West Kelowna resident and leather bag designer Nicole Loewen.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Nicole Loewen

A lady in Kelowna made a leather bag and it appears it's being used by Lady Gaga’s character on the film set of Joker 2 in New York.

Nicole Loewen was tagged by a Lady Gaga fan club account on Instagram a few days ago, on a photo showing Lady Gaga's character, Harley Quinn, onset with the leather bag over her shoulder.

“At first I was shocked and thought it was a joke or scam,” Loewen said. “The site follows what Gaga is doing and where her outfits come from and found me through Etsy.”

Loewen has been handcrafting leather bags from materials she finds at thrift stores for eight years and has her bags for sale in several stores in the Okanagan and online through her business Kilner Goods.

She has no idea how one of them, which she calls a chevron bag, ended up where it did.

“The chevron bag has a 70s style with a roundish bottom,” Loewen said. “I don’t recall selling a bag to a costume designer. It’s bizarre, it’s crazy.”

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Loewen finds things like leather jackets, army canvas bags and leather couches that are being tossed or sold at thrift stores and makes the bags in her home with a regular sewing machine. In the beginning, she “never expected to sell them.”

“I was pretty good and was constantly improving,” she said. “I like the worn and distressed look. Leather jackets have different styles and details that tell me how each bag should be shaped and designed.”

Image Credit: INSTAGRAM

Since the Instagram post came out, Loewen has gained more social media followers and more custom bag orders. She is not sure what she’ll do if orders pick up too quickly for her to keep up.

“I’ll have to organize myself better,” she said. “I could do one per day but wouldn’t want to rush and make mistakes. If people really want one they might have to wait but I’ll do my best.”

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She isn’t sure if she can train someone else to join her because the work is “kind of intuitive.” She won’t be raising the cost of the bags as her passion is about upcycling and reducing waste.

When asked if she is a Lady Gaga fan, Loewen said she likes the superstar’s music.

“It isn’t like the bag is on her, it’s on a movie set so I can’t assume she would like it.”

She plans to see the Joker 2 to get a glimpse of her handmade bag in action.

Go here to see more by Kilner Goods and contact the designer. 

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