Freja New York: A Case Study

Breaking down what goes on behind the scenes

Apr 07, 2025

This marks the start of a series highlighting my brands - spotlighting their story, our work for them and how they’re innovating in the industry. Freja New York felt like the perfect place to start. I began working with Freja and Jenny in February 2024 after I sent Jenny a cold email. I had been watching the brand for months and always had them in the back of my mind when I was thinking of who I’d like to work with in 2024. I knew their price point and product would work really well in my network and with my expertise.

Since kicking off, both VAN ETTEN and Freja have grown together in similar ways. We work together on far more than just editorial and VIP - we’ve come to work closely on creative, product development, events, brand positioning and strategy - and we work hand in hand with the Freja marketing team on nearly everything. Freja feels like my baby in many ways (hopefully Jenny will allow me to share custody). It’s been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career so far.

Since VAN ETTEN is easily categorized as a PR agency, Freja is a particularly interesting case study because our work together is so much more than just PR. A big part of our success has been Jenny’s openness and her willingness to test out ideas, trial and error, and just say yes (and also invest) when I get a hunch. Below I’m breaking down some highlights of our work together and a little BTS.

A great place to start is taking a look at the Freja IG feed in Feb 2024 when we got started vs. now, April 2025

February 2024 -

April 2025 (not to mention the fact that they’ve over doubled their IG following from 55k then to 122k today) -

Something I tell every client is aesthetics are KEY. Instagram is the first place editors, tastemakers, VIPs, stylists, etc. all go when trying to get a sense of who you are. And first impressions are everything. This certainly wasn’t my first priority since they had a decent handle on socials, but nonetheless is a great indication of how far they’ve come (I, of course, do not take all the credit here).

After kicking off, we immediately had an overwhelmingly positive response. Not surprising as the product speaks for itself. The response I received was mainly surrounding the shoulder bags - at the time they had two - the Caroline and Chrystie. Early 2024 when we got started, Freja was best known for being the go-to work bag brand, and the brand certainly still makes the best work bags. Today, many now recognize Freja as a fashion accessories brand. That’s because we pretty much immediately took a hard turn into what we received positive feedback on - shoulder bags. Luckily for me, Jenny had the Mini Chrystie in sampling and ready for production. My first suggestion was to throw an event in celebration of the launch. We threw a chic cocktail at her New York City home to celebrate the Mini Chrystie in late April, and it was a hit. —

Following the event, the brand traction and excitement really just snowballed. I encouraged Jenny to continue sampling and launching into new smaller bags - The Mercer and Hudson both great results. And new colorways - Butter Yellow was in the works for nearly a year before launching last month. New materials and variations of core product are in development and coming soon - I cannot wait to share those details.

Another highlight of our time together has to be the fact that when we got started, Jenny was a one woman show (as was I). She had an efficient system running with nearly every aspect of her business outsourced. Today she has a team of 5, all of whom are dedicated to marketing and creative. Appointing a Creative Director for Freja was certainly a turning point for the brand, one that reflects across every touch point now.

To wrap things up, I’m including highlights of our work together below. What a rewarding relationship it has been so far. Very much only the beginning for the brand with some very exciting moments to come over the next years.

Hailey Bieber Wears The Caroline in Black, April 2024