The Coco Barclay home

The Coco Barclay brand was born in the Royal London borough of Greenwich, with its rich history, baroque architecture and buzzing atmosphere makes it the perfect place to be inspired.

Greenwich is famous for its maritime history which often inspires Coco Barclay designs. Greenwich houses many famous landmarks such as the National Maritime Museum, Royal Hospital School and the Greenwich Meridian which tells us what we cannot live without....the time!

The most famous of all the Greenwich riches is the Cutty Sark, built in 1869 for the Jock Willis shipping line and used for the tea trade. Shes had a tough life though, being damaged by fire twice in recent years, first on 21 May 2007 while undergoing conservation. She was restored and reopened to the public on 25 April 2012 but on 19 October 2014 she was damaged again, nevertheless she is still in Greenwich being marveled at by many a tourist!

There is so much rich heritage in Greenwich and the best way to find out more is to come and visit! Whether a rainy day to explore the museums along with fantastic shopping or a summers day for walking in the park and exploring the market.

Not only the Coco Barclay studio, but also the Coco Barclay shop is situated in Greenwich, just outside Greenwich Markets main entrance, 4 College Approach, Greenwich, Greater London SE10 9HZ.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Coco

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Fun at the Clothes Show

 

Here at Coco Barclay we have just got back from the Clothes show in Birmingham, showing in the designers outlet, opposite fashion”royalty” Bolangaro Trevor...very exciting!

 

 

Being our second year showing at the Clothes show we were very happy to see many of our loyal customers back on the stand, it was a joy to show them the new collection.

 

 

 

Situated very close to the designer catwalk stage, when not busy working we were entertained with shows showcasing some amazing designers and such lovely models.

 

 

 

 

We also discovered what a great city Birmingham is, with such an interesting history, beginning as an independent democracy, fuelled by the most skilled artisans and home to one of the first assay offices in great Britain...look out for the anchor!

 

 

We are lucky enough to have relatives that live in Birmingham! Thanks to Frances, Debbie and Rosie for a wonderful stay, I'm sure we will be back very soon ;)

 

 

 

Thanks to all the amazing staff who work so hard every year and always go the extra mile.

 

We're already looking forward to next years show and highly recommend to any shopaholic!

 

Coco Barclay

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The Coco Barclay shop

Here at Coco Barclay its been non stop for the last few months. Getting the new collection ready for Paris fashion week, and opening a shop! Right in the heart of Royal Greenwich, London.

 

Not only does the shop stock Coco Barclay leather handbags and accessories, we stock London based independent designers and beautiful vintage products such as garments, jewellery and home goods.

The Coco Barclay design studio is based just down the road from the shop ensuring it always stocks the newest and freshest designs that are often made to order.

 

We're very excited to show old and new customers what we have to offer, we often have new stock in everyday making the shopping experience very exciting! From new colours of the famous skirt bag to one off vintage garments.

 

 

 

 

We take pride in hand picking the best independent designers. Barbara Lowe designs makes one of a kind jewellery using semi precious stones and mixing them with vintage components.

 Suzie Lee knitwear creates stunning hand kitted pieces such as boleros and scarves.

 

Come to Greenwich for a great day out and pop in the shop and say hi, based just outside the market we are centrally located and very easy to find.

 

4 College Approach

Greenwich

London

SE10 9HZ

 

Coco Barclay and beading

Here at Coco Barclay we love to use bespoke components for our bags and accessorize to make the brand stand out from the crowd, one of those components is beads!

We use these beads in many different ways, including handbag straps, necklaces, pencil cases and leather flower corsage centres.

 

 All the beads have their own story and that's why we love them so much! Mostly vintage beads, they are re-worked and re-loved, often being recycled from vintage jewellery and accessories.

 

 

We source glass and wooden beads as we only use natural products to compliment the luxury Italian leather our bags are made from.

 

 

When creating products with beads the colours and shapes are carefully picked to make the perfect match, then hand sewn to the leather. A special leather needle is used which has a triple sided point so it can pierce the leather without tearing. Sewing with this is a time consuming job and it takes a lot of practice to master the art. Once the beads are sewn on securely it is delicately glued down to ensure its extra strong and the product will last a long time!

 

 

Up cycling these beautiful pieces of history makes the purchase special and the new owner can start its story all over again.

Have a look at our beaded pieces at -

www.cocobarclay.com

Paris Fashion Week

It's that time of year again, we are off to Paris Fashion Week to showcase the new Coco Barclay handbag collection. This time next week we will be at The Box trade show meeting new and old customers who come to view and buy our handbags. The buyers come from all around the world to view some of the best garment and accessory collections around.

The Box trade show is run by Premiere Classe who organise many trade shows during Paris Fashion week, they had their 25th anniversary last year!

There is a lot of preparation before the show, the new collection needs to be designed and sampled, then we shoot the handbags so the buyers can see how they are worn, here's a sneak peak of the new collection for you lucky readers...  

More information to come once we are back from PFW!

www.cocobarclay.com

The making of a Coco Barclay

I thought I would share a few interesting photos of the making of a Coco Barclay handbag. All of our handbags are handmade using the finest Italian leather, unusual components and vintage cotton linings.

 We often mix leather with other textures such as fine merino wool hand knits in bright colours. These are used for straps giving the bag that special one of a kind touch. We work with the talented knitter Suzie Lee to achieve these designs. http://suziekaylee.com

 A Coco Barclay bag with knitted straps and bow in the making, we will add a brass frame to complete the bag and give it that Coco Barclay signature look.

 Each bag has its own special pattern, the patterns are designed in the Coco Barclay studio in London. The pattern has to be sampled and re sampled until it's perfec.t A knife will be created by a specialist to cut out each bag in production. All the knives are different shapes and when all the pieces of leather are cut using this knife they will fit together in a perfect pattern to create the bag.

 Each leather colour is carefully selected taking into consideration the next season's colour trends. We often go to Paris to find the best colours. The colours are then ordered and imported from Italy.

 A heavy duty sewing machine is just one of the things necessary to make a handbag. All sewing machines work differently, some are fast, some are slow and some have a specialised feet. Once you find the sewing machine for you it is with you for life!

Once a run of bags is finished, they are carefully quality controlled, leather needs to be pressed, pulled and folded to ensure the bags are the perfect shape and will last and be loved by their new owners for a long time.

There are many more processes to making a handbag, above is just a small insight. If you would like to know more please drop us an email, info@cocobarclay.com

These handmade bags are available at www.cocobarclay.com

From Russia with Love

We recently meet with a wonderful Russian showroom with the UK Trade and Investment association called Li Lu to present them our new SS15 collection, it was a pleasure to meet them and we hope to stock our bags in their beautiful showroom soon!
Big thank you to the UKTI for hosting such a great event at the One hotel on the Strand.

http://www.businessopportunities.ukti.gov.uk

www.showroomlilu.ru

Pictures from the hotel

We both share a similar ethos, we especially loved theirs so much we had to share it with you.... 

'The concept is unique and original. Enterprising business people aware of the fact modern people are eager for naturalness and originality. They want to wear stylish, fashionable clothes and be confident in their perfect quality.'

Our Italian leather hand bags are perfect for the cold weather in Russia, especially the glovie frame bag. Each bag has its own unique pair of vintage gloves embellishing the front.

For more information on Coco Barclay handbags visit

www.cocobarclay.com

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