Soul Carrier isn’t just another handbag line. The designer, Jennifer Paige, turned her personal grief and struggle into something positive.
After losing both of her parents in a car accident, while she was in the car, Jenniferย decided to channel all of her pain and emotional turmoil into creating something unique and positive. Her passion for fashion prompted her to create a line of handbags – Soul Carrier.
Jennifer firmly believes that every soulโs true identity is the foundation for the thumbprint that people leave on the world. She designed Soul Carrier’s products to inspire women to search for what makes them feel alive and then pursue it with their heart and soul.
Soul Carrier’s unique line of bags, totes and clutches are made from genuine leather in Leon, Mexico. Each bag is stylish, timeless and carries an important message with it.
I was so intrigued by Jennifer’s story – having lost one of my own parents at an early age – that I just had to interview her.
Our Interview with Designer Jennifer Paige:
Q: I’m curious when you first became interested in fashion. Do you have a story of what inspired that passion?
A: From a young child, I loved fashion. My father and mother had a big influence on that. My father loved nice suits and my mother loved designer handbags. My sister and I would have fashion shows at all our birthday parties, as a child I dreamed of opening a clothing boutique called โPizzazzโ at the local mall, and I would spend hours cutting out images from magazines and catalogs to turn into my own version of a โpaper dollโ. Check out these two blogs I wrote about my love of fashion here and here.
Q: Did you always know that you were more interested in fashion than law school? Was it hard to make the decision to change direction or did it just feel right??
A: I remember telling my father when I was 10 that I wanted to work for SWATCH designing watches โ he was an architect and because he struggled within the field he wanted me to steer clear of design, and as soon as I told him, he discouraged the idea and planted the notion that I should become an attorney. LAW school was 100% to honor him, and to feed my ego of having a fancy graduate degree. There never was any passion or zest in my commitment to get to LAW school, like there was with getting to Parsons and pursing fashion.
Q: How do you “seize the moment”? ?in your everyday life? What makes you “thrive” on a daily basis?
A: Something inside me makes me get up and GO even when there are sad, hard or difficult moments. I wrote a โmanifestoโ last year (https://www.soulcarrier.com/pages/about-us) if you want to read the whole thing. In the manifesto, I proclaim “Inner resilience and determination are my friends. They are the fuel to give it another whirl when life harshly stomps down. With tenacity and spirit I will go after projects but then detach from the notion of instant, orderly outcomes. Life will give me something far more spectacular, if I simply trust to let events unfold organically. Brilliancy cannot transcend when I limit myself through expecting and assuming. Patience must trump entitlement. A rigid attachment to the result I feel entitled to, will always be followed by an infestation of stress and fear. Life becomes daunting and scary when cemented to one particular way. Surrendering to flexibility will be my ultimate liberation. I will not trade adventure, edge or freedom, for the cautious-unauthentic life.”
Q: Do you feel fulfilled in your daily life now, pursuing your passion ??with Soul Carrier?
A: Absolutely! I am living my dream, and I am living it BIG :-) I feel so blessed, honored and fulfilled. Even with all the bumps in the road, life is pretty magical.
Q: When do you think you’ll add more styles to your handbag line? Perhaps wallets? Would you consider doing shoes?
A: I want to do a Menโs collection, wallets, and someday move into home accessories โ Jonathan Adler-esque – pillows, candles, table-trays, etc. I LOVE architecture and interior design, so I could see it as a natural extension. I could also see doing inspirational-coffee table books, yoga mats, hoodies and maybe even surf boards or skate boards with the Soul Carrier logo. I just had a skate-board made with my Soul Carrier logo painted on the bottom of the board.
I am a total shoe-addict, however shoes are so “technical” and require more “engineering” that I donโt see that happening in the near future โ maybe when I am a huge entity and I can hire my friends in NYC who have the most amazing portfolios based around shoe sketches ;-))
Jennifer was generous and sweet enough to send me one of her amazing bags so I could see how gorgeous and well-made they really are. I have to say, I’m really impressed. The pictures don’t even do it justice.
Just look at this beauty! This is the “Sarah Elizabeth” Tote Bag in dark brown and watermelon. Isn’t it gorgeous?
The thing I dislike about most totebags is the lack of pockets. Jennifer smartly put not one, not two, not three, but FOUR pockets in this chic bag making it super useful on top of being stylish!
I love that the zippered pocket is huge and deep too. I couldn’t have designed this bag better if I had done it myself. Jennifer seriously did an amazing job designing these bags!
This is my new work bag and it fits my Intel tablet, paperwork, folders, cell phone, keys, wallet (and even a diaper or two) with ease!
I also love the Soul Carrier logo on the outside of the bag which really sets this bag apart from the crowd.