My Butler and I... It's Not What You Think_The Butler Bag by Jen Groover

I'm in love, with my Butler. And my husband approves.

When my Butler Bag arrived, both of us were blown away by its good looks and design. The world's first compartmentalized handbag is an absolute winner! Not only is it totally functional, it's an eyecatcher!

The Butler Bag is a great conversation starter, too. If someone sees inside my bag, they can't help but comment. Doesn't everyone want to get their life more organized, know exactly where everything is, and not have the aggravation of having to dump out the whole bag to find your keys or phone?

Jen was inspired to design the Butler Bag while emptying her dishwasher. She'd been looking for a better purse -- the ultimate handbag -- and just couldn't find it. The brainwave came when she fit her dishwasher's cutlery holder into a purse.

The Butler Bag puts an end to digging through a purse in a panic. Fun, functional and fashionable are the keywords. Thanks, Jen Groover, for re-inventing the purse. And thank you for not calling it "The Groovy Bag!"

The Butler Bag colours are scrumptious: spicy ginger, olive martini, crème brûlée, coffee, espresso and black licorice. The leather is the finest. And the Butler is extremely well made with quality topstitching, studs, metal rings, an inside zipper pocket and, of course, the trademark inner compartments.

The inside of the Butler Bag is divided into seven rectangular spaces, so everything has a place. Zip open your Bag, and you can see your wallet, keys, cell phone, camera, water bottle, snack, makeup, brush, perfume, everything, at a glance.

Plus, you can slide a book, your day planner, magazines and even a small laptop into the side spaces in the larger or "hybrid" Butler Bag. Two handy outside pockets can hold a hanky or anything else you need to grab on the fly.

Put your Butler Bag down and it keeps its shape. Flat-bottomed, it doesn't slump over or slide off the passenger seat and onto the floor as you drive.

The straps on the Butler Bag are just the right length to sling over your shoulder or swing in your hand.

The who's who have a Butler. The bag is front and center in exclusive fashion boutiques and shopping shows. So popular is the Butler Bag that most women want more than one. I sure wish I'd ordered both the larger and the smaller size!

You can tell a lot about the quality of a product - and the people behind it - from the packaging. Quality, through and through. My Butler Bag arrived quickly and very well packed and padded. Inside the shipping box, the Butler Bag was nestled in packing chips, and further protected by a black fabric drawstring bag you could re-use for shoes.

In the 2008 Butler Bag collection, the larger Hybrid Butler Bag (my choice) goes for $165, while the smaller Classic Butler Bag is $110.

Now here's something to think about: How long are you going to use your Butler Bag? I'm betting mine will be looking mighty fine 10 years down the road. Good leather ages well!

So here's what I figure. Multiply 10 years times 365 days (never mind leap years). 3,650 days, right? Divide that into $165 and the result is under 5 cents a day. I don't mind paying that much for a fabulous bag. You?

From January 21 to April 30 this year, Jen Groover and the Butler Bag are donating $10 from each sale of the Hybrid Spicy Ginger Bag to The Women's Alliance, a non-profit group that helps low-income women transition into the workforce.

Everyone who buys a Hybrid Spicy Ginger Bag will also be entered in the "Every Woman Needs A Butler St. Regis Weekend Getaway Contest". The prize is two nights at the St. Regis Hotel in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Jen Groover also offers range of great accessories!

• Butler Brag: A leather mini-bag with compartments for small items, a notepad, a pen loop, photo pages and a wristlet. Use it alone or pop it into your Hybrid Butler Bag.
• Butler Bangles: A compartmentalized jewellery organizer with a tangle-free peg system and tarnish liner. It comes in two sizes, so you can fit it perfectly into your Classic Butler Bag or Hybrid Butler Bag.
• Butler Bag Butler: A handbag or scarf organizer you can mount in a closet or on a door. Made of pure cotton, it gives you seven loops to organize your bags and scarves.
• Butler Beauty: The perfect folding travel mirror with a one-touch open mechanism. Of course, it'll fit perfectly into your Butler Bag.
• Butler Billfold: The ultra-slim stainless steel billfold and credit card holder. This holds everything you need in a wallet, but without needless bulk.
• Travel Chic Brush Set: A sleek black clutch containing six make-up brushes. This slips easily into your Butler Bag, too.
• Butler Baby: Jen is launching a baby bag line soon. Stay tuned!

Jen Groover's new Butler Bouture collection is for the haute couture woman. These phenomenal purses are carried by celebrities. The Allure line come in candied apple, black sambuca, iced earl grey and passion plum, while the Cocktail line is black and white Italian patent leather.

• Allure Classic Butler Bag: The Classic Butler design, handcrafted from exotiic vergetable-dyed shrunken lambskin.
• Allure Hybrid Butler Bag: The larger Hybrid design, handmade from the same exquisite materials as the Allure Classic.
• Allure Clutch Butler Bag: An organized evening bag, using the rarest lambskin.
• Allure Swing Butler Bag: A longer model with one strap, handcrafted from the rarest lambskin.
• Cocktail Classic Butler: A Classic handcrafted from top-grade crushed Italian patent leather.
• Cocktail Hybrid Butler Bag: The bigger Hybrid design is a patent leather wonder.
• Cocktail Clutch Butler: You may have seen the Cocktail Clutch on televized award shows.

Organizing can set you free!

Having a Butler is making a big difference in my approach to organizing things. As a mom, I've used a variety of big-bucket bags and multi-pocket vests over the years. Now, I use my Butler Bag. And I always know exactly where to find everything I need, when I need it.

Having a perfectly organized handbag is prompting me to get more organized in other parts of my household and lifestyle, too. Clutter is out. Efficiency is in.