Bristol designer Jen Hamley, who won international fashion awards just months after setting up her own business, has launched a crowdfunding campaign to develop her luxury workbag range.
Jen, pictured, started her handbag label Jennifer Hamley, England, while unemployed. She is now pitching for investment of £40,000 through the global crowdfunding platform Indiegogo – and raised nearly £7,000 within the first 18 hours of going live on the site. 
The funding will allow Jen to develop her collection that includes the stylish Model K.T. workbag which scooped two awards at last year’s Independent Handbag Designer Awards in New York.
Crafted from soft calf leather, the workbag is designed for professional women and features many sections and pockets, including a removable tablet/iPad case and reusable shopping bag.
The collection also includes the smaller, Mini KT for lighter workdays and stylish weekend wear, and the Sakura coin purse which takes the classic purse design and adds multiple compartments and card slots.
The crowdfunding campaign follows a whirlwind year for Jen who picked up her awards in New York only months after completing the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) scheme. The scheme helps the unemployed set up their own business and is delivered in Bristol by BRAVE Enterprise.
Jen has now moved her new venture out of her Westbury-on-Trym home and into the Bristol base of Entrepreneurial Spark, a business accelerator programme run in partnership with the Royal Bank of Scotland.
“Securing the investment means that I can launch my exciting new range, inspired by a design that we have had fantastic feedback on,” said Jen, who has already received pre-orders for her Model K.T. workbag totalling £15,000. “It will mean that the business can launch properly into the market.
“The dream is to continue to design stylish bags for inspiring and hard working women. I want to make their lives easier, to give them more time and freedom.”
