On my travels as The Wardrobe Angel I chart the seas of Twitter, climb the hills of Instagram and walk the deserts of Facebook. Late last year I came across one of the most positive, honest, courageous and awesome entrepreneurs I had met in a long time: Jennifer Hamley. Her designer bag range is launching in April THIS YEAR – excitement abound! Who sets up their own designer bag label? No-one I’ve ever heard of until Jen came on the scene. It’s something she has always wanted to do, even when she had another business making headpieces for brides, her heart always belonged to the bags. So she made the leap.
Her bags are specifically targeted at business women, entrepreneurs, the work hard and play harders who have a little bit of fashion sense in all they do. They also have busy lives, carry that life around in their bag and need their bag to be able to cope without breaking a sweat (or a handle). Case in point: Jen has thoughtfully designed a removable clutch component in some of her bags and the clutch can be used for an I-pad as well. Many a time I’ve suggested to client to keep a clutch inside their tote bag in case of post-work shenanigans (I do it and swear by it) and it’s a key feature for some Jennifer Hamley bags –get in! Finally, bags which respond to the needs of the owner, not the other way round. There’s also detachable key chains (no more rooting around in the dark depths of your bag in the pouring rain) and A4 document pockets. PERFECT.
Things don’t always go smoothly in the land of the entrepreneur. But admitting something is wrong and asking for help? You won’t find many entrepreneurs doing that for fear of their reputation shattering like glass. Jennifer’s website disappeared before Christmas and she took to Facebook and Twitter to ask for help. This is what makes her brand so utterly authentic and awesome – when you interact with her online you feel you really know her. And that extends to the design, craftsmanship and manufacture of her bags - all done in the UK. She hasn't sold out and had her bags made in China to reduce costs.
I cannot wait for her bag launch and I’ll be blogging about it in April. In the meantime ...
"She's giving away a handbag at the launch to one lucky winner, so SIGN UP FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!"
The winner of the bag can choose their prize from the catwalk on the launch night!
Click here for the sign up page or click here to sign up on her normal site now. And remember to keep up to date on her exciting, handbag shaped journey on social media (she's very social!)...
Thanks for being an inspiration, Jen!
