Thoughtful accessories for women and the many things we carry.

ABOUT US

Hi, I'm Jenny. the human behind Freja.

In a world that values growth and finding the next bigger/better/faster thing, I wanted to build something high quality, slow, meaningful, and personal.

Two years and 15 batches later, it’s safe to say we’ve found a tight knit community of individuals who feel the same way. Even though we only launch a few products every year (because sometimes the simplest things are the hardest to perfect) you keep choosing us and cheering us on. Seriously - you are awesome.

Freja is a love letter to all the dreamers. We exist to advocate for a meaningful, inclusive, and sustainable future. To empower like-minded people and brands. And to create beautiful, modern, functional bags that bring a smile to your face.

  • Thoughtfully Designed

    We approach every design with functionality at the forefront, asking ourselves “how can this bag serve the Freja woman’s lifestyle?”. We make note of every feature we want to include, take into account all your comments, and combine it all into a classic and timeless silhouette. You could say our bags are designed from the inside out. 

  • Consciously Handcrafted

    It’s important to me that we do everything with intention, rather than making as many bags as possible. We create everything in small batches, and have a strict no waste business model. I hope that means a bag that you can feel good about wearing.

  • Community Driven

    Our bestselling design was inspired by a custom piece made for one of you, and our team is made up of past customers. I've been so lucky to have met many of you in person. It's an honor to build Freja together with you <3

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April 2019 – The Idea

Freja was born during an especially stressful night of interview prep. It was my second to last semester of college. My friends were getting job offers left and right, and I felt the pressure.  

It was 1am and I had turned my closet inside out trying to find a sleek tote for the most important interview of my life, that would also fit a change of clothes for an event afterwards. Do I go with the one that fits everything but has somehow developed unsightly permanent creases? How about the oversized black hole of a bag where pens and business cards disappear forever? Where were the beautiful, understated totes crafted with attention to the little details? I started dreaming about creating something of my own. Something small, something interesting. Something you could be proud to wear.

July 2019 – The Samples

A month later, I picked up our first sample from a Brooklyn-based sample maker. It cost $2,000 and looked like a first grade art class project. The next couple samples were somewhat improved, but not by much.

Important lessons were learned. Certain colors look better on certain finishes. Certain linings work better with different materials. Do we choose a softer vegan leather that feels more luxurious, or a stiffer one that ships well and will hold its shape better? And that's just the beginning. Weight of materials, size of pockets, depth of pockets, strap length, stitching vs gluing, zippers vs buttons, how the bag sits when empty, how the bag feels when filled…it takes so much time to find what’s just right, especially you have high standards and refuse to compromise. That includes finding a factory.

Sept 2019 – The Factory

I want Freja to stand for responsibility and transparency. I wanted to manufacture close to home - and that meant either the New York or China. We initially wanted to manufacture in New York City, and had our first sample made here, but the cost was astronomical (I was quoted $300 per bag for a 24 bag production run) and the existing infrastructure is not suitable for vegan leather bags. So even if we wanted to make the bags here, the materials and hardware would still need to be imported. My second choice was China, because that's where I'm from and where my parents currently live. I researched dozens of factories and narrowed down ten factories to tour. My dad and I visited each and got to know the people who worked there, and ended up choosing four to make a sample for me. I did not end up choosing the most established, biggest factory. I did not choose the factory that took me and my dad out to a fancy lunch. I chose a small, family owned factory of eighty workers. They took the longest to deliver a sample, but that was because they reworked it three times before deciding it met their own high standards. 

Feb 2020 – The Launch

We made 300 bags for our first launch, in the colors latte and black - named after my newfound caffeine addiction. It's important to me for Freja to be a meaningful, lean operation, and to keep it that way even as we continue to grow. That means only ordering what we need, carrying low inventory, having little overhead, and minimal waste. It’s much more expensive than mass manufacturing, but it’s the only way I want to run my business. I don't believe in compromising between design, functionality, and our responsibility to the planet, and hopefully this little brand will be one step in the right direction. We still have a long way to go, and we’ll always strive to be better. 

Dec 2022 - Freja Today

Writing this almost three years later - I've been lucky enough to meet some of you in person, and we held our first pop-up shop in NYC. We have multiple designs I'm really proud of, and an amazing small team to push the vision forward.

And while I no longer haul your orders down to UPS personally each morning (shoutout to our shipping team for getting your orders out ASAP) many things still stay the same :) We still only manufacture in small batches a few times a year, and you can always personally reach me at jenny@frejanyc.com. Thank you so much for being a part of this journey and our story.

xo, Jenny

PS: the name Freja (pronounced frei-ya) is of Scandinavian origin and means “love.” I thought it was beautiful and fitting given our mission.