A Croydon duo are resuming their small business of designing eco-friendly, recycled denim bags.
The granddaughter and grandmother duo have kickstarted their 5-year business after a small pause.
Emily Baker, 30, and her grandmother Maureen Baker, 78, both from Croydon, have decided to kickstart their eco-friendly business again, with a rebrand coming soon.
Emily turned quality time with her grandmother into a business once she realised that upcycling old denim jeans would be great for the environment, whilst also providing a new take on patchwork garments.
Emily said: “I wanted to find a way of giving a new life to old jeans as it just seems a waste.
“My current bag is made from my grandad’s old jeans.”
The duo have been creating bespoke handbags for over five years, but paused production for the last two years whilst Emily travelled.
The bags have been stocked in West Elm in Kingston, Westfield, and Jo’s House in Herne Hill, and the pair plan on branching out further.
Although she has no plans for the Christmas markets this year, she is certain that she wants to get more involved with her community and expand her business’ reach.
They have plans to get involved with A South London Makers Market’ based in Crystal Palace.
Emily has also speculated about starting a new branch of the website where customers can send in a pair of beloved jeans for her to turn into something new.
The business offers more than just bags; they create laptop, iPad and pencil cases, Christmas stockings and more.
Emily started the business in 2016 after her grandmother pushed her to design and create her own bags despite having no experience in textiles.
Her grandmother taught her how to make the bags and they soon became a hit with her friends and family, causing them to develop the skill into a small business.
Maureen has previous experience in the textile industry working for Hardy Amies.
She has even made dresses for the Queen.
Maureen is very hands on with the production, even doing a whole 20 bag order once by herself.
Emily said: “She doesn’t stop! She is so focused and loves bringing the creations to life, she’s constantly working on them.
“It is so nice working with my nan as it keeps her busy and because my grandad is sick it means I get to spend more time with them.”
The brand uses entirely recycled materials, as Emily believes that being eco-friendly should be paramount in the fashion business.
Emily said: “We get gifted a lot of the old denim we use from our family.
“I just hate waste, fast fashion goodbye!”
The pair are open to creating items to order, so requests are welcomed.
You can also find product images on their Instagram.
Photo credit: dbagsbyeb
