I'm designing a business card for a business that makes original,
handmade purses.  I want to express the concept in French--and
underneath the French word in parens, phonetically spell out the
correct pronunciation. Specifically I have found sac à main or
porte-monnaie. Is there a distinctive difference? and how do I express
original, handmade, funky, etc.?? :)

Hi Diane,

Oh, that's nice, thank you. Good luck with the business cards - I'd be
happy to hear what you end up with.

Sincerely,
hummer

p.s. You know, to get the right "feel" to a phrase or expression, the
end result of a translation should be in the mother tongue of the
translator. In other words, it's best for an English speaker to
translate from another language into English, not from English into
another language (not a hard and fast rule, just a thought).

Here is my comment again, to make it official:

I think you can think of a "porte-monnaie" as a wallet (or literally a
place to put your money) and a "sac à main" as a purse (or literally a
handbag). Handmade is "fait à la main" but that would not work well
with "sac à main" (too many "mains"), so how about "original", which
also could mean funky or eccentric. Given the size of business cards,
you don't have much room to play with and you don't want to fill it up
with too many words. Therefore, I would suggest using words that work
in both French and English, such as "original" and "chic".

Stylish handbags, original, very chic for your small outings.
Sac à main stylé, modèle original, très chic pour vos petites sorties.

Chic handbags, original, very stylish for your small outings.
Chic sac à main, modèle original, très stylé pour vos petites sorties.

Pretty handbags, charming, original and chic.
Joli sac à main, charmant modèle original et chic.

Petit dictionnaire: English/French
handmade: fait à la main (made by hand)
fashionable, snazzy: chic 
well dressed: bien habillé
leather handbag: sac pourchet cuir
small handbag: pochette
smart, fashionable, handsome: beau
very handsome: tres beau
chic: chic, fashionable
new: neuf
pretty: joli
pretty handbag: joli sac à main 
original: original
funky, eccentric: excentrique or original
practical: pratique
a smart handbag: un sac-a-main chic

In case you would prefer an answer from a French speaking researcher,
I'll post this as a comment but if you find it suitable, I'd be happy
to post it as an answer (but you should get a second opinion before
printing up your cards!).

Google Search Terms Used

dictionary french trendy
dictionary french english trendy
tendance dictionary english trendy
tendance dictionary english
Original sac à main chic
"joli sac a main"
"chic sac a main"
colloquial french purse
colloquial french funky
"chic" glossary vetements
"chic" glossary clothes
"chic" glossary
"fait à la main" glossary
"sac a main" glossary
handmade "sac a main"
"porte-monnaie" "sac a main"
"porte-monnaie"

Great, complete answer.  And fast :)

Hi linnaeus-ga,

I think you can think of a "porte-monnaie" as a wallet (or literally a
place to put your money) and a "sac à main" as a purse (or literally a
handbag). Handmade is "fait à la main" but that would not work well
with "sac à main" (too many "mains"), so how about "original", which
also could mean funky or eccentric. Given the size of business cards,
you don't have much room to play with and you don't want to fill it up
with too many words. Therefore, I would suggest using words that work
in both French and English, such as "original" and "chic".

Stylish handbags, original, very chic for your small outings.
Sac à main stylé, modèle original, très chic pour vos petites sorties.

Chic handbags, original, very stylish for your small outings.
Chic sac à main, modèle original, très stylé pour vos petites sorties.

Pretty handbags, charming, original and chic.
Joli sac à main, charmant modèle original et chic.

Petit dictionnaire: English/French
handmade: fait à la main (made by hand)
fashionable, snazzy: chic 
well dressed: bien habillé
leather handbag: sac pourchet cuir
small handbag: pochette
smart, fashionable, handsome: beau
very handsome: tres beau
chic: chic, fashionable
new: neuf
pretty: joli
pretty handbag: joli sac à main 
original: original
funky, eccentric: excentrique or original
practical: pratique
a smart handbag: un sac-a-main chic

In case you would prefer an answer from a French speaking researcher,
I'll post this as a comment but if you find it suitable, I'd be happy
to post it as an answer (but you should get a second opinion before
printing up your cards!).

Regards,
hummer

Thank you!!  Your comment is just what I was looking for--it is
perfect.  How do I/we change this from a comment to an answer??

diane

Thank you, Diane, for the nice note, rating and tip, I appreciate them
all. Good luck with the business cards. Sincerely, hummer