LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As companies become more diverse in the Boardroom, British bag and umbrella maker Bucklesbury says there is growing demand from successful people seeking a classic and divergent brand that will help to set them apart. Bucklesbury’s founder Edita Macfarlane says that the Bucklesbury ethos of combining beautiful and enduring designs with distinct functionality, as well as manufacturing techniques that are synonymous with traditional European luxury, is redefining Boardroom style around the world.
As the brand seeks to define a new category of ‘Boardroom style’, Bucklesbury is building a global following. The bag maker is currently designing a range of bags for one of Japan’s largest luxury retailers; and is expanding deeper into Asia as part of a UK Government trade mission to Hong Kong and Shenzen. The brand is also about to launch a collaborative video campaign where the liveried doormen of London’s most premium and prestige hotels endorse the brands’ trademarked ‘handmade and rain tested in England’ umbrellas.
The Bucklesbury brand is the brainchild of 29-year-old Founder and Creative Director Edita Macfarlane, who launched the ‘accessible luxury’ brand in 2016 after being unable to find a work bag that combined the beauty of a fashionable handbag with the practicality of a laptop bag. After launching a full range of products at popup Bucklesbury experience stores in London, the bag maker has become a popular choice for ‘milestone moments’ such as starting a new job or business, winning a promotion or attaining a professional qualification.
The Bucklesbury range includes a classic leather backpack that is ideal for flights and commuting; a laptop bag that fuses British style with Italian craft, a ‘big work bag’ Tote bag and a sleek ‘Mini’ bag; as well as Bucklesbury’s trademarked ‘Rain Tested In England’ umbrellas that are hand crafted using sustainable materials in a small London workshop.
An aspiring entrepreneur herself, Bucklesbury’s founder Edita is also a woman supporting other women, and the brand envisions a future of strong female leaders that will change the world. There is a whole section on the Buckesbury website dedicated to #AwesomeWomen, showcasing some of the brands most faithful and accomplished cliental from all over the world, who include CEOs, founders and entrepreneurs.
Bucklesbury Founder Edita Macfarlane says:
“Our customers are men and women from all over the world. Very early on it became apparent that many of our customers were buying Bucklesbury bags to be much more than a fashion accessory: they were buying them because it helped them to achieve a purpose. Often this was a professional goal or milestone, and for many people their Bucklesbury bag or umbrella has become a loyal companion for their everyday goals and professional life.”
Bucklesbury sells its leather bags and umbrellas on its website and through partnerships with luxury online retailers, with a focus on the United States and Asia where Bucklesbury says customers expect nothing to be overlooked when it comes to the finer details, even within the accessible luxury category. Bucklesbury also exhibits at industry events such as Pitty Uomo, where Edita says that buyers are often surprised to find a young Founder at the helm of a brand that exudes such a strong heritage of traditional European luxury.
After launching the brand and financing its growth entirely from cash flow, Edita has retained full creative and strategic control of Bucklesbury. The bag maker continues to rely on the traditional manufacturing techniques that have been passed down through the generations in Italy, despite the comparatively high cost and the long lead times needed. Bucklesbury says that it would rather make every bag slowly with care and risk items being occasionally out of stock, than move toward cheaper mass manufacturing.
Edita says:
“It’s now increasingly recognised that management teams who all come from the same backgrounds and experiences and preferences are often weak on ideas. With a more diverse range of talents now ascending into the Boardroom, the days of ubiquitous style and coded brand conformity are coming to an end. Bucklesbury is for anyone who has made it to where they are today through their own talents and ideas, who value experience and heritage but also aren’t afraid to show confidence in their own individual identity and ideas.”
About Bucklesbury
Bucklesbury is an British bag maker and luxury brand that designs bags in London and manufacturers them in Italy using traditional handcrafting techniques. The Bucklesbury design ethos is one of beauty and practicality, targeted at professional men and women. The British brand also manufacturers its trade marked ‘Rain Tested in England’ handmade umbrellas, which are produced in a small workshop in London using sustainable materials.
About Edita Macfarlane
Edita Macfarlane is the Founder and Creative Director of Bucklesbury. Edita was born in Slovakia in 1990 where she completed a degree in Journalism, before studying business in Nice, France. Passionate about all things British, in 2014 Edita moved to London to work in a tech start-up, where in 2016 she realised that there were not enough bag options for a professional woman and designed the first Bucklesbury bag. Fluent in five languages and an avid traveller, Edita takes her influence from the small European couture houses that were the genesis of many luxury brands, as well as a British tradition of fun sartorial style.
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