When wood is more than good...

Today (Friday 25th May 2007) sees the official UK launch of Rocio bags.  Individually hand-crafted from the finest, sustainable Acacia wood and finished with contemporary materials, Rocio bags and are not just accessories, but unique works of art - epitomising luxury and glamour in its purest sense. The team behind the UK brand is Rocio Olbes, an artist from Spanish heritage, who grew up in Manila, Philippines. In 2005, having been accepted by a number of art schools in Europe, Rocio decided instead to study the Arts and Creative Design in the United States. It was here in a design studio in North Hollywood that she met her partner and co-founder Hamish Menzies from Glasgow, Scotland, where the company is based. Whist living in Los Angeles, Rocio and Hamish explored different creative concepts and design ideas attempting to steer away from the mainstream before finally settling on their current artistic direction using beautiful Acacia wood. They returned to Europe and set about tackling the challenges of working with Acacia as a fashion material. This process was exciting but truly exhausting and took over 18 months to perfect the construction and design techniques. “We wanted our handbags not only to be timeless and beautiful but also to be truly functional and practical”. 

Rocio’s inspiration is endless and comes from everyday beauty and world culture. Each bag is individual, redefining the word ‘exclusive’.  The design team at Rocio Ltd hand crafts the bags using only the finest selection of sustainable Acacia wood available. Contemporary materials such as leathers, precious stones, Swarovski crystals, pearls and engravings are used to add the finishing touches to each precious piece.  Every one of the handbags is personally attended to, with the entire process taking up to six weeks.  In May 2006, Rocio was born.  The debut collection was displayed later that year in August at the Pure Exhibition in London to a great reception and followed on from their UK success with a series of visits to trade shows in Milan, Dusseldorf and Paris. Since then the label has developed and has gone from strength to strength. 

It is now sold in over 19 countries and to exclusive stockists including Mitsukoshi, Etoile and Tigerlily.  Liberty plc is the exclusive stockist in London.  Rocio has recently been short listed for the UK Fashion export awards alongside well known UK brands, Goat and Alison van der Lande.

Commenting on her inspiration, Rocio said:
“My direction as an artist was to try and take fashion back to the arts, to create pieces that could be individual and admired.  Acacia wood can be manipulated in so many ways and forms and it epitomises such elegance and distinction. We feel that we have a very unique offering and hopefully our timeless works of art can be handed down and admired through the generations.”

So if you want something  that you will love and cherish forever, go and take a look here Ooooohhhh I want one! Queen Marie