CityState: Business
Put a Cork In It
A Seekonk resident designs handbags and accessories made from cork
oak sustainably harvested from trees in Portugal. By Todd McLeish
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF BENT AND BREE.
For those whose only image of cork
is in a wine bottle, Helena Silva has news for
you. The Seekonk resident is designing and
manufacturing handbags, jewelry, umbrellas,
wallets and other products sustainably
harvested from cork oak trees in Portugal,
the world’s largest cork producer. Sales of
accessories from her company, Bent and
Bree, have taken off since she launched in
2016, and now she is adding products for
men and considering opening retail shops
in Florida and Newport.
Silva was working in the fashion industry
when she went shopping for a diaper bag
after giving birth to her second child. She
was bothered that she could only find bags
made of plastic, leather or other materials that
didn’t fit with her desire for a vegan, nontoxic,
sustainable product. So she designed
her own bag made from cork, which Silva
says is not only sustainable but also recyclable,
durable, lightweight, washable and
resilient. That bag remains Bent and Bree’s
most popular item.
“That first bag was designed for a specific
need,” says Silva, who spent part of her childhood
in Portugal. “Since then I’ve been looking
at trends, doing focus groups and asking
people what they need in a bag. I’ve improved
the functionality of handbags because I know
the sizes people are looking for, the pockets
they need and the special purposes they’re
used for.”
Collaborating with designers in Portugal
and several Portuguese cork factories requires
that Silva travel there several times each
year to oversee production and make sure
the quality is up to her standards. “Our success
comes mostly from our return customers;
word of mouth about our products is
excellent,” she says. “People see us at retail
shows, flower shows, wine shows and they
keep coming back wanting more.” bentand
bree.com �
20 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l AUGUST 2020