Mimi Berry

FT How To Spend It

17 April 2008

THEY'VE GOT THE GIFT

From innovative belts and jewellery to distinctive Christmas decorations and cushions, these independent leather designers are using artisan skills to create covetable gifts of enduring style, says Elisa Annis

...Across town in Shoreditch, close to where many of London's leather makers, saddlers and tanners were located, is Mimi, owned by 32 year old Mimi Berry. The Central Saint Martins Fashion Graduate was one of the area's early adopters when she opened her leather goods studio/ store on Cheshire Street in 2001. Although she's somewhat hidden away in the East End, this hasn't prevented New York's Bergdorf Goodman and Takashimaya from finding her. Berry crafts samples of her handbags, purses,  belts and laptop bags and does some customisation on the premises and also sells to stores in the UK. A recent runaway success were her leather satchels sold through Paperchase stores as a back to school item. However with a retail price of £250.00 they were purchased by fashionistas rather than schoolchildren. Berry was also commissioned by Tate Britain to design a leather range sold at Tate shops that launched in October

A desire to add glamour to the drudgery of public transport prompted Berry's latest innovation - the Patrick leather Oyster card holder. In metallic gold, red or purple leather, it's proving a big hit. "I wanted to make a holder that would last longer than the plastic ones, while being as smart as the bag I was carrying,' she says, adding that she is driven more by function than fashion. "My pieces are rarely fashion led. I prefer, and so do my customers, to have bags and accessories they can work and grow with."

Full article Financial Times How to Spend It Magazine

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