Johnna Avent's boutique in Catonsville marks a dream come true for the married mother of two.

On July 1, she and her husband, Reginald, opened Jeanna Lynn Bags & Designs at 924 Frederick Road.

The Catonsville resident designs handbags, purses and pocketbooks and creates her own patterns to make them.

"I love to sew," she said. "It's my love. It's my passion."

The day before the store opened, Avent made 18 bags to ensure she had enough supply for the initial customers.

On opening day, Avent and her family hosted a ceremonial ribbon cutting with about 20 friends and family gathered outside on the sidewalk and a few members of the Greater Catonsville Chamber of Commerce in attendance.

Teal Cary, the chamber's interim executive director, said shops such as Avent's help rejuvenate downtown Catonsville.

"We want people to be able to park their car and walk up and down the street," Cary said. "Having little boutique shops like Jeanna Lynn will help contribute to that."

Avent, 45, started making handbags about 20 years ago and sold them at beauty salons and other businesses.

In her new shop, most bags and purses sell for anywhere between $35 and $90, with a few exceptions on either side.

She said she stopped once she and her husband had their two children.

She named her business after her daughter, 9-year-old Jeanna. The couple also have a 13-year-old son, Michael.

Avent said she received her first sewing machine, a used one, when she was 9.

Finding material proved to be an adventure.

"My mother said, 'Where are my sheets?' " Avent said, laughing. "They were in a big bag where I had cut them up and made doll clothes."

Now she doesn't have to worry about pilfering cloth from the hall closet.

She has two industrial machines at the shop.

In addition to an industrial machine at home, she has three family-sized machines she uses to make or repair the clothing her family wears.

Her husband left his job as a district manager for Rent-A-Center to help his wife establish and run her business.

He said he will be in the back office of the former exercise studio that previously occupied the space to manage a few properties the couple owns.

The Avents signed the lease for the storefront just two weeks prior to opening, making for several late nights and lots of elbow grease.

"We revamped everything," Reginald Avent said.

Avent, a minister at Morning Star Baptist Church on Winters Lane, said he is proud of his wife and the business she has started.

"To be doing something so passionately, it's wonderful," he said.

Johnna Avent said she plans to pass on the knowledge she's gained over the years by hosting sewing classes Tuesdays and Thursdays for children and adults who want to learn to sew.

Those interested can sign up at the shop, she said.

Jeanna Lynn is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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