This spring Susan Bijl brings you a brand new collection of The New Shoppingbag. It was named Horizons and offers you a total of 24 new colour combinations to brighten your world. But how does one choose one colour over the other? And why the title Horizons? A little look inside behind the scenes at Susan Bijl.
So, where did the title Horizons came from?
Susan: ‘It’s actually for the first time that we named a new collection. We thought – well, since we are broadening our horizon as a company, it might as well qualify as the title for the new collection. Besides that, we really like the diversity of the word ‘horizon’ and all it’s different meanings. First there is the always looking ahead, as a brand and as people. The diagonal line that crosses all our bags, and is sort of our trademark, is in a way also a ‘horizon’. On a personal level we’re really into surfing, which has a lot to do with horizons. When you’re floating on a wave, waiting for the perfect one…it leads to a lot of contemplating. A lot of our customers have told us they use the bag when going to the beach, as well. So it all came together and made sense (laughs).’
Where do the colours come from?
It’s an intuitive process. First I look at what we’ve already done in the past. Last year we did a lot of earth tones like burgundy, rust, and mustard. They also happened to be fashionable colours in that season. So that was out for this collection. I really had the desire for bright and happy colours this time. I usually start by flipping through a book of colour stales. Making random choices, random combinations. After that I try to break it down, make decisions. We always use eight different base colours, they are the foundation of a collection. Than we make three combinations with each base colour. So that makes for a total of 24 bags per collection.
Something else you want to share with us?
I love to hear peoples’ preferences for certain colours and combinations. It’s always nice to get some feedback from our customers. Regarding the names of the colours, we try to come up with names that are somewhat original and a bit off. They might confuse you a bit, but hopefully they’ll stay with you in the end.
Wanna learn more? You can read the interview with SUSAN BIJL on versbeton.nl: “Susan Bijl: Wereldberoemd in Rotterdam”
Above photos : Floor Margarita Cornelisse