Brand
Unique custom-made handbags from Bruges
Dominique ‘Mien’ Vieren used to work as an architect, but she still wanted to work with her hands. When she became acquainted with leather processing a few years ago, she got a taste for it, re-educated herself and became independent. In Mien Kaba studio in Sint-Andries, just outside of Bruges, make an appointment and get the unique handmade bag of your dreams! Dominique also welcomes old handbag restoration projects or transforming other leather products into bags.
This COSH! Brand Index was calculated thanks to a paid contribution of one of the shops below.
Production locations
Working Conditions & Living Wages
Dominique has acquired the labels Handmade in Bruges, Handmade in Belgium and Erkend Ambacht (Recognised craftsmanship).
As everything is produced on demand, by Dominique herself, there is no risk of bad working conditions.
Materials
Dominique only makes bags on-demand, by request of consumers, either using her own material stock, or old leather brought in by the consumer. She does not keep any ready stock, avoiding any risk of overproduction, and ensuring that everything she makes is treasured by the consumer.
Packaging
Most of Dominique’s sales take place in person, which minimizes packaging from shipping, and there are no packaging needs within the supply chain due to in-house materials used. Wherever there are packaging needs, Dominique ensures us that she reuses all packaging material and makes it as circular as possible.
Water usage & chemicals
Due to use of deadstock fabrics, no water or chemical use is needed for production of these handbags.
Circular product design
The brand does not use any new materials at all, only post-consumer leather including deadstock collected over the years, or deadstock from other local companies, or old leather brought in by consumers. This keeps the materials in use, restarting their lifecycle, and keeping them out of landfills.
Circular business models
Dominique focuses on repair, refurbish, remanufacture, and repurpose - which are all different levels of circularity – and people can approach her atelier for any of these services. She believes that the most sustainable handbag “…is the handbag you already have”, hence she repairs handbags brought in by customers, or uses old materials to make a new one that can be treasured by the owner. She views repairing old handbags as her contribution to society.
Mien pays attention to circularity in every aspect of her work, for instance the furniture in her studio is bought second-hand or made locally, she works with leftover paper to draw out patterns and reuses packaging materials.
Distance & complexity of the supply chain
Transportation
Considering the short length of the supply chain, transportation is kept to a minimum, reducing transportation emissions as well. Her customers also come to her atelier in person to commission bags, so very little shipping emissions are associated with her sales as well.
The brand only uses post-consumer materials, so while we cannot know the history of the sourcing of these materials, we can rest assured that no animal cruelty is directly associated with the sourcing of these materials for the brand’s activities.
Product design
You can go to Mien Kaba to have your bag repaired to give it a longer life. In addition, the brand’s designs are also unique, handmade with artisan techniques and quality materials. In this way, designer Mien hopes each bag will be cherished for as long as possible.
Customers can also bring their own old leather, for a more personal touch. For example, Dominique once turned a grandfather’s leather jacket into handbags for the daughter and granddaughter.
Slow fashion processes
It’s a point of principle for this craftswoman to work to order, and not to carry any stock. She wants people to buy a handbag with the intention of keeping it for a long time and of putting it to good use. Her bags are custom-made so you can get them fully suited to your needs, and if you want a little more variety, she can make you a bag with interchangeable panels. Post-consumer leather is also really hard to work with, so you can rest assured that the handbags are slow-fashion, and that a lot of effort and craftsmanship has gone into the making of each product.
Despite the lack of transparency in the leather industry, the Bruges handbag brand is transparent. On the site, you will find a lot of information about the materials, moreover, Mien makes all the bags herself and is therefore transparent about the working conditions in the atelier. Visit Mien Kaba to ask all your questions, Dominique is happy to help!
Would you like to have a handbag made or an existing one repaired? Check out Mien Kaba’s store page for more information below!
