With a name like Vaalbara – thought to be Earth’s first supercontinent – it’s no wonder Emily Prescott and James Burrows’s handmade bags are making their mark across the globe. What started as a hobby for the husband and wife team in 2010 has turned into a booming business, with big-name fans and retailers across the country. Ellen DeGeneres was photographed sporting one of the bags in People Magazine. 

And to think it all started on the Vineyard, where Prescott met her future husband and business partner while working as a bartender in 2007. Today, the duo divides their time between California and the Vineyard, where Burrows’s family roots run deep (think: back to the first European settlers, Prescott says). Each piece they create, from mini clutches to tote bags, features fabric sourced throughout the world and is lined with material from 100 percent recycled plastic bottles. Pick one up at Citrine in Vineyard Haven, Slip 77 in Oak Bluffs, or at vaalbaradesigns.com. The Aquinnah and – dare we say it – Nantucket styles, are especially fine.