About

Lori and her mother, the mother-and-daughter team behind Custom TBags Hi, I'm Lori Surace, and I started Custom TBags because I got tired of leaving concerts with an ugly T-shirt.

For seventeen years, my husband and I lived in New York, and we spent most of our nights out — rock shows, ballgames, clubs, whatever was on. I loved all of it. The one thing that let me down every time was the merch table. Rows of the same boxy men's tees. Nothing that felt like me.

So I started cutting them up.

What began as turning concert shirts into tank tops became something I couldn't stop doing. Friends asked for their own. Then came tote bags — good for shows, for groceries, for farmers markets. Before long, I was making jackets, denim vests, and blazers that got people stopping me on the street.

When we moved to Phoenix in 2017, the best part happened: my mom joined me in the workshop.

We sew, paint, dream, and laugh our way through every piece. Along the way we've been joined by friends who are ridiculously good at what they do, all of them as taken with giving forgotten material a second life as we are. In 2025 we made it official and launched Custom TBags, LLC.

The Custom TBags booth at a Phoenix market, hung with upcycled denim jackets and embellished tops Everything we make starts as something somebody else was finished with. Every piece is genuinely one of one. No mass production, no assembly line, no two alike — ever.

I think clothes should tell your story. They should make people smile, start conversations, and give you the nerve to look exactly like yourself. Whether you're headed to a show, a game, a festival, brunch, or just out for groceries, you deserve to wear something as unique as you are.

When you buy from us, you're keeping good material out of a landfill, backing a small family business, and supporting artists who put real hours into every stitch and brushstroke.

Be bold. Be original. Be unapologetically you.

The hands behind every piece

Three sewing artists who reconstruct every garment by hand
A hand-painting artist who adds the custom detail and finishes
Two crafters who work fabric, trim, embellishment, and vintage finds into each design
A jewelry specialist who builds in handcrafted accents