Merrell McGuinness Handbags – Making the Functional Handbag Fashionable
“I was working in a 9-5, and the only bags they had to carry were in black. They were so unattractive. All the beautiful designer bags that I loved were either too short, not wide enough, or didn’t have enough pockets.”
—Merrell McGuinness—
Handbag designer Merrell McGuinness received her inspiration in fashion from her mother’s (Marilyn Hubbard) vintage collection. Ever since Merrell was a child, she insisited on expressing her own personal style. At age 3, she wore fur-trimmed beige leather boots to preschool—not at all uncharasteristic of the years that followed. Both women’s (Merrell and her mother) creative backgrounds and love of all things beautiful was the impetus of Merrell’s intuitive designs. Once she started designing her handbags, word spread quickly by word of mouth, and orders flooded in. Merrell, while holding down a full-time job, and maintaining a growing business, realized the need for a functional bag that still expressed a personal style. She succeeded in creating a leather handbag system that had style, comfort, and functionality, clearly meeting the needs of a busy woman’s lifestyle. Since its inception, Merrell Handbags have been featured in Lucky Magazine, Atlanta Peach, Splendora, Daily Candy, AOL: Style List, Chip Chick, Fashion Newspaper, WWD, and more…
Your focus was to make handbags more functional for women?
I was working in corporate America, and I never really had a way to channel it. With 
designing handbags, I never really had a background in it, but felt like I studied them from a consumer standpoint. I was working in a 9-5, so to say, and the only bags they had to carry were in black. They were so unattractive, and so the idea came … all the beautiful designer bags that I love were either too short, not wide enough, or not enough pockets, so I did a lot of things [that had not been done before.]
What were some of those things?
Our signature layered piping in the front. That was inspired when I was outside in the country with the symmetry and the lines in the country. Two layers of piping is not ground breaking, but the way it is laid out is kind of unique. Some of the pockets on the front, we even had to take the pockets off some of the bags because it was too mystical to the pockets and it wasn’t feeling right. Our “Sarah Clutch“… that’s definitely unique. The “Margaret” bag has a very functional wallet inside the bag.
How long have you been designing bags?
It’s been a three-year research process trying to figure out how I wanted to make them, and
last spring was our first season.
How has it been going since you’ve been selling your bags?
It’s gone so well. People respond to it and say, “It’s a great idea! I love the detail.”
I think you really accomplished what it is you set out to do. Because I just opened the box and I thought the bag was beautiful…like the choice of leather, the coloring … there’s a lot of texture, and the look of it.
Thank you, for spring we went with a very neutral color pallet, and for fall we went with a much darker color pallet. We have 44 stores that are listed online, and one that’s in California (La Jolla). People can definitely buy it online.
What direction do you see your bags going in for this [fall] season?
We have the “Raquel” and the “Eloise” design, and they are inspired by vintage bags from the 60s. But they also have the 40s feel to them. I was just keeping it a clean line, simple, but interesting shape.
Sounds like you had a pretty good job before. Was it a struggle for you to quit your job?
I am doing handbags full time, and it wasn’t a hard decision. I have a habit of biting off more than I can chew. Once we really got into full swing, I realized that I never really liked being in a cubicle. It was really challenging, but great. My husband asked me when [my designs]
were going to make a profit. It’s been very interesting. I’ve taken a lot of risks, but I have also seen a lot rewards.
Where do you see Merrell Bags in five years?
Well, I see Neiman … the whole 9 yards … expanding through wholesale channels.
To learn more about Merrell Handbags, visit the website:www.merrellbags.com.
Interviewed by Kaylene Peoples
