Bill Amberg
Luxury leather goods craftsman and local resident Bill Amberg has built his thriving international business here in Notting Hill. Kate Crockett meets the man behind the bags
Above: Bill Amberg
It’s a roasting hot day and Bill Amberg has just dashed all the way from his design studio and workshop in Elkstone Road, W10, to his namesake flagship store on Chepstow Corner, W2, where I’m waiting to interview him. He’s only a few minutes late but apologises profusely. It’s fine, I say – I’ve been filling the time looking at everything in the store – from the new season’s Sontag bags in the softest crushed sheepskin, to snakeskin key fobs to delicate alligator jewellery boxes, to Bill’s ubiquitous baby papooses and his tongue-in-cheek pooch carrier, the ‘Wag Bag’ – apparently so-called before the football WAGs even first hit the town.
Not that Bill’s really into that whole celeb scene: ‘I am not a great one for an ‘It’ bag,’ he says. ‘My personal preference has always been for the function-meets-beauty side of things: I love a really cool bag that people use and wear in and it becomes something that you use frequently rather than one of a thousand in your wardrobe. Mine are less self conscious bags that you can wear – not a bag that wears you! And that’s the sort of customer we attract: the more eclectic, independent-thinking type.’
That said, as an astute businessman – and husband of Susie Forbes, editor of Easy Living and former deputy editor of Vogue – Bill’s knows first-hand how a little celebrity endorsement goes a long way. Bill has recently finished a bespoke set of luggage for fellow local Elle McPherson; jewellery designer Solange Azagury loved her Bill Amberg leather floor so much that she took it with her when she moved apartments; and Victoria Beckham and Pearle Lowe are also fans. Bill’s iconic papooses are as popular now as they were when Kate Winslet first stepped out with baby Mia in 2001. No doubt his new, lightweight summer papoose will create a similar stir when launched later this year.
Bill may be best known for his exquisitely crafted handbags and accessories, but fashion retail and wholesale makes up just one third of his business. The Bill Amberg group of companies also includes a specialist design consultancy for corporate clients and an interior design business with a reputation for innovative interiors and architectural leatherwork, be it buffalo leather flooring or the softest lambskin upholstery.
The design consultancy, based in Elkstone Road, has produced products and accessories for an enviable portfolio of clients including Dunhill, Motorola, Tate, MontBlanc and Mr & Mrs Smith. Recent projects include a range for Thomas Pink and ‘global barman’ kits for Bombay Sapphire and Grey Goose. ‘It’s a very active part of the business,’ Bill says. ‘We are working on a big project for Globetrotter at the moment and with local online jewellery business Astley Clarke in Hereford Road [W2].’ The team is also working on a range of goods for Space NK which is due out in time for Christmas (Bill and Space NK’s founder Nicky Kinnaird are old friends), and Bill is launching his own line of upholstered furniture in the store later this year.
The architectural third of the business, which is based in the Grand Union Centre, off Ladbroke Grove, has a similarly impressive client list including Asprey and Garrad London plus owners of private jets, yachts and exclusive private residences. Locally, Bill Amberg and his team are responsible for the Tereence Donovan Bar at Brown’s Hotel, Scott’s restaurant in Mayfair, the crystal bar handrail at The Dorchester and the EMI headquarters in Hammersmith. In the last 12 months alone, have been involved in projects in Denmark, France, Japan and America.
Travel is one of Bill’s great passions. When he’s not flitting between London and Tokyo – where his brand is even better known than it is here in London – he’ll be ‘sniffing around flea markets and antique markets’ from Beijing to Tunisia to Golborne Road. ‘Golborne Road is my patch,’ he says. ‘It’s the walk between my workshop and the architectural studio so I’m always going through there or having lunch there.’
Bill also loves the walk from his studio to the store on Chepstow Corner. ‘I am very fond of Northumberland Place – I am always up and down it throughout the year so I see it in all the seasons: it’s got the most fantastic little microclimate,’ he enthuses. ‘It has some very pretty houses and this fabulous collection of maybe a dozen magnolias and a huge cherry tree – you wouldn’t even know it is a cherry tree because you wouldn’t expect it to be so big. There’s a mimosa too – I see that in bloom with its lovely yellow lightweight, spidery flowers. They use it to tan leather – so I am always intrigued by that.’
Having lived in the area for more than 20 years – first on Westbourne Grove and now Queen’s Park – Bill and his family are ‘thoroughly entrenched’ here. His three daughters go to school around the corner from the shop; they love to ice skate at Queens and eat out at New Fortune Cookie on Queensway; family birthdays are spent at Lucky 7 on Westbourne Park Road. Bill likes to lunch at Assaggi on Chepstow Place – where ‘the food is consistently perfect and the service is consistently excellent’ – and dine at E&O or Osteria Basilico. ‘That whole patch there on Kensington Park Road is always good if you are wondering where your next meal is coming from,’ he says. ‘I am also very fond of the Cock & Bottle. It’s a great pub: it’s the last old-school pub in Notting Hill.’
Bill is passionate about giving something back to his community too: he runs a leatherwork programme with the Royal College of Art and an apprenticeship in his architectural division to encourage young people to learn about craftsmanship. Young people are, in fact, the life blood of his company. At 46, Bill is the oldest member of the 14-strong team. ‘We have a very good, interesting group of young designers working for us,’ he says. ‘There’s very much a broad spread of designers from different backgrounds – we are not just employing accessory designers – so that cross-fertilises all sorts of things. We might develop a leather for the interiors business that suddenly one of the bag designers picks up and wants to use – so it’s very interesting and inspiring.’
The area continues to inspire Bill and he has seen much change in the two decades he has been here. ‘Dynamism in all parts of your life is really important,’ he says. ‘I love change: it stirs the fat; it makes people sit up and stop being complacent. Provided the landlords around here realise there is a place for the independents it will remain an interesting area where I hope always to have a future.’
Bill Amberg, 21-22 Chepstow Corner, W2; 020 7727 3560; www.billamberg.com