HR professional turns vintage Coach bag hobby into side hustle

Jonathan Adona is a 32-year-old human-resources professional in New York City who turned a hobby of collecting and restoring vintage Coach bags into a side hustle after being inspired by TikTok videos.

He got his first Coach piece in 2022 and says his interest deepened in December 2024; after an injury in March 2025 he began restoring bags himself. He now owns 45 Coach bags and at one point nearly 60.

Adona curates a purse wardrobe he intends to use rather than display, and when he stops using a bag he rehomes it to other collectors. He has sold more than 30 bags and sometimes buys secondhand pieces with the intention of restoring and reselling them.

One example he gave was a 1997 Coach Pocket Zip Ergo 9033 in mahogany he bought on Facebook Marketplace for under $100, cleaned, and sold on Instagram for $380. He says profits fund new purchases and that he prices bags below market to keep them accessible; the article notes Coach retail ranges and vintage prices on resale platforms.

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