SPECIAL POST! General Crafts Corp. and Jewel Tone Handbag Kits

General Crafts "Rooster" Jewel Tone handbag kit with original box and completed bag. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. 03 Jan 1966, Mon San Angelo Standard-Times (San Angelo, Texas) Newspapers.com

The History of General Crafts Corp. and Its Jewel Tone Kit Bags

While there were many styles of handbag kits and patterns available to home crafters, this article focuses on Jewel Tone DIY gem, trim, and applique make-by-number kits produced in the 1960s-1970s by General Crafts Corp. of Baltimore, Maryland. These kits were clearly meant to mimic the designs of Enid Collins of Texas, whose bucket-style and wooden box handbags remain a very popular collectible today. 

There were commercial handbag manufacturers (including Soure, Cooper of California, Claire Fashions, and many others) that created designs similar to Collins’s, but General Crafts' Jewel Tone kits were likely invented so that the home-crafter could have the opportunity to produce their own Collins-esque handbag at a fraction of the cost. (Note: For this article we're using the separate words "Jewel Tone," although we've seen them referred to as "JewelTone" and "Jewel-Tone.")

Original Jewel Tone Handbag brochure, from the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

General Crafts Jewel Tone kit bag next to Enid Collins' 1963 "Night Owl" handbag, which we believe was the owl kit bag's design inspiration. Both from the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

Many kit bags are mistakenly identified by collectors and online sellers as being authentic Enid Collins or Collins of Texas bags. Collins bags generally have a signature (“EC” or “Collins of Texas”) and the one- or two-word name of the bag on the exterior, and are sometimes imprinted with the maker name on the inside. Kit bags are unsigned. However, much like Collins handbags, the desirability of kit bags is at an all-time high, with them being swept up by collectors who enjoy their conversation-piece quality. And let’s not forget their capaciousness. Those bags can hold everything! 

General Crafts Jewel Tone Applique completed kit bag with original box. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

While we don’t know how many thousands of kits were produced, we can say that they were—and still are—plentiful, with designs ranging from animals to florals to astrological signs and more. General Crafts handbag designs had names and style numbers. The Vintage Purse Museum is incredibly fortunate to have dozens of General Crafts Jewel Tone kit bags in our collection, which we began acquiring three decades ago. (Not all of our kit bags appear in this article, but be sure to scroll all the way down to see photos and newspaper ads.) 

In the 1960s-1970s, General Crafts also made Jewel Tone Applique and Mini Bag kits, as well as the Jewel Tone Regency, Stitch Tone, and Chic & Casual lines, and Crown and Boutique wooden box bag decoupage kits.

Chic & Casual "Four Seasons" handbag kit, with completed bag. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

Regency handbag kit with completed "The Seasons" bag. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

Incomplete General Crafts Stitch Tone "Flower Basket" bag with box and supplies. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

21 Mar 1973, Wed Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Florida) Newspapers.com 

Unused General Crafts Crown decoupage wooden handbag kit. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

When it came to establishing the timeline of General Crafts for this article, we’d somewhat resigned ourselves to culling information from our usual online resources, as we were unsuccessful (for years!) at connecting with relatives of the company’s founders and executives. That is, until we were in the midst of finally writing the article, and learned of General Crafts’ plant manager Benjamin Krifchin (1913-1991). This discovery led us to one of Mr. Krifchin’s relatives. The relative—whose name we are withholding for privacy—was a delight to speak with over the phone, and enthusiastically filled us in on some critical details about the origins of these kit bags. Not only was this person related to Mr. Krifchin, they also worked at the factory for a time. We’ll share their invaluable insider information in a bit. But first, a little history of the company.

General Crafts Corp. was headed by Herman P. Malls (b. Herman Malasky, 1906-1993), president of the company, and Samuel D. Berlin (1921-2003), vice president. In at least one newspaper article, it was reported that Mr. Malls started this company in 1947, but that isn't quite right. (Explanation below.) 

Herman Malasky (later Malls), 1923 Greater Johnstown (PA) High School yearbook photo, screenshot from MyHeritage.com (which colorized it). Mr. Malls was the founder of General Crafts Corp.

Per Herman Malls’s 1940 draft registration, he worked at National Tire Regroovers in Baltimore. A 1942 Baltimore address directory shows that he was working for Reliable Tire Sales. By the 1950 US Census, he was a “wholesale manufacturing executive” in the “gift manufacturing business.” A 1956 address directory identified his business as “The Malls Co.” We also found 1954 and 1958 industry trade publications that referred to his company as “Malls Co.,” located at 3031 James St., Baltimore, Maryland. Because of online access restrictions, we could only see snippets of these listings. It appears that the Malls Co. made metal trays, wastebaskets, desk sets, and other items, and also made injection-molded plastic products. The earliest help-wanted classified newspaper ads that we could find for Malls Co. were from 1954.

We couldn’t find Malls Co. or General Crafts Corp. in the State of Maryland business name database. However, we found a 1962 announcement in the toy and game industry publication “Playthings,” which said that "The Malls Company" and Plaque Craft were merging to become General Crafts Corporation. Plaque Craft, known for its "Pebblette" and "Stonette" wall plaque kits, was already housed at the James St. location as a division of the Malls Co. Therefore, while it's very possible that Herman Malls started his craft kit business in the late 1940s as reported in a newspaper article, it was as the Malls Co., and didn't officially become General Crafts until the 1960s.

General Crafts Corp. was known for many different types of home craft kits, including wall plaques, needlework, paint-by-numbers, model aircrafts, and slot cars. One of the earliest mentions of General Crafts that we could find in the newspaper archives was a 1962 classified ad for “Girls – to work as sample makers on ‘Do it yourself crafts.’” Our theory is that these completed samples were to be used as finished product displays at the retail stores and hobby shops that carried General Crafts’ products.

Detailed instruction sheet included with a Jewel Tone "Peacock" kit bag. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

Two Jewel Tone designs, "Pagoda," and "Peacock." From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

In 1962, General Crafts filed a trademark application for “GENERAL CRAFTS THE SPARKLE OF ORIGINALITY,” with its signature “sparkle” graphic—which looked a bit like a firework or atomic burst. This trademark was initially meant to appear on its boxes of do-it-yourself wall plaques. The year of the trademark filing coincides with the announcement of Malls Co. merging with Plaque Craft to become General Crafts. According to the trademark documents, these wall plaque kits contained everything one would need to make them, including glue, bags of stones, mosaic tiles, beads, sequins, and more. The trademark was granted June 1963. Within two years, General Crafts would be making handbag kits, which also had this logo on their boxes.

Example of the General Crafts trademark and logo on a handbag kit box. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

In September 1965, a fire broke out at the General Crafts factory. The fire spread quickly, causing damage amounting to $750,000. (According to an online inflation calculator, this figure is equivalent to over $7 million today.) A 1965 newspaper article reported that, as soon as he saw smoke, plant manager Ben Krifchin alerted the 110 employees working that day, yelling for them to get out of the building. As Mr. Krifchin was clearing the factory and offices, he was also shutting off electrical switches. 

Unfinished Jewel Tone Mini Bag kit. Note the wooden purse bottom, and keep reading to learn how it relates to the General Crafts factory fire of 1965. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

18 Oct 1968, Fri Arizona Republic (Phoenix, Arizona) Newspapers.com

When we spoke to Mr. Krifchin’s relative, we were astonished to learn that the relative was at the factory when the fire occurred and remembered it well. They explained in great detail the source of the fire, which was directly related to the handbag kits. You can probably imagine the look on The Vintage Purse Museum's curator’s face during this conversation!

Even though this was the 1960s, the factory was fairly state of the art, with the handbag kits’ components made in a very specific, time-effective manner, using automation whenever possible. An integral part of each handbag kit was the wooden bottom of the bag, which the home-crafter had to install themselves. In fact, the first step of the enclosed directions was to make sure to glue in the bottom before doing anything else. 

Custom jigs were designed for the machinery in order to shape the wood bottoms. (Some of the factory’s jigs were designed by Mr. Krifchin and the relative with whom we spoke.) The resulting wood pieces were then sanded to a smooth finish. As explained to us by Mr. Krifchin’s relative, each belt sander was connected to a dust collection system. The dust from these wooden purse bottoms, as well as that which came from wood box bag kits, was sucked up and collected into enormous bags, akin to a huge vacuum system. That volatile dust somehow ignited, causing the seven-alarm blaze and the destruction of the factory. There was a sprinkler system inside, but it couldn’t handle the sheer size of the fire. It’s miraculous that no one was injured, mostly thanks to the quick thinking of Ben Krifchin, about whom his relative speaks with tremendous pride.

Two General Crafts designs: the popular butterfly and the less common gambling motif. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

As of 1958, Ben Krifchin was employed at a luggage manufacturer, but we don't know when he began working at General Crafts, where he was an extremely valued employee. The relative told us that the proposal for handbag kits was initially presented to Mr. Krifchin prior to company executives deciding if General Crafts would produce them. This was standard procedure, as Mr. Krifchin would always be consulted before any potential product was added to their lines. While the relative didn’t know how the handbag kit idea originated (but agreed it was possible that they may have been inspired by the Collins craze), they do know that it was Ben Krifchin who made the exact calculations that led to the longterm production of General Crafts kit bags.

General Crafts bird-motif kit bags. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

03 May 1973, Thu Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Florida) Newspapers.com

The relative explained that Mr. Krifchin was trained as a mechanical engineer, and was a genius at the skill of “time studies," which is defined online as “a technique that measures how long it takes to complete a task based on human motion." Ben Krifchin estimated the production cost of each bag with attention to the tiniest of details, from start to finish. For instance, during the process of sewing the vinyl trim onto the top of a bag, he used a stopwatch to count every stitch made at General Crafts’ employee sewing stations. He also diligently factored in every other process of each step, including the cost of labor. The relative told us that Mr. Krifchin would use a yellow legal pad to make his calculations. 

General Crafts Jewel Tone "Travelogue" bag in olive green, and trio of cats kit bag. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

04 Dec 1968, Wed The Wichita Beacon (Wichita, Kansas) Newspapers.com

While the relative didn’t know who the individual artists were that made the designs that were silkscreened onto each bag, they said that General Crafts used a separate firm that was on retainer for such projects. They also told us that many of the components of these handbags were created in-house. This includes the bags themselves, which were silkscreened with the patterns, sewn, and riveted. The colorful stones that give the bags their glittery element were also made at the factory. The raw materials came to the factory in 50-60 lb. bags, and great care was taken to protect the workers from the caustic process of creating gems in a cement mixer, which were then formed and laid out to dry. Mr. Krifchin was responsible for the acquisition of a bagging machine that would portion out the stones and put them into the kits. Other pieces, such as trims, glue, and brushes, were sourced elsewhere.

The handbags were initially available in three colors: "black," "olive," and "natural."  The Vintage Purse Museum also has some in yellow, which we believe was referred to in advertising as "golden." They were a tote (or "bucket") style, and the closures were usually a small flap with twist lock. Some bags had a larger flap that covered the entire top of the tote. (See the flamenco dancer below.) Later versions of the bags had the option of contrasting vinyl trim.

Examples of two handbags with top flaps that differ from the original kit bags. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

27 Sep 1967, Wed Corpus Christi Caller-Times (Corpus Christi, Texas) Newspapers.com

The retail price started at $10 per kit, but stores often had sales. (General Crafts had distributors that dealt with the stores.) We were unable to determine which of these designs was the most popular, but #905, "Flowers," is probably the one we've seen most often online and elsewhere. Interestingly, despite its name, it's not as flowery as some of the other floral General Crafts designs. ("Flowers" kit bag pictured directly below. The character "Miss Swan" on the 1990s television show Mad TV carried one of these bags.)

General Crafts "Flowers" kit bag, from the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum. This bag is similar to the one carried by the character Miss Swan on MAD TV.

29 Nov 1973, Thu The Seguin Gazette-Enterprise (Seguin, Texas) Newspapers.com

After the 1965 fire, Ben Krifchin was in charge of salvaging as much raw material as possible for the temporary location, and reestablishing the supply lines. (In 1970, Ben Krifchin filed a patent for a handbag with General Crafts as the assignee. We do not know if this bag was ever produced.) 

The company was housed at temporary headquarters until it rebuilt its 63,000-square-foot office/plant at the James St. location, at an oddly specific cost of $530,310 (per the newspaper photo caption below). At that time, General Crafts had approximately 175 employees.

Rendering of General Crafts' proposed new offices and factory after the 1965 fire.
March 27, 1966, The Baltimore Sun, clipped via Newspapers.com.

Astrological kit bag featuring Taurus the bull, and San Francisco cable car kit bag. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

 

In the 1950s, Richard Falk (1908-1986) was employed at the same luggage company as Ben Krifchin. It is unclear when he went to work for General Crafts. In 1966, as then-vice president of General Crafts Corp., Richard Falk was appointed to the board of directors of the Hobby Industry Association of America. 

In a 1973 newspaper article about the billion-dollar craft and hobby industry, Mr. Falk was quoted as saying: "Crafts are hobbies with a touch of practicability. Half the fun is in creating things of beauty from raw materials or kits. The other half is using the finished product for home decorating." The article said he was executive vice president of General Crafts Corp. and president of the "hobby industry's national trade association." (There’s conflicting information as to when the hobby organization was established, and if it was dissolved or absorbed by another association; however, it had over 2,000 members as of 1980.)

23 Feb 1966, Wed The Evening Sun (Baltimore, Maryland) Newspapers.com  

It’s unclear if Richard Falk and Samuel Berlin simultaneously had the title “vice president” at General Crafts, but Ben Krifchin’s relative told us that Mr. Falk was the marketing person at the company and that Mr. Berlin was responsible for advertising. Mr. Berlin was likely in charge of facilitating the creation of the brochures that came with the handbag kits.  

Jewel Tone Regency kit bag brochure. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

Prior to his employment at General Crafts, per the 1950 US Census, Samuel Berlin was a manufacturing analyst at an aircraft factory. Mr. Berlin was the inventor listed on several patents, including those for a record holder, a folding book rack, an ornamental relief plaque, and a 1968 method for applying monograms to decorative items. That patent (pictured below) looks nearly identical to the pattern on one of the General Crafts DIY bags upon which you can place a custom monogram. 

Page two of Samuel Berlin's monogram design patent, filed 1968, granted 1971. Screenshot via Google Patents.

Example of "Monogram," a style of Jewel Tone DIY handbag, in one of General Crafts' Regency handbag kit brochures. From the collection of The vintage Purse Museum.

The trademark for Jewel Tone was filed in April 1966, and granted January 1967, although, per the copyright date on some of the handbag kit brochures, these bags were made as early as 1965. (Also verifying this is the cause of the 1965 fire, as explained to us by Ben Krifchin's relative.) The trademark document says that the Jewel Tone mark was established for “Kits for making handbags, including material preformed to the shape of the bag, decorations to be applied thereto, and an instruction booklet.” The address on this document is 330 N. Warwick, presumably the temporary production location while the James St. factory was being rebuilt. 

Carousel horse and roadrunner General Crafts Jewel Tone kit bags. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

03 Oct 1973, Wed The Marshall News Messenger (Marshall, Texas) Newspapers.com

In 1972, General Crafts Corp. was acquired by AMT Corp. (Aluminum Model Toys, founded 1948) of Troy, Michigan. AMT, at that time the largest US producer of plastic model hobby kits (primarily cars and trucks), kept General Crafts as its subsidiary. The AMT brand was purchased by UK company Lesney in 1978, where it remained at the 3031 James St. location until 1983, when it was purchased by Iowa-based toy company Ertl. We could not find any references to General Crafts Corp. past 1978.

Around the time of AMT's acquisition of General Crafts, it appears that Samuel Berlin and his wife Rosalie Berlin went to work for a hardware firm. In 1978, Richard Falk and his son Stefan Falk started a new company and continued with handbag kits, including a line called "Jewel Boutique," which were made and packaged in a style similar to the General Crafts bags. Stefan Falk & Father, Inc. was only in business for about two years.

Jewel Tone and other General Crafts' handbag kits had a very good run. The earliest newspaper ad we could find for them was dated 1966, and the latest was 1976. The General Crafts sparkle logo trademark and the Jewel Tone trademark expired in 1987. 

Even though the last kit rolled off the assembly line nearly 50 years ago, the quality, durability, and sheer whimsy of these handbags lives on through the appreciation of vintage wearers and collectors.

Ladybug and mushroom motif kit bags. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

Chic & Casual completed kit bag with original box. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

Uncommon General Crafts kit bag with toucans, and very desirable poodle kit bag. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

General Crafts Jewel Tone "Sea Shells" kit bag. From the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

20 Apr 1966, Wed Corpus Christi Caller-Times (Corpus Christi, Texas) Newspapers.com
Special thanks to the relative of Ben Krifchin for their wonderful contribution to this article. Other resources used were Newspapers.com and MyHeritage.com, to which we have paid subscriptions, and Google and Familysearch.org. This article c2024 by Wendy Dager/The Vintage Purse Museum. Please do not use information or photos from our website without requesting permission, vintagepursemuseum@gmail.com.