I started the brand when I was 18, at the very beginning designing handbags made in a small factory in Florence and selling them in London. I am from a family of entrepreneurs, so business was always in my DNA. Today, we are a global, digital brand today with our own stores, including The Village in London, and with key wholesale partners globally. It has been a long and fascinating journey to get where we are today, but I have always loved working with great craftspeople. I think today we have defined our point of view as ‘Fashion With Purpose’.
I always say the craftspeople are the true heroes of the Anya Hindmarch story. We make our bags all over the world using traditional, and often intricate, techniques and luxurious materials. Take the Mortimer, one of the newer pieces in the collection. It is a grown-up bag, beautifully crafted inside and out by hand in Florence. It is the attention to detail and quality of the work that makes it such a special piece and one that I hope will be passed down through generations.
Humour also plays an important part of the brand; these are pieces I hope bring moments of joy. Be it a beautifully crafted bag with a tongue in cheek charm hanging from it or a hand-painted eyes teapot, it is about animating the everyday.
I have also always loved personalisation, making something special for yourself or as a gift. The Bespoke Store is the place where you can have something made up with your name, as against mine. These are beautiful, hand crafted, personal pieces designed to mark moments in time.
Anya’s Summer Shop celebrates the warmest – and most fun! – months. It is a love letter to the classic souvenir shops you find tucked away in your favourite holiday destination with our summer holiday capsule, a limited edition of kaftans as well as a line up of vintage resort wear. It’s also packed with joyful souvenirs you end up treasuring from holiday – retro magnets, kitsch fans, dreamy postcards…..
The concept is housed in The Village Hall – our ever-changing concept store in The Village, our cluster of 6 stores on Pont Street in Chelsea, London. Anya’s Summer Shop will be there until the end of May when it will make way for The Ice Cream Project, our now cult ice cream parlour.
We live in a Georgian Townhouse in London – all high ceilings and history, I love it. It is not trendy but there is a mix of my favourite things dotted about. Currently on the mantelpiece there is an Anya Hindmarch After Eight candle, a Fornasetti vase and a painting of The Village, commissioned for me by someone very special for my birthday.
We have a small courtyard garden which is covered with planted baskets – I do think being surrounded by plants makes everything better. On the occasions that some – or all – of the children are at home, we will have a glass of wine together out there and put the worlds to rights. It is a real balm.
Yes, it is a fascinating learning curve for me and my team. I am learning every day, we are all learning every day, and I think there is so much that we think is the right answer today and we subsequently learn tomorrow that it is not.
My overriding NorthStar, if you like, is the two words of common sense. I am trying to navigate my way through running a business, making product and making sure we’re doing as the best we can. I think that perfection is the enemy of good and I think we need to be realistic about how fast we can move and what we can do – we are simply trying to do the very best that we can.
The most shocking thing I have learned along the way is that when you visit a landfill site, or recycling centre, you can see just how much cannot be recycled yet. A huge amount just simply goes into landfill. If you see it with your own eyes, it really motivates you to behave differently. Our mantra is ‘progress not perfection.’ We need to keep moving forward.