Biography:
Based in Beirut, Lebanon, Madame Céfanie is the brainchild of Lebanese designer and multidisciplinary artist Stephanie Sotiry. It all started when Sotiry found herself unable to find the perfect bag for her needs. She decided one day to create her own designs. Having studied performing arts at USJ, she didn’t have a lot of experience in fashion but her need to create pushed her to customize clean designs with great regard to quality and practicality. The brand is now locally sought after for offering an array of unique handbags, satchels, pouches, clutches and wallets, designed for men and women. Each piece is made with love, passion, and authenticity, and is hand crafted to perfection, using the best quality genuine leather. Madame Cefanie’s designs are dedicated to women and men for an everyday use; they are functional, stylish and age beautifully.

Statement:

“When the brand was created, the vision behind Madame Céfanie was to create an array of high-quality handmade leather goods that meet the everyday needs of men and women from different walks of life. It started as a solo project and back then, I wasn’t familiar with the fashion industry nor the business world and its challenges – but I felt like giving the project a shot. Needless to say, the road was not easy, being a woman in a male dominated industry – in the Middle East – and not having experience in the field. Little by little, with time and experience, I began to grow in confidence as a designer and expand my vision for the brand. I no longer felt I was working on my own but found myself part of a wider community of creative talented individuals with a shared passion. And it’s this community of craftsmen, manufacturers, artisans and others that gives me the drive to continue even during the most difficult times –knowing that each one of us depends on the other and that we thrive on our collective work in a country that doesn’t support independent talents”.