About
SJW bags is the London-based luxury handbag label launched by Alev Ozturk in 2016, offering a colourful range of unique, practical designs with maximum wearability and style.
About Alev Originally a banker with over 25 years of experience, Alev began her new career after relocating from her native Istanbul to the leafy environs of St. John’s Wood. Seeing the reaction of her new friends and neighbours to her ikat patterned home, she got the idea to create designs using the vibrant hand crafted fabrics of her homeland. What began as an interiors business soon developed into the SJW Bags brand of today. From the first successful designs, high demand has seen the SJW bags collection grow to offer a wide variety of multi-functional styles and shapes, with a series of pop-ups and an online store bringing SJW bags to a wider audience across the world.
A Brand Is Born Celebrating the diverse and stylish area that so warmly welcomed Alev’s family to London, the SJW label was named after St. John’s Wood; a small and stylish enclave of North London that is home to a huge number of expats from all over the world. Inspired to create something for the busy and stylish expats, mums on the school run, and business women she encountered every day in her multicultural neighbourhood, and in recognition of their early support and encouragement, every piece in the collection is named in homage to the different people and places of Westminster North.
Joining A Retail Revolution Eschewing the standard bricks and mortar approach, Alev chose to pursue the growing retail trend for increased flexibility and independence offered by a pop-up store format. Delivering fantastic locations and direct interaction between creator and customer, Alev recognised it was the ideal model for a small business to thrive and survive in an ever-changing retail landscape. Boasting a strong community - driven ethos, encouraging and empowering women in business while promoting more conscious consumerism, pop-ups have been instrumental in building the SJW bags brand.
Sustainably Stylish A passionate advocate for positive fashion, Alev wants every customer to feel as good as they look. Empowering communities at home and abroad through charitable collaborations each season, she aims to create sustainable designs made using environmentally- friendly, zero waste fabrics by skilled independent artisans, for vibrant season-less style with staying power.