Waiting months for a handbags hardly seems worth it when there are stylish alternatives out there. Nir Saban, an artist based in Forest Hills, has a line of sleek, architectural leather bags, some with pipelike metal handles, others with mahogany. His trapezoidal, sculptural containers are true standouts.

Then there are the eye-popping geometric prints from Poesis, just the thing to ease summer woes. And no wonder -- they are designed by Denton Kump, who earned her doctorate in immunology and studies the effects of stress on the immune system. She'd hoped to one day offer stress relief in the form of a pill -- but found it in the form of a handbag, instead. After her hand-made purses earned raves from random passersby, she realized it was time to turn her hobby into a full-time career. Her bags may not offer a permanent cure for the blues -- but there are no side effects, either.--Joseph V. Amodio