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The wonderful reason this woman is selling bags made from retired theater backdrops.

Turns out plays can create more than one type of art.

What happens to those massive gorgeous painted theater backdrops when a show ends?

Jen Kahn who has been a stage manager on and off Broadway for years, never gave a second thought to what happened to the stage scenery when a show ended until a road trip in 2015. She and her friend wandered into a store selling bags made from old sails from sailboats when inspiration struck.

They could do the same thing with discarded theater backdrops.

Just like that Scenery Bags was born.

The gorgeous backdrop from this production is one of the backdrops Scenery Bags used. All photos via Jen Kahn unless otherwise noted.

Kahn collects discarded backdrops from theaters and set rental companies who would've thrown them away.

Jen Kahn in her car laden with backdrops.

The massive backdrops are then cut up and stitched into simple, super cute, rectangular clutches.

Bags are made at a factory in Florida.

Depending on which part of the backdrop they're cut from, the bags come in entirely unique patterns and colors.

[rebelmouse-image 19522143 dam="1" original_size="3000x1500" caption=""Desert Song" drop (left), "Desert Song" bags." expand=1]"Desert Song" drop (left), "Desert Song" bags.

Each bag also comes with a label inside identifying which show it came from.

Scenery Bags!

There's a label inside each bag.

Kahn didn't just want to repurpose backdrops, though. She wanted to help make theater more accessible to everyone.

A portion of proceeds from the bags goes to the Theater Development Fund's Stage Door program, which takes middle school and high school kids to see Broadway shows.

[rebelmouse-image 19522146 dam="1" original_size="601x600" caption="Photo via TDF." expand=1]Photo via TDF.

Scenery Bags went live on July 5, 2017, and sold out in just 48 hours, making enough money to send 10 kids through Stage Door to see shows.

Kahn credits much of the company's early success to the support she's received from the theater community.

“We have been given such an amazing opportunity to create less waste, keep a part of theatre history forever, and introduce a new generation of story tellers to theatre,” Kahn writes in an email.

They also had help from one particularly notable theater fan: "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend's" Rachel Bloom.

These @scenerybags are made from retired theatre backdrops and a portion of the profits go to taking kids to see theatre!
A post shared by Rachel Bloom (@racheldoesstuff) on Jul 10, 2017 at 12:48pm PDT

Bloom found out about Scenery Bags through actress Krysta Rodriguez on Instagram. Rodriguez and Kahn became friends when they both worked on the Deaf West Revival of "Spring Awakening." Rodriguez was a supporter of Kahn's bags from the beginning and was one of the first people to get one.

When Bloom saw Rodriguez post about them, she immediately reached out to reserve her own, and when she received it, posted an unprompted photo on Instagram. Within 24 hours, Scenery Bags' followers jumped up by 1,400.

The next batch of bags are coming soon, from well-known musicals like "Hairspray," and "Oklahoma!" and from the looks of these backdrops, they'll be super cool.

[rebelmouse-image 19522147 dam="1" original_size="2468x2000" caption=""Hairspray" (top left and right), "Oklahoma!" (bottom left), and "Oz" (bottom right)." expand=1]"Hairspray" (top left and right), "Oklahoma!" (bottom left), and "Oz" (bottom right).

“We may be giving [kids] an introduction to theatre, but I strongly believe they will be giving us back so much more,” Kahn writes.

Arts programs in America are endangered. These bags aren't just cute; they're a reminder of theater's significance and will help ensure kids still have opportunities to see live shows.

If arts programs are cut from schools, a generation of kids won't be encouraged to express themselves creatively, and the art world will suffer as a result. Kahn's contribution is just one theater-lover's attempt to turn that around.

More than 20 years after the Rwandan genocide, people like Jacqueline Musabyimana are still reeling in the aftermath.

"After genocide in 1994, we lost many members in the family, and life was difficult," she told Upworthy with the help of a translator.

Her father was a victim of the conflict, and young Jacqueline was sent to live with her mother's family in Kayonza. Though she managed to finish her primary education, she couldn't afford the fees for secondary school and was left to handle the majority of the chores in the family's home.

Jacqueline Musabyimana. All photos from Songa Design International, used with permission.

Things improved slightly when she started a family. But it was still hard to make ends meet on just her husband's single income.

"I was depending on income from my husband, but he didn't have enough. I couldn't even send my children to school or pay rent," she said. "When my children and husband got sick, it was difficult to go to the hospital." With no education, and no practical skills beyond the home, Jacqueline herself could only help her family in the same ways that she always had: housework and child care. And while those roles were certainly important, they didn't pay the bills.

With help from their local pastor, Jacqueline and other women from her church learned how to make products from banana leaf weaving. They honed their craft and began to build a community with each other through their art, creating beautiful jewelry, clothing, and fashion accessories from readily available banana leaves.

"We share artistry, we share life," Jacqueline said.

Then in 2011, a U.S.-based startup called Songa Designs International came to their village and saw the beautiful work that the women were doing.

Songa Designs is a for-profit, socially-conscious fashion brand that aims to empower women with its sustainable, stylish accessories made by artisans in economically disadvantaged countries. Each handcrafted piece — from bracelets and earrings to handbags and belts and beyond — is as unique as the women who make them, using readily available local materials and customized designs that draw from their own cultural traditions.

"Our mission is straight forward," it says on their website. "Songa exists to create jobs for skilled women in under-resourced countries so they can earn their way to economic independence."

A model displays a pair of earrings available through Songa Designs.

And so far, Songa's mission has been a tremendous success. For Jacqueline, it changed her life.

Her woven handbags and baskets come from her own design, and each one takes a full week to make. Jacqueline can't help but glow with pride when she speaks about their quality and the impact it's had on the quality of her life.

One of Jacqueline's handbags.

"With the income I earned from Songa, I was able to buy a plot, and then I was able to build a house," Jacqueline said.

"So now I don't have to pay rent. I am able to support my husband and was able to buy a cow and a goat." She's also finally able to afford school fees and health insurance for her four children — and her marriage couldn't be happier.

After decades of hardship, Jacqueline is now the president of Twiyubake Banana Leaf Cooperative — a name that means "to rebuild ourselves" in the Kinyarwanda language.

Twiyubake is just one of Songa's many partner cooperatives. Although they are an independent businesses regulated by the Rwanda Cooperative Association, Twiyubake mainly relies on Songa's distribution for their income.

But Jacqueline's dream is to one day open up her own store, complete with a showroom and her own paid employees.

Get this: She actually wants to pay taxes to her country so she can help other people have a life like the one she's finally achieved. She's also hired a tutor to help her learn English, so that she can lead her future company into the international marketplace all by herself.

Jacqueline's banana-weave baskets will be available in July 2016, with her handbag line launching in the fall.

In the meantime, there are plenty of other beautiful accessories available on the Songa website, all made by incredible women like Jacqueline Musabyimana.

But if you do end up buying one of Jacqueline's products, be sure to let her know; she loves getting feedback on her work and likes to see it bring a smile to the people who have helped change her life for the better.