She grew up feeding them, drawing them, and stitching them by hand. Now she's selling her final collection.
Clara (65), a Tennessee farm quilter, is closing her workshop for good. Her last Animal Totes — horses, roosters, and deer — are going out the door. One final time.

Clara Mae Dunbar grew up on a cattle farm in Giles County, Tennessee, where the animals outnumbered the people by about three hundred to one. Horses in the pasture, chickens in the yard, barn cats weaving between the fence posts at dusk. She learned to draw animals before she could read properly. She learned to quilt from her grandmother on the front porch at age nine. It took about six years for those two things to find each other — and when they did, she never looked back. Now the 65-year-old farm quilter is laying down her needle for good and letting her final Animal Totes go. Why is everybody suddenly paying attention? Because this is the last collection Clara will ever make.

Giles County, Tennessee. Late summer. A rooster crows somewhere behind the old workshop. Through the screen door you can see the pasture fence — though the cattle are long gone, the land sold two springs back. Inside, the workshop smells like cotton and iron and something faintly cedar. On the long worktable, trays of fabric cutouts wait in neat rows: a horse mane in amber and brown, a rooster comb in scarlet and gold, a deer antler in warm chestnut. Clara leans over her 1981 Bernina — a wedding gift from her mother the year she married — just like she has every morning for fifty-six years. But this summer is different. It's her last.

"I'm sixty-five," she says without drama. "The hand still knows where every stitch goes. But it's also been telling me for two years now that it's time." She looks at her right hand — knuckles thick, ring finger bent slightly at the second joint. "The arthritis is part of it. But honestly? I sold the farm. I'm moving to Knoxville to be near my daughter in the fall. The workshop goes with the property. Whatever's on those shelves is everything I have left."

56 years, over 4,000 bags — every animal she ever loved

Clara has done the math. In 56 years, she has cut, quilted, and crafted more than 4,000 bags — every single one passed through her hands. "At the start I just made plain totes. Useful things. Nothing fancy," she says. "But I kept thinking about the animals. I always had animals in my head — from the farm, from everything I grew up with. Eventually they had to go somewhere."

The first animal she ever appliquéd was a chicken. She was fifteen, working with fabric scraps on the kitchen table. "It looked terrible," she says, laughing. "But my mother put it on her market bag and carried it for three years." From that point forward, every animal Clara loved found its way onto fabric. A herd of horses with manes that practically move. A clutch of roosters that look like they have opinions. A deer standing in wildflowers at the edge of the tree line. "I never ran out of animals," she says. "I just ran out of time." For most of her career Clara sold at county fairs and Tennessee craft shows, by word of mouth and nothing else. "But then my granddaughter Lily set this whole thing up online — she's fourteen and she kept saying, 'Grandma, people need to see these.' I told her she was probably right." She pauses. "Turns out she was."

What makes Clara's animal totes different

What sets these bags apart isn't just the animals — bold and full of personality as they are. It's how they're built: as practical as a good canvas grocery tote, as well-made as a piece of real American craft.

Each bag is cut from a heavy cotton-poly blend, sandwiched around batting, and run through Clara's machine in a wave-stitch quilt pattern that holds the bag's shape even when you stuff it full. The animals aren't printed — they're individually cut, layered, and hand-appliquéd onto the panel. Every creature has its own template, its own color story, its own character built stitch by stitch. The handles are reinforced canvas, bartacked at the stress points. "I learned to bartack from my grandmother. Never had a handle fail in fifty-six years. That's not luck — that's how you do it right."

Inside, there's room for a week's worth of farmers market produce, a laptop, library books, and a water bottle with space to spare. The interior wipes clean. Many customers say the Animal Tote became their daily bag within a week — not because it's fancy, but because it stops people cold wherever they carry it.

The bag that says something about who you are

Clara's always believed there's a reason a person reaches for one animal over another. The woman who picks up the horse tote isn't the same woman who reaches for the deer. The rooster bag has its people — and they know exactly who they are the moment they see it.

"I've never had a customer who was undecided for long," Clara says. "They see the animal and they just know. It's not a bag choice — it's a personality choice." That's what makes these totes unlike anything you'll find in a department store. The animal on the front isn't decoration. It's the whole point. Horses, roosters, deer — pick the one that's already yours.

"I have customers who've been carrying the same bag for over fifteen years"

Clara pulls an old tin box out from under her worktable. Inside are cards and folded letters going back decades. "These are thank-you notes from customers. Some of them have been writing to me since I sold at the Pulaski fair in the nineties." She slides out a card dated 2012. It reads: "Dear Clara — I carry my chicken bag everywhere and people never stop asking about it. Three strangers last week alone. It still looks exactly like the day I bought it. Thank you for making something with a real soul in it."

That kind of longevity isn't an accident. It's quality over quantity. Where mass-production cuts corners to save seconds, Clara builds each bag one at a time — from the first cut, through laying in the batting, through hand-appliquéing every animal, all the way to the final stitch on the handles.

The end of an era — Clara's final animal collection

When Clara moves to Knoxville in the fall, the workshop closes for good. "I don't have an apprentice. Nobody wants to spend ten years learning to do this right." On the shelves sit roughly 532 finished Animal Totes — her final run, completed over the winter and spring. Every animal she's ever loved, in one last collection.

To make sure they go to people who'll actually use them, she's set a flat close-out price: $59 per bag. "I'm not doing this for the money. I want them out there — at the farmers market, on the beach, at the library, slung over somebody's chair at work. Whatever animal is on that bag, somebody out there loves that animal. That's who these are for." She smiles. "Lily keeps refreshing the page to check the orders. I told her to go do her homework."

Each design has its own personality. The roosters look like they have opinions. The horses look like they're in on a joke. The deer looks like it wandered in from the tree line at dusk — which, in a way, it did. "Every one of these animals I knew," Clara says. "Before they were on a bag, they were just outside my door."

What sets Clara's Animal Totes apart:

• 100% handmade: Every bag is cut, layered, quilted, stitched, and inspected by Clara herself — no assembly line, no mass production.
• Real quilted construction: Cotton-poly face, batted interior, wave-stitch quilting — the bag keeps its shape even stuffed full, instead of collapsing like a cheap printed tote.
• Hand-appliquéd animal motif: Each animal is individually cut, layered, and stitched onto the panel. They won't peel, crack, or wash off — because they're not printed.
• One for every animal lover: Horses, roosters, and deer — each design with its own personality. Pick the one that says something about who you are — or the person you're buying for.
• Comfortable, tear-resistant handles: Wide reinforced canvas handles, bartacked at the stress points — they don't dig into your shoulder and they don't rip, even with a full load.
• Roomy and easy to clean: Holds groceries, a laptop, books, and a water bottle with room to spare. The interior lining wipes clean — built for everyday life, not a shelf.
• Final collection: Around 532 Animal Totes remain from Clara's last production run. When she moves to Knoxville this fall, the workshop closes for good.

Clara’s final collection — the workshop closes when she moves to Knoxville this fall. A limited number of bags are still available.

What real customers are saying about the Animal Totes

Where you can get one of Clara's Animal Totes

The Animal Totes are available exclusively through Clara's official shop — set up by her granddaughter Lily, and the only place where you'll find the real, handcrafted bags straight from her Tennessee workshop. Each design is available while supplies last.

Clara's final collection — available until she moves

Clara moves to Knoxville this fall. "I want every last bag in a good home before I go. After that, we're done," she says. "Fifty-six years. It was a good run."

Once the remaining bags are gone, she won't be making more — the workshop closes with the property. There's no restock, no second run, no online store after the move.

Payment & shipping: Clara's shop accepts all major credit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. Orders ship within 2–3 business days. Free returns within 30 days.

This is Clara’s final collection — around 532 bags remain. The workshop closes for good when she moves this fall.

The short version

These are the totes you won't want to put down.

Each bag is made entirely by hand and feels like a quiet, joyful companion on your shoulder — like you're carrying a little piece of the Tennessee countryside, the pasture, or the forest with you wherever you go.

Thoughtfully designed, beautifully built, useful every day. And every time you pick it up — or somebody stops you to ask about the animal on the front — you get that little "oh, how wonderful" moment all over again.

Thank you, Clara. 🐔🐴🦌✨

Claim your Animal Tote now — with Clara's personal 100% money-back guarantee

Clara says it herself:

That's why she offers a 100% money-back guarantee:

Take the Animal Tote home. Carry it to the farmers market. Bring it to work. Sling it over the back of your chair at the library. If you don't love it, send it back and get your money back. No questions asked.

Final collection — no reorders once sold out. Ships within 2–3 business days.

The internet loves the Animal Totes