Really pleased to be feature make of the month in Craft in Focus.

A great article on the business and how it has evolved.
Come and see our latest designs and colours of the season at Wisley Contemporary Craft Fair. 30th April – 5th May.

Jane has been designing and making her extensive range of leather bags since the 1980s when she took a stall in the newly opened Covent Garden Market, London.

Jane began her working life as a primary school art teacher and subsequently retrained in theatre design making props for Glyndebourne Opera and the ENO before designing sets and costumes at the Young Vic. After the birth of her daughter she decided to continue with a passion she had as a teenager, buying leather and making bags.

She taught herself as she went along as she wanted to create unusual shapes which were practical as well as functional. Colour is an important element in the design process mixing soft subtle tones, or strong contrasting colours depending on the shape of the bag. Jane says “With the attention to detail, just adding that extra touch whether it is in the piping, the trims or the handmade fastenings I like to think it adds that extra quality to the bag, which makes it recognisable as a Jane Hopkinson Bag.”

Jane’s inspiration comes from many sources – natural forms, travelling and looking at past couture and architectural designs of the 1930s. Her Petal and Bulb bags have been influenced from nature and she drew her inspiration from the magnificent shape of the rolling rice barges on the back waters on her travels to India when creating the Kerala.

Her designs fall into two categories the more sculptural forms and then the softer more fluid designs and the type of leather is key to the final outcome. Jane sources all her leathers from Italy going to Lineapelle Leather fair in Bologna once a year to obtain the quality of leather she requires.

All the bags are made and designed in the family-run workshop in Ditchling Sussex. Every stitch and cut from the toggles to the fastening is created by the team of four with every attention paid to the smallest of details.

Jane is also able to offer a bespoke service providing customers with something truly distinctive that perfectly matches their style. They provide a wide range of bags for special occasions, including wedding handbags.

Jane’s bags have been featured in local and national magazines, TV and film including Nicole Kidman using the V-Clutch in the Golden Compass.

She sells her work at quality Craft Shows such as Craft In Focus, online and from her showroom in Sussex adjoining her workshop. Here you can see the bags being made and match colours to your own outfits for weddings and special occasions.

Further information and images can be see on Jane’s website:
www.janehopkinsonbags.co.uk 

For full details of our events see our calendar to the left of the page.