It was a glimpse of a woman in a white linen dress crossing a cobblestone street in New York that started it all. On her shoulder swung a perfect, woven basket bag and it stopped Bembien founder Yi-Mei Truxes in her tracks. There was something about her that was so effortless—she looked as though she had stepped out of 1970s coastal France. It was then that Yi-Mei—then a marketer at Vogue—was inspired to create a line of bags evoking that same nostalgia and perennial style. She eventually found a small village of artisan weavers in Bali and thus, Bembien was born. At the forefront of the Bembien brand is the support of these precious weaving communities. 10% of all Bembien proceeds go back into the local communities in partnership with the nonprofit Nest.
