Is your designer bag a bit worn out?

In Paris, they know how it goes and you get a little stool for your bag at Burger King. But since that's not the case everywhere, and maybe also because I'm not the neatest person on earth, my cherished Chanels were so worn out that I hardly took them out anymore. Until I saw someone unboxing a bag on Instagram that looked darn well as good as new. What turned out? The designer child in question had been on retreat. Not at Kumalaya, but at Claire’s HandbagCare, just in South Holland.

Through DM, the contact was quickly established and before I knew it, the date was set. I could safely send the bags via a tried and tested shipping method, but I loaded the kids (the ones of flesh and blood) and the two babies (the ones with the double C's) into the car and happily drove to the south of the country where Claire's workshop is located.

She explained a bit about what she would do, but I had confidence. I saw what she was doing and moreover, she was followed by my favorite saleswoman at Hermès and Danie Bles's mother had said that you couldn't find a better one than Claire.

Through Stories, I sometimes caught a glimpse of my bags in their repairing phase. ‘Is this going well??’ texted my dear magazine mom Harriet Calo when she saw how the yellow child we once bought together in Paris was being scrubbed thoroughly. To continue with a shocked: ‘Is it now BLACK?’ when she saw another Story that dealt with the ups and downs of my bags.

I could reassure her. The black one was the mattelassé jumbo and the yellow one was as smooth as a chick just hatched from an egg.

A week or so later, I received a message from Claire: ‘your bags are ready’. And to complete the service, she could also hand them over to me in Amsterdam. The Conservatorium Hotel seemed like a suitable location for the transfer to take place. Claire brings the bags hidden in a less conspicuous form. Then follows an unboxing that almost rivals the experience of a truly new purchase. Wrapped in tissue paper, protected by a fabric bag with a custom-made cushion inside, the bags came to me. They also had a special name tag so that no unexpected ‘baby swap’ could occur in the bag workshop. The love and care radiated from them.

Both of my bags are as good as new. The leather is cared for and shiny, the spots are gone, worn pieces restored. And at the next restaurant where I am not offered a stool for my bag, I will order an extra chair. Just like that.