Linz
Designer Linz Shelton is a San Francisco-born California native currently living in Los Angeles. She has spent the last several years bouncing around London, Paris, Florence, and Milan - completing her education in English Literature and Theatre. She abandoned the jet-set lifestyle to settle into the Hollywood scene and develop her handbag line, CUFFZ by Linz, and to finish her Literature degree at UCLA. Linz transitioned from the costume community into the fashion world six years ago, and since then has experienced the industry through many lenses: as a stylist, as head buyer for several high-end boutiques in the San Francisco Bay Area, and most recently as designer and CEO of Cuffz Inc. Her designs continue to combine the flair of theatrical (and drag!) costume with rock n' roll sensibilities, steeped heavily in the DIY punk aesthetic, with wearable practicality and edgy innovation.

Concept
The concept for the original CUFFZ "Barfly" bag came about when Linz was exploring the chic, wild-yet-well-mannered club scene in London several years ago - where one is expected to gracefully keep command of a full cocktail and a fashionable clutch purse while seemingly effortlessly flitting about a crowded dance floor and up tiny VIP staircases. Thus the idea of incorporating handcuffs into one's evening routine was born! The bag stays put, but the heads turn! Since then, the handcuff - still fully functional - has come to designate one's glamorous clutch, sexy shoulder bag, or chic tote as a true "CUFFZ" original!

History
Cuffz began as a small, one-gal-operation out of Linz 's flat in Kensington, and relocated with her to Los Angeles in 2003. There, she partnered with long time friend, Kyle Eliason, to build CUFFZ into the company it is today. CUFFZ arrived on the scene in full force in the fall of 2004, when Paris Hilton purchased a CUFFZ bag in every color! The "Barfly" bag quickly became a Paris fav, and started popping up in countless pics on Miss Hilton's arm! From there, CUFFZ has continued to build a celebrity cult following that includes: Mischa Barton, Jaime Pressly, Tara Reid, Adrianne Curry, Nicolette Sheridan, Pamela Anderson, Courtney Love, Rachel Hunter, Kelly Hu, Rosanna Arquette, Carolina Bacardi, and Kimberly Stewert. Cuffz bags have appeared on The OC, The Simple Life, Desperate Housewives, MTV's The Real World, The L Word, My Fair Brady, So NoTORIous, Joey, E News Live, Fox News, Access Hollywood , and MuchMusic.

"Made in Los Angeles"
For the first few years, Linz's living room was littered with handcuffs and metal scraps - as Linz and Kyle hand-made each and every piece of hardware for their bags out of Linz 's home. Today, each bag is assembled by hand by skilled leather craftsmen in Los Angeles. CUFFZ still takes a very hands-on approach to their manufacturing: Linz still hand-selects the best leather hides, and each piece is individually cut to ensure that the best parts of that hide are used for each bag. All hardware is cut and assembled by hand as well in Los Angeles, and it's still not unusual to catch Linz or Kyle holding the bolt cutters! EVERY piece still goes through Linz and/or Kyle's hands for quality approval before it leaves the warehouse.