Briarwood - Wellington Central

The Briarwood story began in 1992 when Ange Marshall returned from London piled high with way too many shoes and bags but also with a dream of making her own bags - high-quality leather bags that reminded her of what she had seen (and bought) in Europe but with her own personal 'signature.'

This dream flourished as did the loyal followers and it continues today.

Five years later Jayne Thomson arrived on the Briarwood scene in a sales and marketing capacity. Her love of all things Briarwood only added to its growth and popularity. Jayne has traipsed the length and the breadth of New Zealand sharing our story and selling our product.

All stories come with some highs and lows and as the years went by it became harder and harder to do what we had always aspired to do and that was to be a proud New Zealand manufacturer. All the artisans we employed - the cobblers who made our shoes and bags and the suppliers to our industry had dwindled to a trickle. Like so many in our industry we had to diversify our manufacturing capacity so sought out a like-minded offshore production partner. It was a fraught process but a decade ago we settled on a partnership with a highly reputable family owned factory in India. They ticked all the boxes - they had generations deep expertise, they were ethical manufacturers and were serious about transitioning to high environmental standards. They quickly became part of the Briarwood family and this has allowed us to explore design avenues we could never contemplate here in New Zealand.

In 2015 Briarwood expanded again and it was, in a way, back to the future with a locally manufactured range... but this time of locally manufactured clothing. The love for beautiful fabrics and timeless wearable pieces soon created the same loyal following as the handbags.

Fast forward two years, it was an inevitable natural progression for Jayne to become a partner with Ange in Briarwood. It's a new phase that strengthens our organisation. We are guided as we always have been by design. It's what we get up for every morning - to design and manufacture fashion that you won't find on every corner that says something about the wearer - that they are individuals who value style and quality and want to live life with their own personal twist......we hope you love our dream as much as we do! x