C.OUI bag Brussel Vintage jaune

From her design studio in the neighborhood that surrounds the whimsical domes of the Sacré Coeur cathedral, Isabelle infuses into her work the richness of her life.

The bold primary colors of her children's drawings, fringed with play and bubbly innocence.

The deep purples contrasted against bright greens, scenes from the street market below her window, trimmed with braid, like the fruit seller's hair.

She captures the blue skies of Paris, the same she has seen all over the world, and colors with the rusty ochers of a distant sunset, and the luminous curves of sandy dunes.

For Isabelle, each design is a labor of love, for she knows that a bag that is cherished tells the story of a life.

It knows the sun that has tanned its sides and the voyages that have worn its edges.

It bears the scrapes of life's unexpected events, and withstands age, weather and change, with lightness, resilience and grace. 

Isabelle's creations carry this spirit, in their seams, their their buckles and pockets, within the essence of the leather.

She knows that each bag is a commitment, because the time-softened body, and grip-smoothed handles, will be passed on, from one generation to the next.

Just as Isabelle treasures her first bag, given to her by her grandmother, she knows that a bag carries inside it the secrets of a life.

And it is there, within the satiny belly of that first handbag, Isabelle found the spirit of C OUI.