AMOIIA PARTNERS
Martine van Loock van atelier MVLHC
Martine is involved in the process of creating the Amoiia prototype items.
You could say handbag designer Martine van Loock inherited her love for creating from her grandmother, who was a haute couture dressmaker. When she was a little girl, Martines curiousity drew her to learning how to sew. With a patient and devoted teacher, Martine began creating. She started by making clothing for her dolls; then moved on to sewing dresses for herself out of all type of fabrics, as wel as leather. “From her I inherited my striving for perfectionism and quality”, says Martine of her grandmother.
Years later, she began a course in fashion design and publicity, creating designs that were beautiful and creative, but not wearable. Eventually, she landed a job with a company that sold CAD CAM systems, and she was able to travel the world, gaining inspiration and experience along the way. Afther helping her husband with opening his restaurant and living in Spain for ten years she enrolled in a shoemaking course, but soon become more attracted to making leather handbags. Taking up study at local schools and participating in private courses from well-known world brands gave her the knowledge she needed to launch her own company, atelier MVLHC.
Which Amoiia item did you enjoy making most so far?
"For me, the Amelie bag with the Amoiia logo bar was absolutely the best bag to manufacture, as I could best relate to this particular model and its main function.”
On average, how much time do you spend making an Amoiia prototype?
“The time I spend making a prototype is almost impossible to calculate, as it is a constant process in my mind as well as one that goes through my hands, and it also includes testing, making different soufflets and so on. Sometimes I put a prototype ‘in progress’ aside for a while in order for me to get fresh ideas which sometimes lead to different outcomes.”
What do you enjoy most when it comes to manufacturing bags?
“The challenge of designing and putting together different models and then seeing the variety of the results each time. Creating something from a small piece of leather fabric is utterly satisfying! And experiencing the progress of this entire process is also something I very much enjoy. For me personally, it almost feels like the birth of a child.”