Ree Projects is an Amsterdam-based, Black female-owned business that produces beautiful bags made in Italy. I first found them on Instagram and fell in love with the unusual shape of this Helene Mini tote bag. After doing a little more research and reading their sustainability manifesto I knew Ree Projects is the kind of intentional brand I wanted to support. So I contacted Desiree directly when I saw that the color I wanted (this caramel one) was out of stock. Lucky for me they had one left in the warehouse at the time and I purchased it directly from her. This was early July of last year (I know this review is looong overdue). Now I see that her bags are more readily available (and a little less than what I paid for due to the Euro-USD conversion at the time of my purchse). Purseblog even did a full interview with her here in October. Guess I know a noteworthy bag and brand when I see one!

And I really do mean a noteworthy bag. I love the sleek shape with short handle that has a bit of an origami vibe since the contrasting inner vegan leather lining comes up past the body of the bag. The calf leather on this bag is just beautiful. It’s super smooth and lovely to the touch, but surprisingly doesn’t scratch easily (no scratches yet anyway). I like the choice of the vegan leather on the interior since it means the inside feels like leather but it’s more scratch and stain resistant. I love that the bag has a bit of a gusset so even though it’s slim, it can hold quite a bit (see the what this bag fits below). The bag can even fit a water bottle. But I wouldn’t recommend overloading it because then the thin straps might make the bag a tad uncomfortable to carry when super heavy. But if you’re just going with the basics, this bag has more than enough room (plus it can fit a mini iPad). Also I should note there’s a leather square reinforcement on the bottom of the bag so if you do carry some heavy things, the bag doesn’t sag or lose its shape (again great design!).

Because of the minimal hardware, this bag is quite light on its own. There’s one flat pocket on the inside that can fit a regular iphone, and the thin leather crossbody strap is fully adjustable since it’s sort of like a belt. The bag closes securely with some strong magnets attached to straps (so it can still close with a very full bag). Overall this is a really well-designed bag. And this lovely caramel color goes with everything.

I do remember walking around Amsterdam a couple years ago and there were several small bag shops that didn’t have designer names but had very well-designed bags made from some beautiful materials. So it makes sense that Ree Projects would come from a place like Amsterdam. But luckily, these bags are now quite more readily available stateside. I found a light nude mini Helene at Neiman Marcus here. And I found this caramel one (the same as mine) at Farfetch here. So if you’re in the market for a well-designed bag that doesn’t look like anything else out there right now, this Helene bag from Ree Projects might be just the ticket!

{February 2022 Update: You can now find Ree Projects at Shopbop, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue (and I’ve seen quite a few of them on sale at Saks too). McMullen (a BIPOC owned boutique in Oakland) also carries some unique styles not found at the department stores. I’m so happy to see Ree Projects growing and increasing their presence in the handbag market! Also I wanted to disclose that I ended up consigning this bag with the RealReal because 1) I found it too deep and it was hard to find things when I was in a hurry, 2) I rarely used it because the thin crossbody strap combined with the long shape made it slightly awkward to carry, and 3) I ended up buy the mini Ann Tote from Saks as an early bday present for myself (so one bag in and one bag out). Review of the mini Ann to come soon! You can probably find my mini Helene here on the RealReal.}

Please note I was not paid for this post nor did I receive this bag as a gift. But this post does contain affiliate links that could result in my earning a small commission (at no cost to you) if you click and make a purchase. Thank you so much for supporting this blog!