• Model in a coral-red dress carries The Cayenne, a cream hand-beaded shoulder bag scattered with red chili peppers and green leaves.
  • The Cayenne chili-pepper beaded bag held by its top handle, styled against a white fruit-embroidered dress.
  • Front of The Cayenne: a cream seed-bead flap bag covered in red beaded chilies with green stems and a curved top handle.
  • Three-quarter view of The Cayenne hand-beaded chili-pepper shoulder bag with its slim strap looped behind it.
  • Back of The Cayenne showing densely hand-beaded cream beadwork with red chilies trailing along the top edge.
  • The Cayenne opened to reveal its cream cotton lining and two wooden button closures.
  • Close-up of The Cayenne's beadwork — a glossy red chili and green leaf set against rows of cream seed beads.

The Cayenne

The Cayenne

$328
$328
Sale Sold out
Complimentary shipping on every order.

Limited run · 1 left
  • Ships in 1–2 business days
  • Tracked Delivery
  • 14-day Easy Returns

The chili pepper has crossed more cultural borders than any other ingredient. From the Americas to India to every kitchen in the world , in 200 years it became essential everywhere it landed. This bag carries that same energy. Cream ground. Red and green hand beaded chilis. The kind of piece that starts a conversation before you say a word.

Product Details

Technique
Hand beaded · seed glass beads on cotton cloth
Motif
Chili pepper botanical · red, green, and cream bead work
Base colour
Cream ground
Dimensions
8.0"L x 2.0"W x 6.0"H
Piping
Cloth piping detail throughout
Closure
Single flap closure
Interior
Inner zip pocket
Exterior pocket
Back slip pocket
Production
Small batch · handmade · each piece unique

Care

The Cayenne is hand beaded on a cream cotton ground. Light grounds require more careful handling than darker fabrics and the beaded surface requires its own attention.

Spot clean only using a soft damp cloth pressed gently against the exterior. Do not rub across the beaded surface as this can loosen individual stitches. Do not machine wash, hand wash, tumble dry, or dry clean. Keep away from makeup, ink, and perfume spray directly on the cream fabric. Avoid snagging on rough surfaces or jewellery. Store flat in the Gullye dust bag in a cool dry place.

Shipping & Returns

Shipping

  • Dispatches in 1–2 business days.
  • U.S. delivery typically 2–7 days (FedEx Ground).
  • Tracking is emailed at dispatch.

Returns

  • Returns accepted within 14 days of delivery on unused items in original packaging.

FAQs

Why is it called The Cayenne?

Cayenne is a variety of chili pepper and the name of a city in French Guiana, on the northeastern coast of South America, where the chili first became known to European traders. The name references both the ingredient and the history of how it travelled from the Americas to the rest of the world.

What does hand beaded mean?

Every bead on The Cayenne was placed individually by hand onto the cream fabric using a needle and thread. The chili pepper motif is the result of thousands of individual stitches made by a single artisan. No machine was involved in the beading.

What fits inside?

At 8 inches wide and 6 inches tall, The Cayenne is compact but capable. It holds a phone, wallet, keys, lipstick, and cards comfortably. The inner zip pocket secures valuables. The back slip pocket keeps daily essentials within reach.

Is every bag identical?

No. Because each bag is beaded by hand, minor variations exist in colour density, bead placement, and the exact angle of individual chili peppers between pieces. On a cream ground these variations are visible and beautiful. Your Cayenne is the only one that looks exactly like yours.

How do I care for it?

Spot clean only with a soft damp cloth pressed gently against the fabric. Do not rub across the beaded surface. Do not machine wash, hand wash, tumble dry, or dry clean. The cream ground shows marks more readily than darker fabrics- keep away from ink, makeup, and perfume spray directly on the fabric. Store in the Gullye dust bag when not in use.

How long does delivery take?

Your order ships within 1 to 2 business days and arrives within 2 to 7 days across the U.S. Tracking is sent by email at dispatch.

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The Story Behind

  • Christopher Columbus arrived in the Caribbean in 1492 looking for black pepper. What he found instead was capsicum ,the chili. He brought it back to Europe thinking it was related to the black pepper he was searching for. It was not. It was something entirely new. Within fifty years the chili pepper had spread to Africa, Asia, and India. Within a hundred years, Indian cuisine was built around it as though it had always been there. No ingredient in history has crossed more borders more completely or been adopted more immediately by every culture it reached.

    The chili is the most democratic motif in food ,it belongs to everyone and to no single tradition. It appears in the botanical illustrations of 16th century European herbalists. It hangs in bundles outside kitchens in New Mexico. It is embroidered onto textiles in Oaxaca. It is painted onto pottery in Rajasthan. The artisan who beaded The Cayenne understood this. The chili peppers on this bag are not a novelty. They are a document of something that travelled the whole world and made itself at home everywhere it landed.

    The Cayenne is the smallest bag in the Hand Beaded Collection and the most densely worked. The cream ground requires every bead of colour to be exact, there is no dark background to forgive a misplaced mark. Red on cream is the most demanding combination a beader can work with. The artisan who made yours knew that and chose it anyway.

    The most travelled ingredient in history. Carried by you.