Think Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Laga handbags have always been more than a fashion statement. The beautiful, one of a kind handbags are custom made by women who survived the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia. Countless lives were destroyed after the terrible disaster. Roy and Louise van Broekhuizen founded Laga Designs International in order to give survivors a chance to rebuild their lives and support their families. Laga is proud to offer fashion handbags that are not only unique but also give hope to those in need.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. This month, you can buy a Laga handbag to help tsunami survivors support their families as well as support breast cancer awareness and research efforts. Roy van Broekhuizen has lost two sisters to breast cancer and feels very strongly for the cause. Although many people know someone who has died from breast cancer, losing two members of one’s immediate family is especially heartbreaking. Carrying around a pink handbag is a great way to show your support for those affected by breast cancer. Laga has many functional yet fashionable handbags featuring pink designs. Many businesses show their support this month by selling pink items and donating a portion of the profits to breast cancer treatment and research. During October, Laga is offering a collection of specially priced handbags in pink. Ten percent of your purchase will go towards fighting breast cancer in America. This funding helps to ensure quality care for breast cancer survivors as well as fund research into finding a cure.

One of Laga’s featured items this month is the pink Pulih handbag. Pulih means “recover” in Indonesian. This handbag is a great choice if you are looking for a smaller handbag that is perfect for either daytime or evening. The bag is beautifully embroidered and has a double-zippered closure. The bag is normally sold for $49 but is on sale during October for $39. The Pulih handbag is just one of many featured pink bags on sale this month at www.laga-handbags.com/handbags-in-pink.html.

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month was founded in 1985. The main focus of the month-long event was to promote mammograms as the best way to fight breast cancer in its earliest stages. In addition, there are many lifestyle choices a person can make to decrease the chance that they will get breast cancer. For example, eating lots of green vegetables as well as a low fat diet have been shown in studies to decrease the chances of getting breast cancer. Today, Breast Cancer Awareness Month is recognized around the world. Fundraisers and events held during October raise millions for breast cancer research and prevention. You can join the fight today and make a difference simply by carrying a pink handbag!

An Exciting Year for Laga Designs

After one look at a Laga handbag, one can immediately tell that it is no ordinary bag. Not only are the designs striking and beautiful, they are individually handmade by survivors of the devastating tsunami that struck Indonesia in 2004. Laga handbags feature unique patterns and designs that are native to the province of Aceh, passed down from generation to generation. The one of a kind bags are a way for tsunami survivors in Indonesia to share their culture with the world while earning a living that allows them to support themselves and their families.

On December 26, 2004, one of the deadliest natural disasters in history struck off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. An earthquake and subsequent tsunamis killed over 285,000 people and destroyed the lives of countless others. Aceh, Indonesia was the closest major city to the earthquake’s epicenter. After the disaster, Roy van Broekhuizen was asked by his church to lead a trip to Indonesia to bring medical teams and funds during the initial relief crisis phase. After several trips to Indonesia, Roy, along with his wife Louise van Broekhuizen, founded Laga Designs International as a way to help survivors rebuild their lives. The company is dedicated to providing income and a secure future for as many victims of the disaster as possible. When Laga first started, there were only 12 women making the handbags. Since then, the company has exploded with orders. Today, Laga Designs is proud to employ over 300 tsunami survivors. They hope to expand further as the demand for the beautiful handbags increases.

2010 turned out to be a very exciting year for Laga when Malaak Compton-Rock, a social activist who wrote the book, If it Takes a Village, Build One, began to work with Roy and Louise. Malaak recommended Laga handbags to be featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show because she thought that Laga story was a great example of what she wrote her book about. The Laga handbags as well as the story behind them were presented by Malaak on the Oprah Winfrey Show on Tuesday, April 13, 2010. Although the segment was less than a minute, orders for Laga handbags began pouring in. Additionally, airing on Oprah gave Laga the opportunity for more coverage through other media. Since the handbags were presented on Oprah, the Laga team has been hard at work to fill all the orders they have received. Although they are very busy, they feel truly blessed to be given such a great opportunity.

Laga has something for everyone! Priced as low as $15, Laga’s exquisite fashion handbags are beautiful and affordable. In addition, Laga offers small and large travel bags, backpacks, wallets and more in many different colors and designs. You can find more information about Laga products at www.laga-handbags.com.

Laga Launches New Affiliate Program

Laga Handbags was founded as an extension of our involvement in the relief efforts in Aceh, Sumatera, Indonesia following the 2004 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that ravaged the “Land of the Beautiful People.”

In our humble beginnings we started our small workshop with 12 women, providing food, housing, medical treatment, training and sustainable income in order to help them rebuild their lives.

We originally chose to take these handbags, indigenous to the province of Aceh and not found anywhere else in the world, as a means through which to perpetuate the story about the people most severely affected by our generation’s most devastating natural disaster and to take all the net profits to help them rebuild and financially sustain themselves.


In the last four years, our Laga Handbags have made their way into the hearts and homes of people all over the world and we have been able to increase that number to over 300!



Having drawn the recent attention of celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey (Laga was featured on The Oprah Show in April 2010), Malaak-Compton Rock (wife of comedian Chris Rock – she introduced Laga Handbags on The Oprah Show), Amy Grant (Grammy winning music artist – Laga founders were invited to her home in October 2009), Whitney Houston (Grammy winning music artist – Laga founders were invited to meet with her in Beverly Hills in early 2010), Kim Coles (actress/comedian – staunch Laga fan and supporter), Pauley Perrette (television actress – staunch Laga fan and supporter for several years now), Lil Kim (American rapper, songwriter and actress) and many more, we want to take advantage of the momentum and increase our scope of reach even further, our goal being to help 1200 people.

But in order to reach that level of commitment, we need more people to come alongside and help. And that is where you come in!

We have developed what we call our Laga Affiliate Program through which not only can the net profits from Laga Handbags help to provide sustainable income for the people of Aceh, but we have found an amazing way to share a portion of those profits with you!

Laga Handbags Affiliate Program is easy and it is FREE.
Click on the link to sign up:

You don’t need a website. Although the sign-up form asks for your website address, you can just leave it blank if you do not have one. A personal affiliate link will be issued to you. If you do have a website, a nice variety of banners is available for you to use on your site.

For every sale that comes through your Laga Affiliate link, ShareASale will pay you 20% of the purchase price. The program also provides a cookie which remembers your customer for 90 days.

“How are people going to know about my link,” you might ask? Well, this is what you can do:

Send an introductory email to your data base, including your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, classmates… anyone you might know. Include your new Laga Affiliate link and ask them to check out Laga Handbags through your personal link.

It’s that easy!
Again, for every purchase that comes through your link, ShareASale will pay you 20% of the profits!

The more Laga Affiliates we have, the more people hear our story and reach our website. And what a wonderful (and EASY) way for you to also have the opportunity to play an integral part in helping us to provide sustainable income for more people than we would ever be able to help on our own.

With the state of our economy, we can all use the help!

We’re all in this together!
These amazing handbags and accessories are lovingly handmade in the tsunami-ravaged province of Aceh, the intricate embroidery work lovingly and individually hand-guided on a non-electric, foot-powered treadle machine, making each a priceless work of art. It’s no wonder why people all over the world have ordered Laga Handbags online and why celebrities are also beginning to notice Laga!

Won’t you help us spread the word?

Click on the link to sign up TODAY!

Laga Consultants participating in events around the country

Laga Handbags was founded as a result of the desire to meet the needs of those affected so severely after the 2004 earthquake and subsequent tsunami.
These amazing bags and accessories are lovingly handmade in the tsunami-ravaged province of Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia.
The intricate embroidery work is indigenous to that area and not found anywhere else in the world.
Each piece is an individual work of art, which has drawn the recent attention of celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey (Laga was featured on The Oprah Show in April 2010), Amy Grant (Grammy winning music artist – Laga founders were invited to her home in October 2009), Whitney Houston (Grammy winning music artist – Laga founders were invited to meet with her in Beverly Hills), Malaak-Compton Rock (wife of comedian Chris Rock – she introduced Laga Handbags on the Oprah Show), Kim Coles (actress/comedian – staunch Laga fan and supporter), Pauley Perrette (television actress – staunch Laga fan and supporter) and many more.

Laga Handbags was based on the concept of home shows and has thrived since its inception in 2006.











Our Consultant Program is like others in the industry in that ours is a direct sales company.
We offer incentives to Hostesses for agreeing to host a Laga Home Show.
However, it is unlike other direct sales companies in every other way.
Ours is not a tiered or multi-level program. There are no monthly minimums or quotas to meet. We do not require you to sign up other Consultants. There is no down line. There is no pressure.

Laga Consultants purchase stunning Laga products that truly sell themselves at $ and resell them to their customers at $ x 2… it’s as simple as that.
As a Laga Consultant, a one-time $300 referral credit is yours when you bring on another qualified Consultant.








The main thrust of our program is to provide long-term sustenance and a better future for those who have suffered through the most devastating natural disaster of our lifetime.
Click Here to read more about us

Through our program, women and men have the unique opportunity to play an integral part in our work whilst also providing a way to meet their own financial needs in these difficult economic times.
Our motto is, “if you’re going to carry a handbag anyway, why not carry one that helps rebuild lives?”
We agree, of course!


Our dedicated Laga Consultants who now consist of close to 90 in number and of which four are men, facilitate home shows throughout the US.

We are also very proud of the fact that two of our amazing Consultants do not keep any of the profits they earn for themselves but have designated all of their profits to help others:




Jill Lillie, our State College, PA Consultant, gives all of her profits to an organization called Altrusa International in which she has been involved for many years. Click Here to read her story





Kimberly Mead, our Buena Park, CA Consultant, chooses to sell Laga bags in order to raise funds for cancer research due to her husband’s diagnosis with Lymphoma. Click Here to read her story

Laga Consultants are not limited to facilitating home shows by any means.
Many are also successful participants in events local to their respective areas.

Here is a list of events in which some of our Consultants have been involved:

31st Ocean Beach Street Fair and Chili Cook-Off Festival
Sylvia Hassard-Johnson
Abounding Grace Fundraiser
Wendie Madrid
Alamitos Bay Marina
Beckie Welty
Alternative Christmas
Louise Bauwin
American Cancer Society
Jerrod Carter
Anaheim Farmers Market
Wendie Madrid
Beechwood Elementary Craft Fair
Terri Spencer & Sharon Fry
Beehive Family Expo
Sylvia Hassard-Johnson
Brea Country Fair
Desiree Thomas
Carlsbad Village Street Fair
Sylvia Hassard-Johnson
Cherry Blossom Festival
Irene Zuehlsdorff
Cleveland’s Arts & Crafts Bazaar
Lynn Ketchem
Dana Point Farmer’s Market
Vivian Vanderwerd
Dog Walk & Family Festival
Beckie Welty
Glacier Arts & Crafts Fair
Irene Zuehlsdorff
eWomen Accelerated Networking Event
Jessica Randolph
Encinitas Fall Festival
Sylvia Hassard-Johnson
Fashion Day Soiree
Sylvia Hassard-Johnson
First Choice Décor Kiosk
Irene Zuehlsdorff
Flat-Iron Quilt Show
Irene Zuehlsdorff
Halecrest Tennis Club Harvest Boutique
Sylvia Hassard-Johnson
Heritage Day Festival/Parade
Sylvia Hassard-Johnson
Home Show – Great Falls, MT
Amanda Kohut
Home Show – Corona, CA
Amber Moore
Home Show – Corona, CA
Brandy Dominguez
Home Show – El Segundo, CA
Brandy van Zitter
Home Show – Las Vegas, NV
Briana Bergier-Williams
Home Show – El Segundo, CA
Drew Jongbloed
Home Show – Milan, MI
Jacquie Feliciano
Home Show – High Point, NC
Joyce Darr
Home Show – Lakewood, CA
Kelly Carter
Home Show – Orange, CA
Kristan Hinman
Home Show – Buena Park, CA
Kimberly Mead
Home Show – Burr Ridge, IL
Linda Puccinelli
Home Show – Orange, CA
Maggie Mora
Home Show – Orange, CA
Megan Helgeson
Home Show – Mission Viejo, CA
Melissa Holaday
Home Show – Weston, FL
Melissa Morris
Home Show – Richmond, VA
Paula Quick
Home Show – Fountain Valley, CA
Rachel Kaufman
Home Show – Cranford, NJ
Robin Hoy
Home Show – San Antonio, TX
Rose Stewart
Home Show – Glenville, NY
Sandra Stewart
Home Show – Clark, NJ
Shenaz Nasser
Home Show – Rohoboth, MA
Susan Huling
Home Show – Cerritos, CA
Tammy Rijkschroeff
Home Show – Centereach, NY
Robin Mitrani
Howl-o-Ween Cat Show
Lynn Ketchem
Inland Empire Super Show
Sylvia Hassard-Johnson
International Street Faire
Beckie Welty
Irvine Global Village
Wendie Madrid
LA Wine Fest
Wendie Madrid
La Habra Women’s Club
Desiree Thomas
Ladies’ Night
Luann Giusiana
Laguna Road SOS Foundation
Barbie Novaselec
Lee Elementary Carnival
Lauren Jarvis
Long Beach Farmer’s Market
Beckie Welty
MOPS Fall Boutique
Sylvia Hassard-Johnson
MOPS Spring Boutique
Audrea Heitzman
Mother’s Day at the Mall
Irene Zuehlsdorff
Multi-Cultural Festival
Sylvia Hassard-Johnson
Nutcracker Marketplace
Sylvia Hassard-Johnson
OC Green Solutions Festival
Sylvia Hassard-Johnson
OC Marketplace
Wendie Madrid
Oktoberfest
Wendie Madrid
Open House
Lyn Empey
Open House
Jessica Randolph
Open House
Stephanie Palumbo
Open House
Yolanda Mathey-Chavez
Open House Boutique
Wendie Madrid
PWOCN Career & Biz Summit
Fancy Frenchwood
Pahlki Kioske
Swati Sharma
Roots Fest on Adams
Sylvia Hassard-Johnson
Rose Bowl Flee Market
Wendie Madrid
Santa Ana ArtWalk
Beckie Welty
SCORE Women’s Breakfast
Vivian Vanderwerd
Silverado Days
Beckie Welty
Slate Hill PTA Bazaar
Jessica Randolph
Spring Craft Boutique
Desiree Thomas
St Patrick’s Day Parade
Sylvia Hassard-Johnson
St Joachim Holiday Boutique
Wendie Madrid
TSK’s Double Barrel Shootout
Rosalyn Morales
Teresa’s All Girls Martini and Laga Night
Beckie Welty
Ultimate Shopping Event
Wendie Madrid
Village Homes Holiday Boutique
Rodney & Desiree Thomas
Winter Reflections Craft Show
Jill C. Lillie
Winter Wonderland
Lynn Ketchem
World Cultural Festival – Global Bazaar
Jill C. Lillie

If you are interested in obtaining more information on how you can become a Laga Consultant, we have lots of information on our website. Please feel free to CLICK HERE and read more. This will give you the information you need and answer most of your questions. Then, if you’re ready to join, we now offer the ability to order your Starter Kit directly online. CLICK HERE to see the kits available and click through to make your purchase.

If you would like to contact us for any reason, feel free to email us at consultants @ laga-handbags.com or call our office toll free at 888.524.2224.

We look forward to hearing from you and to welcoming you into our Laga family!

Holland Festival

My husband and I are from Dutch-Indonesian heritage, thus the connection to our involvement in Indonesia. It is actually an amazing story, our background. Perhaps in my next few blogs I'll touch more on that subject. For now, suffice it to say that our parents knew each other in the "old country" of Indonesia. And both our families relocated to The Netherlands (or Holland, as it is informally called) where it is that I was born, thus our connection to the Holland Festival.

Every year in Long Beach, California, the Dutch-Indonesian community gathers for special a day, always on the Sunday before Memorial Day, to celebrate our culture with a day in the park with lots of food, music, friends and family. And this year was no exception.









People came from across the country for this amazing day.








The weather was exceptional, probably the most perfect weather anyone could ever ask for, and the day was filled with wonderful aromas from the food (LONG, LONG LINES)....
can anyone say, "SATE?"












....fun music from bands of the older and the newer generations....









....children had fun in the bouncy houses and with the "bubble guy"...








....and there was a larger attendance of family and friends than I had seen in a very long time.











Laga Handbags participated in this event as a vendor as we we've done in years past.














It has been great to see the support for our work in Indonesia grow from year to year, and how our Dutch-Indonesian community of friends have really come alongside our efforts. We had a record number of sales this year, and many of our past supporters came out once again to see us, visit with us and make yet another purchase in support of the people of Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia.

As the day progressed, it was a blessing to be able to tell the Laga story to those who hadn't yet heard it, to share with them that the people of Aceh are so blessed to know that Americans love their traditional embroidered handbags we are bringing to them and to know that our hard work gives them hope for a better tomorrow.

We spent time with old friends, met some wonderful new ones, had special family time, and all-in-all had a wonderful day in the beautiful California sunshine.









But I would be remiss by not taking the time to mention two people who have been absolutely amazing in their continued support of Laga:

Henk and Louise Bauwin, or OH and TL, as I like to call them...










(shown here with TL's favorite show NCIS' "Abby" - Pauley Perrette)

As they've done many, many times before, they came out very early in the morning, helped us set up our booth and helped sell our handbags all day long.









And if that wasn't enough, and because Roy and I had to leave early to attend a wedding for one of our Laga Consultants, they single-handedly (well, technically double-handedly) tore down our entire booth and brought "lock, stock and barrel" back to our house in Irvine when it was all said and done.

They are two young-at-heart individuals and definitely an inspiration to the older generation and to us all: they have two children, five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, and will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary next year. Seriously, if it wasn't for these two beautiful and dedicated "Indos," there is no way we could accomplish everything we do. We love you OH and TL!

Holland Festival 2010 was a great success and a great day for everyone who was there, and really relaxing for some!









Thank you to all of you who came out to support Laga, and for giving of yourselves and your time and resources to partner with us as we continue to help the people of Aceh!

We love you all!