The architecture of a beautiful bag: interview with the designer of Maison Ravn

She started with architecture and interior design. Than she (fortunately for bags-lovers) Claudia Ravnbø fall in love with some exquisite fabrics and the first Maison Ravn (www.maisonravn.com) appeared. Last, but for sure not the least, her collection of bags landed on the shelves of the beautiful and uber-hip Colette store in Paris. I talked with the designer Claudia Ravnbø, the name behind Maison Ravn, about inspiration, the quest for the perfect fabric and the next collection of bags.

Norwegian designer, established in Paris, Claudia Ravnbo has always gathered extraordinary fabrics from collectors all over the world.
The bags are available on www.maisonravn.com. Or at Colette, in Paris.
See also Facebook page. 

Imagine a perfect construction, the graceful proportion, the pointed edges, the sculptural curves, the harmony almost musical. Did you get the picture? Image than this features are quickly transform into… bags. Yes, could be the bags that will tell the world a story about their owner, or about their trips around the world, about their heritage from the far, far lands. And the trip will take me to the Otoman embroidery to the Chinese dragons and Scandinavian interiors to the Parisian love place to be, Ladurée space, where the Maison Ravn pop-up shop is right now.

Maison Ravn Valentine collection

When and how the story of your brand has started?

The fact that I always been collecting fabrics was the starting point of the label. When I stumbled by accident onto a beautiful Ottoman embroidery near Izmir, there was a mirror just in front of me and I took a glance in the mirror and said to myself this could be a beautiful bag!!!

This idea probably popped into my head as I was lucky enough to have most handbags any woman could desire, but was annoyed of always seeing the same ones on everybody else. So I said, if there was a brand that only makes one-of-a-kind bags, ultra luxury and unique would have a real meaning in the sense that nobody can have the same bag as you. After all, all woman are different so why carry around the same bags as a uniform? This was the starting point of Maison Ravn.

You passed from interior design to fashion design. Why bags? 

As I went to art School and did fine art painting Goldsmiths College and Glasgow School of art), I have always been inspired and creative. Composing houses or objects is for me more or less the same, its about creating something from scratch to make it into something harmonious and beautiful – a creative process.

Claudia Ravnbø

You use such incredible materials for your bags. Which one is the most exotic? And which fabric came with more stories? 

The most fascinating piece of the Maison Collection fabrics was when I managed to get my hands on an ancient and very rare Sami belt which is normally past through generations through an old friendship with a Sami family from Kautokeino. This piece is so dear and unique to me. Priceless.

I read that one of your first bags rest now on Kate Moss arm. Who would you dream of wearing your designs?

All beatutiful, elegant and strong minded women!!!!

Where does the inspiration for the Valentine’s collection comes from? 

The Valentine collection is called LOVE ME, so the inspiration came from the 6 letters , we declined the letters and used them as patterns, and as the secret message we hand painted or embroided a beautiful love poem inside the bag.

Maison Ravn Valentine collection

If your favourite bag from Maison Ravn could be a painting… it would be…

It would definitely be a CY TWOBLY painting !!!

The signature bag model for Maison Ravn is… 

The new BABY RAVN especially designed for Othilia Simon, our favourite Vogue girl, she represents Maison Ravn perfectly. She is Parisian, effortlessly chic, unique in every way and always surprising!

The next plans for Maison Ravn… 

New shop and showroom in Paris (as for the moment we are in Colette), the new men bag collection which will be as  the Ravn bags with the same ¨piece unique¨  philosophy. A cosmic year of creating more and more bags that will make you dream…

Passionate about fabrics, their incredible histories, and the beauty of their temporal imperfections, Norwegian Claudia Ravnbo has always gathered extraordinary fabrics from collectors all over the world. With these treasures, she has created a unique range of Maison Ravn bags. Each bag combines the most precious fabrics with the rarest skins and leathers. Fabrics such as woven ottoman, Provençal fabrics from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, silk suzani from Lyon, Indigo Tutsugaki, ikat, Italian lace, Chinese embroidery and Scandinavian decoration are combined with skins and leathers such as crocodile, python, ostrich, stingray and mink, often painted by hand. (www.maisonravn.com)

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