In Full Bloom

No one would have guessed that a pair of Texas twins playing basketball for the University of Nevada at Las Vegas would end up in the fashion industry--least of all the twins themselves. But today, instead of setting picks and shooting free throws, 33-year-old Allison and Diane Dickson of Manhattan Beach are designing delicate floral handbags that have popped up on celebrities such as Ashley Judd and Tori Spelling.

It all started three years ago when the sisters--who’ve always enjoyed sewing some of their own clothes, but only as a hobby--returned from a trip to Europe. “We saw these little powder puffs in France and thought they were really pretty,” Diane recalls. They began making pouf purses out of satin and marabou feathers, hired a sales rep and crossed their fingers. In no time, Fred Segal, Nordstrom and others were lining up.

But the slam-dunk for the twins and their company, Dickson Dickson, came last summer. To complement the pale pink suit she was wearing to a friend’s wedding, Allison whipped up a satin bag covered with lifelike silk roses and shaped like--what else?--a bridal bouquet. It was an instant hit, became part of the product line and now is the most popular item. Says Diane: “We had no idea it would be as huge as it has been.”

These days, the siblings are busy filling custom orders for the floral handbags and totes (which start at $165 and are available only through the Absolute Necessities catalog, (888) 422-7632). The purses function as wedding keepsakes as well as regular evening bags, so in addition to roses and lily-of-the-valley, the Dicksons have been working with faux orchids and pansies for different looks. Says Allison: “Some people are just hanging them on bedposts or putting them on their mantels.”