Hirra Babar: An Unconventional Handbag Fairytale in Pakistan of WARP
Handbag Designer 101: The Stories Behind Handbag Designers, Brands, and Industry Icons
Are you ready to embark on an inspiring journey with us? Prepare to be captivated by the groundbreaking story of Pakistan's premier handbag brand, WARP. We sit down for an intimate chat with the creative mastermind behind the brand, Hirra Babar. She takes us through her decision to veer off the beaten track after business school and follow her passion in the fashion industry. Let's just say, growing up in a culture where women often design their own clothes definitely played its part in shaping Hirra's career.
The storytelling continues as we navigate the complexities of birthing a brand in an industry dominated by men. Hirra Babar delves into overcoming hurdles, getting factories on board with her designs, and the art of effective communication with manufacturers. Get the inside scoop on her ingenious use of life-size paper models in the design process. It’s a captivating insight into the grit, research, and decision-making that go into launching a successful brand.
The icing on the cake is a handbag design Masterclass by Emily Blumenthal. As the pioneer handbag brand from Pakistan, WARP has its unique set of challenges and advantages. Emily shares her wisdom on brand building and the power of an engaging brand narrative. Hear all about the decision to set up a production facility and the subsequent alliance with local artisan shops, leading to empowering more women in the workforce. It's a riveting conversation overflowing with valuable nuggets for aspiring handbag designers and entrepreneurs. Trust us, you don't want to miss this one!
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WEBVTT 00:00:00.861 --> 00:00:18.147 <v Emily Blumenthal>Hi and welcome to the Handbag Designer 101 podcast with your host, emily Blumenthal, handbag designer expert and handbag fairy godmother, where we cover everything about handbags, from making, marketing, designing and talking to handbag designers and industry experts about what it takes to make a successful handbag. 00:00:18.147 --> 00:00:27.570 <v Emily Blumenthal>Hello, haribaba Bar from Warb. 00:00:27.570 --> 00:00:31.271 <v Emily Blumenthal>Thank you so much for being part of the Handbag Designer 101 podcast. 00:00:31.271 --> 00:00:33.963 <v Emily Blumenthal>So excited to have you today, hi, emily. 00:00:34.103 --> 00:00:35.448 <v Hirra Babar>Thank you so much for having me. 00:00:35.448 --> 00:00:37.420 <v Hirra Babar>I'm also very excited to have this chat with you. 00:00:37.420 --> 00:00:40.268 <v Hirra Babar>Like you know, we were having this conversation before this. 00:00:40.621 --> 00:00:41.765 <v Emily Blumenthal>I've been looking forward to this. 00:00:41.765 --> 00:00:46.847 <v Emily Blumenthal>I know how many years do you think we've been connected, because what year did you start your handbag brand? 00:00:46.847 --> 00:00:47.783 <v Emily Blumenthal>2014? 00:00:48.159 --> 00:00:54.469 <v Hirra Babar>It was like I started my entrepreneurial journey with, like you know, everything around bags around 2015. 00:00:54.469 --> 00:00:58.490 <v Hirra Babar>But Warb, she came into being in like 2016, 17. 00:00:58.659 --> 00:01:10.784 <v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah, yeah, because I was looking back and I found an email from you from 2014, because I have over half a million emails in my inbox and I don't delete them, which is a problem for some people. 00:01:10.784 --> 00:01:13.587 <v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah, you could call me an email hoarder. 00:01:13.587 --> 00:01:14.765 <v Emily Blumenthal>I just don't have the bandwidth. 00:01:14.765 --> 00:01:20.403 <v Emily Blumenthal>I got to hire an intern to go through my emails and like, delete them or something Maybe one of my kids but like, you never. 00:01:20.765 --> 00:01:21.929 <v Hirra Babar>You never know what you find. 00:01:21.929 --> 00:01:23.766 <v Hirra Babar>Like you said that she adopted me. 00:01:23.766 --> 00:01:25.587 <v Hirra Babar>Oh well, in 2014. 00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:30.486 <v Emily Blumenthal>And here we are, what like seven years eight years, I believe, you've been in some station. 00:01:30.486 --> 00:01:32.245 <v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah, I'm not doing that at all. 00:01:32.245 --> 00:01:39.328 <v Emily Blumenthal>Oh my gosh, so you're in Pakistan right now, yeah, well, yeah, now have you been in Pakistan in a better time. 00:01:39.328 --> 00:01:40.162 <v Emily Blumenthal>You've been doing this. 00:01:41.227 --> 00:01:42.341 <v Hirra Babar>Yes, so, yeah. 00:01:42.341 --> 00:01:43.305 <v Hirra Babar>So I've been here. 00:01:43.305 --> 00:01:48.387 <v Hirra Babar>This is where I started my brand from, but of course, like you know, I do travel for work. 00:01:48.387 --> 00:01:57.927 <v Hirra Babar>That this is, you know, just to see what's happening around in the world, and the idea was to make a homegrown label that is, everything made in Pakistan that has a worldwide audience. 00:01:57.927 --> 00:02:04.405 <v Hirra Babar>So for that also, like I do travel to Europe and the US, you know, just putting my brand out there. 00:02:05.400 --> 00:02:10.812 <v Emily Blumenthal>So, going back to 2014, you know you came up with this idea. 00:02:10.812 --> 00:02:13.145 <v Emily Blumenthal>The bag in the brand is called Warp. 00:02:13.145 --> 00:02:17.348 <v Emily Blumenthal>What was the origin story and what made you decide? 00:02:17.348 --> 00:02:22.325 <v Emily Blumenthal>Hey, I want to join that minority group of people who are making handbags. 00:02:25.460 --> 00:02:28.949 <v Hirra Babar>Yeah, that's actually interesting because I still get that question in a lot. 00:02:28.949 --> 00:02:31.227 <v Hirra Babar>So this was back in 2014. 00:02:31.227 --> 00:02:49.510 <v Hirra Babar>I was still finishing up with my business school, that was doing MBA, and while everybody was, like you know, looking for corporate jobs, I decided by then that that's not my cup of tea and I really wanted to do something of my own, but in, like you know, in the fashion and design and technology and manufacturing space. 00:02:49.510 --> 00:02:52.429 <v Hirra Babar>But I just couldn't figure out what it was and what it should be. 00:02:53.121 --> 00:02:55.368 <v Emily Blumenthal>I don't have any experience in that at all. 00:02:55.368 --> 00:03:02.007 <v Emily Blumenthal>Or it was like hey, let me you know, while I'm becoming an expert in business, let me just become a handbag designer. 00:03:02.007 --> 00:03:05.759 <v Emily Blumenthal>Because that's what I did and it made no sense and there was no rhyme or reason. 00:03:05.759 --> 00:03:07.407 <v Emily Blumenthal>It was like I got an idea for a handbag. 00:03:07.407 --> 00:03:13.967 <v Emily Blumenthal>I'm like, hey, while I'm learning statistics at a master's level, I should become a handbag designer. 00:03:13.967 --> 00:03:15.084 <v Emily Blumenthal>That makes sense. 00:03:16.280 --> 00:03:17.687 <v Hirra Babar>Yeah, I mean, that was it. 00:03:17.687 --> 00:03:19.944 <v Hirra Babar>I was actually. 00:03:19.944 --> 00:03:26.270 <v Hirra Babar>That was the time where everything was tech related and there were all these inspiring stories coming up. 00:03:26.270 --> 00:03:40.949 <v Hirra Babar>Everybody was really good at Steve Jobs and you know how he started his journey and, like you know that relentless ambition and motivation that if you want do something, you can achieve it If you have, you know, that kind of ambition in you. 00:03:40.949 --> 00:03:42.888 <v Hirra Babar>So that was the motivation behind. 00:03:42.960 --> 00:03:51.745 <v Hirra Babar>And since I really wanted to work in the fashion of the design space, so I was like I don't want to make clothes because that's something that everybody else is doing. 00:03:51.745 --> 00:04:11.527 <v Hirra Babar>So the next best thing that we could do probably, you know, based on what I find in the region that I exist in is probably like, okay, let's make handbags, because leather was, like, you know, one of the reasons that walk by, I got it, which I would have in a bunch of, like it's one of the largest workers in the world. 00:04:11.527 --> 00:04:13.421 <v Hirra Babar>I was like, kate, nobody. 00:04:13.421 --> 00:04:14.586 <v Hirra Babar>Why is it that? 00:04:14.586 --> 00:04:21.007 <v Hirra Babar>You know there's so much off the straw material being produced here but nobody has ever gotten it in Baloo Dutrannanthes. 00:04:21.396 --> 00:04:23.201 <v Emily Blumenthal>So you had this idea. 00:04:23.201 --> 00:04:24.807 <v Emily Blumenthal>You were inspired in business school. 00:04:24.807 --> 00:04:26.774 <v Emily Blumenthal>Do you have prior to getting your MBA? 00:04:26.774 --> 00:04:30.045 <v Emily Blumenthal>Had you had any experience in fashion family? 00:04:30.045 --> 00:04:44.151 <v Emily Blumenthal>Anything manufacturing nothing, or this was like, hey ho, I'm in a country that knows manufacturing that has that potential, but I've never heard of a brand a handbag brand actually being manufactured in Pakistan. 00:04:44.151 --> 00:04:45.858 <v Emily Blumenthal>So I might as well be the first. 00:04:46.442 --> 00:04:55.196 <v Hirra Babar>Yeah, so that was the idea, but I believe that it was also because, though, in Pakistan, we're still like look, you know, women especially they still get their clothes stitched themselves. 00:04:55.196 --> 00:04:58.004 <v Hirra Babar>So, like you know, everybody has an access to the tanner. 00:04:58.004 --> 00:05:01.177 <v Hirra Babar>So we've seen that thing happening ever since. 00:05:01.177 --> 00:05:08.487 <v Hirra Babar>You know, since childhood, that we used to source our own fabric and just walk to the tailor and ask them to stitch, you know, whatever we want. 00:05:08.487 --> 00:05:11.862 <v Hirra Babar>So, in a way, like everybody is a designer in their own household. 00:05:12.124 --> 00:05:16.238 <v Hirra Babar>So it's like you know how, if you know, if goats are made like that, how difficult would it have to be? 00:05:16.238 --> 00:05:18.906 <v Hirra Babar>So right, but little I knew. 00:05:18.906 --> 00:05:29.144 <v Hirra Babar>But a little I knew, because you know it's a big difference, sides all together, how the construction is done, how the material behaves, like you know what components go into it. 00:05:29.144 --> 00:05:41.973 <v Hirra Babar>So it was like a whole, I would say like learning process and the journey that I just went on, and I believe that it was kind of kind of what worked in my favor because I did not have any preconceived notions. 00:05:41.973 --> 00:05:46.105 <v Hirra Babar>So it was like you know, whatever you could think of, you were like okay, you know, we'll make it work. 00:05:46.654 --> 00:06:01.004 <v Emily Blumenthal>You know, the crazy thing about not knowing anything about anything while you're diving in is that the ignorance and naivete works in your best interest and works in your favor, because it's like, hey, no one else is doing it, I should be the first. 00:06:01.004 --> 00:06:14.047 <v Emily Blumenthal>And then, little by little, you realize wow, the fact that nobody is doing it is equivalent to significant barriers to entry, because the country is not set up to do what you want to do. 00:06:14.047 --> 00:06:35.439 <v Emily Blumenthal>Right, like you said that there were tailors wherever you went, but meanwhile nobody was making handbags, which is interesting Because handbags are size agnostic and a parable is all about sizing, which, to me, is always the dumbest thing you can get into, because you know more wastage, more time passing and therefore the products go bad. 00:06:35.439 --> 00:06:45.896 <v Emily Blumenthal>It's out of season, out of trend, where a handbag you run into the, you have less blocks because a bag can be seasonal or perceived seasonal, especially coming from a smaller brand. 00:06:46.918 --> 00:07:00.642 <v Hirra Babar>Yes, so about the fact how going into handbags while a parable was so popular, so yeah, I was thinking, like you know, 10, 12 years ago, ready to wear in Pakistan was still like very neil nescent concept. 00:07:00.642 --> 00:07:04.778 <v Hirra Babar>Everybody was like getting clothes stitched according to their sizes and everything. 00:07:04.778 --> 00:07:08.168 <v Hirra Babar>So, which is probably why, like you know, that industry was much developed. 00:07:08.168 --> 00:07:18.091 <v Hirra Babar>But with handbags the thing was like we do have skilled labor but it's not in that much abundance as we see in the textile sector, as we see in the clothing sector. 00:07:18.091 --> 00:07:21.103 <v Hirra Babar>So probably, yeah, that was, you know, one of the barriers to entry. 00:07:21.103 --> 00:07:22.670 <v Hirra Babar>Then access to raw material. 00:07:22.670 --> 00:07:25.699 <v Hirra Babar>Like you can't source leather in smaller quantities. 00:07:25.699 --> 00:07:31.718 <v Hirra Babar>Even if you do, then you know getting the metallic hardware source locally is very difficult. 00:07:31.718 --> 00:07:32.901 <v Hirra Babar>You have to import that. 00:07:32.901 --> 00:07:35.367 <v Hirra Babar>So, like, there's a lot that goes into it. 00:07:35.367 --> 00:07:40.572 <v Hirra Babar>But I believe, like you know, again, naivety or ambition or motivation to do it. 00:07:40.572 --> 00:07:43.600 <v Hirra Babar>I just, like you know, still one study on my own face. 00:07:43.600 --> 00:07:45.786 <v Hirra Babar>I just like kept on building on it. 00:07:46.995 --> 00:08:06.278 <v Emily Blumenthal>So when you started with this mission of keeping everything domestic to you, that is, were you realizing I mean, especially not knowing anything about anything about starting a brand, let alone a handbag brand did you have notions that, okay, it's going to be leather or it's going to be textiles? 00:08:06.278 --> 00:08:31.605 <v Emily Blumenthal>As a result of what I have access to Because, logically, that would have made more sets right To go into it with more fabric based, textile based notions as a result of what you have access to, where you were like let me just make my life so difficult where I'm going to have leather, I want to have metallics, I want to have special hardware where you'd eventually have to outsource probably a good chunk of it at least to start. 00:08:32.067 --> 00:08:32.349 <v Hirra Babar>Yeah. 00:08:32.349 --> 00:08:47.198 <v Hirra Babar>So, like I said, like probably call it naivety, but then again, like, for me the handbag was always leather, and I do because I was coming from more of a consumer point of view, because I had been a consumer, I had been a customer. 00:08:47.198 --> 00:08:49.745 <v Hirra Babar>So I was, like you know, it has to be leather. 00:08:49.745 --> 00:08:51.918 <v Hirra Babar>Or why do I go for buying handbags? 00:08:51.918 --> 00:08:53.743 <v Hirra Babar>There has to be something unique about it. 00:08:53.743 --> 00:09:04.481 <v Hirra Babar>Like, if you're a new brand starting it, if you don't have that build legacy or that brand value created for yourself, yet, then why would somebody want to buy your brand? 00:09:04.481 --> 00:09:09.142 <v Hirra Babar>So maybe, like you know, on that front, we have to think of how unique we can be. 00:09:09.142 --> 00:09:11.349 <v Hirra Babar>Like who do we resonate with? 00:09:11.349 --> 00:09:13.636 <v Hirra Babar>Maybe it has to be something very different. 00:09:13.636 --> 00:09:21.181 <v Hirra Babar>You know something that more, like you know, the girls who, like experiment with their own style, would want to go ahead with. 00:09:21.380 --> 00:09:25.597 <v Hirra Babar>That was all the thought process that went into taking all the decisions. 00:09:25.597 --> 00:09:35.330 <v Hirra Babar>But, yeah, and that was also the point, like you know, we have this amazing raw material available to us and why don't we do value addition into it? 00:09:35.330 --> 00:09:51.495 <v Hirra Babar>And that was also probably because, you know, the people who have been managing all this raw material maybe have been always looking at it from a very manufacturer's point of view perspective and not from a brand's perspective, like you know, that something can be made out of it and or how we can use it. 00:09:51.495 --> 00:09:54.408 <v Hirra Babar>There had just been suppliers for the rest of the world. 00:09:54.408 --> 00:09:56.580 <v Hirra Babar>You know, it was, like you know, a lot of things going on. 00:09:56.580 --> 00:10:02.345 <v Hirra Babar>Like I said, like I was studying business, I was studying marketing, so I was also taking things from the brand point of view. 00:10:02.907 --> 00:10:12.618 <v Emily Blumenthal>Right, we have another designer that I had spoken to who was from Mexico and you know the stories of people who come from countries that actually have production. 00:10:12.618 --> 00:10:23.875 <v Emily Blumenthal>There's a lot of similarities where she actually went to a factory and had to explain to them that let's do handbags, let's not do shoes, let's not do what you're already doing. 00:10:23.875 --> 00:10:45.687 <v Emily Blumenthal>And I'm assuming you being a woman and moving to these factories where it was predominantly men and you know nothing about it, you've nothing to show for it, and you're going into this very male, dominated, family run brand business livelihood so for you to go up against and being like hey guys, hera, here I've got this great idea. 00:10:45.687 --> 00:10:48.754 <v Emily Blumenthal>I'm in business school, let's do handbags. 00:10:48.754 --> 00:10:53.616 <v Emily Blumenthal>I'm sure there was some pushback where they were going to charge you extra just even for the sampling alone. 00:10:54.139 --> 00:10:54.539 <v Hirra Babar>They do. 00:10:54.539 --> 00:10:58.679 <v Hirra Babar>Yes, they did Like initially, like I had so many rejections from some bigger setups. 00:10:58.679 --> 00:10:59.241 <v Hirra Babar>They did not. 00:10:59.241 --> 00:11:00.769 <v Hirra Babar>What they do is they do one. 00:11:00.769 --> 00:11:03.721 <v Hirra Babar>It set up a duration of sampling for you and then the next one. 00:11:03.721 --> 00:11:14.176 <v Hirra Babar>They're like oh okay, you know, give us an order for 1000 pieces person, then we will make for you and they were like well, I really can't, so let's see what we can do. 00:11:15.179 --> 00:11:33.283 <v Hirra Babar>So that's when I moved from like bigger setups to these very, you know, craft based right family owned little workshops where you know these people had the craft, they had the skills to make something but, you know, it wasn't refined because they have not been exposed to that kind of sophisticated design or quality. 00:11:33.585 --> 00:12:12.097 <v Emily Blumenthal>So it was more like a learning process where we were working as collaborators and where I was bringing in my exposure and my knowledge of, you know, how the brand works, how the design works, and they were bringing in their knowledge and expertise of how you know the craft works with leather were you having to bring in bags of other brands you know, like with the sample request and a lot of people new designers actually think that they shouldn't be doing it this way, but you really should where you take screenshots of other established bags and brands and like I want to handle like this, I want a top stitch like that, I want a zipper puller like this, because you were dealing with people who had never, ever dealt with this before. 00:12:12.097 --> 00:12:21.426 <v Emily Blumenthal>Were you having to bring in physical bags and saying I want the handle like this, I want the interior like that, I want leather scraps like this. 00:12:21.426 --> 00:12:23.798 <v Emily Blumenthal>Like bringing in a bag, yeah, it was like so. 00:12:24.298 --> 00:12:35.558 <v Hirra Babar>I concluded that you know they were not able to perceive the concepts Like if you have a certain concept in your mind and you make a sketch out of it and you are trying to communicate that. 00:12:35.558 --> 00:12:39.895 <v Hirra Babar>So they were at first like there was a communication barrier in understanding that. 00:12:39.895 --> 00:12:55.806 <v Hirra Babar>So what we came up with was that we made life-size paper models and we did like a lot of visual aid in terms of, if you want to show them how the handle should be, maybe, you know, make it out of clay or some other material, just to show them how that you know. 00:12:55.806 --> 00:13:01.030 <v Hirra Babar>Like you know, life-size 3D prototyping and models to explain them At least. 00:13:01.030 --> 00:13:10.730 <v Hirra Babar>Like you know, definitely looking out for references like that, especially in terms of you know, when they say that something cannot be done, but you're like, yeah, hello, you know we have seen this being done. 00:13:10.730 --> 00:13:12.899 <v Hirra Babar>It's a very good word, why can't you do it? 00:13:12.899 --> 00:13:13.945 <v Hirra Babar>So that's just really very nice. 00:13:13.945 --> 00:13:20.388 <v Hirra Babar>So, yeah, I think that's just part of the research and figuring out how the developments work. 00:13:20.828 --> 00:13:28.999 <v Emily Blumenthal>You know, kate Spade and I held on to this article from a billion years ago that Kate Spade, when she did her handbags, she did them at a construction paper. 00:13:28.999 --> 00:13:33.293 <v Emily Blumenthal>So when I did mine, that's what I did I went to a bead shop. 00:13:33.293 --> 00:13:34.437 <v Emily Blumenthal>I glued on the beads. 00:13:34.437 --> 00:13:44.187 <v Emily Blumenthal>I, you know, was taking this it's in the beginning of my book actually these sad little glued sticky mockups that in like a little plastic bag. 00:13:44.187 --> 00:13:49.788 <v Emily Blumenthal>That yeah, yeah, yeah, so unsatisfactory and every time I took it out it would like stick to the bag. 00:13:49.788 --> 00:13:52.460 <v Emily Blumenthal>I'm like, well, this is the brand I want to launch coming out of this. 00:13:52.460 --> 00:13:55.029 <v Emily Blumenthal>You know, 30 cent plastic bag. 00:13:55.029 --> 00:14:04.331 <v Emily Blumenthal>That's so interesting to say that you were actually doing life-size models so at least they could understand the specs and dimension and then like it just became, like you know, the part of the process. 00:14:04.571 --> 00:14:16.019 <v Hirra Babar>But even now, when we got mocked with the Neo design and Neo form, so they asked for the 3D model, like a paper model, they just said, like you know, you give us the paper model and then we figure out the patterns, we work around it. 00:14:16.019 --> 00:14:20.408 <v Hirra Babar>So we just found that our communication language that we came up with. 00:14:20.408 --> 00:14:27.424 <v Hirra Babar>I would say that you know where we, both of us, meet, at the center point, where you know we get understand each other. 00:14:28.171 --> 00:14:30.556 <v Emily Blumenthal>Is that where the name warp came in? 00:14:30.556 --> 00:14:33.222 <v Emily Blumenthal>Everything was warped to figure it out. 00:14:36.149 --> 00:14:49.023 <v Hirra Babar>Yeah, since warp actually came in with, because I wanted to do something new, something that is futuristic, something that is contemporary but built on what already exists. 00:14:49.023 --> 00:14:57.038 <v Hirra Babar>So, even with, like, every handbag that we have come up with is based on the idea that we are trying to build on an already existing shape. 00:14:57.038 --> 00:15:12.683 <v Hirra Babar>Because if we want to do like I thought that, you know, as a consumer, something completely new and completely unique is put in front of me, I might be a little hesitant in adopting it, as opposed to something that is derived from, you know, what already exists. 00:15:12.683 --> 00:15:15.595 <v Hirra Babar>So that's where the name warp came from. 00:15:16.517 --> 00:15:17.980 <v Emily Blumenthal>I always love it in our own way. 00:15:17.980 --> 00:15:20.991 <v Emily Blumenthal>No, I gotta tell you I've always loved the name of your brand. 00:15:20.991 --> 00:15:23.416 <v Emily Blumenthal>It's my favorite function on Photoshop. 00:15:23.416 --> 00:15:32.038 <v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah, to someone who is a basic bitch on Photoshop, it's like warp. 00:15:32.038 --> 00:15:33.442 <v Emily Blumenthal>I can boil it around. 00:15:33.442 --> 00:15:34.827 <v Emily Blumenthal>Who knew, go figure. 00:15:35.328 --> 00:15:40.729 <v Hirra Babar>It's funny, because how did I wear this called warp and we have to correct people that it's warp. 00:15:40.729 --> 00:15:41.691 <v Hirra Babar>It's not warp. 00:15:41.691 --> 00:15:48.653 <v Hirra Babar>I think it's just your brain, because people just read it and let it go yeah, so they just like wrap, like warp. 00:15:50.417 --> 00:15:54.892 <v Emily Blumenthal>If you ever wanted to start a handbag brand and you didn't know where to start, this is for you. 00:15:54.892 --> 00:16:00.731 <v Emily Blumenthal>If you had dreams of becoming a handbag designer but aren't trained in design, this is for you. 00:16:00.731 --> 00:16:05.342 <v Emily Blumenthal>If you have a handbag brand and need strategy and direction, this is for you. 00:16:05.342 --> 00:16:13.996 <v Emily Blumenthal>I'm Emily Blumenthal, handbag designer expert and handbag fairy godmother, and this is the handbag designer 101 masterclass. 00:16:13.996 --> 00:16:30.535 <v Emily Blumenthal>Over the next 10 classes, I will break down everything you need to know to make, manufacture and market a handbag brand, broken down, to ensure that you will not only skip steps in the handbag building process, but also to save money to avoid the learning curve of costly mistakes. 00:16:30.535 --> 00:16:41.693 <v Emily Blumenthal>For the past 20 years, I've been teaching at the top fashion universities in New York City, wrote the handbag designer Bible, founded the handbag awards and created the only handbag designer podcast. 00:16:41.693 --> 00:16:48.260 <v Emily Blumenthal>I'm going to show you like I have countless brands to create in this in-depth course, from sketch to sample to sale. 00:16:48.260 --> 00:16:58.418 <v Emily Blumenthal>Whether you're just starting out and don't even know where to start or begin, or if you've had a brand and need some strategic direction, the handbag designer 101 masterclass is just for you. 00:16:58.418 --> 00:17:02.291 <v Emily Blumenthal>So let's get started and you'll be the creator of the next it bag. 00:17:02.291 --> 00:17:06.660 <v Emily Blumenthal>Join me, emily Blumenthal, in the handbag designer 101 masterclass. 00:17:06.660 --> 00:17:18.671 <v Emily Blumenthal>So be sure to sign up at EmilyBluemethalcom slash masterclass and type in the code podcast to get 10% off your masterclass today. 00:17:21.917 --> 00:17:32.252 <v Emily Blumenthal>Let me ask you, though, because I'm curious you know India has a lot of production and all the other countries around to have a lot of actually handbag, like the Philippines, as handbag production. 00:17:32.252 --> 00:17:35.144 <v Emily Blumenthal>There's now countries in Africa that are really popular. 00:17:35.144 --> 00:17:36.087 <v Emily Blumenthal>Have there been? 00:17:36.087 --> 00:17:38.223 <v Emily Blumenthal>Because I'm totally unfamiliar and pardon my ignorance. 00:17:38.223 --> 00:17:40.390 <v Emily Blumenthal>Are there other brands, handbag brands that have? 00:17:40.390 --> 00:17:46.712 <v Emily Blumenthal>I mean I know there have been via the handbag awards I've seen, but none of whom have been very, very, you know, big. 00:17:46.712 --> 00:17:51.291 <v Emily Blumenthal>Are there other handbag brands that come from Pakistan and are you contemporaries with them? 00:17:52.413 --> 00:17:53.836 <v Hirra Babar>Not really, not really. 00:17:53.836 --> 00:18:07.106 <v Hirra Babar>I really set myself up for a challenge here, but no, like I think warrants first step is kind of brand to Georgia, pakistan. 00:18:07.106 --> 00:18:19.287 <v Hirra Babar>We do have like one or two legacy manufacturing brands, more like you know, who are not known for their design or aesthetics, as per say, but more like the craftsmanship and their you know. 00:18:19.287 --> 00:18:25.752 <v Hirra Babar>They're like the legacy manufacturing brands because they have the 10 reads and they have the setups and you know, this was just like a byproduct of it. 00:18:25.752 --> 00:18:29.661 <v Hirra Babar>But yeah, that's not bad, I can't think of any. 00:18:29.661 --> 00:18:41.839 <v Hirra Babar>But like now a lot of people are jumping into it, but then again that's like you know, xyz versions of handbags, totally. 00:18:42.260 --> 00:18:45.609 <v Emily Blumenthal>I mean, look, you're an early adapter, there's your MBA word right there Go you. 00:18:45.609 --> 00:18:49.878 <v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah, but that's wild. 00:18:49.878 --> 00:19:00.269 <v Emily Blumenthal>It's fascinating that you come from a country that is known for, you know, local production, local manufacturing, most likely only servicing the local country itself. 00:19:00.269 --> 00:19:06.251 <v Emily Blumenthal>I mean, pakistan is massive, right, and there's so much production that comes out, but not one handbag brand. 00:19:06.251 --> 00:19:28.643 <v Emily Blumenthal>So it's to that point, you know, I know there's been a lot of press on you and I'm thrilled to see that you had the wherewithal to say, hey, if I'm going to be a one of one, let me take advantage of it, because not only am I the first, because I always say, if you're launching a brand, you have to be the first, the fastest and the best, yeah, and this gives you an opportunity theoretically to be all three and have the media cover you for that. 00:19:29.204 --> 00:19:33.523 <v Hirra Babar>Yeah, so I mean, like I say that there's always a first more advantage on this advantage. 00:19:33.523 --> 00:19:42.599 <v Hirra Babar>Right, for us, the good thing is that we have no comparisons Like we're not compared against anybody, like we're, nobody has any you know, standards or benchmarks for us. 00:19:42.599 --> 00:19:44.165 <v Hirra Babar>So it's like an open playing feed. 00:19:44.165 --> 00:19:54.646 <v Hirra Babar>But at the same time, I do feel, like you know, we have sort of like set the course for other brands to comment to the industry, because when I started off I did not have any precedent to look up to. 00:19:54.646 --> 00:20:04.605 <v Hirra Babar>Like, let's say, if I want to start a clothing brand today I have so many examples like the mutable product, yes, no, no, I can't anything with human beings. 00:20:04.605 --> 00:20:08.912 <v Hirra Babar>It's gonna make it complicated, like you mentioned, like the sizing and all of that. 00:20:08.912 --> 00:20:16.644 <v Hirra Babar>So and bless, I feel like handbags and accessories, like jewelry is much more inclusive in terms of fashion, adaptable to everybody. 00:20:16.644 --> 00:20:24.044 <v Hirra Babar>Like our handbags are being bought in Middle East and North America and you know East Asian countries. 00:20:24.044 --> 00:20:28.182 <v Hirra Babar>So it's like it's more inclusive and Tom's up and, you know, more universal. 00:20:29.105 --> 00:20:30.089 <v Emily Blumenthal>You know, to that point. 00:20:30.089 --> 00:20:32.394 <v Emily Blumenthal>I wanted to actually talk to you about that. 00:20:32.394 --> 00:20:37.553 <v Emily Blumenthal>Coming from a country that isn't well known for something like this. 00:20:37.553 --> 00:20:47.267 <v Emily Blumenthal>It must have been a challenge I don't want to say struggle, because I don't like that word, but it must have been a challenge to say, okay, I'm all the way here. 00:20:47.267 --> 00:20:53.529 <v Emily Blumenthal>Nobody knows I exist, nobody knows what I'm making exists, nobody knows that the country where I'm making it exists. 00:20:53.529 --> 00:21:08.856 <v Emily Blumenthal>How did you grow about getting your bags out there for people to know, to even buy, and that they were shipping from Pakistan and like to make even the shipping amenable, that you probably have to eat the cost to get people to buy from a D to C level? 00:21:09.439 --> 00:21:09.680 <v Hirra Babar>Yeah. 00:21:09.680 --> 00:21:26.696 <v Hirra Babar>So I had to invest a lot in brand building and brand storytelling in that way, like I think, when you're starting off as a brand, it's not easy for you to go and participate in great shows and, you know, put yourself out there with media coverage and everything. 00:21:26.696 --> 00:21:32.394 <v Hirra Babar>But I thought that you know that's important because it's not like any other manufacturer. 00:21:32.394 --> 00:21:34.260 <v Hirra Babar>We don't want to be a manufacturer, we want to. 00:21:34.260 --> 00:21:37.644 <v Hirra Babar>I want to build a brand, like I want to tell the story of this part of the world. 00:21:38.175 --> 00:21:54.823 <v Hirra Babar>So, from the very beginning, I have been taking part in these great shows and, you know, trying to tell and, like you know, the craftsmanship is as good as you could find in any other part of the world, Though you know the in terms of material and in terms of how we're trying to keep our local land. 00:21:54.823 --> 00:22:02.863 <v Hirra Babar>So, like all of that has been you know, looking putting together little pieces of buttonholes where it was like media coverage as well. 00:22:02.863 --> 00:22:06.825 <v Hirra Babar>You know working with PR, working with trying to get influences on board. 00:22:06.825 --> 00:22:10.325 <v Hirra Babar>So, like I said, we were yours, Love doing it. 00:22:10.394 --> 00:22:16.858 <v Emily Blumenthal>So were you looking to South Asian influence service because you would think they were lower hanging fruit? 00:22:16.858 --> 00:22:19.365 <v Emily Blumenthal>Just as a principle, just as a curiosity. 00:22:19.365 --> 00:22:21.907 <v Emily Blumenthal>Oh, so we are doing it now. 00:22:22.210 --> 00:22:22.974 <v Hirra Babar>We are doing it now. 00:22:22.974 --> 00:22:29.884 <v Hirra Babar>It's interesting thing was that somehow we have been lucky in that way that you know people have been very responsive to the brand. 00:22:29.884 --> 00:22:31.138 <v Hirra Babar>It's kind of unique. 00:22:31.138 --> 00:22:46.942 <v Hirra Babar>Oh, yeah, I think that you know people, people like it and when they, when they hear about you, know where it's coming from, they get more in the also because you know, maybe some people don't know, have limited knowledge about the region or they have, you know, worried about some other brand or some other things going on. 00:22:46.942 --> 00:22:55.721 <v Hirra Babar>So, yeah, I think the response has been created that way and we do like have reached out to two answers from all parts of you know, all ethnicities everywhere. 00:22:55.875 --> 00:23:06.346 <v Emily Blumenthal>So well, you know you were saying that you tried working with big factories and they didn't know what to do with you and it was probably, you know, all for the best that it didn't work out. 00:23:06.346 --> 00:23:19.487 <v Emily Blumenthal>Are you still working with these smaller artisan shops or smaller artisan mini factories, and do you have more than one just to hedge your production? 00:23:20.194 --> 00:23:23.183 <v Hirra Babar>So we have actually set up our own production facility now. 00:23:23.545 --> 00:23:28.186 <v Hirra Babar>Wow, yeah, it was since last month and the idea was new. 00:23:28.958 --> 00:23:55.075 <v Hirra Babar>Yeah, it's very new and also challenging, and I realized that if you want to scale and also, like you know, produce that, because the kind of work that we do and the kind of quality and everything that we need, we actually have to, you know, bring in these people and, like they have to unlearn what they know already, and then, if you have learned, you know, like, what is required of them, because we do have a big manufacturing industry here. 00:23:56.078 --> 00:24:21.234 <v Hirra Babar>It's more like shoes and handbag than jackets, and all of that is exported, but that's mainly for, like you know, big department stores and things like that, right, yeah, so for that, I felt that, you know, we need a facility where we can bring in people and we can train them according to what is required for them, and maybe, like you know, in a few months, we want to provide this services to the other people as well, because I felt that that's a challenge that I faced when I was in bringing to this field. 00:24:21.234 --> 00:24:30.997 <v Hirra Babar>So, if I have faith, that way, maybe we can help the other people or the designers coming into this tree as well, who need this help, because I wouldn't warrant that. 00:24:30.997 --> 00:24:41.865 <v Hirra Babar>You know someone else also, just like you know, drop the idea of doing it just because some big manufacturer was not willing to do work on their concepts, because they're not used to working with in that way. 00:24:41.865 --> 00:24:43.701 <v Hirra Babar>So, yeah, there's that. 00:24:44.115 --> 00:24:47.746 <v Emily Blumenthal>I was looking at the people that you were working at this facility. 00:24:47.746 --> 00:24:51.685 <v Emily Blumenthal>Are they the artisans that you had the family run ones from before that? 00:24:51.685 --> 00:24:54.864 <v Emily Blumenthal>You just move them into your facility under your umbrella? 00:24:54.864 --> 00:24:57.221 <v Emily Blumenthal>Yes, so it's more like a partnership thing. 00:24:57.454 --> 00:24:59.363 <v Hirra Babar>It's more like it's in partnership with them. 00:24:59.363 --> 00:25:02.740 <v Hirra Babar>So we were like, you know, let's grow together Like we have been. 00:25:02.740 --> 00:25:15.740 <v Hirra Babar>Yes, and also the fact that I really wanted to bring in more women into our workforce, provide them with like same working environment where they can learn and, you know, earn their livelihood in a dignified manner and, plus, women work. 00:25:15.740 --> 00:25:20.320 <v Hirra Babar>Kids are amazing like they can multitask and they are very meticulous with the hands. 00:25:22.654 --> 00:25:26.006 <v Emily Blumenthal>My God, we were just talking about the word multitask here. 00:25:26.006 --> 00:25:32.444 <v Emily Blumenthal>That is so funny with my almost seven year old and he kept saying what's multitasking, what's multitasking? 00:25:32.444 --> 00:25:37.788 <v Emily Blumenthal>And I said, oh, it's something that mommies do the best and women do the best, and my husband walk by. 00:25:37.788 --> 00:25:40.421 <v Emily Blumenthal>He's like that's not true and I just kind of nodded my head. 00:25:40.421 --> 00:25:42.884 <v Emily Blumenthal>But oh, my God, it's so true. 00:25:42.884 --> 00:25:50.344 <v Emily Blumenthal>No disrespect to any male or someone who identifies as male, who can multitask, but there's no one who can better do it better than we can. 00:25:50.344 --> 00:25:53.104 <v Emily Blumenthal>I'm so sorry but it's true. 00:25:53.255 --> 00:26:01.244 <v Hirra Babar>It was like you know, they're very much organized and very meticulous with the work and the attention to detail and they really put their heart and soul into what they're doing. 00:26:01.244 --> 00:26:04.505 <v Hirra Babar>It, like you know, it's in both that they have to follow. 00:26:04.535 --> 00:26:28.903 <v Emily Blumenthal>Well, I don't know if it's like years and years of evolution of you know proving themselves or something, but do you think and this is a question because this is a two-fold question in terms of pricing, because now, with your own facility, you know, and obviously you're the one who's setting the bar in terms of pricing but typically, what is your MOQ, what's your minimum quantity for your own production? 00:26:28.903 --> 00:26:32.740 <v Emily Blumenthal>Are you doing runs of a thousand pieces yet or is it 500 pieces? 00:26:32.740 --> 00:26:34.942 <v Emily Blumenthal>I think that will help you understand. 00:26:35.536 --> 00:26:42.403 <v Hirra Babar>So it's on a rolling basis at the moment because initially I also like believe in not having a lot of wastage. 00:26:42.403 --> 00:26:44.781 <v Hirra Babar>That's more like ads per need. 00:26:44.781 --> 00:26:51.303 <v Hirra Babar>So that was the idea that you know, we bring in more people as per need and we keep on increasing our capacity according to it. 00:26:51.303 --> 00:26:56.941 <v Hirra Babar>So if our you know requirements keep increasing, we just, like you know, keep increasing our production levels. 00:26:56.941 --> 00:27:00.698 <v Hirra Babar>And that was the idea of setting up my own thing, so that you know we can scale accordingly. 00:27:00.698 --> 00:27:10.246 <v Hirra Babar>So, yeah, like we can do, like, just in terms of infrastructure, we have the facility to be able to produce like 500,000 pieces in a month. 00:27:10.246 --> 00:27:17.144 <v Hirra Babar>But then again, like you know, that depends on you know what the demand is like at the moment and at what pace we want to grow. 00:27:17.144 --> 00:27:22.299 <v Hirra Babar>Like I don't believe in moving really fast and trying to, you know, do shortcuts and everything. 00:27:22.299 --> 00:27:28.493 <v Hirra Babar>I'm like you know I'm good with my own piece, as far as you know, we can manage it, we're able to manage it. 00:27:29.150 --> 00:27:30.635 <v Emily Blumenthal>This is so interesting. 00:27:30.635 --> 00:27:37.816 <v Emily Blumenthal>You know I'm so happy selfishly that I'm doing this podcast because I get to talk to all of my designers. 00:27:37.816 --> 00:27:43.855 <v Emily Blumenthal>I consider someone like you part of our community and you know I stand by that. 00:27:43.855 --> 00:27:49.699 <v Emily Blumenthal>You're only as good as the community you're part of and if you don't support that community, then what is the point in doing what you're doing? 00:27:49.699 --> 00:27:57.653 <v Emily Blumenthal>Right, and I'm happy with what we do because the community handbags are so over saturated that we have to kind of like. 00:27:57.653 --> 00:28:02.836 <v Emily Blumenthal>You know it was logical for you to create a production facility, because you know what you went through. 00:28:02.836 --> 00:28:13.119 <v Emily Blumenthal>We just spoke to a designer who was in Morocco who did the same thing and realized wow, the local population, they can create beautiful bags, they have access, da-da-da-da. 00:28:13.119 --> 00:28:16.198 <v Emily Blumenthal>Are you making your own hardware too? 00:28:16.198 --> 00:28:17.755 <v Emily Blumenthal>Are you outsourcing that? 00:28:17.755 --> 00:28:18.538 <v Emily Blumenthal>Just to add a few. 00:28:19.391 --> 00:28:23.220 <v Hirra Babar>No, no, at the moment we are actually outsourcing the metallic hardware. 00:28:23.220 --> 00:28:42.162 <v Hirra Babar>We import that, but we have recently started working on sampling with brass, little clutches along with leather, so that's something that's in the pipeline and because, also, like you know, for the same reason, we do have a lot of brass work happening in Pakistan, but that's mostly for, you know, like decorative items and things like that. 00:28:42.162 --> 00:28:43.515 <v Hirra Babar>How's the light arms? 00:28:43.515 --> 00:28:45.856 <v Hirra Babar>And also a lot of jewelry has been like. 00:28:46.289 --> 00:28:55.579 <v Emily Blumenthal>A useful is your platform now set up for designers to reach out to you, and you know I get these requests all the time. 00:28:55.579 --> 00:28:57.034 <v Emily Blumenthal>I mean all the time. 00:28:57.034 --> 00:28:58.499 <v Emily Blumenthal>Where can I produce my bags? 00:28:58.499 --> 00:29:00.095 <v Emily Blumenthal>How do I produce my bags? 00:29:00.095 --> 00:29:01.615 <v Emily Blumenthal>Who can I reach out to? 00:29:01.615 --> 00:29:14.516 <v Emily Blumenthal>And I'm always reluctant to connect these designers, much like you are now being on the receiving end with factories and production who have never had the experience of working with a sample maker. 00:29:14.690 --> 00:29:19.221 <v Emily Blumenthal>I always say, you know, in my opinion, set aside that money, make the samples locally. 00:29:19.221 --> 00:29:25.656 <v Emily Blumenthal>You're going to need money anyway to go into production, to start a brand, start a business, but work with a local sample maker. 00:29:25.656 --> 00:29:31.951 <v Emily Blumenthal>They may rob you blind, but at least you'll know locally what they're doing, why they're doing it. 00:29:31.951 --> 00:29:38.240 <v Emily Blumenthal>Understanding structurally Hopefully that sample maker will explain this does not make sense. 00:29:38.240 --> 00:29:43.480 <v Emily Blumenthal>The bag is too heavy, or the interior is too dark or the closure is too complicated. 00:29:43.480 --> 00:29:44.403 <v Emily Blumenthal>They may or may not. 00:29:44.403 --> 00:29:52.319 <v Emily Blumenthal>A lot of times they don't because there's more money for them to have them coming over and over, and I'm sure you don't want to work with someone who doesn't necessarily have orders against. 00:29:52.319 --> 00:29:54.155 <v Emily Blumenthal>You know the sample making process. 00:29:54.155 --> 00:30:00.776 <v Emily Blumenthal>That said, you want to be the one who connects with the designer and works with them to help grow their brand and so forth. 00:30:00.776 --> 00:30:05.498 <v Emily Blumenthal>So is there an opportunity to work with you to go into production and so forth? 00:30:05.498 --> 00:30:06.500 <v Emily Blumenthal>And what does that look like? 00:30:06.500 --> 00:30:07.381 <v Emily Blumenthal>How would that be? 00:30:07.580 --> 00:30:08.844 <v Hirra Babar>Yeah, so that's the plan. 00:30:08.844 --> 00:30:12.640 <v Hirra Babar>Like, we want to start doing that by end of this year. 00:30:12.640 --> 00:30:17.241 <v Hirra Babar>So, like you know, starting 2024, we're going to reach out to people that we can produce. 00:30:17.241 --> 00:30:26.099 <v Hirra Babar>But that was like also one of the I spoke to a lot of field brands or also, like you know, the fashion brands also venturing into accessories and they want to get bags made now. 00:30:26.789 --> 00:30:42.980 <v Hirra Babar>So they've been reaching out to us for this and they had the same problems and issues that you know we faced initially, because the thing is that you know, it's not specially for a fast fashion brand or somebody like who wants to create or, you know, working at a very large scale, and they want to have like 15, 20 designs every season. 00:30:42.980 --> 00:30:52.301 <v Hirra Babar>So, like you know, we can't just communicate with the craftsmen community, like we just want the designs, give them the designs and they do everything. 00:30:52.301 --> 00:31:02.720 <v Hirra Babar>Then again, like I said, that you know it's not, since they don't, they have limited exposure, they can't source material for them, they can't, you know, put everything together in the way they want. 00:31:02.720 --> 00:31:12.355 <v Hirra Babar>So that's where we want to come in between us, like the middleman, so that you know we can help other brands do their job yeah, which is actually our job. 00:31:13.410 --> 00:31:15.496 <v Emily Blumenthal>So yeah, that's the other side of the thing. 00:31:15.496 --> 00:31:18.694 <v Emily Blumenthal>Okay, listen, hera, this is spectacular. 00:31:18.694 --> 00:31:29.592 <v Emily Blumenthal>You know we'll have to discuss this further because, again, I get so many requests from designers like, okay, I have a brand, okay, I have a dream, and it's like, okay, get your act together. 00:31:29.592 --> 00:31:38.900 <v Emily Blumenthal>Then come back to me, because I always say, do your homework, do your research and your customers wants, needs, what they have for breakfast, what they have for lunch. 00:31:38.900 --> 00:31:40.291 <v Emily Blumenthal>Where do they live? 00:31:40.291 --> 00:31:41.194 <v Emily Blumenthal>Do they drive? 00:31:41.194 --> 00:31:42.631 <v Emily Blumenthal>Is it a warm climate, Like? 00:31:42.750 --> 00:31:55.318 <v Emily Blumenthal>And if you're selling at people internationally, like, you always need to know what their needs and wants are and that kind of money that they'll set aside to spend on a brand that no one's ever heard of, because people will save for a label. 00:31:55.318 --> 00:32:06.580 <v Emily Blumenthal>Buying from a brand like yours or anybody else is much more of an emotional purchase where they see your story, they see you, they see the bag and it's a lot more. 00:32:06.580 --> 00:32:10.839 <v Emily Blumenthal>You know the acquisition cost to gain that customer is much higher. 00:32:10.839 --> 00:32:18.878 <v Emily Blumenthal>That said, you know that 80-20 of 80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers will be much higher because they're now invested in you. 00:32:18.878 --> 00:32:23.019 <v Emily Blumenthal>So I am so happy that you were part of this. 00:32:23.019 --> 00:32:25.916 <v Emily Blumenthal>You look like you have one more thing you want to add, because I see it. 00:32:27.491 --> 00:32:37.989 <v Hirra Babar>Yeah, again, like I just think that what you said right now is probably the entire course of five, six years that I went through figuring out what the customer is. 00:32:37.989 --> 00:32:39.054 <v Hirra Babar>Where are we selling? 00:32:39.054 --> 00:32:41.669 <v Hirra Babar>You know what the climate is like, what are the daily habits. 00:32:41.669 --> 00:32:48.696 <v Hirra Babar>If you're designing a bag for a day-to-night how it should be, you know whether it should be comfortable for day and gives you the whole day. 00:32:48.696 --> 00:32:50.340 <v Hirra Babar>You know you can carry it the whole day. 00:32:50.340 --> 00:32:55.528 <v Hirra Babar>So all of those things go into it and you understand all of those by. 00:32:55.528 --> 00:32:57.856 <v Hirra Babar>So it's like a throughout journey sort of learning. 00:32:57.856 --> 00:33:01.299 <v Hirra Babar>You cannot know those things when you start. 00:33:01.299 --> 00:33:06.480 <v Hirra Babar>That's something that you learn on the way and that's how it has been for us as well. 00:33:07.321 --> 00:33:10.939 <v Emily Blumenthal>Wow, well, perra, this has been absolutely incredible. 00:33:10.939 --> 00:33:14.718 <v Emily Blumenthal>How can people find you, follow you, reach out to you. 00:33:14.718 --> 00:33:15.701 <v Emily Blumenthal>Please share. 00:33:17.051 --> 00:33:20.640 <v Hirra Babar>So, yeah, so our Instagram handle warp online. 00:33:20.640 --> 00:33:33.410 <v Hirra Babar>That's wwwrmrp online and our website is work-deafonlinecom, and yeah, they can reach out to us through these two platforms. 00:33:33.410 --> 00:33:34.674 <v Hirra Babar>They can write to us. 00:33:34.674 --> 00:33:45.881 <v Hirra Babar>Our email address is a visit forum on the website and email address given so they can like reach out to us or just drop us a direct message and yeah, we'll be here. 00:33:47.042 --> 00:33:49.153 <v Emily Blumenthal>This is amazing Hera from Warp. 00:33:49.153 --> 00:33:50.117 <v Emily Blumenthal>Thank you so much. 00:33:50.117 --> 00:33:58.240 <v Emily Blumenthal>We'll definitely be in touch to learn more and may have to have you back to talk about how this production is going, because I really want to know more. 00:33:59.182 --> 00:33:59.845 <v Hirra Babar>We'll be happy. 00:33:59.845 --> 00:34:00.547 <v Hirra Babar>We'll be happy. 00:34:00.547 --> 00:34:01.609 <v Hirra Babar>I'm so glad to have this conversation. 00:34:01.609 --> 00:34:02.875 <v Hirra Babar>It would be a five-a-leaf. 00:34:03.290 --> 00:34:06.337 <v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah, yeah, yeah Again, selfishly and whomever listens. 00:34:06.337 --> 00:34:11.018 <v Emily Blumenthal>I am so happy we were finally able to chat and connect and actually see each other face to face. 00:34:11.018 --> 00:34:22.416 <v Emily Blumenthal>It means so much to share these stories, especially your journey and like what you've been through, because people can learn so much and then get the opportunity to reap the benefits of your blood, sweat and handbag tears. 00:34:22.416 --> 00:34:24.916 <v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah, oh, my gosh. 00:34:24.916 --> 00:34:32.273 <v Emily Blumenthal>Well, hera, thank you for being part of the Handbag Designer 101 podcast and we will be staying tuned. 00:34:32.273 --> 00:34:33.094 <v Emily Blumenthal>Thanks again. 00:34:33.094 --> 00:34:35.916 <v Emily Blumenthal>Thank you, thanks for listening. 00:34:35.916 --> 00:34:41.320 <v Emily Blumenthal>Don't forget to rate and review and follow us on every single platform at Handbag Designer. 00:34:41.320 --> 00:34:42.181 <v Emily Blumenthal>Thanks so much. 00:34:42.181 --> 00:34:50.449 <v Emily Blumenthal>We'll see you next time.