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Our Story

The World’s Finest Affordable Luxury Crafted Crochet Handbags

Mariam Francis Ismail, founder and Crochet designer works and lives in Cape Town, South Africa. As the creator of Crochet Collections (CC) she started by crocheting baby apparel and continued refining her work to the unique and sophisticated bags you see today. This has been the journey bringing the CC brand to life and Mariam becoming a business woman & entrepreneur, yet made with an authentic love & passion for all things Crochet!

Each of our bags are crafted with care, using high-quality sustainable materials sourced from local suppliers. We take pride in infusing our own style, creativity, and personality into every bag we create.

Our range of bags includes everything from stylish and functional totes, crossbody bags and fanny packs to evening wear clutches. Each bag is designed to not only up-style your wardrobe but also suit a practical lifestyle with the addition of sewn in zips and linings to keep your belongings safe & secure.

Crochet Collections is therefore the result of African creativity and the best of Italian/Parisian-influenced craftsmanship.

Craftsmanship

“Craft is not a ‘trend’. Neither is it something that has to be improved. It’s a timeless technology that has been with us for hundreds of years”.

We believe that a handmade crochet bag is more than just an accessory, it’s a statement piece that tells a story. By choosing one of our bags, you are not only supporting a growing, independent business, but you are also embracing the art of handmade craftsmanship.

Our aim is to stand out from mass-produced bags by offering quality craftsmanship, one-of-a-kind designs, and overall, changing the perception of handmade items, actively working against the fast fashion industry.

Sustainability

We take pride in using sustainable materials such as T-Shirt yarn, which is a form of chunky yarn that’s made from recycled textiles. Textiles which would otherwise be discarded from factories, making our bags completely green-conscious.

We also intentionally produce small batch collections as a conscious and responsible approach to the product life cycle, only producing what we know we can sell.

Women’s Economic Empowerment

An initiative our brand aims to see through, is a Women’s Upliftment Programme to give economically disadvantaged women in South Africa better opportunities in life. This program will ensure that with each bag purchased, a percentage of that purchase will go towards providing women with crochet kits and a skills-based course aimed at teaching unemployed women skills that may give them further access to opportunities in the workplace, as well as empowering woman to earn a living from the safety and comfort of their homes in South Africa.