Nickel and Suede began with leather. We launched a unexpected and new category of jewelry as we combined leather and jewelry in classic, but fresh new ways. Leather jewelry that looked like metal? Voila! Thanks to word of mouth marketing by thousands of incredible customers, we have since designed, manufactured and sold over a million pairs of our lightweight, leather earrings. Over time our earrings have evolved, our materials have gotten better and better, and we have begun expanding into more products that align with our leather and accessories niche- the most recent being handbags!
Over the course of the last ten years, Soren and I have traveled to Italy to source and design leathers with some of the best tanneries and factories in Italy. We use these leathers for our lightweight, leather earrings. As we have grown, it's been my dream to design more accessories with leather, especially handbags! Today we are introducing our own line of Italian made leather handbags- made with the exact same leathers that we use in our jewelry.
This past Fall Soren and I flew to Italy with our design team to plan out and put our handbag line into motion. We attended conventions, interviewed, and met with numerous factories, and drew up plans for my line. For this initial launch we decided to use three of our favorites, neutral leathers: Pink Clay, Morning Fog and Iced Latte. These leathers are available in earrings but have also been crafted into the most beautiful bags.
For the lining I chose a citrus yellow/green color that is unexpected, but somehow just right. Each bag has gold details, elevated hardware and a wipeable lining that is resistant to spills.
We designed three styles for this initial launch- two cross body bags and one phone sling. The Fia Phone Sling comes in Iced Latte, the Emilia Mini Tote comes in Pink Clay and Morning Fog and the Sofie Saddle Bag comes in Iced Latte and Morning Fog. Each bag was designed with function and form in mind. The straps are removeable, there are lots of pockets, and the craftsmanship has to be felt to be believed.
It's been such a dream to see these pieces come to life. You can shop them now in our Handbag Collection and you can shop the coordinating earrings as well. You'll find Pink Clay Asters, Morning Fog Milas and Iced Latte pieces in our leather earring collection.