Thursday, January 27, 2011

One Nigerian Boy Speaks to African Leather Goods Designer Juliet David-West of Jidz

Juliet David-West hails from the Kalabari ethnic group of Rivers state, Nigeria. She studied Biological Science for her first degree and is currently working as a Health, Environment and Safety analyst for a leading multi-national Oil and Gas company in Nigeria. My first encounter of Jidz was at the LPM monthly market and it was refreshing to see a witty yet sexual take on bags.

The Jidz Label is a luxury one and its production is done in Northern Africa by skilled artisans using the exquisite leathers like Ostrich, Snakeskin and even crocodile skin. I dropped in for a chat with the labels owner and creative head.

What was the design inspiration and the reasons for the names of the 1st generation of Jidz bags  

Roulette. 
The design came out of a state of total confusion! Was drawing bags and either they were to complex to be made in reality or it just had one issue. The next thing that came to my head was the hypnotic sign as a result of my confusion. And there you have it. The name Roulette to me was a perfect way of describing the circles.

Sylvie.
An Egyptian inspired design and named it Sylvie cos it was the first piece I sold and it was bought by my sister, Sylvia.

Daisy.
This design was created out of hardware I had and couldn't figure the use for it than to surround them with different colours of suede, depending on the colour combination.The end product looked like a daisy flower and the name Daisy was born.

Genevieve.
A gorgeous, dazzling lace fabric I came across. I couldn't do much with it than to make a basic bag cut.I wanted it to be named after something Nigerian. Couldn't think of a better name to tag this piece than Genevieve, according to a Fashionisto friend of mine. It describes how simple yet dazzling she is.
Roulette Bag
Who is your ideal customer?
My ideal client is someone who appreciates hand-crafted pieces, the uniqueness of pearls and opts for limited edition pieces.
 
What sets your bags apart from others?

Before starting out, made a rigorous research to find out if known or unknown brands offered a combination of the details I had in mind. My 3 basic principles became : signature pearl accents on each bag, all bags lined with silk and no mass production of an exact bag.
Any plans to add more product lines to the brand in future?

Yes we do have plans to include more lines, but not in the near future. There's no hurry. Building a brand is more important to me now. When that's done, the issue of expanding will be the case.
 
Slyvie Bag
Daisy Bag
Genevieve Bag
Jidz Ipad Cases
Jidz Cheque book case

1 comment:

  1. I think her bags our creative, I also talked about her on my blog :).


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