World-wide reach
After designing by herself for six years, the pressure of owning such a fast-growing business was starting to wear on her. That’s when she brought in friend and business-wiz Tony Drockton to help manage the company.
“Tony came when I was burned out,” said Hammitt. “Just the toll of running a business on your own is tough. He came in and was really hungry to take the company to another level. I always had the aspiration and vision to do that, but my strengths went only so far.”
Now, instead of Hammitt bags just selling in a few specificLos Angeleslocations, they sell in almost all 50 states and six countries, including China, Austria, Canada, Mexico and Haiti. Instead of focusing on all aspects of the business, Hammitt is better able to focus on the Los Angeles-inspired designs.
“It’s wild how sometimes the chips fall where they do,” said Hammitt. “When you have success like we’ve had you don’t just walk away from it, you keep climbing the steps. I started at step one and I would say I’m halfway there.”
Hammitt is proud that even though a lot of the material is imported from all over the world, all of the bags are designed and manufactured inLos Angeles. Most of the designs are also named after various parts of the city like Westwood, Brentwoode and LAX.
“I’m just so thankful of my fans and the women who have embraced my brand,” said Hammitt. “It’s just one of those things that is wild for me, I never get tired of seeing a Hammitt on a person walking down the street.”
Surprisingly, Hammitt only has about three bags of her own.
“Wherever I go, people buy my bags off of me,” said Hammitt. “I get so excited when people stop me and ask about a bag that I’m wearing, I just say, ‘Take it!’”
From raw to refined edges, the Hammitt design has changed and evolved, yet somehow stayed classic to its Los Angeles roots.
“The bags speak for themselves,” Jacqui Zehe, a 36-year-old saleswoman at the local Manhattan Beachboutique Cami, said. “[Hammitt’s] a local from Manhattan Beach, so they have a really great local draw.”
The designers, Hammitt along with a select group of in-house men and women based out of Hermosa Beach, note that the bags are versatile and can be taken from day to night effortlessly.
“A Hammitt is not for a reason or a season,” said Drockton. “They are for a lifetime.”
Zehe, who sells Hammitts to repeat customers, explained the Hammitt aesthetic as, “a clean look, but the rivets make them a little bit edgy.”
Hammitt bags are frequently featured on television shows such as the locally filmed CW show 90210 and the New York-based Gossip Girl. They can also be seen on the arms of most of the main characters on the HBO series, Entourage. The brand also collaborated with the television show True Blood, to create a signature line designed specifically for the each main character in the show.
“There are some really great designs and brands coming out of Southern California,” said Drockton. “The world really looks for inspiration from us.”
Hammitt collections can range in price from $195 for their smallest clutch, the “Getty,” to $1450 for the “LAX International.” But, according to Drockton, their sweet spot is between $485 to $675. They can be purchased at different locations in theSouthBay, as well as both coasts and 12 international locations. For Hammitt, her goal is to make each customer happy and create a classic yet functional part of a woman’s everyday ensemble.
“A Hammitt’s meant to be worn,” said Drockton. “They’re no good in the closet.”
Hammitt’s slogan, “L.A. stitched into every bag,” is particularly important to the company because of their four local manufacturers and their attention to local trends and specific spotlights on parts of the city. They also design each bag based on function and test samples on women in the area. Drockton can often been seen talking to Hammitt devotees, asking them about their bags and making sure they can fit everything they need inside.
“What a woman puts into her bag is kind of her little secret,” said Drockton. “We want to make sure it is beautiful but functional.”
A recent addition to the Hammitt handbag family, the “Sunset Strip Collection,” were named after Hollywood hot spots like the Viper Room, the Roxbury, the Sunset Strip and the Key Club.
For the Sunset Strip collection, the handbags are the epitome of a “night on the town.” The “Viper” clutch is just big enough to hold your ID, lip-gloss and your phone. The “Roxy,” named for the famous theatre, is a perfectly sized messenger for a fun evening of dancing.
“We try to make each name match the aesthetic of the bag,” said Drockton. “We want people to connect to more than just leather and zippers.”
Classics revisited
The brand’s cult-like following continues to grow larger by the year while Drockton and Hammitt continue to expand where the handbags can be purchased.
Because of their surprise success with earlier designs, the Hammitt brand remain classic. They will soon be expanding from handbags to also sell iPad covers and will launch a jewelry line in July or August.
“[The South Bay] is a great place to test a product,” said Drockton. “There is a really great mix of people in the area. If it can become popular here, it can work anywhere.”
For Hammitt, she still gets a little thrill every time she sees one of her designs walk down the street.
“They truly bring joy to women,” Hammitt said. “It’s wild.”
