Roanne Jacobson was born in Sydney in 1973. In 1992 she moved from Australia to Auckland, New Zealand.

Jacobson graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Arts from Whitecliffe College of Art & Design in 1995, majoring in painting.

She continued her studies at the Betzalel School of Art and Design in Israel, before heading to New York to make her name as an artist. When fame failed to materialise in the tough New York art world, Jacobson ended up tending bar for a living, and found herself in the unfortunate position of being broke in the Big Apple. Unable to indulge in her passion for buying bags, she did what any fine arts graduate would do, and made one of her own out of ribbons, buttons and beads she’d found in back street shops in the Manhattan clothing districts.

Today Saben is New Zealand’s leading accessories brand with stockists throughout the country and a diffusion label available through The Warehouse.