You could call it a tale of bags to riches. Ms Harder, an Australian-born architect who had settled in London after getting married and having three children, was fascinated by the bags, which were made in India and unavailable in the West. She made contact with the manufacturer and persuaded him to go into business with her. In , she opened a stall at Camden market, selling casual business bags of her own design and ethnic handbags, all manufactured in India.
Her designs began to attract attention from retailers, including John Lewis, and she realised there was money to be made if she could attract a financial backer.
Now, aged 60, she is the creative force behind Radley handbags, which are found on sale at independent outlets and department stores. None of the items is cheap, but every one includes the signature Scottie dog logo. When she was first contacted by John Lewis, Ms Harder did not appreciate the significance of the call, as she now frankly admits, since she did not know that the chain sold bags. But it soon became clear that she was on to a potential money maker, if she could get financial backing.
In , she agreed to let her company, Hidesign, be taken over by Tula, makers of flap-over organiser bags. This allowed her to branch out into making colourful handbags that were intended to be fun as well as functional. For the first couple of years, the experiment seemed to flounder, and retailers tried to persuade her to tone down her designs, which she refused to do. Inspired by her love of dogs, she tried putting a brightly coloured cut-out of a terrier on some of her designs. The result was an immediate hit, and the sales team demanded a Scottie dog on every bag.
Using the trade name Radley, her designs were soon providing most of the Tula Group's turnover. In , Ms Harder led a management buyout and emerged as managing director. Radley has opened two stores in London, one in the King's Road and one in Covent Garden, with plans for another in Manchester.
