Strong case: Jimeale stuck with her self-belief and emerged with a winning product.
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When Jimeale Jorgensen packed her bags and left Australia for Los Angeles nearly nine years ago, it was a sabbatical that would change her life. The 33-year-old has always had a fixation with the US – especially New York – and in the back of her mind always knew she would give the city a red-hot go; all she needed was an excuse.
It was while on a trip to Miami to indulge in a hen’s weekend that her business plan came to mind. Her decision to start a cosmetic and travel-bag range of her own was based on the not-so-pretty sight of her friends’ cosmetic bags that fateful weekend.
“They got theirs at Amcal chemists back in Australia,” she says. “I knew right away that there was something missing in the market. I wanted to come up with bags that were appealing and fashionable.”
When she launched her travel accessories and cosmetic bags under the brand Jimeale New York nearly four years ago, Jorgensen had no idea it would become a multimillion-dollar empire.
These days she’s stocked in Myer, has shelf space in Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s in the US and more recently scored a spot in Bloomingdale’s in Dubai.
Humble and hardworking, the Melbourne-born, New York-based designer says she’s enjoying the frantic pace that her success brings.
She decided to start her business in the US and threw herself in the deep end – figuring it out one step at a time from production to design.
“I had people say they weren’t interested in my idea, didn’t support my business plan, said it would be hard, but I just ignored them. I stuck with my self-belief,” says Jorgensen.
She lives in Manhattan with her Australian fiancé – she met him in the US and discovered he grew up only a few suburbs away from where she did – and the pair will tie the knot in Mexico before the year’s end. They also have a home in The Hamptons, as you do when your good idea becomes a lucrative one.
Jorgensen has clearly tapped into the sassy female traveller market with a range of cosmetic bags ideal for jet-setters. She keeps her cases streamlined and chic: there’s the delightful presence of polka dots (shops keep begging for more) and others in bright stripes.
With the success of these bags, Jorgensen decided to expand her collection to include weekend totes, shower caps, umbrellas, travel wallets and passport holders.
We love the fact she’s come up with a hair-straightener carrier for a contemporary requirement. But it’s the cleverly crafted cosmetics case that truly get the thumbs up.
Jorgensen has purposely designed a carry-on case ideal for airline commuting. What’s more, she’s worked this in with airline travel requirements because she knows the woes that come with being unsure what you can and can’t take as hand luggage.
“There was a lot more work involved in getting this up and running than I had probably realised but I was set on getting this up and making it work,” she says.
“I wouldn’t listen to anyone. I pushed through in the industry and soldiered on. I had production issues at the start but I had never done this before. I basically started with designing three bags and three shapes and it’s all gone from there.”
Now Jorgensen is stocked in more than 16 countries and Jimeale New York is the go-to bag for domestic and international travel.
“I never imagined this would happen,” she says. “To be stocked in Myer was a big deal for me at the time, and it still is. It was like, wow. I grew up shopping there and it was huge.”
Nowadays she has a celebrity following. Isla Fisher has been photographed carrying her nappy bag, and Fisher’s husband “Borat” Sacha Baron Cohen is a fan of the men’s range. Other stars that own Jimeale bags are Naomi Watts and Cameron Diaz.
Jorgensen contributes 10 per cent of net profit from the pink and white polka dot collection to The Libby Ross Foundation – a non-profit organisation that focuses on national outreach and early detection of breast cancer. The cause is close to Jorgensen’s heart as breast cancer has touched her family.
“If it wasn’t for a cousin of mine saying go and visit a friend in New York all those years ago I might not have gone,” says Jorgensen.
“I went for a week and had the time of my life. I loved the energy and the fact so much was going on. I was 23 and hungry for more; it suited my pace. I arrived in NYC just after 9/11 and I instantly felt this was home.
“These days I look at New York like a love relationship; it’s sort of like when you are really in love with someone it’s intense and beautiful but it’s also the little things that drives you mad. You just can’t help yourself but stick around.”
» Available at Myer
» www.jimeale.com