Have you ever found the perfect bag, except it wasn’t quite as perfect as you thought? Maybe it was the handle, maybe the hardware, or maybe everything was perfect, but you really wished the print was just a little bit darker?
These are the types of problems that San Francisco-based designer Martin Marino is solving with their line of customizable designer handbags. Martin Marino offers customers a platform to personalize details of their bags to their exact specifications, using only the highest quality leathers and materials while maintaining an attainable luxury price point.
Beginning with a soft launch in 2013, the company was founded by Patrick Martin, a successful fashion accessories entrepreneur, and business partner Giampaolo Marino. The pair realized that, for most women, the perfect bag just didn’t exist. Marino, who comes from a family of high-end boutique owners in Italy, leveraged his passion for Italian design to source top quality materials, ensuring the quality of the bags was on par with any top designer while offering opportunities for customization not usually associated with Italian products. Marino and Martin were joined by Silicon Valley veteran Satya Jena, who brought his technology and finance expertise to the company.
Martin Marino sources its base designs from designers around the world in order to find truly unique and distinctive concepts. The company offers designers a platform to submit their concepts for consideration, and part of Martin Marino’s core mission statement is to promote new design talent. Martin has stated that the brand offers emerging designers an opportunity for exposure as well as a vehicle to get their designs produced and to earn royalties based on sales. Martin considers the arrangement a win-win for emerging designers by removing a lot of the logistical and legal headaches associated with producing a product, while offering opportunities for exposure to a larger audience.
Currently, Martin Marino is offering 22 different types of base leather to choose from, and many more design patterns are expected for 2014. In many ways, Martin Marino is an uniquely San Francisco fashion company—fusing technology, fashion and design, and providing customers with a new level of customizability and accessibility when selecting the perfect handbag.
To learn more, visit Martin Marino’s website: www.mmarino.com.
Text by Ana Dahlman