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LUXURY leather luggage designer Lulwa Al Mannai has created a series of vintage-inspired bags and carry-ons to ensure that people always travel in style.
When Lulwa was a little girl, she used to spend hours playing with her mum Fatima’s maroon leather bag. She remembers the way the metal lock would click open and how she would find all the treasures within.
Her father, Abdulrahman, also played a part in inspiring her to become a designer.
“I remember how happy I was when my father bought me my first leather bag as a present,” said Lulwa, 33, who lives in Galali. “I have been attached to it ever since and it has left a mark with me until this day.
“I still fondly remember the smell of the leather and its touch. I remember the self-confidence it gave me as I saw it as a symbol of strength.”
She hopes others who carry her bag creations will love them in the same manner and fill them with their own happy reminisces. “They will hold their own memories and instil hope in the heart as it did for me,” Lulwa added.
In July, after a year of research, the LAM luggage brand was born, made up from the initials of her name. It features a series of handmade leather bags which she designs and sketches herself.
“I was so inspired by my mother’s bag that I used a similar metal lock design as well as classic warm colours,” explained Lulwa. “I will never forget that bag’s angles and shape, it was perfect.”
The first collection of LAM features vegetable-tanned leather using organic and natural materials from bark, leaves and branches of trees.
“The vegetable-tanned leather has a distinctive wooden smell usually associated with leather,” she explained. “Each has its own unique shades and differences, which is a sign of goodness in my opinion.
“Lack of consistency of colour and tone is not considered as a defect. On the contrary, it is one of the characteristics of the natural tanning processes.
“The vegetable-tanned leather is characterised by its durability and water resistance compared to chrome-tanned leather. Additionally, it is renewable over time and environmentally friendly.”
The inaugural collection is called Prestige and comes in three sizes including a small vintage handbag for ladies, a medium trunk suitcase that is unisex and a large travel trolley bag for men and women. She also has a trio set which she aptly named the 3 Musketeers.
The handbags, which comes in shades of black, brown and tan, are being snapped up for BD200 a time, the suitcases at BD220 and a travel bags at BD240 and she will be shipping them free to global customers.
She has also designed a series of butterfly satin scarves to add colour and pizzazz to the bags, selling for BD20.
They were recently unveiled at a promotional event staged at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Bahrain.
Lulwa is thrilled that her bag designing dreams came to fruition and thanks her parents and siblings Tariq, Essa, Alia and Hessa for their support. “They are my secret to success,” she added.
“I always envisioned myself as an entrepreneur and to someday run my own business. I was fascinated with the idea of becoming my own boss and to work in a challenging environment because this is what gives me the energy to create.”
Lulwa graduated from Kingdom University with a Bachelor’s degree in marketing and worked in various fields including sales, banking and human resources. She was a senior HR specialist for more than six years and the CEO of a private publishing company in Dubai. She also participated in leadership training in the UAE on the Abdelaziz bin Humaid Leadership Programme in 2014-2015, representing Bahrain.
Lulwa also aims to make a difference in the community through her creations. “I believe in finding happiness through giving and I want to make sure that LAM is more than just selling leather goods,” she said.
She will be donating 2.5 per cent of each sale to support a good cause.
To find out more visit www.Lam-Brand.com or follow @lam_brand.
