When I heard about The Cambridge Satchel Company opening their first store, I knew I had to go and see what delightful treats they had for us and their followers. With all their glorious bags lining the store walls, it was great to see Julie Deane, the mastermind behind the brand and ask her a few questions.

Me ”So Julie, how did you come up with the whole idea of Campaign satchels?”

Julie – ”The reason I started a business was because I needed to make money to pay for school fees to get my daughter and son into a good school.  So my Mum and I had a £600 budget which we have never gone over or borrowed or had investors to help as no one believed in us at the start. We made a list of things I thought I could do to make enough money to support these fees and Satchels was on the list.  I wanted to get my children satchels because we were reading Harry Potter and I knew Harry would have had one.  It is seen as a traditional old uniform piece and I hate things that you buy and a month later it’s not fashionable anymore or doesn’t look good for very long.  Satchels look great for a long time, even if they age as they look better with it. And that’s why I picked satchels.”

Me – ‘With Collaborations, how do you go about looking at who you want to work with?”

Julie – “All of our collaborations have been with people that have come to us.  Even the very first one that was Comme de Gascon. We have never really had a big opinion of ourselves but it was amazing to have them want to work with us and it really made us raise our game.”

Me – “Now you have the new store, what do you see the company doing in the next 5 years?”

Julie – “This Shop is a big thing as it gives us a chance to say Thank you to the bloggers. It gives them a place where they can come, recharge and do some work and borrow satchels from our Satchel Library and try give them a little something that traditional press normally had.  We are also launching our new satchel clutch bag which has magnetic fastenings and a detachable strap and these in the new pastel colours will be a lovely summer bag. Again it’s like the satchel as it doesn’t scream ‘look at me’ and isn’t fussy but is perfect and I’m really very happy with it.”

You can visit the new store at Covent Garden, London and is open Monday – Sunday.

15 Shorts Gardens, Seven Dials, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9AT

020 72 407 712

Get Directions via Google Maps!

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All images by Lois Spencer-Tracey