In the book How to Tell a Woman by Her Handbag, author Kathryn Eisman says “A woman’s handbag is her grown-up ‘security blanket’ carrying items to navigate the world.” Joi Johnston’s handbags incorporate the functionality of a bag with exotic materials for a classic, timeless purse that tells of its owner’s individuality and style. Simply put, her JOI handbags embody practical luxury.

The journey to making handbags is one that began as a young girl learning to sew from her grandmother, giving her the confidence to redesign thrift store outfits by 13 years old. However her strongest inspiration came during a field trip while she was a student in fashion design and merchandising at UL at Lafayette. “My fashion class toured an alligator tannery that blew my mind; the process of tanning was fascinating,” she recalls. “All the major fashion brands would buy skins from them. I saw the alligator skins and I knew I’d make handbags with them someday.” And the long journey to that ultimate goal began.

After graduation, Johnston moved to Newport Beach, Cali. where she designed scarfs and hats for a nonprofit, as part of an internship. Not long after, she moved to New Orleans and for nearly four years worked for Suzanne Perron St. Paul, couture fashion designer of handmade and hand-beaded gowns for brides, debutantes and Mardi Gras queens. Learning the techniques of pattern making and beading only fired the desire to begin designing on her own.

She returned to Lafayette and spent some eight months collecting vintage dresses which she redesigned for sale. That quickly evolved into creating bespoke pieces from heirloom bridal gowns. During that time she befriended a woman who worked at an alligator farm, who helped her collect skins and taught her to sew leather. The dream from her college days, back at the tannery was materializing. In a workshop on Lafayette’s Jefferson Street, she began turning out a small collection and opened JOI in 2019. On her industrial walking foot machine, she created designs of half-moon and canteen-shaped bags, along with clutches. “I had tapped out friends and family buying my bags, but I knew if the right people could see them, they’d buy them,” she recalls. After a sales trip to New Orleans, trying to get her bags into boutiques, proved unsuccessful, a disappointed Johnston posted her bags online where they sold within 24 hours.

Her career pivoted in 2021 when her husband’s job moved them to New York. There she worked at the store of fashion designer Tory Burch, with a visual merchandising team, while still designing her bags on the side. “The experience taught me so much about design: that less is more and strong design is in subtle details, which has pushed me to make more timeless bags; it taught me to think through every decision when it comes to design, rather than be impulsive.… I’m still trying to decipher all that I learned there.” The time in New York also presented the opportunity for Johnston to find seamstresses who shared her eye and standard for intricate stitching.

Drawing from her extensive experience and creativity, she returned to Lafayette last fall, concentrating on her bag designs while wrapping up a commitment to Tory Burch. In February she introduced a line of crossbody bags, totes and bucket bags made of cow leather, alligator or lizard and other exotics. A best-seller in the line, “the Windsor,” is a cross-body bag that can double as a clutch, made of cowhide with a top flap offered in alligator or lizard, featuring gold hardware attached to a chain that is reminiscent of a classic fob. This past summer she introduced a mini collection that included a woven shoulder bag and a crocodile-embossed bucket bag.

Inspired by the touch of her materials, she favors working with high-grade cow leather, lizard (teju and varanus-salvator) python, alligator and crocodile. The materials seem a good match with her innovative style and sense of retrained adventure. Like her favorite designers Mary Kate and Ashley of The Row, she keeps it classy and timeless.

From her home office, she carefully pairs the dyed skins and cowhides before gluing them together to send to the seamstresses, along with the hardware. “I treat each design with so much attention and detail, because the most important thing is the quality and making sure the customer is happy,” she assures.

Johnston describes her clients as confident women, 40 to 60 years young, who care about fashion and quality. “Most of them have designer statement bags, but they want something unique,” she observes. “One woman, who’s purchased a few of my bags, told me she doesn’t wear her designer bags anymore – just mine. (Her husband said he wished she’d found me sooner.) I was thrilled when a designer for Kate Spade told me my bags are amazing, but it’s just as great when customers will tell me they keep getting compliments for them.”

Her bags also gained the attention of British Vogue in a recent article. “When they called, I thought it was a scam,” she says laughing.

This year is already panning out to be a busy one for Johnston and she is excited about the things to come. She will drop four seasonal collections, including clutches and some of her staple bags. In efforts to reach a new customer base in the luxury market, she will focus on exotics and has been working on a new collection which should be introduced early this year. “I want to focus just on exotic bags, working with suede. Next year’s bags will be fully lined with pigskin that feels like suede. (She pauses) When I’m in the zone of designing, I feel this is exactly what I’m supposed to be doing.”

Joi’s Favorites

Chanel

Yves Saint Laurent

Khaite

Savette

Celine