Jammin' with Jamin Puech

By Suzanne Singer
November 29, 2010

These days, handbag lines seem to come and go before you have the chance to exchange your oversize hobo for a box clutch or structured satchel. But Jamin Puech has been thriving for two decades now, with no signs of slowing down. Back in 1990, Benoit Jamin and Isabelle Puech joined forces to start their colorful and unique handbag company. By year two, the designer handbag collection had been picked up by top department stores and boutiques, and had graced the runways on the arms of models strutting for Chanel, Chloe and Balmain. The good fortune has continued. Jamin Puech has opened stores across the globe, with a flagship store in Paris. The duo was even asked to design a handbag for Barbie's 50th anniversary collection.

What makes Jamin Puech handbags stand out is the unexpected, yet always outstanding, mix of materials and colors found in each of the brand's bags. Every season brings a plethora of shapes, colors and fabrics, plus nods to multiple cultures, in a collection that is divided into three main groupings: leather, pearls and embroideries, and raffia.

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Jamin Puech Handbags; Cyrilla
Photo Credit: courtesy of Jamin Puech
Kurula
Jackie
Estheban
Alice
Tioubik
Luis

The Inside Source: What drew you to decide to launch a handbag collection together?

Isabelle Puech and Benoit Jamin: Right from the start, we decided to make handbags… because we had lots of ideas to prove in accessories, mostly in handbags... In 1990 we received the first prize at the famous young designers festival of Hyeres in south of France, where prestigious designers such as Victor & Rolf, Gaspard Yurkievich and many others have also received the award. After [receiving] this award, where John Galliano was on the grand jury [along with other] professionals in the fashion industry, many doors opened for us. We won a free stand on "Premiere Class" [a trade show in Paris] and six months of free public relations, and we met the Japanese group HP France, which has now been our agent for over 20 years. HP France is also responsible for [our brand's] distribution in Japan and the management of the Jamin Puech shops in Tokyo and Osaka.

The Inside Source: Is it hard to design handbags with more than one person? What roles do each of you play in the design process?

Isabelle Puech and Benoit Jamin: We are used to working together, so we don't know how it is to work alone! It is four hands work—one can start a drawing and the other [can] finish it or one is designing and the other is making the prototype or sample.

The Inside Source: Do you have a personal philosophy on handbag designs?

Isabelle Puech and Benoit Jamin: We don't think in a philosophical way in handbags; we think that it is a little pretentious….For us, the story through our handbags is to give emotion... It has to be whimsical, witty and humorous. After all, they're only bags. It's not art. You have to have fun with it.

The Inside Source: How did it feel the first time you saw your handbags in Bergdorf Goodman in New York City and Corso Como in Milan, especially only two years after launching the Jamin Puech brand?

Isabelle Puech and Benoit Jamin: It was strange, because it was a friend of ours in New York, [who was standing] in front of the Bergdorf Goodman windows, who call us to tell us this wonderful news! As well for Corso Como in Milan! We felt like we accomplished our mission successfully.

The Inside Source: When did you open your flagship store?

Isabelle Puech and Benoit Jamin: We opened our first store in 1998 [in the 10th arrondissement in Paris]. It was where we used to live and we had the workshop on the fourth floor. We didn't have any space for packing and manufacturing the bags, so the landlord of the building asked us if we wanted to rent the shop downstairs. As soon as people could see us working through the window, they started clammering to buy the bags! We still have our first store. It just become “Jamin-Puech Inventaire,” where you can find very special unique bags [outside of the] seasonal collection and re-editions. This shop needed to have his own identity.

The Inside Source: How did it feel being selected to design for the 50th Anniversary of Barbie?

Isabelle Puech and Benoit Jamin: It was like a little girl dream—a lot of fun and very easy to do as it was only one bag! But we pushed our limits to do a “total look” from hair to toes!

The Inside Source: Jamin Puech is such a fun and unique handbag collection. How do you come up with such interesting mixtures of textures and colors?

Isabelle Puech and Benoit Jamin: With lots of ideas from traveling, meeting people, movies, exhibitions, etc—all the things that feed the eyes and spirit. We don't have any recipe for making the collection and we don't follow trends or make “it bags.” We always do and choose what we want and like and we always try to do the opposite of what is trendy because we want our bags to last more than one season. We love colors and all kind of handcraft work. Our challenge is to keep the first idea in our drawing, searching for a technical solution without losing the magic of a spontaneous idea….

The Inside Source: Who is your ideal customer?

Isabelle Puech and Benoit Jamin: We don't have any ideal customer. We know our customers like the allure, the elegance, the nonchalance, the spontaneity [of our bags]... and of course the bright colors, sequins, and print leathers of all kinds that we use. They often say, “We come for something exclusive. We don't want to see our neighbor or someone at a party with the same bag as us."

The Inside Source: What is your handbag design process?

Isabelle Puech and Benoit Jamin: We have antennas on our head to catch what we like or what is in the air and then we start the process of a collection …

The Inside Source: Do you shop on eBay?

Isabelle Puech and Benoit Jamin: Yes, sometimes. I like to go and visit the site when I look for a special element of decoration…. I can find so much information.

The Inside Source: What do you like to search for? Do you have any special eBay search tips?

Isabelle Puech and Benoit Jamin: Most of the time furniture from the ‘50s or contemporary design.

The Inside Source: Do you have a favorite eBay purchase you'd like to share?

Isabelle Puech and Benoit Jamin: We found beautiful Ray and Charles Eames chairs we have now in our house.

The Inside Source: Do you use eBay as a tool or as inspiration for your handbag designs?

Isabelle Puech and Benoit Jamin: No, we are using eBay as research for our stores or for home decoration.

The Inside Source: Any favorite eBay key search words that aid in your search, especially for this latest collection?

Isabelle Puech and Benoit Jamin: For the last Autumn/Winter collection, we found some interesting furniture to decorate our showroom and stores (lampshades, armchair, vases). It was a very useful and a very practical way to find good pieces on time.

Check out the search words Isabelle and Benoit use to find their favorite furniture to decorate their showroom and home.

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