The museum
How it began
How it began...
The Museum of Bags and Purses started as a private bag collection of Hendrikje Ivo, who collected bags for more than 35 years. What started out as a personal fascination grew to this unique collection and museum.
In April 1996, the Museum of Bags and Purses opened in Amstelveen int he house of the Ivo family. When the office space was vacated, half of the house became available, which was made into a museum. Heinz Ivo, Hendrikje’s husband, took over the technical management of the museum. The museum was one of the first museums in the Netherlands to make use of glass-fibre lighting.
After 10 years, the location in Amstelveen became too small for the continually expanding collection and the increasing flow of visitors. Thanks to the help of a benefactor, the move of the museum to its present location in Amsterdam centre in 2007 was possible.
