Our new collection ‘Recollection’ is a celebration of 20 years of reducing waste in a colourful way: 20 years of SUSAN BIJL. In the months to come, we’ll be looking back at milestones that mark important events and developments during those years. 2005 was a key year in moving SUSAN BIJL forward.
As 2003 marked Susan’s first reproduced collection, she had to make up her mind and reconsider. Giving birth to her first child Spijker in 2003 as well as being surrounded by over 40 boxes with newly produced shopping bags in her living room wasn’t quite the idea of minimizing the household…
With only a webshop and hardly any physical sales points, sales started slowly. But after being featured in Volkskrant Magazine (Dutch newspaper) things took off!
Moving the stock out of the apartment and into her husband’s artist studio automatically led to his involvement in the business of bags. Amongst the first to sell The New Shopping Bag were shops such as Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, and Beljon. Soon the brand was introduced to the Japanese art book publisher Gas as Interface and the Japanese adventure began.
Within 2 years Susan had to place a second order at the factory. Her bags were discovered by the buyers of Paul Smith and United Arrows, and The New Shopping Bag became available in London, New York, Milan and Tokyo
Top from left to right photo: Theo Audenaerd – model: Susan, photo: Steven Dahlberg – model: Barbara
Left photo: Steven Dahlberg – model: Zia