eenamaria: Sarah Morgan
Design company eenamaria caters to the stylishly spare notion that no matter how nomadic you are, there’s no excuse for not looking good. As a child who divided her time between boarding schools in Wales and summers in Canada before settling in Brooklyn, Sarah Morgan is living proof.
“We’re not a cutting-edge fashion house,” says Morgan. “We have our own aesthetic. We’re not chasing what Paris Hilton is wearing.” Instead, women like Margaret Cho and Lori Michaels are chasing what Morgan is making—lines of uniquely crafted home and fashion accessories named in homage to the equally singular neighborhoods of Brooklyn. They’ve taken notice of Morgan’s signature Sterling Belt Bags. These low-slung leather belts with pockets that recall century old Welsh military uniforms are the perfect accessory for fast moving urbanites. Morgan says her customers are “modern nomads” who require beautiful but lightweight fashion accessories in their maneuverings of constant travel and international identity.
Morgan began her professional career in television and music, working on her father’s Canadian television show and for David Byrne. But she remembered what inspired her when she was young; at 14 she won her first design award for a wall relief constructed out of a conch shell, resin, tissue paper and copper wire.
“The main thing I realized working in the arts,” Morgan says, “was that I enjoyed it as a hobby, but not as an industry. When you have a craft, you have to love it. Otherwise it’s pretty vacuous.”
Morgan went on to win a coveted spot in the Pratt Institute Industrial Design Business Incubator. With the support of Pratt staff and students, Morgan established eenamaria with her Brooklyn apartment as a design workshop. In Manhattan and Brooklyn, eenamaria is sold in 9 places and boutiques in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, Japan and Colombia are right behind. As community conscious, as she is business-minded, Morgan donates 10% of her profits to the Surfrider foundation and working with local kids to teach them about design.
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