The smell of leather laced the air of the hip Manhattan Beach bar, Twelve + Highland, renamed Twelve + Hammittland for an evening late last April. Where friends normally sip cocktails and eat crispy calamari sat hundreds of soft Hammitt handbags, adorned with the signature gold and silver rivets and classic silhouettes of the 10-year-old brand.
Dozens of women lined up outside, giggly and excited, some peeking through the windows, hungrily eyeing a purse or clutch. At exactly 6:08 p.m., Stephenie Hammitt, the brand’s founding designer, and Tony Drockton, the brand’s Creative Director and CEO opened the doors and warmly welcomed the women who flocked to the “Celebration Sale” from as far as New York City.
Drockton, wearing a colorful fuchsia plaid sports jacket, quickly moved out of the way as women scampered into the restaurant-converted-trunk show to scoop up armloads of soft leather.
Without looking at the bags in their wake, many simply shoveled up piles and moved to a less crowded area to decide which ones to buy. Mary Davenport, who drove from Santa Monica for the sale, held four heavy handbags on her arm as she grappled for a hanging toffee-colored “Bistro” purse. Another woman who spotted the exact same bag relinquished the find to Davenport after initially giving her a snarling glance, and helped her unattach it from a curtain rod on the wall.
“These purses are just phenomenal,” said Davenport, struggling to carry her armloads of handbags. “You can’t beat the quality or style.”
Hammitt, a tall blonde who towered over most of the women, wandered through the crowd helping them choose which bags to take home.
“No, no, no,” Hammitt said to two women shuffling through a pile of colorful rectangular “Getty” clutches and a pile of distinctly riveted “Vine” hobo bags.
“This is the one you want,” she said after picking through the pile and finding a unique, coffee-colored “Montana Messenger,” one of the brand’s most popular crossbody bags.
