Bags of talent
Growing up on a farm in North Otago, Susie Jamieson was naturally creative and with a love of the outdoors. So back in 1990 when she couldn’t find a cooler bag sturdy enough to keep food and drink safe and cool, but soft enough to be pushed under a seat, she designed it herself.
Experimenting with fabrics led her to canvas, lined with foam for insulation; with dividers inside to keep bottles secure. Impressed, friends asked her to make one for them, word of mouth spread, and Susie’s Bags was born. Now a thriving business based from her home in Martinborough, Susie’s Bags reflects her love of adventure, picnicking, and the outdoors. The range includes everything from picnic bags and cooler bags, rugs and cushions to travel bags and wash bags. There is even a swag.
At first, Susie cut out all the pieces herself. Now, all products apart from the picnic rug, are made by her skilled team of sewers, including “a wonderful couple in the South Island who have been with me for over 30 years,” she says.
“Using quality materials and basing manufacture in New Zealand does make our products more expensive but they are designed to last forever, and people value the quality,” she says.
A trained Karitane nurse with no formal training in design, Susie designs her products to meet real life needs. Everything feels authentic and thoughtfully well-crafted. Take Susie’s everyday bag – smart, with leather trim, it fits the bill as a baby bag, with handy pockets for bottles and other essentials. But it easily converts into a work bag, the right size for a laptop and work paraphernalia.
A recent bestseller, the wood carrier, a sturdy length of canvas with handles at each end, allows you to carry a surprising number of heavy logs. Looking at the huge fireplace in Susie’s characterful home, you just know she would have designed that from experience.
But the bottle bags and picnic bags are still hot favourites, particularly as wedding presents. Susie tells the story of a customer who transported two frozen legs of lamb, one in a Susie’s picnic bag, the other in a chilly bin-style cooler: the lamb in the picnic bag stayed frozen longer. Another bag was accidentally tipped into a river – when it emerged, the picnic was still safe and dry inside.
Susie moved to Martinborough over 20 years ago and would have been a familiar sight at the Martinborough Fair, Rathkeale Christmas Fête, and House and Garden Tours. “I’d also go to A&P shows around the country.”
In those days before online shopping became a norm, Susie set up a website. “But it was just to showcase products – you couldn’t order direct. People would phone through orders,” she says.
Susie’s Bags has become a family business with daughter Anna handling the marketing and e-commerce side and helping with product development.
“We don’t want to make too big a range. The products are designed to complement each other. Every year, we try to think of something new or make a few tweaks, and we test everything ourselves first,” says Anna.
For more details, https://susiesbags.co.nz
