Stephenie Hammitt cut the leather and hand pounded the rivets for her first handbags 15 years ago. Today Hammitt handbags are recognized worldwide for their understated cool style
by Chelsea Sektnan
On bright South Bay mornings, the gold rivets of Hammitt handbags catch the light along the sidewalk. You see them at school drop-offs, at coffee shops, and on walks along the pier. They’ve become a familiar sight — not flashy, not forced — simply part of the rhythm of everyday life in the South Bay.
It’s the kind of brand that blends in before it stands out. You notice it once, then again, then everywhere: on The Strand, at soccer practice, in grocery store lines. Eventually, it stops feeling like a brand at all and becomes part of the place.
“You just know when you see a Hammitt,” said Carol Grogan, who arrived at the brand’s recent twice-a-year community shopping event — part sale, part reunion — at the crack of dawn to be first in line. “It fits the lifestyle. It’s relaxed, but beautiful.”
Grogan, who lives in Palos Verdes, had heard about the brand for years before buying her first bag. Once she did, she understood why Hammitt feels so embedded in the South Bay.
“They’re stylish, but they’re not loud,” she said. “You can actually live in them.”
That quiet confidence — functional, understated, unfussy – has helped turn a locally made handbag into a global brand without losing the community that helped build it.
Hammitt was founded more than 15 years ago by Redondo Beach resident Stephenie Hammitt. Hammitt never planned to enter fashion. The college English major designed her first clutch out of her need for something simple and functional. She hand-pounded rivets herself, learning the process as she went.
“I wasn’t trying to start a company,” Hammitt said. “I just needed a bag that worked.”
While Hammitt’s name remains synonymous with the brand, her role has evolved over time.
“I’m not involved in the day-to-day anymore,” Hammitt said. “But I’m incredibly proud of how the brand has evolved and where it’s going.”
That focus on use — not trend — became the foundation of the brand. Early designs caught on locally, then spread through word of mouth and trunk shows. She sold her handbags in South Bay living rooms. Tony Drockton joined to help scale the business while protecting its original DNA.
“What we’ve protected from day one is the quality and the connection,” Drockton said. “Hammitt is how someone feels when they wear it.”
As the company grew, the South Bay remained its testing ground. Designs were refined in real situations — carried to work, to the beach, on airplanes, through long days and quick errands. If something didn’t hold up, it didn’t stay.
That approach built something rare: a brand that felt personal even as it grew. Hammitt handbags began appearing far beyond the coastline where they started — in airports, major cities, and unexpectedly abroad.
“When you see one somewhere unexpected, it’s still exciting,” Drockton said. “It never gets old.”
Hammitt design director Jeanne Allen said the South Bay still grounds the brand in how bags are meant to function and feel, even as visual inspirations for new design comes from far beyond the coastline.
“There’s a calm confidence here,” Allen said. “People want things that work, that last, and that feel like themselves.”
Allen said Hammitt designs draw inspiration from architecture, unusual materials, and Los Angeles energy. But every design must pass a practical test.
“We’re always thinking about how someone actually moves through their day,” she said. “If it doesn’t work in real life, it doesn’t belong.”
That philosophy has helped Hammitt avoid trend cycles while developing a visual language that is instantly recognizable.
“You should be able to spot a Hammitt from across the room,” Allen said.
The brand’s most visible expression of loyalty comes during its semiannual community sales. The most recent, themed “Not Our First Rodeo,” took over Manhattan Village mall early on Nov. 8.
Some shoppers had traveled significant distances to be there. One attendee said she flew in specifically for the event, timing her trip around the sale because it was the only chance to shop certain styles in person.
When the doors opened, the space filled instantly with motion and sound. The scent of leather hung in the air. Women moved quickly and with purpose, looping straps over their arms, stacking bags shoulder-high, opening zippers, testing pockets. Some carried a dozen Hammitts at once, comparing colors and leathers before narrowing their haul. Others dove into piles, searching for a long-discontinued style or a rare shade they had been tracking for years.
“This is where people wear their favorites,” said Dana Kapuska, who arrived early for the event, laughing as she talked about how quickly admiration can turn into collecting. “I never planned to collect them. It just happened.”
Nearby, friends and strangers compared finds, offered opinions, and celebrated each other’s discoveries. Conversations sparked easily — about rivets, strap length, leather types — details that might sound technical anywhere else but felt like a shared language here.
Manhattan Beach resident Paula Aguilar said her relationship with the brand began when Stephenie Hammitt was still personally selling her designs.
“You buy one because it’s beautiful,” Aguilar said. “You keep buying them because they work.”
Aguilar now owns over 650 Hammitt handbags. She said her first Hammitt purchase was made directly from Hammitt, the founder was still closely involved in the business. Over time, Aguilar said, the brand introduced her to online groups on Facebook, where longtime collectors stay in touch year-round, trade tips, and plan gatherings around Hammitt events.
Kirstie Barrett, a longtime Hammitt fan and regular at the brand’s events, said her collection has grown to around 1,200 bags over the years.
“It’s never felt like collecting just to collect,” Barrett said. “Each bag has a story, and each one reminds me of a moment or a person.”
Jeanne Hansen Ellis, one of Hammitt’s most dedicated collectors, said her connection to the brand goes far beyond aesthetics. An active presence in the brand’s online Facebook collector communities, Ellis has built a personal collection that now exceeds 2,000 handbags through years of buying, selling, and trading, including participation in the nearly 900-member “Hammitt–Carry Your Dreams with You” Facebook group.
“I collect Hammitt handbags because they’re the perfect mix of style and sanity,” Ellis said. “They look effortlessly chic — even on my ‘I rolled out of bed and hoped for the best’ days — and the leather is so soft I sometimes catch myself petting my bag as it sits next to me in the passenger seat. But the real secret sauce is the people behind Hammitt. They’re fun, thoughtful, and seriously passionate about what they make. Every time I pick up a new bag, it feels like I’m joining this little community of friends who genuinely care about their craft.”
That sense of connection was on full display inside the event itself. When the doors opened, the rush was immediate, but the energy remained generous — people helping each other reach bags, calling out when a sought-after style appeared, urging someone not to put that one back.
That spirit extends beyond Hammitt’s events. Over the years, the brand has quietly supported local causes across the South Bay, regularly donating handbags to school fundraisers, nonprofit galas, and charity auctions. Its presence shows up not just in closets, but in classrooms, community centers, and local organizations raising money for causes close to home.
“Giving back has always been part of who we are,” said Jenn Sprague, Hammitt’s chief marketing officer. “These are the communities that supported us first, so it’s important to show up for them.”
That focus on relationships extends into how the brand approaches its customers.
“We work every day to build relationships, not just sell bags,” Sprague said. “People want to feel connected to what they’re carrying.”
Sprague said that connection shows up in how customers talk about their bags — by name, by leather, by year — and in how long they keep them.
“These bags stay with people,” she said. “They become part of their lives.”
That longevity has helped carry Hammitt far beyond Southern California. The brand is worn across the country and increasingly spotted internationally, often discovered organically rather than through aggressive marketing.
That appeal extends beyond everyday shoppers. Jazmin Whitley, a Los Angeles–based celebrity stylist who has worked with Paris Hilton, Brie Larson, and influencer Tana Mongeau, among others, said Hammitt has become one of her most reliable go-to brands.
“Whenever I wear a Hammitt bag out, I get stopped,” Whitley said. “That doesn’t happen with other bags. People notice the details — the stitching, the hardware — even if they don’t know the brand yet.”
Whitley said she attended one of the brand’s Galentine’s Day events alongside TikTok creator Tabitha Swatosh, an experience that reinforced Hammitt’s blend of accessibility and style.
“It feels inclusive,” she said. “You can wear it to a red carpet, but you can also wear it every day.”
Despite its expanding footprint, Hammitt has remained deliberate about how it grows. Production runs stay limited. Designs evolve slowly. Bags are meant to be worn, repaired, and carried for years.
That philosophy recently extended into Hammitt Heritage, the company’s new online platform for buying and selling pre-owned bags.
“These bags have lives,” Sprague said. “They travel. They hold memories. Heritage gives them a second chapter.”
Internally, Hammitt is also entering a new chapter. Drockton has stepped back from day-to-day operations and into the role of chairman, and, as he calls it, “chief cheerleader.” Ryan Meyer has taken over as CEO, marking a leadership transition focused on long-term sustainability.
Meyer brings experience scaling consumer brands, having held leadership roles at Buck Mason, Manduka, Boatbound, and The Great. His focus at Hammitt is less about reinvention and more about upscaling and stewardship.
“We’re rooted here,” Meyer said. “The South Bay believed in this brand early. That matters.”
By early afternoon, as shoppers filtered out of the Manhattan Village mall event with red-zippered bags swinging at their sides, the energy lingered. People stopped to compare finds, trade tips, and snap photos before heading back into their routines.
Outside, the light shifted — the same light that catches the shine of the unmistakable rivets along South Bay sidewalks each morning.
“I’m very proud of what I created,” Hammitt said. “The brand is distinctive. You can recognize it from a mile away.”
Hammitt may now be carried around the world, but its pulse still feels unmistakably local, shaped by the place where it started.
“No matter how far the brand travels, it always comes back here,” Meyer said. “That grounding is what makes the growth possible.” PEN
