Dallas Morning News - February 13, 2004
Plush Creations designs jewelry bags for SAG awards show gift baskets.

Creations deemed star-quality
Woman designs jewelry bags for awards show gift baskets

07:02 PM CST on Thursday, February 12, 2004

By KATHY A. GOOLSBY / The Dallas Morning News

Denise McMillan will be glued to her television next week, watching the buildup to the 10th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards show.

The Colleyville resident won't be looking for winners, losers or fashions, but for little bags made of chartreuse burn-out velvet.

Ms. McMillan, co-owner of Plush Creations, designed the jewelry bags especially for the gift baskets that will be given to presenters at this year's awards show. Meryl Streep, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellweger, Michael Douglas and Daniel Day-Lewis are among celebrities scheduled as presenters on the show, which will be broadcast at 7 p.m. Feb. 22 on TNT.

Ms. McMillan chose lemon-yellow silk to line the lime-green bags, which are edged in metallic gold piping and trimmed with yellow-beige beading.

"While I was in the middle of it all, it was a little surreal to realize where the bags were going to end up," said Ms. McMillan, 43.

The 76 bags were the first she has created for an awards show's gift baskets. They are being used in conjunction with another item commonly found among the presenters' gifts: jewelry.

"What better way to display jewelry than in a luxurious bag?" said Karen Wood, president of Backstage Creations, the company putting together the baskets. "We have a team of researchers who look for the latest and the greatest, things that are celebrity-worthy. We thought it would be a nice addition this year to have Plush Creations."

Ms. McMillan, a former legal assistant, began her homegrown business about 3 ½ years ago when she lived in California. A friend who took her to Las Vegas for her birthday was intrigued by Ms. McMillan's pink satin pajama bag.

"I had had that bag for 20 years," Ms. McMillan said. "Her lingerie was scattered in her suitcase, so I told her I would buy her a lingerie bag for her birthday."

She didn't think it would be difficult to locate one, but she came up empty-handed after searching numerous department stores. Finally, she decided to buy some fabric and have one made by her friend Cindy Asendorf, a legal assistant who moonlights as a seamstress.

"That was the first time in my life I had been in a fabric store," Ms. McMillan said. "I started looking at all those beautiful fabrics and their wonderful textures, and it was like a light bulb moment. I couldn't believe the passion I felt."

She spent three hours selecting fabrics, including a black Asian silk for her friend's bag. Using her 20-year-old bag as a guide, Ms. McMillan and Ms. Asendorf designed a simple but elegant lingerie bag.

Together, they formed Plush Creations and added a smaller bag with interior zippered pockets for holding earrings, necklaces and other jewelry. The business continued even after Ms. McMillan moved to Colleyville in 2001 when her husband, chef David McMillan, was hired to run the Wyndham Anatole restaurant Nana in Dallas.

Ms. McMillan quickly found Texas sources for fabrics and trimmings, which she ships to California for Ms. Asendorf to sew into bags. Ms. McMillan said they've sold hundreds, mostly by word of mouth or through the company's Web site, www.plushcreations.com.

Most of the bags retail for $35 to $80, depending on the materials used. They also can be purchased in matching sets.

Ms. McMillan's neighbor, Juli Gerrard, has purchased more than 60 sets. Most are gifts for friends, relatives and employees, but she also has bought several for herself.

"When I first saw them, I thought I wouldn't use them no more than the Man in the Moon, but they really do make you more careful about how you pack," said Ms. Gerrard. "For anyone who travels, they're well worth the splurge. They're a luxury item, but they're also about being organized."

Former Colleyville resident Deb Coulson has found her own use for Plush Creations bags.

"I have three: one for my makeup, one for my lingerie and one for my PJs," said Ms. Coulson, who lives in Brock, west of Fort Worth. "I also gave 12 of them last year as gifts. The fabrics are incredible, and even the delicate-looking ones have held up beautifully."

For the Guild jewelry bags, Ms. McMillan shipped 9 yards of velvet, 12 yards of silk, 228 zippers, 81 yards of gold piping and 18 yards of beading to Ms. Asendorf. The bags would retail for about $55, Ms. McMillan said, but items in the presenters' baskets are donated.

"I try hard to get our product out without going through stores, and this was a way to do that," said Ms. McMillan, who e-mailed inquires to about a dozen companies specializing in celebrity gifts before Backstage Creations asked to see a sample.

She barely made the company's mid-January application deadline and began working on the bags even before they were accepted for the baskets. Otherwise, Ms. Asendorf would not have had time to fill the order, which required two weeks of working evenings and weekends.

"It took me about 80 hours in all," said Ms. Asendorf, 47. "I'm not cross-eyed, but I am relieved that today all I have to work on is a wedding dress."

The quick turnaround also meant that Ms. Asendorf delivered the jewelry bags directly to Backstage Creations rather than sending them to Ms. McMillan for shipment. That's one reason Ms. McMillan will keep a close watch on this upcoming pre-show publicity, which sometimes focuses on items in the gift baskets.

"I haven't even seen the finished product," Ms. McMillan said. "I think Cindy had enough fabric left over to make one or two more, but after doing so many in two weeks I don't think she'll do that any time soon."

E-mail kgoolsby@dallasnews.com
or call 817-865-4959.

REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS.