When people hear
‘elegant ladies bag’ they do not immediately think of technology. Still,
without sacrificing style, there are leather bags that can charge tablets
and phones, and that automatically turn on a light as soon as the bag
opens. Meet the Dutch brand Minois. “Bags have been around for a very long
time, but if you look at what has been innovated in terms of use, it’s
quite disappointing,” says Minois founder Simone Tertoolen.
Tertoolen has always had the idea of designing a bag. “Out of her own
frustration, but also because using a bag is often very clumsy,” she says
to FashionUnited. To put it to the test, she took to the streets and asked
women if they had a pen that she could borrow. What followed was ‘a lot of
twists and turns to get into the bag and often without the result of a
pen.’ Tertoolen herself has a background as a designer and worked for
TomTom in the field of the user interface, among others. “I find it
interesting to design for people who are on the move because they have
their attention somewhere else. You have to design very efficiently.”
Although she’s passionate about technology, she also thinks it’s important
that it is beautifully and elegantly incorporated into a product. With that
in mind, she set to work on Minois’ first bag.
Many prototypes followed, but Tertoolen knew she was doing fine when she
attended Salone del Mobile in Milan three years ago with her first
products. “People responded so enthusiastically. Every time they opened the
bag, they laughed and knew immediately what it was for. That was the moment
I decided to go for it.” By now, Minois customers are so used to the light
in their bag that they are surprised when they use another bag and it
doesn’t have one. “It doesn’t sound like something people need in a bag,
but when they suddenly don’t have it anymore, they miss it anyway.”
Minois combines elegance and technology
The Minois collection currently consists of two types of bags and
purses, and a crossbody bag will be added soon. Only the bags have smart
features, Tertoolen says. Finding a producer who was open to experimenting
in the fairly traditional world of bags was quite a challenge. Eventually,
Minois collaborated with a bag atelier in Italy that also produces for
luxury brands: Prada, Dolce & Gabbana and Gucci. “To make a light in a bag
is not so much the challenge, but to do it in a nice way and in a way that
doesn’t require extra effort, that’s where the real challenge lies.” With
the Minois bag, you don’t have to press a button yourself – the light comes
on automatically when you open it. “Together with the bag workshop, we’ve
come up with a new way of producing it to make it look good. All the
technology is incorporated into the leather so you don’t actually see it.
The leather is deformed and wrapped around the electronics.”
The bags currently have three features: the light, the possibility to
charge a phone or tablet and the bag itself can be charged wirelessly via a
dock that comes with the bag. The bag also shows how much battery it has
left. The CEO indicates that Minois bags need a little more explanation
than the average bag. “It’s not complicated, but when you see it, you’ll
understand it right away.” That’s why Tertoolen seeks a combination of
online and physical retail. She is currently in talks with various
retailers for the sale of the bags. “There are many consumers who want to
see a bag in real life. They want to feel the leather or experience the
features. That is very understandable. It’s a new product so people will
have questions. At the moment we are confident that things are going well
in the store because for the retailer it is also important that there is
little to worry about. Normally you don’t have to charge a bag, so that’s
what comes with it.” Being able to experience the bag in real life is also
important, according to Tertoolen, partly because on the website people
sometimes don’t realise that the bag has a light in it. “That is why we are
currently working on videos to tell the story.”
For Minois, Tertoolen still has many dreams. She wants to go global with
the brand but is currently focusing on Europe and the United States as she
wants to have sales outlets in the big cities. The brand has just brought
in the first point of sale: Margreeth Olsthoorn in Rotterdam. In addition,
the expansion of the collection and the further sharpening of the concept
of the bag is on Tertoolen’s agenda. “You can then think of extra features.
The elegant combination of technology and a bag remains a challenge. It
involves a lot of time, money and especially a lot of trial and error. The
important thing is that the technology adds something to the daily life of
the user.”
“Women and technology is a combination that is not always considered
logical,” says Tertoolen. She recognises that men and women look at
technology differently, but it is certainly not because of disinterest.
“Women look more at what a product brings them in daily life. People think
a lot about men when it comes to technological innovations, and I think
there’s still a lot to be gained from women. It’s a virgin territory.”
Photo credit: Minois
This article was previously published on FashionUnited.nl. Translation
and editing: Andrea Byrne.
Click Here: newcastle knights shirt