Handbag hobby becomes a business
“I love color,” Newport Beach resident Suzan Paek says as she fiddles with a slew of Jessica Grant handbags spread across her dining room table.
“That’s the premise of my bags,” Paek adds, who started the line — which is named after her first two children — of women’s high-end, luxury handbags nearly a year ago.
The handbags — with names like Sookee, Kate, Rebecca and Moira — come in bright colorful designs, various shapes and sizes, and use exotic leathers like alligator, crocodile, snake skin and ostrich. Paek runs the business from her home and the handbags are manufactured in Seoul.
All the skins used are byproducts of human usage, she says.
What started as a hobby has turned into a full line of upscale totes, large purses, briefcases, clutches, wallets and keychains. Paek plans to launch a men’s line in the fall, called Nathan Robert, after her two younger children.
She’s also looking to collaborate with a New York designer who specializes in ready-to-wear collections.
Jessica Grant bags sell for $900 to $4,000 at only a few boutiques like Mi Piace in Newport Beach and Laguna Hills, and through her website, jessicagranthandbags.com.
All of her bags are functional and feature organized sections inside, leather suede interiors and magnetic closing clasps. So far, she has about 30 different designs. The Kate handbag started the line, Paek says, and debuted in September.
The handbag, luggage and accessory market — specifically stores that sell such items — is a $9.5-billion market in the U.S., according to a report by IBISWorld, a market research company. Handbags account for about 28.5% of that market, and Coach Inc. dominates with about 36.5% of market share, the report said.
For Paek, her customers are an even smaller portion of the accessories’ market: those who are true luxury shoppers. Her goal is to get the handbags in an upscale department store like Saks Fifth Avenue.
High-end, designer handbags are what she loves. She’s been collecting them for quite some time now. Her most treasured find: a Gucci crocodile bag that is about 50 years old. It was a gift from her mother, who passed it down to her.
Fashion is a bit of a family business as well.
“My mom has been a fashion designer and had her own label in the Asian market,” she says.
Paek picked up some of those skills. She was donning a dress she made herself the day of the interview, and has been asked by some to create dresses for them.
For now, she’s sticking to handbags. Seeing Jessica Grant come to life is a dream come true for Paek. She previously was an interior designer at her husband’s real estate company, First Landmark Development Co.
Before starting the business, she discussed it with the most important people in her life: her kids, who range in ages from 11 to 20.
“I’m trying to juggle it all; be a wife, a mother ... and [having the handbags] manufactured in Korea means lots of travel,” she says. “Before I started this I talked about it with my kids and told them, ‘This is what I really want to do,’ and all of them said, ‘We want to support you; go for it.’ I’m very blessed.”
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