Pop Up in the Patio: O Dot | One of A Kind Vegan Bags | Sunday May 17, 11-5

For the first pop-up in our patio this year, we are pleased to host Mary Flannery of O Dot.

 Mary started making vegan bags in 2023. An artist and art therapist, she led art therapy groups for women  in treatment for substance use disorders. Week after week, they arrived at her studio with their lives carried in their bags, objects that held both struggle and possibility. 

While making art, the women often spoke about the challenge of rebuilding—finding work, finding footing, finding self worth. That experience became the seed for O dot: bags that carry more than belongings, they carry stories.

In 2023, she started working on prototypes of bags that merged art, design and purpose. Every O dot bag began as a sketch of a single continuous line—often found in Mary's artwork. Each bag is one of a kind. 

Mary's bags are sewn by  a group of women of Portuguese descent in Fall River, Ma. They learned sewing from their grandmothers and a few of them met Mary in art therapy.   They are now helping her launch O dot and dream of employing more women  and develop that creative community. 

Please join us between 11 and 5 on Sunday May 17 to meet Mary and shop her creations. The Sowa open market takes place at the same time.

To find out more about O Dot, click here.