History

The founder of Bear is Willem-Jan Beernink. However, his affinity for leather bags and design dates back much further than the launch of the Bear Design label in 1993. He comes from a family with a long tradition in leather bags. His grandparents began selling leather laces and hides as early as 1936, for use in making leather soles. Later, they added leather bags to their offerings, which were sold at the market and resold. His father later continued the bag wholesale business, and together they decided to turn it into their own brand in 1993. Bear Design bags was born.

Willem Jan still handles the design and purchasing together with his sister Annelies, working with the same suppliers they started with in 1993.