All About JuileApple

Julianne Applegate / Founder & President

JulieApple happened one day. One day it did not exist and then in a moment it did. I had an idea that changed everything. I had an idea for a new collection; sustainable, made with fair labor, and my designs. On this particular day I was frustrated. Looking back, I know I was dreaming a little. I was frustrated because I could not think of any company that would pay me to make this kind of collection. I ran through all of my industry connections built up over 15 years and came up with scratch. It changed everything because I could not leave it alone. My brain was awash with questions about why, and how. Why not work with materials made from recyclables that can be recycled again? Why not buy materials close to home to encourage jobs and reduce material transportation pollution? Why not commit to being sure fair labor is built into a collection from the inception? Why couldn’t sustainable collections look like mainstream collections? Why wasn’t I doing this already? I had been, by industry standards, very successful. I sold more and more of my designs every year, to more people in more countries, and there was clamoring for more, or so I heard. It would be even better if they were sustainable and made with fair labor practices, right?

Once this thinking got into my bones, I could not shake it. I could not return to business as usual. So I started JulieApple. I immersed myself in the details of raw material sourcing, writing purchase orders, booking freight and many other non-designer skills. I sketched and dreamed and worked a few fashion consulting jobs. I took my time, talked to everyone and nurtured relationships with those that would make the collection. It had to be better.

After a year or so, my life was a little unrecognizable. I realized I was not living the uber international fashion designer life. Had I really given up all those amazing trips abroad to shop Tokyo, London and Paris a couple times a year? Did I walk away from talking to Hollywood exec’s about brilliant product collaborations? Did I walk away from being VP of Design for a brand that got my collections placed in Colette, Paris, Takashimaya, Tokyo, Bloomingdales’s, Nordstrom and alomst every other "significant" retailer on the planet? Did I give up collaborating with the likes of Gwen Stefani, Stella McCartney, Jonathan Adler and the ever-impressive industry icon Diane Von Furstenburg? Yes I did. Yes, I would do it again and again if given the choice.

I made major MAJOR life changes. Do I miss the “glamour”? Yes. It was inspiring. I felt like I was part of something bigger. I loved walking through airports and train stations and down any street in the world and seeing something I created.

Here’s the bottom line. I am committed. With JulieApple I am part of something bigger, much bigger. Design can be better. It can create jobs here and in communities that need them. Those jobs can be on a level that sustains the community. Materials can be used to sustain the environment. I can design amazing things that inspire you to look great. They can make you feel good when you think about how you get to do something better for your community and the environment when you buy a JulieApple bag. Now, that is glamorous!

So where is my next trip for inspiration? It may be around the block, to a college campus, to your city to see people keeping busy and people taking a break. I find inspiration everywhere. I will jump at the chance to tag a long with my husband. He’s a cultural geographer. Travel is his thing. You will not find us checking into The Covent Garden with Scarlet Johansson (Yup! That happened.) Instead, we will travel at night sleeping on trains and sleeping wherever we find a room at the last minute in Croatia or Columbus, Budapest or Baltimore, Lake Como or Lake Pontchartrain, Buenos Aires or Virginia Beach, Lima, Peru or Lima, Ohio, the South of France or South Philadelphia, and ooh I hope India or Indian Falls before too long. Hey! If you really want to see me around, invite me to your town for a trunk show. Have collection, will travel!

About the Collection

JulieApple™ bags are lightweight to get you through the day and around the world. JulieApple bags are printed with AirDye® technology, today's revolutionary alternative to traditional dyeing that manages the application of color to textiles without the use of water. We use Repreve® recycled canvas on the outside and Repreve® sailcloth lining on the inside making them green inside and out. Every piece of a JulieApple bag is made with fair labor.

Every JulieApple piece is designed to share the joys of life. We seek meaning in life through great print design. We look for meaning and inspiration everywhere, and we find it everywhere we look. We believe a bag is only good if it works hard for you too. So we work hard to create bags you will love and rely on for decades, because you should only carry things that make you happy.

We know you love lightweight bags that can travel far. Our wooden hardware is incredibly lightweight and strong as a tree. Brass snaps and zippers keep your essentials secure. Our handles and zippers are reinforced with leather tabs for extra stability. You will love our organic hemp. With the help of AirDye® technology, we eliminate production excess and waste. An amazing team in the Caribbean, who loves JulieApple™ makes your bag. Enjoy!
Our Commitments

JulieApple’s™ core mission is to make a collection that is good to every hand that touches it - especially yours. Here is what we are all about:

Fashion & function - JulieApple™ handbags meet and transcend the trends to give you fashion that completes your look and makes you smile season after season. Each print is designed in house -- it’s our addiction. We hope you will become hooked too! Function and durability are built in so you can count on your JulieApple™ handbag for years to
come. We stand behind every bag. We work with one of the finest luxury handbag factories in our hemisphere to create a collection that meets and exceeds your expectations for quality and finish.

Sustainable materials - JulieApple™ uses Repreve® fabrics made from 100% post consumer waste. We use AirDye®, a revolutionary printing process that does not use or pollute water to create our ever changing assortment of fabrics.

Recycling - It is not enough that JulieApple™ comes from post consumer waste; it cannot become part of the problem for future generations. We use Repreve® fabrics, because Repreve® is made from 100% recycled materials, it’s a reprieve for our planet’s resources. Repreve® takes less energy and fewer resources to make than starting from scratch. Repreve® fabrics can be recycled again and again. Today we are educating retailers and customers about completing the cycle. As consumers we can drive demand for recycled materials by investing in
products made from our own recycling efforts. Every JulieApple™ has the heart felt pride that it will meet and exceed your expectations of what recycled products can be.

AirDye® - JulieApple's™ signature prints and solids are created with AirDye® technology, today's revolutionary alternative to traditional dyeing that manages the application of color to textiles without the use of water. We know the sad story of conventional dyeing and polluting. Water is the life force of this planet. With AirDye®, we are committed to clean design. AirDye® technology, is a designers dream come true, for limitless color and gorgeous detail, all without waste and pollution. I love to dream BIG! Read more about the science behind AirDye® here.

Equitable labor - Every piece of every JulieApple™ is made with fair labor. It’s our bottom line requirement to building a great bag.

Local raw materials - We source 98% of our raw materials in the USA - to reduce transportation energy use and to stimulate the local economy. We make a few exceptions for hemp fabrics that cannot legally be grown in the US, our wooden rings from sustainable forests in Europe, and our brass jump rings from our great neighbors in Canada.

Features - JulieApple™ bags are great travel companions and the best everyday sidekick ever. They are lightweight by design. You will find pockets where you need them, sturdy cotton webbing straps, leather trim details on some pieces, brass zippers inside and out, and brass snaps.

Vegan - JulieApple™ offers an assortment of vegan bags.
Biography

Julianne Applegate has been designing for over 15 years. She has traveled the world and found inspiration in every corner. Her designs have been sold in The U.S., Europe, Asia, South America, Mexico, and Canada, and featured at Colette, Paris and Takashimaya, Tokyo, and on the RTW runway. Applegate has been fortunate to design collaborative collections for Diane Von Furstenberg, Jonathan Adler, Stella McCartney, Gwen Stefani, and many others. Julianne has made custom fit apparel, created CAD software for designers, taught courses at Parsons, designed bullet proof vests for female police officers and soldiers, costumed plays, worked with inventors. After years of success with LeSportsac as their Vice President of Design, Applegate left LeSportsac to consult and to build JulieApple. Applegate has painstakingly crafted every detail of the JulieApple collection, building on her long experience to create a collection of world class and earth conscious designs. Julianne felt inspired and privilege to collaborate with many generous artists and designers:

Jonathan Adler

Diane von Furstenburg

J. Mendel

Gwen Stefani L.A.M.B.

Stella McCartney

Simone Legno of Tokidoki

Eli Sudbrack and assume vivd astro focus

Toy2R

Amy Davis

Fafi

Colette

Merjin Hos AKA B Free

Sara Schwartz

Hiroshi Tanabe

Anders Wenngren

The Warner Brothers team

Yee Haw Industries

Liberty of London

JulieApple™ is a new growth from this creative branch. JulieApple™ strives to take these experiences and grow to new heights of creativity through new collaborations and by evolving product ideas to be nourishing, wholesome and good.

*Julianne Applegate worked with all named artist and entities above. The list above in no way constitutes an endorsement of JulieApple Inc. by the parties named.

AirDye® and the AirDye® logo are registered trademarks of Colorep®, Inc.

REPREVE® is a trademark of Unifi, Inc. and is registered with U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and with others.