About Us

 

Hoopla Beginnings

Hoopla Bags was born in 2016 from my desire to create the perfect handbag. You know, with the right shape, that fits everything I like to carry and is colourful as well as great quality. It also had to be at an affordable price. Something that looks as good in the office as it does on the street. It took me a while, but finally got there with the large portrait tote.

It was a long journey to get Hoopla off the ground. My previous work life had given me the necessary manufacturing skills, I knew how to approach suppliers and negotiate, look at their CSR credentials, but creating Hoopla was still a steep learning curve for me.

On our first run of Hoopla totes, I ordered 250 bags in five different colours. I called on friends to help me find a name for my business and design a logo. Someone told me you could sell anything through Facebook, so I set up a Hoopla Bags page and started to post about my bags – I really didn’t know what I was doing or what to expect.

My initial sales were to friends and family but gradually we reached out to the wider community. At our first market pop-up - which was in Malaysia where I was living at the time - I didn’t sell one bag – not one! I went home devastated – but slowly word spread and the next time I sold four, then five, then twelve and then people started contacting me directly. Within 18 months I’d added another 350 bags to the initial making of 250 and sold them all. 

I've now returned to live in the western suburbs of Melbourne permanently and Hoopla is a fairly well established business. We survived the pandemic and the endless lockdowns and we continue to go from strength to strength. As I write this in June 2023, we are launching our latest collection which uses the soft pebbled leather in a range of beautiful earthy colours. We look forward to consolidating and growing our relationships with stockists who an important link to our wonderful Hoopla customers. 

are If you’d like to add a Hoopla bag to your wardrobe, head over to our shop or find a stockists in your area to try before you buy. 

Vicki xxx