The Product
Simple, quiet elegance. This was the message my great grandmother, Ida Jolles, communicated when she founded Jolles Original in 1923 Vienna. Her handbags reflected her life. She embodied beauty, ground-breaking brilliance, and strength; her products communicated refinement and sophistication.
Today, inspired by her life and message, we are relaunching my great grandmother’s company.
The Heritage
Jolles was a luxury brand in the mid twentieth century. Her purses sold in high end stores, and are collectors’ items today. But Ida Jolles, the woman, is much more interesting than Jolles the brand.
In an era when women did not lead businesses, she built a company
that employed over 20,000 workers and controlled 90% of a global market. She lobbied the U.S. congress and won. Today outsourcing, startups, female entrepreneurs, technological innovation and global strategy are business buzzwords. In 1923, all this, and more, were integral to the success of the Jolles Original company. But no less impressive was her personal life. We struggle today with work/life balance. Yet almost a century ago, she was both a powerful
female CEO and a loving mother of two daughters.
The Woman
My great grandmother, Ida Jolles, was truly an original. As a young girl from a well to do family, she first broke thru the conventions of the time by demanding -- and getting -- advanced education, then only available to men. At 14, she literally created her own school. She went on to be one of the first women to attend her local university.
As an accomplished athlete and the intellectual equal of any man -- with an education to match -- she was a force to be reckoned with. What happened next was part serendipity, part recognizing an opportunity, and part a passionate desire to help those who needed it.
An Accidental Beginning
As a young housewife, Ida had been asked by a New York cousin to get him needlepoint upholstered dining room chairs. But needlepoint was a dying art. After some searching, Ida found the last remaining producer in Vienna, and ordered a set. The shop manager took the order, introduced her to the workers, and faded from view.
Taking time to befriend the stitchers, Ida frequently checked on their progress. When the order was complete, she returned for a final inspection prior to taking delivery.
The women had done fine work, and she complimented them and paid. But when she turned to leave, they asked what their next job would be. She was surprised to learn that the manager had told them she was the “new boss.” And so she was.
That was 1923.
In just a few years, Ida Jolles had created a needlepoint production system that extended throughout Austria, eventually employing over 20,000 craftswomen.
The War
By the late 1930s, Jolles Original products dominated many fashion and home furnishing categories. International distribution was key to the business’ strategy and success, and Ida Jolles was the driving force behind it all.
In the United States, the Jolles brand was carried by the most elegant department stores and boutiques, including Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, Marshall Fields, and more. In the petit point category, Jolles was closing in on a 90% share of the global marketplace.
In Europe, though, the dark clouds of war were gathering. In Austria, the news media had been subverted by the Nazi party influence. No one there believed that anything bad could, or would happen. In the United States on business, however, Ida heard otherwise. She had no illusions and pleaded with her husband to leave Austria.
The true story of what happened to Ida, her family and her business, is like a thriller written by Ian Fleming, or a black and white film noir movie, starring Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart.
After the War - Beginning Again
After the war ended, the United States implemented the Marshall Plan to rebuild European economies. Ida was the first U.S. civilian officially sent to help rehabilitate the Austrian economy.
She rebuilt her business and resumed her position at the top of the fashion accessories industry. She expanded production to Belgium, the U.S, and China, opening a factory and showroom in the famed Manhattan garment district and a factory in Shanghai, where she earned the nickname “Tiger Lady.”
Many accomplishments and medals followed, too numerous to list here. But throughout all, she remained passionately interested in her children and her grandchildren's education and upbringing.
[Pictured: Chaing Kai-Shek & Ida Jolles]
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