Santa Ana-based Harveys Industries Inc. knows how to attract groupies.
Some customers follow the company’s every design and own up to 50 of its handbags, which have a basket-weave pattern made from the same kind of seatbelts used by Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC.
“They’re rated 6,000-pounds tensile strength so they can hold a lot of junk,” co-owner Dana Harvey said of the bags. “They’re guaranteed for life.”
That’s one of the reasons that Harveys continues to make gains, despite a sluggish economy that is challenging many retailers.
The company makes all of its bags in a 30,000-square-foot operation in Santa Ana, which consists of two buildings: a 12,000-square-foot factory and an 18,000-square-foot office.
Harvey said he’s eyeing a bigger space in the same area where he can consolidate into one building. He’s looking to expand to a 50,000-square-foot space by 2010, he said.
He also expects to add to his 68-person staff, which consists of 42 people who make the bags and other production workers.
The company wants to develop a program where students can intern in product development, graphic design and marketing.
Harveys is one of the few Orange County fashion companies that continue to make its products here.
Many companies have shrunk their local operations and shifted production overseas to counter rising operating costs.
Harveys made its own changes to keep things local.
“We’ve streamlined the pro-duction process and created machines that speed up the manufacturing process,” Harvey said.
The company is working to broaden the types of stores that sell its products.
Harveys’ line, which includes handbags, wal-lets, coin purses, backpacks, messenger bags, diaper bags, belts and more, are sold in more than 300 shops in the U.S., including Becker Surfboards in Huntin-gton Beach, World of Earth in Huntington Beach and Justin Porter-field in Tustin.
Plus, they’re sold in Nordstrom and Dillard’s department stores, and overseas in Japan, South Korea, Germany, Canada and Australia.
Harveys also is expanding its own stores. Last year, the company opened its first shop in Santa Ana at the City Place shopping center.
“We were able to recoup the development costs within three months,” Harvey said.
This fall, it plans to open two stores in Southern California, one on Melrose Avenue and one in Chino Hills. In the future, it wants shops in Las Vegas, Chicago, San Francisco and New York, Harvey said.
The company works hard to keep things original.
The handbags, which sell for $100 to $300, are big on style and feature bright colors and patterns, including leaves and checkerboard.
Harvey and his wife, Melanie, keep a close eye on designs.
The two started the company in 1997 from the one-car garage of their Santa Ana house.
Harvey was installing seatbelts into his 1950s Buick and asked his wife, a collector of vintage handbags, what to do with the leftovers.
She suggested he sew the seatbelts into a bag.
The bag was a hit, Harvey said.
“We made the first bags for our friends,” Harvey said. “They saw Melanie’s bags and wanted one. We did custom colors that often matched their cars.”
For the first six years, Harvey sewed all the bags.
When demand grew, they opened a factory.
The company always is on the hunt for new looks. This fall, Harvey’s launched a handbag using leather in the same weave pattern.
It also does collaborations, such as its recent one with Santa Ana-based Wahoo’s Inc. and Walt Disney Co.
The company also has a collection of bags using recycled seatbelts discarded by car companies, which are “popular,” said Anna Knox, sales associate at boutique Justin Porterfield.
“They’re doing really well,” said Knox of sales of Harvey’s bags. “They attract all age groups.”
The big draw: Customers like the quality and the customer service, such as Harvey’s lifetime warranty on any repairs and handbag cleanings, Knox said.
It particularly helps when people are watching their spending, she said.
“People are willing to pay more money when they know the (bags) have a warranty for life and that everything is made here,” Knox said.
