click to shop It is a collection of beautiful bags hand-made using the traditional European methods that make Belen Echandia so special.
Jackie Cawthra moved to London 4 years ago to start a training contract with a city law firm. Fast forward to August 2005 and Jackie is the owner of luxury handbag company Belen Echandia, with a global private client list and a presence in some of the world’s most exclusive boutiques and stores.
A self-confessed individualist, Jackie finds that if there is an unconventional way to do something she usually ends up doing it. Her love affair with handbags began in 2000 during a year at a Spanish law firm. Speaking hardly any Spanish and not yet a qualified lawyer, Jackie emailed the owner directly and offered to teach his children English in return for three month’s work experience. Despite knowing no-one when she arrived in Madrid she stayed a year, learned fluent Spanish and was introduced to the world of fashion. The experience, though tough at times, shaped her approach to life and business. She believes interesting ideas should be explored and enjoys finding unusual, innovative ways to make them happen.
Lured by the offer of a well-paid job as a lawyer, she returned to London in 2001 to finish training. But she quickly found herself seeking more responsibility and client contact and most importantly, craving creativity. At about the same time she noticed a gap in the luxury handbag market. We’ve all heard the story - girl looks for handbag, can not find one she likes and thus, a new handbag label is born. For Jackie it was different. It wasn’t a lack of handbags she noticed, more a lack of client-focus, personal service, individuality and choice. And as more and more leather items are now made in Asia, it is a collection of beautiful bags hand-made using the traditional European methods that make Belen Echandia so special.
Halfway through legal training and with no design experience, Jackie created her first collection in 2003 with the help of a family-run European Atelier. Some of London’s most exclusive boutiques immediately snapped it up. Several months of juggling later, Jackie finally left the law behind in September 2004 to run Belen Echandia full-time.
The company’s customer-focused approach- clients can choose their favourite colour of soft leather and Jackie is always on hand to advise which is the most appropriate- have attracted interest from well-heeled customers and stores worldwide. The collection is now stocked by Harvey Nichols stores around the world, including Hong Kong, Dubai and Riyadh.
One of the biggest challenges has been entering a new industry with little experience and even fewer contacts. When she first moved to London she knew 2 people here and both of them were lawyers. But initiative, persistence and hard work go a long way. And there are creative projects aplenty- with a growing business, the biggest problem Jackie has now is finding the time to implement them all.
You can read more about Belen Echandia at www.belenechandia.com and about Jackie’s latest adventures at www.belenechandia.com/blog.
