Designer who made handbags in parents garage lands huge Aussie deal

The retail giant has brought a popular NZ brand famed for “not scrimping” on quality to consumers Down Under.

A woman has revealed how she went from making handbags in her garage to landing a huge deal with a major Australian retailer.

Roanne Jacobson is the mastermind behind Saben, a New-Zealand born brand that specialises in thoughtful designs that are made with high-quality materials.

In a fiercely competitive market, Saben has managed to carve out a cult-like customer base, largely due to the fact Jacobson has thought of every little detail each bag could need.

“There’s nothing frivolous about my design process,” she told news.com.au.

“It’s really much more. There’s a purpose to every element. I’m always thinking about ‘how is this product being worn? How is this being used? Where is it going? Who’s the person who’s wearing it?’

“I want each piece to have the ability to be worn it multiple ways, I want the bag to really work for somebody, and that’s just always been my way.’

Roanne Jacobson is the mastermind behind Saben, a New Zealand brand with a cult following. Picture: Supplied

It’s this tenacity and attention-to-detail, a quality that has seeped into the every buckle and stitch, that has earned Saben such a loyal fan base since its launch in 2002 from Jacobson’s parents’ garage – and ultimately landing it on the radar of David Jones.

The opportunity arose from a chance encounter at Auckland Airport when a buyer for the department store happened to be passing by Saben’s pop-up store.

Initially the brand only launched in David Jones’ Wellington store, but has recently expanded to Australia, and is now in 19 different locations.

“It was just awesome when Wellington went off. Within the first week of trading we had sold three times as much as any other brand in the whole of the handbag department,” Jacobson explained.

“Now we’re at all their key locations, which is just so exciting for me as I was born in Australia.

“It’s crazy to think about when you consider where the brand started, as something I was tottering away at in my parents garage.”

The brand was started in her parent’s garage and is now stocked in over 100 retailers – including David Jones. Picture:

Saben is now stocked in David Jones stores across Australia. Picture: news.com.au

Saben recently released its “The Muse” collection, a range inspired by Jacobson’s grandmother Sarah Saben, who is also the namesake of the brand.

It features items that are “filled with elegance and style” that has been passed down through the family’s generations – and of course, Jacobson’s signature attention to detail.

“I don’t scrimp when I am designing. None of my bags are like those high street or designer brands who take every functional feature out, so it’s only about the leather on the outside,” she explained.

“You know, when you open the bag and it’s just an empty bucket and you’re like well, that’s not going to help me. Where’s my phone going to go? And my lipstick?

“I don’t want to have to scrounge in my bag. I want to be purposeful about opening my bag and know where I’m gonna find my tablet or, you know, whatever it is I am looking for. “You’ve gotta be able to find what you need and feel like you’re actually put together, you know?”

Shoppers can attest to Saben’s signature quality with almost 23,000 members in a dedicated fan group. Picture: Instagram/georgiiapemberton

Saben’s latest collection ‘The Muse’ recently hit shelves. Picture: Supplied

Many shoppers can attest to the brand’s quality. A Facebook group dedicated to buying, selling and swapping Saben bags has 23,000 members, with people as far reaching as Canada and the UK using it to get their hands on a second-hand item.

The community is one of Jacobson’s proudest brand milestones.

“We’ve never had anything to do with it, we don’t even have access to it, but it’s really nice,” she said.

“That’s our base, it’s who we are, those members are what build us and that’s what who we respect and honour.

“I love seeing how my pieces are shifting around the world. They’re going to Canada and they’re coming back to Australia or they’re living in Australian living in the UK. It’s just really, really nice.”

Originally published as Designer who made handbags in parents garage lands huge Aussie deal