hotel wait staff even signed up for a bidding paddle & ended up winning a purse from Paula Higgins!
Starting Friday morning, we had a long, leisurely bus ride up to Central City (old mining town that is now mostly casinos, dispensaries, and vintage/gift shops). A short stop allowed us to view the beautiful, golden aspen leaves.
One of the highlights of a Gathering is getting to visit a member’s home and viewing their collection. Charter member Linda Marshall invited us into her beautiful mountain home where we viewed her large & varied collection that was displayed throughout the house in every nook and cranny.
Beautiful fall weather allowed us to eat our catered meal outside followed by the Crappy Purse Exchange. What a fun time the day was with all the stories and lots of laughs!
Saturday morning was the annual Purse Bazaar with 12 sellers and serious buyers conducting business.
After time allotted for lunch, Joy Horvath enlightened us with “What Goes Into Making A Handbag” and detailed the complicated, and time-consuming process it is to create a handbag.
Paula Higgins, Amy Bernstein and Jennifer Whitehair shared their extensive knowledge on Researching Purses and provided a Purse and Fashion Resource List.
Next was a roundtable discussion on “What to do with Your Collection as it Ages”, which offered several suggestions to consider.
We had a plated dinner after which Jennifer Whitehair gave an informative talk on Novelty Purses and displayed her collection of novelty and whimsical purses, including a pineapple purse and a combination lock purse, among many others.
Sunday morning breakfast buffet was followed by Show And Tell, which always delights as members shared personal stories about their special purses. President Terry Stewart closed out the Gathering with a short business meeting.
After the Gathering at least 8 members toured the Molly Brown House and Museum and got to see several of Molly’s purses.
One of the highlights of a Gathering is getting to visit a member’s home and viewing their collection. Charter member Linda Marshall invited us into her beautiful mountain home where we viewed her large & varied collection that was displayed throughout the house in every nook and cranny. 
