Around this time last year, one of my girlfriends went on a trip to Europe, returning home with a lovely Louis Vuitton handbag that she had bought from nowhere other than the Champs-Elysées. It was (and still is) a special bag to her for many reasons – it reminded her of a once-in-a-lifetime holiday, it was a timeless keepsake and it was also engraved with her name.

If you saw it on her arm, you wouldn’t notice but look a little bit closer and her initials can be seen engraved in gold in the soft leather – forever making the bag hers. It was the first time that I had come across personalised accessories and it must have really stuck with me because ever since, I have been seeing names on everything.

You can buy necklaces with your name on it, a bracelet engraved with the longitude and latitude of a special place and a pouch engraved with your initials. But why the craze? Why is it that we want to have our names engraved on our possessions?

To make some sense of it, I questioned Alyce Tran of The Daily Edited, a brand that produces personalised leather goods and stationery.

“We love well designed things and we love the idea of making something your own and not having to carry around another brand on your shoulder or in your hand,” she said.
“Adding your initials on accessories just seemed to make sense. It actually started with me wanting to have a range of things made up with my initials and it was impossible to find and do.”

The brand decided to do a small run and were shocked to find out that it sold out in just a few weeks.

“I think we have genuinely versatile designs that work as every day go-tos and have really nailed it by producing them in popular on trend colours,” Alyce said.
“Plus it doesn't hurt that our products come in at an affordable price point. We love that we can deliver a very premium product at a price that really isn't going to break the bank.”

And according to Alyce, the thing about personalised accessories is that they appeal to everyone – there really is no limit.

“Our products have such broad appeal, the age range of our customer range from the 16 year old girl up to the 60 year old man,” she said.
“In any event, because of our aesthetic and who we are, we do attract customers who are like ourselves, fashion conscious, discerning on quality and don't want to wait too long for something bespoke!”