Dream Come True

Mary Norton is living her dream--literally. Ten years ago, while she slept, the idea of designing handbags came to her. Once awake she was unable to shake the desire and so, with no formal training, she created a few whimsical bags. A friend took the first bags to a local boutique in Charleston, South Carolina under the name Moo Roo, a combination of her two daughters' nicknames. The rest, as they say, is history. With a decade in the accessories business now under her belt, Mary Norton's little business has grown. Backed by The Atelier Fund, this year the company is propelled forward with a name change to Mary Norton and projected sales for the next few years are forecasted at $50 million. Red carpet regulars, her bags have been carried to premiers and award shows by celebrities such as Carrie Underwood, Katherine Heigl and Sharon Stone. Her first collection of shoes hit stores this season and Norton was delighted to be honored this month by Footwear News as 'Launch of the Year.' We caught up with the very down-to-earth Norton at Saks Fifth Avenue recently to discuss business, the brand and her journey.

You're bags are so special. Why should a person consider investing in one of your pieces? I'm trying to design pieces that are ageless, timeless and trend-less--things that you would look at now or ten years from now and still wear. I never follow, know or care what anyone else is doing. I care about something that I would want to wear. Investing in one of my pieces is buying something that will truly last. The quality of the workmanship is extraordinary.


With holiday season underway, can you give us some tips on picking the right accessories for a fancy party?
You can never go wrong with great silver, gold and black. They are always going to look festive and wonderful. I think you can always wear a great classic black dress paired with great, a silver or gold handbag and shoes and you're done. Wearing a mink bag is a great way to take holiday dressing, especially here in the South, and make it feel like winter. I'm a mink girl, even if I can't have the coat, I can always wear a mink bag.

I love the leatherwork you are doing. The Fanny and the Babs handbags are stunning. Tell me about working with these luxury textiles.
I have always had a penchant for these weird things. Ostrich leg leather has always fascinated me, it is so rich looking. I have the luxury of designing small things. You can only use ostrich leg leather in tiny little things. To me, it's such a great alternative to crocodile. It gives you that same luxurious feel without being a whole crocodile or having to pay that price.

Tell me about what it's been like to design a shoe collection.
These two factories we use, who make every luxury shoe brand you can thing of, have really been my teachers. They sat me down and taught me how to do it. I decided to use existing lasts that were tried and true. I knew I didn't want to do the really high heels because I'm a woman. I have to wear them. I've had too many nights of beautiful shoes when I could only last two hours. I wanted something that I can wear and tell my friends that I've worn all day and all night. I fought with the factories in order to get the shoes padded in the insoles with as much padding as I could possibly get. Basically, most shoe designers are men. There are very few women that stick up for themselves and say, "This is what we need to wear." I didn't know what I was doing--thank God--or I probably would have been scared and intimidated. My whole career has been me not knowing what I was doing and just falling into it.

I've read that there may be plans to one day include fragrance and jewelry as part of the Mary Norton brand. Can you tell me anything about that?
Fragrance, jewelry, home décor and all the things that this brand could be are all in the future, the exact timing is the question mark. Right now there is one of me and a very small staff. I've been doing this for ten years...I always have to remember that slow and steady wins the race.

What advice do you have for other beginning designers?
Number one, never think you're crazy, but don't be unrealistic. People often come to me and tell me they have an idea, but they haven't done anything. You have to start somewhere. You have to at least get a prototype out. Then ask the advice of other people, of other retailers. That first shop is where I got my kernels of information to start, and then a few other stores that picked me up. Not everything I did was good. You have to be very open to criticism. You cannot get so attached that it breaks your heart when people or the marketplace tells you it isn't viable--for whatever reason. You have to be flexible with that. Don't give up--that's the one thing--don't give up. If you feel passionate about something the passion and the journey of that passion is more important than the end gain. I don't feel that I'm ever really satisfied or that I see an end. It's the passion of the journey as I go that is the reward. I am not motivated by the money or any end goal; it is the journey of being.

(Editorial by Elaina J. Martin)

designer insider
posted - beth / 9:08 PM / 12.11.07