The Origin Story
Johnston's hands have always known fabric — her grandmother, who is around 100 and still sews, taught her as a girl. But the turn toward leather came during a sophomore-year field trip to a Lafayette alligator tannery. She bought a piece of sample leather, and a quiet certainty set in.
"One day, I will create leather handbags."— Joi Johnston (Country Roads)
After years sewing gowns — including a stretch with bridal and Mardi Gras-queen designer Suzanne St. Paul — her husband Aaron encouraged her, on a drive to Baton Rouge, to commit fully to handbags. She launched JOI's first line in 2019.
Something Interesting
Johnston can't design at a screen. Working in alligator, lizard, snake and fish leathers, she's drawn first to the feel and the color of the material, building each bag by hand at home in what she cheerfully calls a kind of controlled chaos.
"My design process is a deeply tactile experience that often entails a certain level of controlled chaos."— Joi Johnston (Country Roads)
"I need to get my hands on the material. To feel the leather, to explore."— Joi Johnston (Louisiana Life)
Her Standard
In a crowded handbag market, Johnston is deliberate about her "why" — she's not chasing trends, she's making things meant to outlast them. The question she asks of every design says it best:
"Will this still be a great piece a decade from now?"— Joi Johnston (Country Roads)
Sources: Country Roads, "Joi Johnston Handbags"; Louisiana Life, "Joi to the Girl"; joijohnston.com. See the craft behind it in scale-pattern selection.
Contact & Connect
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