Meet Dr. Ada Liberant. Forensic psychologist by day, handbag crocheter by night.
Born in Moldova, Ada recalls a childhood where imagination often took the place of toys. At age 10, her fourth grade teacher, who felt more like a close friend, taught her how to crochet an intricate doily. It took months to complete, and Ada still carries it with her as a reminder of where she came from.
Two years later, her family moved to the United States. Young Ada shared a practical fallback plan in case the family ever needed extra money: she would crochet doilies.
Time went on. Ada graduated from high school and college and eventually earned her doctorate. Today, the Upper Saddle River mother of three, plus a dog and cat, juggles several demanding roles. She works with child abuse cases and other forensic evaluations, runs a small private practice and reviews Social Security claims for several states.
"Forensics is hard because you see things that no one should see," Ada says. "Going to court to testify is not my idea of fun. You need a creative outlet."
For Ada, crocheting became that outlet.
"People have other coping skills," she explains. "This is what I do."
When the world shut down during the pandemic and nearly everything was difficult to source, Ada returned to her childhood fallback plan. But this time, she was not selling doilies. She was crocheting cotton masks.
"There was nothing else," she shares. "You couldn't buy them, so I just made them."
Soon after, Ada came across an image of a crocheted bassinet on Instagram. Her mind immediately switched gears.
"Wait a second, I can make this," she remembers thinking.
A few weeks later, she gifted a delicately crocheted bassinet to a friend. That project opened the door to creating custom everyday pieces for friends and family.
Then, in 2021, the Instagram algorithm delivered another moment of inspiration when images of crocheted Prada bags filled her feed. House of Ada Couture was born.
Ada prides herself on her unconventional process. She never follows a pattern. Instead, through trial and error, she challenges herself to create using two top-quality materials: genuine leather and silky raffia. Crocheting with genuine leather is time-consuming and hard on the hands, so few artisans work with the material.
This detailed work requires patience and skill, but according to Ada, "if you can make a blanket, you can make a bag."
For Ada, crocheting is a form of stress relief.
"You have to sit there, count stitches and be present," she explains. "Otherwise the bag won't turn out the way you imagined."
That happened once, in fact. After countless hours, the design began to take shape and Ada realized she had reversed the color pattern. She had to undo and redo the work until the design matched her exact vision.
Over the past four years, Ada has crocheted handbags both from her own imagination and those modeled after designer styles.
"People will see a Loewe, Prada or Dolce & Gabbana bag and ask me to recreate it," she notes.
One client asked her to recreate a YSL bucket bag.
"I studied the bag and counted the stitches to make it identical," she explains. "I obviously can't, and wouldn't want to, recreate their logos, but the look is the same. If you held the bags side by side, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference."
Some would even say Ada's crochet work surpasses the designer originals. While small imperfections may escape the untrained eye, Ada spots them immediately.
"I can glance at a designer bag and see where the joining is slightly off," she emphasizes. "Crocheting comes naturally to me. The tension in my stitching is really perfect. I'm not a perfectionist in other areas of my life, but I am with crocheting."
As one of Ada's discerning clients shared, "House of Ada Couture bags look so high-end and unique. You can't find them anywhere else. Bottega could take lessons from Ada."
While Ada will recreate requested designs, she prefers to create her own.
Her favorite design is a white bucket bag crafted from genuine leather cords.
"It's really dainty and perfectly sized," she shares. "There's nothing on the market like it."
She even had custom grommets made featuring her House of Ada Couture logo.
With a jam-packed schedule, Ada crochets after work while watching TV or listening to an audiobook. She can even be found crocheting between breaks at her daughter's volleyball tournaments. Each order typically requires 20 to 40 hours of dedicated work.
The most time-consuming piece she ever crocheted was the Lichtenstein Bucket, which took nearly a year to complete with stops and starts. The bag incorporates multiple colors, requiring constant switching.
"I adapted a friendship bracelet technique with an alpha pattern," she explains. "Every pixel is a stitch. You have to change the color of the yarn and build layer by layer like a mosaic."
The Lichtenstein Bucket and Marilyn Icon Tote, inspired by Marilyn Monroe, are not for sale. These wearable works of art are on display in Ada's Upper Saddle River home.
For those interested in owning a House of Ada Couture bag, Ada invites them to visit her website and Instagram page.
"I can replicate a design you see online," she shares. "Or if you let my creative juices flow, I'll create something you'll absolutely love. You can customize the size, shape, color and material, as well as the insert color and material."
As for the fourth grade teacher who taught young Ada to crochet, inspiration has come full circle. The two have stayed in touch, and Ada has inspired her to begin crocheting again.
"I love it," Ada says with a smile. "It's not financial. It's about people seeing my work as art, wearing it and really loving it. If I could crochet all day, nothing would make me happier."
Visit Ada online at houseofadacouture.com or follow her on Instagram @house.of.ada.couture.