The long, hot season of handbag fever continues.

In a different twist, B's Purses allows women to design their own bags online or at purse parties. The Louisville, Ky.-based company, organized in 2004 and run by three 30-something mothers, has gained national media attention and a growing following.

Their concept is simple: Choose a size, a fabric and a handle style. For extra fees, you can choose from special handles, add a monogram, combine two fabrics on the bag's exterior, and add features such as a zipper, a plastic liner and leather piping.

"It's so much fun, and people love to personalize things," said publicist Dorothy Menish. "The parties are like a girls' night out. And it's nice to know that your next-door neighbor may have the same style of purse, but it's not the exact same purse because it's in a different fabric."

Basic purse prices range from $45 for a little girl's Princess bag to $155 for the Manhattan portfolio. Shoppers also can custom-design cell phone cases, wristlets, cosmetics bags, backpacks, tennis bags and garment bags, as well as diaper bags, baby bibs, changing pads and burp cloths.

Bags can be designed at www.BsPurses.com, where there's also information about how to host parties. The company's 2,300 designer representatives across the country include Trista Sutton from TV's "The Bachelorette" and several Pittsburgh women.

B & B Studio on Walnut Street in Shadyside is an unrelated three-year-old business that allows customers to design their own bags or buy pre-made styles. There are hundreds of fabric choices, and the colorful space has become a popular spot for girls' birthday parties.

Meanwhile, a group of African women who have lost their husbands or fathers to AIDS-related diseases are designing and making handbags through a program sponsored by World Vision. The bags are the work of women in the Chikumbuso Women's and Orphans Project, which began in 2005.

Children with one parent are known as orphans in much of Africa because of their vulnerable status. The project includes more than 60 widows -- 40 single mothers and 20 grandmothers -- and their 300 children.

The purses are made of plastic grocery bags that the women tear into strips and crochet together. Each bag is signed by the artist, who gets half of the sale price. The other half is divided equally between the purchase of supplies, and a bank that gives loans to other women and pays the salaries of a teacher and night guard for a community school.

The bags range from $35 to $50 at Spoiled Chics the Boutique in Sewickley. One hundred percent of the sale of each bag goes to the charity.

Chikumbuso is based in Lusaka, Zambia, and is affiliated with the RAPIDS Program. A consortium of organizations provides assistance to people affected by HIV/AIDS and includes World Vision, The Salvation Army, Catholic Relief and others.

Natural products at festival

The Three Rivers Arts Festival will get an unusual guest Saturday and Sunday in the form of the Burt's Bees Bee-utify Your World Mobile Tour. The Durham, N.C.-based maker of natural personal-care products is offering the free educational and interactive experience at more than 30 U.S. cities through September.

Visitors can go inside a "hive" and check out product demonstrations and more than 100 natural products. They also can learn about renewable, natural ingredients such as grapefruit, pomegranate and royal jelly and their advantages over chemicals and synthetic alternatives.

The event also will feature games, free samples and free hand massages.

Designer awards

The U.S. fashion industry's chief trade organization recently handed out its annual awards at a star-studded ceremony a stone's throw from the epicenter of New York fashion week.

The Council of Fashion Designers of America recognized Francisco Costa at Calvin Klein as top womenswear designer during festivities at the Celeste Bartos Forum of the New York Public Library in Manhattan. The site abuts Bryant Park, where fashion week is staged each February and September.

Tom Ford won menswear designer of the year and Tory Burch was named accessories designer of the year. Swarovski Awards, accompanied by monetary prizes, went to Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte for womenswear, Scott Sternberg of Band of Outsiders for menswear and Phillip Crangi for accessories.

Carolina Herrera took home the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award, Belgian designer Dries Van Noten snagged the international award, Candy Pratts Price of Style.com won the Eugenia Sheppard Award for excellence in journalism and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg received a special tribute from the CFDA board of directors for his support of the city's fashion industry.