They know when to fold 'em

If you ever made gum-wrapper chains as a child, you'll have a special appreciation for the eye-catching handbags by Nahui Ollin (pronounced now-we oh-lean), the brainchild of Mexican designer Olga Abadi. The bags, available in more than three dozen styles, are made of as many as 4,000 candy wrappers and soda labels (rejects rerouted from the landfill), painstakingly folded and stitched together according to an old Mayan technique. "Indigenous people in remote areas of Mexico still use this technique," said Elias Abadi, a Nahui Ollin designer and the founder's brother-in-law. "It's really, really involved - it can take days to make one product." The bags retail from around $30 (for the aptly named "Itsy Bitsy") to around $220 (for the voluminous "Legal Brief"). Available at Tango in the West End (175 Cambridge St., Boston. 617-523-7800), Monroe Salt Works in the Westin Copley Place (10 Huntington Ave., Boston. 617-236-0045), and at www.nahuiollin.com.