Ladies, whenever you buy a new pair of heels or a dress, you know you need a purse to match. You accumulate more and more purses with each purchase. What if you could toss out that heap of handbags in exchange for one purse whose appearance you can constantly change to match your look at any given moment? Modjewel is a startup making modular handbags so you can constantly change the look of your purse without buying additional bags.
“I didn’t have a bag that went with what I was wearing," Eliana Ghantous, founder of Modjewel, told me. "I thought it was silly because I had all of these bags but none that matched.”
Modjewel’s dynamically designed handbags could prevent women from encountering such a wardrobe dilemma. Its basic clutch serves as an empty accessory canvas. You can buy covers made from Italian leather to change up the color and pattern, different hardware to switch up your bag's clasp and a variety of straps that you can swap in and out.
Right now, Modjewel offers only a clutch-sized design. The bag measures 2” by 5” by 7.5” and boasts interior organizers for your cash, cards, make-up, phone and other essentials. In the near future, the company will be expanding its line to include purses with a little more wiggle room.
"The clutch is fun but it's small," Ghantous said. "Women also want something bigger, a staple that they can use everyday, so that's what we're working on next."
The startup, which is currently bootstrapped, launched this past August. In the past month, it’s relocated from Los Angeles to Boston, now operating out of the Seaport. The company moved when Ghantous' husband relocated for work.
A "bare bag" will cost you $145, with modules going for $25 a pop. For the most part, you can purchase Modjewel’s bags and interchangeable pieces online. But Ghantous said she’s planning on holding pop-up shops throughout the city, with the first one in the works for the holiday shopping season.
