Our history is deeply connected to movement, adaptation and continuity. The craft began in the 1960s with Emine, who started working with a single sewing machine in a small room. When our family moved from Bulgaria to Türkiye in 1989, the physical surroundings changed, but the knowledge and discipline of making by hand travelled with us.

That experience shaped the way we work today. We do not see craft as something fixed in the past; we see it as something that must adapt without losing its character. For Atelier Emine, resilience means continuing to make by hand, continuing to experiment, and finding new forms for knowledge that has been passed down through generations.

2. Contemporary design in Istanbul is undergoing a major global renaissance. Where does Atelier Emine fit within the landscape of modern Turkish couture and luxury handcraft?

We see Atelier Emine as part of a new generation of Turkish design that is rooted in craftsmanship while looking firmly toward the future.

Türkiye has a remarkably rich culture of making, but our intention is not to reproduce traditional objects. We take the discipline, patience and knowledge of handcraft and translate them into contemporary sculptural handbags.

Our approach sits somewhere between accessory design, textile craft and small-scale couture. The materials and techniques may be unconventional, but the philosophy is very traditional: take the time to make something properly, give it character, and create an object that can remain meaningful beyond a single season.

3. Adapting monofilament fishing line and maritime knotting techniques to structural handbags is a radical shift from traditional leatherworking. What were the biggest technical or structural challenges during the R&D process?

The biggest challenge was understanding how a material designed for an entirely different purpose could become a controlled architectural structure.

Leather naturally provides a surface, flexibility and a certain degree of structural stability. Monofilament does none of those things by itself. We had to develop our own approach to tension, spacing, knot placement and repetition so that individual elements could collectively create a stable three-dimensional form.

The process was very much about trial and refinement. A small difference in tension can change the character of an entire surface. We had to learn to treat the line almost like an invisible architectural framework rather than simply a thread.

We begin with the character of the material rather than simply its appearance.

Every material has a different relationship with light, weight, movement and structure. Crystal can create a strong architectural presence through reflection, while mother-of-pearl brings a softer, more organic luminosity. Wood introduces warmth and tactility, and velvet changes the perception of both volume and softness.

The question is always how a material behaves once it becomes part of the structure. We look for a balance where the material feels visually expressive, but the overall object remains intentional and wearable.

For us, material selection is therefore part of the design process itself, not something that happens after a silhouette has already been decided.

5. Fishing line is chosen for its tensile strength and resistance to wear. How do these functional properties alter the lifespan of a couture handbag compared to traditional textiles or leathers?

One of the reasons we were drawn to monofilament is precisely because its functional properties support our structural approach. Its tensile strength allows us to create tension-based constructions without relying on a conventional leather shell.

But longevity is not simply a question of whether a material is stronger than another. It also depends on construction, handling, the relationship between individual components and how the finished piece is cared for.

Our intention is to create handbags whose construction is considered from the beginning for repeated use, rather than treating the unusual material only as a decorative surface. The result is a different kind of durability — one based on engineered handcraft rather than traditional leather construction.

6. With each piece requiring 3 to 5 business days of dedicated handcrafting, how do you manage scaling the business while strictly protecting your made-to-order, anti-mass-production ethos?

We do not approach growth by trying to make more pieces in less time.

Our model is deliberately based on limited production and made-to-order craftsmanship. This means that production capacity grows through organisation, skilled hands and careful planning rather than through mass manufacturing.

There is a certain discipline in accepting that handmade work has a natural pace. We believe

that pace is part of the value of the object.

As Atelier Emine grows internationally, our challenge is not to eliminate that time but to protect it. We want the scale of the brand to increase without allowing the production process to lose its human character.

There is a growing appreciation for craftsmanship, unusual materials and objects with a clear point of view. Our handbags are intentionally different from conventional leather accessories, and that difference often becomes the starting point for the conversation.

International expansion is still an evolving journey for us, but the response has reinforced something we already believed: a couture object does not necessarily need to follow traditional material conventions to communicate craftsmanship and value.

Our English platform and international pricing are part of making that story accessible to a wider audience while keeping the production itself rooted in Türkiye.

8. You share your name with your great-great-grandmother, who started it all with a single sewing machine in 1960. What does it feel like to lead the brand that carries both her name and her legacy into 2026?

It feels both deeply personal and like a responsibility.

A name can be inherited very easily; a craft cannot. Carrying the name means carrying a standard of patience, discipline and care that existed long before Atelier Emine became a brand.

What matters to me is not simply preserving what was done before us. It is finding a way to make that legacy relevant to the present. The original sewing machine represented the beginning of one kind of making. Today, we are working with completely different materials and techniques, but the underlying principle is the same: making something with our hands and giving it enough time to become meaningful.

Leading Atelier Emine in 2026 means continuing that story rather than simply repeating it.

9. Growing up around a family workshop, what is the earliest memory you have of watching craftspeople work, and when did you realise you wanted to reinvent that craft?

My earliest memories are less about a specific finished object and more about the atmosphere of making — materials around me, hands working continuously, repeated movements and the patience required to complete something properly.

That became the starting point for Atelier Emine as it exists today.

Emine Tüncer

10. You’ve mentioned that watching fishermen along the Bosphorus inspired the use of monofilament line. Can you take us back to that exact moment? What made you see a fishing line and think “couture handbag”?

It was the material’s contradiction that caught my attention.

Fishing line is almost invisible, yet it is remarkably strong. It is associated with water, knots, tension and function — none of which immediately suggests fashion.

But I became interested in what would happen if that invisible structural quality became visible through craftsmanship. Instead of hiding the line, we could use it to connect individual elements and allow the construction itself to become part of the design.

The thought was not literally, “this should become a handbag.” It was more a question: what happens if we take a material completely outside conventional handbag-making and give it the same attention normally reserved for couture?

That question eventually became a collection of techniques, and then a design language.

11. Hand-knotting hundreds of individual crystals or pearl discs onto a continuous line requires immense focus. What is the state of mind in the workshop during production, is it methodical, meditative, or strict precision engineering?

It is a combination of all three.

There is a very methodical aspect because every knot and every connection affects the next one. Precision is essential; a small inconsistency can become visible across an entire surface.

At the same time, there is something meditative about repeating the same movement hundreds of times. Once the technique becomes familiar, the hands develop their own rhythm.

But we never let that rhythm become automatic. Each piece is still observed throughout the process. Handmade does not mean uncontrolled. For us, it means that precision comes from

the human hand rather than from mass-production machinery.

12. Your designs pair rigid, cold elements like optical crystal or polished wood with soft textures like velvet. How do you approach tactile contrast when conceptualising a new piece?

We think about a handbag as an object that should be experienced through more than one sense.

When developing a new piece, we ask how hard and soft, reflective and matte, structured and fluid can coexist without becoming visually excessive. That balance is often where the personality of a piece emerges.

13. The brand tagline emphasises design with character over fleeting trends. In your eyes, what makes an object truly “collectible” in today’s fast-paced fashion environment?

A collectible object needs a reason to exist beyond the moment in which it is introduced.

For me, that comes from a combination of originality, craftsmanship, material knowledge and emotional character. It should have something that cannot be completely separated from the hands and ideas that created it.

Trends can tell us what is relevant today. Character allows an object to remain relevant tomorrow.

That is why we are less interested in producing seasonal variations simply for the sake of novelty. We want each Atelier Emine piece to have enough individuality that someone can remember where it came from, how it was made and why they chose it.

14. If you had to select just one piece from your current collections that captures your personal design ethos best, which would it be and why?

I would choose Fresco from the Crystal Gelato Couture collection.

Fresco captures what Atelier Emine is trying to achieve particularly well because it is deliberately reduced to its essential elements. It has a clean, sculptural silhouette and a completely handle-free construction, allowing the crystal work and the geometry of the piece to become the focus.

More importantly, it represents the principle behind our work: taking a material and a technique that traditionally belong somewhere else and giving them a new context through handcraft.

It does not try to imitate a traditional leather handbag. It is comfortable with being something different. That, to me, is very close to the spirit of Atelier Emine,  respecting the discipline of craft while continuously asking what that craft can become next.