About the Artist

Welcome to Traci Jo Designs!

My name is Traci Jo Blakeman/Isaly. I grew up in Northwestern Wyoming and migrated to Montana in late 1979 to attend school at MSU Bozeman. Using my hands to make things has been a part of my life for as far back as I can remember. I now call my company Traci Jo Designs, but Traci Jo‘s actual design work goes back decades and includes a multitude of mediums.

I began working with leather, sheepskin, and bison hides in the early 1980s at Sheepskin and Leather on Mendenhall in Bozeman, Montana. Rob Broadbent and his wife Paula had an exuberant and thriving small business crafting sheepskin and leather mittens, hats, slippers, vests, coats, stuffed animals and custom-made clothing. Every summer they would travel to Renaissance Festivals around the country to sell their handcrafted wares. I would stay in Montana and hold down the fort, producing more bespoke goods. Eventually, Rob Broadbent bought Rising Sun Leather and moved his entire operation to the historic building on East Main Street in Bozeman.

I worked with the company for many years and learned a wide range of wonderful techniques and trade skills that I continue to use today. Rob and Paula taught me the skill and artistry of the leather/fabric craft trade. Today I carry on the legacy and integrity of a quality hand built product that will last. Another foundational part of my education in the sewing industry is the three years I worked with Cindy Owings Designs in Bozeman, sewing whimsical women’s fashion coats.

While raising my children and working as an artist in other mediums, I opened a wholesale/retail candle manufacturing business in Livingston with my sister. We ran Prairie Renaissance in a building on south Main St., that we bought and completely remodeled/restored with husband Jamie Isaly, our taskmaster, at the helm.

Our very successful candle making operation was a 14-year endeavor (1990-2004), employing up to 13 people at times, producing uniquely decorated candles for retail shops around the country. We did the trade show circuit in New York, Atlanta, Denver, Seattle, Portland, and Gatlinburg several times a year. We sold our candle line to big names like Winterthur, Disney World, Marshall Fields, Nordstrom’s, Biltmore Estates, Teton Park, Yellowstone and Glacier Parks, to name a few. We had near 500 wholesale accounts at our peak! We also had our own retail shop filled with wonderful treasures that people still reminisce about today. It was an apothecary/soap/candle/home décor shop, and truly a delight to all of us who worked there and all who would visit. We closed our doors in 2004, moving on to our next chapters.

I began crafting large tote bags in 2008 from reused textiles such as coffee bags and re-purposed upholstery fabrics. In recent years I have transitioned back to using primarily leather. I love the way leather looks and feels; its durability is unequaled by any other natural substance. It is an iconic material for fashion accessories.

Today, Traci Jo Designs is a one-woman operation but I’ve been able to employ an occasional helper this past year, increasing production and making it possible to start selling online.

Simply put, I love what I do! It inspires me to make well crafted, one-of-a-kind bags for unique women with their own unique styles. Women count on their bags as essential tools for their busy lives, and my designs elevate both the use and the art of these functional accessories.

Thank you so much for visiting my website. It has been a long time coming, and I have to say...Covid-19 made it finally happen. With all art shows and festivals cancelled in 2020, and most retail outlets struggling to keep their doors open, retail sales plummeted for many artists. But like any artist I know, we forge ahead recreating who we are and how we will be in the world.

I hope you find something you like and want to purchase. Feel free to contact me with questions and possible custom orders, especially if you see something you like and it is sold already. We are building this new way of doing business, one stitch at a time!

Blessing to all!

Warmly,

Traci Jo