Passage: Judith and Gerson Leiber

We learned this past week of the passing, within hours of each other, of handbag designer Judith Lieber and artist Gerson Lieber, her husband of 72 years.

Born in Hungary, Judith Lieber had a calling: "I loved handbags, so my mother said, 'Well, why don't you go into that?' So I did!"

She and her husband, known as Gus, arrived in this country from Hungary in 1947.

Lieber went into business for herself in 1963.

"I used to make the patterns and I used to pack every piece," she recalled to "Sunday Morning" in 2002. "And Gus used to deliver them uptown to the stores. That's how we started."

Whimsically decorated with thousands of colored beads, and selling for many thousands of dollars, Judith Lieber's handbags became THE fashion accessory.

A 2002 exhibition at Washington's Corcoran Gallery featured Hillary Clinton's custom-made "Socks the Cat" bag, along with Barbara Bush's "Millie the Dog."

Judith and Gus Lieber both died last Saturday, both of heart attacks.  

She was 97.  He was 96.

       
For more info:

• judithleiber.com
  
• Gerson Leiber (Leiber Collection)

       
Story produced by Juliana Kracov.