Adrian Furstenburg: Creating a Luxury Handbag Brand from South Africa to Singapore

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Hi and welcome to the Handbag Designer 101 podcast with your host, emily Boomenthal, 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.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Welcome, adrienne Furstenberg, to the Handbag Designer 101 podcast.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So excited to have you.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>Hi, emily, so good to have you and so good to see you.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>Thanks for having me.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Of course, of course.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>I love having my Handbag Designer Award, IGA All Star Alums, considering you're part of that group with a big one, right?

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>It's been one of the most amazing things to be part of it and just to kind of see how the journey from even before I won the award, like being part of it, like I mean working up to it and then getting into it, winning it and then being part of it afterwards has just been such an amazing journey, like me, to see how myself and so many others have been changing lives.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Oh my God, yeah, hashtag changing lives.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Exactly so you are originally from South Africa, yeah, and you're in Singapore now.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>Yeah, that's correct.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>So I was born in my hometown of Johannesburg and started the business there and after winning the award oh, real.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>No, how old were you when you started?

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>Oh, when I started, so I mean okay, we can go way back.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Let's go to the way back machine.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>Way back wins.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>So I always had a dream of working in fashion industry.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>But my dad, who is of German descent and was a farmer, was really, really strict and he was like no son of mine is going to study fashion design.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>And I was devastated because it is my dream.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>And what happened was I kind of secretly studied graphic design but changed my major into textiles because I was just enamored with the industry.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>And what happened was, unfortunately I was involved in a big car accident in my final year of study and therefore I couldn't do the textile printing that was needed for the practical side of it.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>So I shifted the prospect to do a project on weaving and then the coloring of our certain yarns and like had to apply the design to theory as well as history.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>And so I had to be.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Did he give you a hard time about that?

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>Oh yeah.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>Yeah, it was tough.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>I mean it was really hard, because he thought I was still doing graphic design but I was actually doing textiles, so the project looked a little different.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>But I ended up having this beautiful piece of cloth in my final year that I wore, and the whole piece of cloth myself.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>I dyed all of the yarn.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>But they did a really great project on the theory and the history of textile and so forth.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>And when I saw this piece of material, a part of me was like this has to go somewhere.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>It kind of has to become something.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>And there was a weave factory just outside of Johannesburg, which is my hometown, that I teamed up with and I had the cloth turned into four handbags and that's where the passion started.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>Like that's where I really liked that.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>How did you know to do that To handbags?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Did the factory say you should make it a handbag, or you had the wherewithal to do that on your own?

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>On my own, because I mean, when you see a piece of material like I was like it has to become something, because if it's just a flat piece of surface, that doesn't really serve any sort of purpose, right, and the idea of like a handbag was really cool because it was this great piece of cloth that I could combine with leather, so it looked really cool.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>But I think as a designer, like one part is the aesthetics that that's really really great but also the functionality of something that really interests me.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>So that definitely sparked the interest and the love for handbag and accessory design.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>And, of course, growing up in a place like South Africa that has a lot of nature and beautiful like animal kingdom and everything else.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>I grew up with horses in the tech room, like leather has been, has been, a big part of my life, like growing up.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>So from a practical and historical perspective, I'm teaming it up with the love of beauty and I'm an aesthetic and fashion like having these two things come together in a very difficult situation, like being in a car accident in my final year of study, did then turn around into what I do as a career today.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So, looking back, the concept of handbags or being a handbag designer found me rather than me finding it, even though I had a passion for it and let me ask you, though sure, because of the accident, did your father give you a little bit more grace to do what you wanted to do, what you wanted to do?

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>Yeah, he told it as a parent, I mean.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>I mean you would understand, as a parent you want the best for your kids.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>Like I mean, growing up in South Africa that has some political turmoil, and it is you want.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>You want your kids to do the best.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>So the fashion industry in South Africa is notoriously difficult.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>So I could understand where he was coming from, right, but then having him see me do something that has a sense of commercial viability, like it looks really good, and the fact that there was a factory that could support any sort of manufacturing, changed his idea around fashion a little bit more, which was good.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>I think if I stuck to clothing or couture or something like that, I think the story would have been a little different, whereas handbags, from a commercial perspective and I think most people know this like it is just more profitable and it's not tied to seasons.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>So I think all of these elements baked into that story of wanting to become a designer that specializes in accessories and leather goods has been really quite fortunate and I've stuck to that since, like I mean, I'm not veering into into any other direction, like I'm not sticking with handbags.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>My mom's side is German and there is that definite sensibility of when I went into handbags.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>It was like why it doesn't make any money and you know, and yes, and you go on this rant it's the most profitable segment of fashion, but fashion doesn't make money.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>I mean, I'm Garmento offspring.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So it was like what are you doing?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Only mass makes money and you're not getting into mass and you're not trained.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>And I think we always continue to carry that burden of trying to prove ourselves constantly, even though now on the other side, being a parent, you just want the best for your kids, so you try to keep them out of things that are going to make their lives more difficult.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So I was keen to know, like having that accident and seeing what you've gone through as a parent, you know you have to give your child some grace thing.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Okay, but it sounds like whatever impact he had had, you were able to prove to him okay, here's the path, here's where I'm getting the materials, here's how it's made, here's what I'm going to like you were able to prove that 360 cycle to perhaps quell whatever issues he may have had.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Did your mom give you any hassle?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Or she was like go for it.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>She loved it.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>So, trust me, my dad was, I mean, of course, like when having a son who makes an impact, then.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>So, what's interesting, my dad was a farmer and so very entrepreneurial.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So you actually had a farm in your backyard proper.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>Well, so there was.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>So we didn't live on the farm, so there was on the outskirts of town.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>We lived close to town because my mom was cabin crew for our national airline.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>No way, at least two, yeah, these two very different worlds like I mean really well traveled, being exposed to fashion and other cultures and countries from an early age, as well as having this very gross type pragmatic way of doing things, like I mean plant the seeds, make sure it delivers harvests, those type of things.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>So farming and fashion, or farming and travel, like you mean these two really opposite industries like you mean serving me pretty well.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>Because what I want to backtrack to quickly is, even though there was a lot of adversary, like I mean kind of how I got into handbag design.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>It's, I think, looking back at my life, both personally and professionally, usually the most difficult things.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>It's like alchemy, like I mean kind of burns out the impurities and gives you the golden nuggets that you can build something beautiful with.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>So that's how I see it now.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>Yeah.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>But do you know what's interesting?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Someone told me this years and years and years ago and I find it wild that it still tracks that, without fail, you end up doing what your parents do, whether you want to or not.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>It follows you and it's ingrained in you, right Like, I never thought I would actually be in fashion, I never thought I would teach, and that tracks both sides of my parents and you know now what you're doing now.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>And your mom and it sounds like, because she was a flight attendant, that she traveled a lot, so you were with your dad more, perhaps as a result of her trips.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So whatever impact he had, he was there to lay it down.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So you had to kind of keep both sides happy.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>But then she'd come back and see the beautiful and the fabulous.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>And you know, ed, it sits with you because I mean we'll lead up to what you're doing now, which is so exciting, but it really it checks both boxes, which is totally wild.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>No, absolutely, and I'm glad that I can get to a place in my life where I can honor my parents for the impact that they had in my life.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>As you mentioned, like my mom traveled a lot, we got exposed to a lot of things, but wasn't there all the time.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>But what it did give me was growing up in South Africa.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>It was.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>It's beautiful, it's an incredibly beautiful country.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Do you miss it?

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>I do miss it, but I've got an enormous love for my country and a huge amount of respect for my country because it turned me into the person that I am today.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>But if I look at it from a pragmatic career perspective, it's kind of suicide to stay in a country like South Africa to try to build an international brand distribution hardware.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>All of these things like really just counts against you.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>So one of the things that my mom has given me, on a more philosophical level, I would say, was that planting that seed of wanting to get out, wanting to explore, wanting to grow, see the world and seeing the world exactly because that's where the magic happened and so being on both sides of it, where I have the pragmatic, very basic sense of doing business, focusing on profit like how do you turn nothing into something but also having the philosophy of travel and luxury and flight and adventure and different languages so these two things have had a big impact on my career, but also, of course, as an individual as well, and I try to honor both of those things now.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>But, you know, having a father who's a farmer again the recognition of all.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Right, I might plant this it's like what is that about the chicken?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Who's gonna help me plant the seeds?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Who's gonna help me sow the farm?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>But having to recognize that you need someone to sell it to.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>And it's a pitfall of so many designers, right, so many.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>I wanna be a designer, I wanna get my vision, I wanna put something out there that I believe is missing.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Now you're making something for women who you know it's not you, it's for other people.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So perhaps that was ingrained in you, that you knew that you needed to have a customer for everything you did.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Because that is a pitfall of so many, right, you might wanna create something beautiful, but who could buy it?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Who can afford it?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>How often are they gonna come back?

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>That's the thing I mean.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>My heritage is European but I grew up in Africa, like, I mean, my parents and my ancestors.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>Basically they had to make it work.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>There was no like something to fall back on.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>You just had to, like, I mean, make things work.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>So I think that entrepreneurial spirit of creating something beautiful, which is the art and the philosophy, and then the drive to create beauty, but if it just stays on the shelf, like it's not a business like then it's just, which is wonderful, and I love art.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>But I mean I think it's when there's a commercial value to something, seeing what you put so much love and effort into creating something, seeing somebody else enjoy it and pay good money for it, then it becomes full circle.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>And that's what I'm about now, Like I try and read up and be part of a lot of like business things, because business is also design, it's also an art like.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>I mean you have to think differently about things.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>And I know when we can get into how you ended up in Singapore and how you ended up making handbags into handbags for what you do.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>But I love before unboxing when the videos became true unboxing videos.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>You've been doing that for years and it's just so heartwarming seeing these women who are not the unboxing demographic, seeing them receive your bag, seeing them open it, seeing the emotion, but you're usually there for them to get it.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So all these customers, people you know or they not like, how does that path go?

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>So, firstly, I've got to thank you for inviting me back to come and tell my story the year after I won the award in 2016,.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>Or, what happened was, when I won the award, I was still employed at a company and I got my design together and everything else and I went to the United States it was my very first time to the US and I went to America and I went to New York and this amazing award- and it changed my life.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>Oh, that was phenomenal, like I mean, I still watched that video like where I was running out of the hole.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>So being invited back to come and tell my story has been pivotal to my success.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>Because that's where someone who knew that I started my business in South Africa was interested in ordering a handbag because she had a South African friend and of course, I was in New York City and I delivered the bag to her and we did an unboxing and we got a few more orders.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Was that in New York or in South?

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>Africa.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>That was in New York, so that was our first unboxing and just out of that, that kind of became very much the natural order of what the Adrian First and the Brand is about, which is from our perspective.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>Actually is a very, very personal thing, because it means various things for different people, and seeing that absolute joy, the fact that we created a handbag for them, is almost like the ultimate gift to oneself, like they have an idea of what it looks like, but the personal attention that comes with me delivering it to them has been one of our key factors.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>Where we don't really spend a lot of money on marketing, most of our clients are our ambassadors, and this gets to the answer of your second question.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>Of course, any sort of business starts with family and friends, and I've had such an incredibly loyal following since the beginning of starting the brand in 2017, and those have become the ambassadors, and people from there have bought and grown and Because your bags are not inexpensive.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>No, no, no, no, no.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>They're not, Especially now that we live in Singapore.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>So that was quite a great story.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>What happened was I was based in Johannesburg, launched the brand in 2017.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>We did really well.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>We got a lot of sales.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>People were really interested.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>The fact that a South African got into the Handbag Designer Awards and won the award gave me a huge amount of publicity and, of course, exposed the brand to a lot of new people, and it was kind of like the success story and I wrote that way, which was wonderful.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Which is what everybody should.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>And I always say if you get that attention, ride it until it's done.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>That's a positive.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, and that's the thing.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>So I was, so my partner's American and travels a lot for work, and he got a job in Singapore and so I was traveling a ton, like I mean, that's also why I did the work.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Did you meet him in New York or did you meet him in Johannesburg?

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>We met in Johannesburg actually, so it was Johannesburg and then Indonesia and Senegal and New York.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>We did a lot of talk, but during that time he then got a job in Singapore and the idea was, as any sort of small brand or small business like, to go international, like that is the penultimate.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>So the goal was for me to stay and operate the business from Johannesburg and then kind of quote unquote live in Singapore and travel in between, which made sense on paper and it's- that's a long flight.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>But it's a very long flight, like it's a good 12 hours and it just impacted to not make any sense.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>And what happened?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>was Sounds good at the time.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>Yeah, sure, no problem.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>I mean the jet lag was insane and I regretted it completely.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>No, actually I don't regret it.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>Like I got a lot of air miles.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>I don't that flight for Johannesburg in Singapore I know so well.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>Like I mean, I got to familiarize myself with the whole situation but it's just really hard on the body and the mind to live in two different places.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>Like that doesn't work, but it's interesting.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>Like you mentioned our business model, we create one of pieces, like I mean, that's what the main business is about.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>So it's an undemand manufacturing business model and I was in Hong Kong where a big leather trade event invited me to speak about this specific business model Outdoors on demand manufacturing, inshallah, or hopefully create one of the avenues towards a more sustainable future for leather and luxury leather goods.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>I did my presentation and we got a lot of questions and information and so forth and I met a company who does manufacturing, small scale manufacturing, who are based in Singapore, which is quite unusual because Singapore is a tiny, tiny nanny state.

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<v Adrian Furstenburg>It's a small island with a big city on it, like it doesn't produce any of its own thickness and one of the interesting things is because it's kind of on the equator, so it's tropical and Singapore's only like almost 60 years old, like 58 years old, like one of the only things it ever exported was crocodile skin for the luxury industry, like French fashion brands.

00:16:33.623 --> 00:16:47.253
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So this company that I met in Hong Kong was an offshoot of this tannery that basically created all mainly croc skins for brands like mainly Louis Vuitton and then other brands under the LVMH group.

00:16:47.253 --> 00:16:54.472
<v Adrian Furstenburg>The tannery got bought over by the LVMH group in 2011 and then, for an undisclosed amount, in 2016.

00:16:54.472 --> 00:16:58.900
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And so this then made me think about my production.

00:16:58.900 --> 00:17:03.995
<v Adrian Furstenburg>The tree doesn't grow in two places, like, so I had to be where my production is.

00:17:03.995 --> 00:17:07.143
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So that's when I we went back to Singapore.

00:17:07.143 --> 00:17:12.355
<v Adrian Furstenburg>I met them at the studio and it seemed like this fits my business model really well, was this?

00:17:12.435 --> 00:17:15.653
<v Emily Blumenthal>organic at the same time, as your partner was sent At the same.

00:17:16.013 --> 00:17:16.255
<v Adrian Furstenburg>What?

00:17:16.255 --> 00:17:18.192
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Wow, it was such a thing.

00:17:18.192 --> 00:17:28.356
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So now I have access to materials that's used by LVMH brands, excellent, excellent, excellent manufacturing, and I can live in Singapore.

00:17:28.356 --> 00:17:32.324
<v Adrian Furstenburg>The only caveat is it is very expensive.

00:17:32.710 --> 00:17:32.971
<v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah.

00:17:33.712 --> 00:17:34.915
<v Adrian Furstenburg>It was really, really expensive.

00:17:34.915 --> 00:17:45.356
<v Adrian Furstenburg>But the great thing about that was we create custom pieces, so the person who pays for a custom bag understand that that is going to have a heavier price tag than other brands that you just buy with the streets.

00:17:45.518 --> 00:17:46.560
<v Emily Blumenthal>So your prices went up.

00:17:46.809 --> 00:17:47.854
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Prices went up, yeah.

00:17:47.933 --> 00:17:50.361
<v Emily Blumenthal>Wow, was that a hard pill to swallow?

00:17:51.090 --> 00:17:58.010
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So that's an interesting question, because of course, any young designer like, oh, I want to charge thousands of dollars for handbags, like doesn't make a commercial thing, right?

00:17:58.010 --> 00:17:58.833
<v Adrian Furstenburg>No, not always.

00:17:58.833 --> 00:18:00.356
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So that's the interesting thing.

00:18:00.356 --> 00:18:07.811
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Most of my clients actually started paying the price because they understood the value of having a piece customized for them.

00:18:07.811 --> 00:18:21.855
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So, if I can take you a little bit through my customer journey, so they own most of the prestigious brands like Chanel, other major brands and so forth, and mostly places like Singapore, jakarta, hong Kong, dubai, new York, milan, london.

00:18:21.855 --> 00:18:24.059
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Gifting is a big thing.

00:18:24.059 --> 00:18:37.421
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So do you buy your wife another speedy or another nigger fool, or maybe like a Birkenau Kelly, or you could buy one-on-one with the designer and create a bag for her exactly the way she wants it.

00:18:37.421 --> 00:18:38.221
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So we do measure.

00:18:38.221 --> 00:18:47.611
<v Adrian Furstenburg>There's a little thing that we call design terror, which is like a terror card reading, where we basically create a bespoke piece based on the person's personality and their taste and everything.

00:18:47.932 --> 00:18:50.519
<v Emily Blumenthal>So they're buying them on with you in the whole package.

00:18:51.390 --> 00:18:54.838
<v Adrian Furstenburg>It's the whole package, and then we make it what we call hyper-personalized.

00:18:54.838 --> 00:19:06.184
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So on my social media and one of the ones that sells the best is we would then incorporate some of their kids drawings like that is done through a Marcage technique, on or inside the bag.

00:19:06.184 --> 00:19:11.586
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So it's not just a beautiful designer product, it has this hyper-personalized element to it.

00:19:11.586 --> 00:19:16.782
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So we're really focusing on the sentiment and the symbolism of your mom.

00:19:16.782 --> 00:19:24.594
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Having your kids drawings on the fridge is one thing and it's amazing, but now we can like, through a prestigious technique called Marcage, we can put it into the bag.

00:19:24.594 --> 00:19:31.760
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So you're kind of like freezing that moment in time and also you have a piece of your kids or your brand or whoever liking it with.

00:19:31.760 --> 00:19:34.878
<v Adrian Furstenburg>That's super sentimental, but it is a luxury product.

00:19:35.230 --> 00:19:39.080
<v Emily Blumenthal>Was that part of your plan or just organically worked out that way?

00:19:39.391 --> 00:19:40.678
<v Adrian Furstenburg>It just organically worked out.

00:19:40.678 --> 00:19:45.246
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So if you were to rewind the clock and you had to tell me, oh Andrew, are you going to make bags with kids drawings on it?

00:19:45.246 --> 00:19:46.732
<v Adrian Furstenburg>I'd be like, oh my god, you must be nuts.

00:19:46.732 --> 00:19:49.019
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Like that's definitely not going to happen, I'm not going to do that.

00:19:49.349 --> 00:19:58.382
<v Adrian Furstenburg>But it was interesting how the very first product really was a men's wallet and the lady who placed the order she was like, oh, but I want my kids drawings on it.

00:19:58.402 --> 00:20:00.655
<v Adrian Furstenburg>I was like, oh my god, that sounds really cute, let's try that.

00:20:00.655 --> 00:20:05.721
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And I mean she was like four or five years old when she did this, like a picture of herself and mommy and daddy.

00:20:05.721 --> 00:20:16.365
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And what you then taught me later on was that this was actually a picture that she drew of her and her mom and her stepfather, so it was almost like the kids accepting him into the family.

00:20:16.365 --> 00:20:21.344
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And then that's why I realized, like, what can I do that really separates me from other brands?

00:20:21.344 --> 00:20:26.558
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Like, yeah, every time does like the Marquardt techniques and they use like node symbols and so forth.

00:20:26.558 --> 00:20:45.336
<v Adrian Furstenburg>But if I incorporate something like that into the piece and we do it really, really, really well, then you have a great product that sells, because people aren't just buying a beautiful designer product that's made really well and smells good and will last forever, but it's so personal, without it being tacky or it's short, which is wonderful.

00:20:45.477 --> 00:20:51.740
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And difficult yeah, difficult, exactly, and I think that that's what people pay pretty good money for.

00:20:51.740 --> 00:20:59.025
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Like it makes business sense because, of course, it's difficult to scale, but you have every one bag that we deliver.

00:20:59.025 --> 00:21:05.128
<v Adrian Furstenburg>We usually get, like, say, two or three clients who then buy because of that person, and so the client becomes the influencer.

00:21:05.128 --> 00:21:08.361
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So, from a marketing perspective, like it makes a ton of sense.

00:21:08.582 --> 00:21:24.479
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And all of the commercial stuff aside, just for a second, like as a designer, as an artist, as a young kid who had a big dream to build a business, like yes, all of these things are great, but to see someone love and use your product is one of the best things ever.

00:21:24.479 --> 00:21:29.336
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And that's kind of like what I'm really building this business on is hyper personalization.

00:21:29.336 --> 00:21:34.496
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Is like how do we take something that is orchard road, is like the Fifth Avenue of Singapore?

00:21:34.496 --> 00:21:40.075
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Like you can get any bag at any price point in any material and there will be thousands of different options.

00:21:40.075 --> 00:21:49.335
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Yeah, there's no one who's really doing something at this level of personalization, which, of course, is difficult because, as you would know, like it's very very difficult to scale.

00:21:49.715 --> 00:21:50.416
<v Emily Blumenthal>There's no scale.

00:21:50.837 --> 00:21:54.232
<v Adrian Furstenburg>But maybe that's a good segue into the next part of the chat.

00:21:54.232 --> 00:21:56.096
<v Adrian Furstenburg>How do we scale this Like?

00:21:56.096 --> 00:21:56.939
<v Adrian Furstenburg>What can we do?

00:21:57.118 --> 00:22:13.846
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So, thanks to the pandemic and I'm saying that very respectfully, because it was a hard time for all of us as a result of the pandemic as a result of the pandemic and commerce on mobile and other forms of technology such as like shipping and 3d customization or rented reality and those things.

00:22:13.846 --> 00:22:16.678
<v Adrian Furstenburg>We've plugged all of those things into our brand now.

00:22:16.678 --> 00:22:29.807
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So we have two products like it's still better fades, but we have two products that's launched on the site where people can kind of build their own product, Kind of very similar to the night ID prospect, like it looks really cool.

00:22:29.807 --> 00:22:34.749
<v Adrian Furstenburg>What I love is like you can view it in augmented reality, Like it's a really good use and so forth.

00:22:34.749 --> 00:22:40.717
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Multiple views, you can turn it around, you can see it in AR to pick the size, like I mean, see what you're designed, what you look like.

00:22:40.717 --> 00:22:50.211
<v Adrian Furstenburg>The other thing is back to our value as a business around hyper personalization, Like if I had to now produce a collection, and it kind of goes against what we've built.

00:22:50.432 --> 00:22:51.776
<v Emily Blumenthal>It's a better value.

00:22:52.115 --> 00:22:56.699
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Yeah, we're still at this value of customization, personalization, at the core of the brand.

00:22:56.699 --> 00:22:58.667
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Yet we've got two products that are launched.

00:22:58.667 --> 00:23:07.922
<v Adrian Furstenburg>We made up those sale the other day where somebody went online and they build their own product and placed the order into a straight to the factory and I don't have to be involved with that order.

00:23:08.170 --> 00:23:09.414
<v Emily Blumenthal>Do you used to buy a plane ticket?

00:23:09.414 --> 00:23:10.818
<v Emily Blumenthal>Every time a bag is sold?

00:23:11.230 --> 00:23:13.839
<v Adrian Furstenburg>If they're 12,000 plus, yeah, then I know.

00:23:13.839 --> 00:23:18.535
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So I actually have clients who have flown me into personally deliver bags for them.

00:23:18.535 --> 00:23:22.784
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Yeah, so that Wow, and I was like these bags don't fly economy.

00:23:25.133 --> 00:23:25.854
<v Emily Blumenthal>Neither do I.

00:23:25.854 --> 00:23:30.362
<v Emily Blumenthal>The bag and myself will be flying plus plus plus plus.

00:23:30.442 --> 00:23:34.638
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Exactly, we need a flat bed To quickly get back to the scaling thing.

00:23:34.638 --> 00:23:41.246
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So, as a young business who's trying to do something different, like when carving out a niche for ourselves, how do we scale this?

00:23:41.246 --> 00:23:57.461
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And, as a result of the pandemic, like the technology available on mobile commerce, e-commerce technology, blockchain, all of those things, it kind of gave entrepreneurs like myself the ability to build a business that supports this model, where people can customize and build their own piece.

00:23:57.461 --> 00:24:00.576
<v Adrian Furstenburg>See what it looks like viewed in augmented reality.

00:24:00.576 --> 00:24:03.646
<v Adrian Furstenburg>We're not sitting in a store and hoping it would sell.

00:24:03.646 --> 00:24:06.518
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Everything gets made because somebody wants to do it.

00:24:06.518 --> 00:24:19.529
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And so, from an overhead or a business perspective like, none of my capital is tied up in stock, none of my capital is tied up in having a store front, having staff and those things, so that makes overhead, so that makes a lot of sense.

00:24:19.529 --> 00:24:27.134
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Yeah, it's still difficult to scale, but I've kind of built a name around that, which is really cool and that's what we're running with.

00:24:27.173 --> 00:24:40.856
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And I think, if we look at the industry, thousands of brands produce stock, hoping that it would sell, putting it in stores and, like I mean, and some of them are doing really, really well A business like mine, it is going to be too much of a risk to try and do that.

00:24:40.856 --> 00:24:45.354
<v Adrian Furstenburg>But that doesn't mean that we're going to delete stock from our plan going forward.

00:24:45.354 --> 00:24:56.016
<v Adrian Furstenburg>We will still follow this rule of customization and hyper personalization and perhaps to collaborative efforts with, say, some public figures and so forth, where we will do capsule collections at a later stage.

00:24:56.016 --> 00:25:02.182
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So really kind of hurling in like I mean, what is the Adrian Furstenberg brand about?

00:25:02.182 --> 00:25:15.993
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And that kind of ties down to one values which is like, yeah, we like things to be personalized, we like things to be customized, we like things to be kind of one of rare not everybody has it and also not too different that you're putting yourself out of the market.

00:25:16.255 --> 00:25:29.336
<v Emily Blumenthal>Well, that's interesting because you're speaking to sustainability in materials that are not perceived sustainable, right, which it's really fascinating, because that takes you to kind of what you're doing now.

00:25:29.336 --> 00:25:35.673
<v Emily Blumenthal>But the fact that you're doing one off, I don't like calling them one off pieces, we'll just call them bespoke, right.

00:25:35.692 --> 00:25:35.894
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Be spoke.

00:25:36.355 --> 00:25:41.088
<v Emily Blumenthal>Be spoke, but it's a fascinating model because so many designers.

00:25:41.088 --> 00:25:47.003
<v Emily Blumenthal>There was a brand and I won't go into names, it's not hard to find that was from Australia.

00:25:47.003 --> 00:25:51.461
<v Emily Blumenthal>I mean she's doing other things who tried doing bespoke how to deal with.

00:25:51.461 --> 00:26:01.902
<v Emily Blumenthal>The factory had a shop and shop at Bloomingdale's and had I think it was like an iPad of some description that was there where you could pick this, that, this, that, this, that.

00:26:01.902 --> 00:26:13.068
<v Emily Blumenthal>But if you're selling in a certain retail environment, then the product needs to be sold at that price point accordingly and it needs to write If you're going into Macy's, you were expecting a price point.

00:26:13.068 --> 00:26:19.017
<v Emily Blumenthal>Nor would they purchase something Like I tried having a program with them and you know that was more customized and da, da, da da.

00:26:19.178 --> 00:26:35.429
<v Emily Blumenthal>And I made it all the way to the DMM and I finally spoke with her and we had this meeting because you work your way up and you've been in retail, you've seen how the people behind the scenes it's all very rough around the edges and then the further up they go, they get offices out of cubicles and then the offices get bigger and then they get views.

00:26:35.429 --> 00:26:40.604
<v Emily Blumenthal>And we made it to this lovely woman's office and she said I think the program's amazing.

00:26:40.604 --> 00:26:43.458
<v Emily Blumenthal>I think the collaboration construct is amazing.

00:26:43.458 --> 00:26:50.684
<v Emily Blumenthal>However, our customers have absolutely no interest and our floor staff is only there to check you out.

00:26:50.684 --> 00:26:53.054
<v Emily Blumenthal>They're not there to educate, they're not there to sell you.

00:26:53.054 --> 00:27:00.682
<v Emily Blumenthal>They're there to who's going to ring me up and who's going to get me in Macy's credit card and who's going to be there to say do you want to use your Macy's card for this?

00:27:00.682 --> 00:27:07.786
<v Emily Blumenthal>So it's completely environmental and it's completely transactional and it's unapologetic and that's fine.

00:27:07.865 --> 00:27:18.519
<v Emily Blumenthal>But as a designer going into it to say and I've spoken about this before to say things are bespoke or limited edition, nine times out of ten it's because the designer doesn't have economies of scale.

00:27:18.519 --> 00:27:20.005
<v Emily Blumenthal>The designer is new.

00:27:20.005 --> 00:27:32.111
<v Emily Blumenthal>The designer is green not in the sustainable sense, but they're new and they don't know how to make something and they over-purchase stock and they don't have the ability to replicate what they've done to bring their costs down.

00:27:32.111 --> 00:27:36.287
<v Emily Blumenthal>So I applaud you for being able to do this and to last this long.

00:27:36.287 --> 00:27:40.980
<v Emily Blumenthal>I mean it's been like six plus years that you've been able to evolve and grow into that.

00:27:40.980 --> 00:27:44.307
<v Emily Blumenthal>So after year five it's like okay, I'm in it.

00:27:45.115 --> 00:27:46.597
<v Adrian Furstenburg>You know I'm doing this.

00:27:46.597 --> 00:27:58.660
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Yeah, it's not been easy and I mean it's really really, really hard because basically, you're fighting against all of these other brands and all of these other price points.

00:27:58.660 --> 00:28:19.838
<v Adrian Furstenburg>But I think that was one of the key things that I'm now super thankful for is because, after winning, I did start out and I produced stock and looking into retail and everything else, and it's still a lot of money, it's a lot of stress, the cost of doing business at retail and I always tell designers don't poo poo the boutiques, because the boutiques they pay you upfront.

00:28:19.898 --> 00:28:30.788
<v Emily Blumenthal>You ship UPS, you get your money immediately, but you go into retail it's like you're in the minus as soon as you start, like getting the UPC codes getting approved.

00:28:30.788 --> 00:28:44.060
<v Emily Blumenthal>You know having to read the fat book to get it in, having to have a DC, a warehouse and so forth, and then learning the difference between you know shipping from the factory, overseas shipping from landed.

00:28:44.060 --> 00:28:46.692
<v Emily Blumenthal>You know it's like the learning curve in itself.

00:28:46.692 --> 00:28:51.152
<v Emily Blumenthal>You better hope you've got someone or else assume you're going to lose at least 20 grand on the learning curve.

00:28:51.192 --> 00:28:53.719
<v Adrian Furstenburg>It's so for sure At a minimum.

00:28:54.260 --> 00:29:02.734
<v Adrian Furstenburg>I mean, I listened to Rebecca Minkoff's book recently and she speak of these things and I think there's a distinct difference in location where one is based.

00:29:02.734 --> 00:29:08.366
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Like I mean 100%, a business model like this will be tricky in the United States.

00:29:08.366 --> 00:29:18.527
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Yeah, because there is like there's people buy, like I mean they want to know and do everything else, and especially because retail or retail shopping in department stores is that's a big thing.

00:29:18.527 --> 00:29:23.454
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Yeah, it is kind of difficult to carve out a niche in a place like Singapore and other countries.

00:29:23.454 --> 00:29:32.092
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Like it takes a long time to build a brand around that, because there is this immediate thing like, oh, but they're small, like they can't produce stock and put it into a store.

00:29:32.333 --> 00:29:36.482
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And I had to kind of sit with that concept like what is my value as?

00:29:36.482 --> 00:29:38.788
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Oh, no, what is my goal as an entrepreneur?

00:29:38.788 --> 00:29:50.364
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Is I might be driven by just want to make money, or am I being driven by just ego when, oh, because it sounds great, like oh, I mean bird of soaring makes things or so forth, but you've got to be actually, but then what?

00:29:50.364 --> 00:29:55.221
<v Adrian Furstenburg>You got to be very strong, like I mean financially strong to to be able to get you, like into that space.

00:29:55.221 --> 00:29:58.096
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So what I've done was like I really analyzed my customer.

00:29:58.115 --> 00:30:04.976
<v Emily Blumenthal>I was like and that that is what I always talk to like, yeah, what does she eat for breakfast?

00:30:04.976 --> 00:30:06.380
<v Emily Blumenthal>What card does she drive?

00:30:06.460 --> 00:30:07.482
<v Adrian Furstenburg>What does she drive, yeah?

00:30:07.722 --> 00:30:09.267
<v Emily Blumenthal>yeah, you have to know those things.

00:30:09.694 --> 00:30:17.541
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And that is what kept me on this road and I built I mean of course I can grow much more successfully in in in Donna value as an entrepreneur.

00:30:17.541 --> 00:30:40.315
<v Adrian Furstenburg>But I mean if I look at it factually, like what is my cost of operation versus my margins and what I sell for and what I do and what I really enjoy as a business owner, because I don't worry, have to ship about shit like I'm sorry my language about like inventory and all of the administration that goes into into into running retail business, like I get a lot of joy from the products that I sell, which is the artistic element.

00:30:40.315 --> 00:30:48.628
<v Adrian Furstenburg>The product margin made sense because you are in the luxury space, like you are people like, when, if we think you as dollar, like it's, it starts at about $1,800.

00:30:48.628 --> 00:30:53.847
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And I mean I recently sold the bag for $12,000, like, which is like quite a good margin on it.

00:30:54.048 --> 00:30:57.460
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And the other bit is the way you get to know your client.

00:30:57.460 --> 00:31:21.306
<v Adrian Furstenburg>That is gold Because, firstly, you don't just have a client who purchases from you, she speaks about who you are, she tells people, she knows that, she trusts you and this was a really great gift, like most of my clients and I think I can't know the exact numbers now, but we're looking at about, say, maybe between 55 and 60% are all returning clients like you can keep on, so you have the loyalty element as well.

00:31:21.346 --> 00:31:29.375
<v Emily Blumenthal>So so I had to like make do with my ego, that's your 20%, that's your 20%, because 80% of your business comes from your 20% of your customers.

00:31:29.375 --> 00:31:32.244
<v Emily Blumenthal>Still, that's a pretty amazing percentage rate.

00:31:32.676 --> 00:31:33.058
<v Adrian Furstenburg>We return?

00:31:33.058 --> 00:31:33.922
<v Adrian Furstenburg>No, no, absolutely.

00:31:33.922 --> 00:31:47.298
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And I think one of the main things, like I had to sit with myself and have a conversation with my ego, quote unquote like, do you want to be world famous and big and massive, because that's one direction or do you want something beautiful and manageable and a really cool business?

00:31:47.298 --> 00:31:50.625
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And I chose the latter because what do I enjoy?

00:31:50.625 --> 00:31:56.815
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Like, I enjoy traveling a lot, I enjoy taking good care of my health that includes my physical and mental health.

00:31:56.815 --> 00:32:02.497
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Like I have time to do the things that I love, which means to live in Singapore, to have great friends and everything else.

00:32:03.038 --> 00:32:05.123
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And my business is manageable.

00:32:05.123 --> 00:32:22.209
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And the money that I get from it, yes, it's volatile because you're basically quote unquote selling code to a type of pieces, but financially, looking back at what the brand has achieved, like I mean, oh, we are much more steady now than we were, say, maybe three years ago or four years ago.

00:32:22.209 --> 00:32:23.943
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So there's always like in place for growth.

00:32:23.943 --> 00:32:28.659
<v Adrian Furstenburg>But I was like, oh, am I comfortable with the place that I've carved out for myself?

00:32:28.659 --> 00:32:38.547
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And that's the key, because I'm taking that core element of what I've built this business on and I'm extrapolating some other ideas onto that and it seems to be working.

00:32:39.315 --> 00:32:52.307
<v Emily Blumenthal>No, but the thing is that I really want to point out that you cannot become a single brand, solopreneur, entrepreneur, blah, blah, blah and hit that luxury mark overnight.

00:32:52.307 --> 00:33:15.411
<v Emily Blumenthal>And I think that's a very important point to emphasize to designers who listen, that so many of them assume when they start that people would be willing to spend 800 plus for unknown designers, and that is not true, and I think that's important just to point out, because you've been in business since 2017.

00:33:15.411 --> 00:33:17.817
<v Emily Blumenthal>Granted, you weren't at this point when you started.

00:33:17.817 --> 00:33:23.654
<v Emily Blumenthal>Nobody is, but the evolution of your brand has taken you to this place, right.

00:33:24.036 --> 00:33:32.766
<v Emily Blumenthal>And so many designers assume that limited edition, like no one gives a crap, you're too new, you don't have a customer base.

00:33:32.766 --> 00:33:35.832
<v Emily Blumenthal>You have to build that, and that does not happen overnight.

00:33:35.832 --> 00:33:41.973
<v Emily Blumenthal>Right, like you know, like to have an Adrian Verstenberg bag aligned with the Louis and so forth.

00:33:41.973 --> 00:33:48.657
<v Emily Blumenthal>Like you have to be very, very clear of what your USP, your unique selling point, is in order to get to that point.

00:33:48.657 --> 00:34:05.413
<v Emily Blumenthal>Right, like this may have been accidental to get you where you are, but to sustain that cannot be Right, and that's a very key point I want to emphasize, because what you're doing is scale, but not scale Like you streamline the online process of purchase.

00:34:05.413 --> 00:34:12.742
<v Emily Blumenthal>However, what you're putting into it for a small business is justified because you can afford to.

00:34:12.742 --> 00:34:14.527
<v Emily Blumenthal>You've just spoken about your quality of life.

00:34:14.527 --> 00:34:16.255
<v Emily Blumenthal>You're able to manage this.

00:34:16.255 --> 00:34:20.009
<v Emily Blumenthal>So perhaps when you continue to grow, maybe you'll have other people doing it.

00:34:20.009 --> 00:34:21.813
<v Emily Blumenthal>Maybe the drawings you know.

00:34:21.914 --> 00:34:38.576
<v Emily Blumenthal>But today this makes sense, and I think that's just a very important point to point out, because so many people when they start, because they don't know how to buy materials, or they've overbought, or they spent too much, or they've purchased materials that are from Italy, not knowing any better, with no brand, no design.

00:34:38.576 --> 00:34:39.849
<v Emily Blumenthal>No, you know, I think it's.

00:34:39.849 --> 00:34:42.197
<v Emily Blumenthal>I think it's a cautionary tale of every designer.

00:34:42.197 --> 00:34:54.577
<v Emily Blumenthal>I want an Italian bag and I want this and especially to female designers or people who identify as female in that regard that they assume that they're creating a bag that they think is missing for their day to day life.

00:34:54.577 --> 00:35:02.170
<v Emily Blumenthal>However, number one I've seen more designers not carry their own bags, which is a mistake because that writes off marketing expenses.

00:35:02.170 --> 00:35:03.032
<v Emily Blumenthal>You wear your bag out.

00:35:03.032 --> 00:35:04.094
<v Emily Blumenthal>That's a marketing expense.

00:35:04.094 --> 00:35:05.746
<v Emily Blumenthal>Number one, all the time.

00:35:05.746 --> 00:35:22.414
<v Emily Blumenthal>And number two the retail beyond D to C, the retail who will purchase said bag are not department stores, and if you yourself are not shopping at the boutiques, then you're not even your own customer and therefore, like you, miss the mark 100%.

00:35:22.514 --> 00:35:23.797
<v Adrian Furstenburg>You know what you hit.

00:35:23.797 --> 00:35:30.835
<v Adrian Furstenburg>You hit the nail on the head because if we take this, I'm sure the listeners are like really much like young designers, people who want to make this.

00:35:30.835 --> 00:35:41.056
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Like me, people have either been part of handbag designer awards or want to be part of it, and I think there are some key elements to take into consideration, like what does it mean to be a handbag designer?

00:35:41.056 --> 00:35:47.099
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Like, because, even to this day, many people like, oh, that's interesting, that's not the typical career choice.

00:35:47.099 --> 00:35:50.896
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So, firstly, put yourself you're not in a typical career choice.

00:35:50.896 --> 00:35:54.250
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Number one, like it is tough, it is different, it's got all of these things.

00:35:54.471 --> 00:35:58.224
<v Adrian Furstenburg>If I rewind the clock and I think back about what got me into this.

00:35:58.224 --> 00:36:04.228
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So, for example, when I applied to handbag designer was like I applied twice before I got in and that was like the last I would like.

00:36:04.228 --> 00:36:05.432
<v Adrian Furstenburg>If I don't get in, I'm not going to make it.

00:36:05.432 --> 00:36:12.818
<v Adrian Furstenburg>But I had to look for something that's going to make someone else believe in me as much as I believe in myself.

00:36:12.818 --> 00:36:14.208
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And that is hard.

00:36:14.208 --> 00:36:23.626
<v Adrian Furstenburg>That is really hard because there are brilliant designers out there with a lot of money who can have all of the connections and it can do really well, and they are struggling as well.

00:36:23.626 --> 00:36:28.217
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So I think that the important thing is like Okay, what is what really drives me?

00:36:28.217 --> 00:36:30.530
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Is it just profit?

00:36:30.530 --> 00:36:38.865
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Then I would suggest, do something else, because it is really really hard, because you need something like that kind of takes you through those really difficult times.

00:36:38.865 --> 00:36:44.206
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And this is I'm not saying this to anyone, I'm saying this to younger Adrian You're not that special.

00:36:45.048 --> 00:36:48.739
<v Emily Blumenthal>Oh my God, I've had to tell people that and it's so awful.

00:36:48.739 --> 00:36:51.507
<v Emily Blumenthal>Like you know, I call it basement to Beyonce.

00:36:51.507 --> 00:36:54.719
<v Emily Blumenthal>You know where you get a little bit of attention.

00:36:54.719 --> 00:36:59.217
<v Emily Blumenthal>You are a quote, unquote, overnight success and then, boom, you forget that.

00:36:59.217 --> 00:36:59.659
<v Emily Blumenthal>You know what.

00:36:59.659 --> 00:37:03.309
<v Emily Blumenthal>The sun is still going to go up, the sun's going to go down and you are replaceable.

00:37:03.309 --> 00:37:06.416
<v Emily Blumenthal>You are so replaceable, like for sure.

00:37:06.416 --> 00:37:07.297
<v Emily Blumenthal>I mean, you know.

00:37:07.525 --> 00:37:08.329
<v Adrian Furstenburg>I think it is about.

00:37:08.329 --> 00:37:10.963
<v Adrian Furstenburg>I mean, of course, I mean I'm being really honest here.

00:37:10.963 --> 00:37:15.135
<v Adrian Furstenburg>There were times that I was like thinking did I make the right decision to choose this career?

00:37:15.135 --> 00:37:20.849
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Like it's, it was really hard, and especially moving countries and setting up shopping and new place and everything else.

00:37:20.849 --> 00:37:22.014
<v Adrian Furstenburg>That was unbelievably hard.

00:37:22.074 --> 00:37:28.994
<v Adrian Furstenburg>But one of the things that I still hang on to today is, as silly as this may sound is who am I doing this for?

00:37:28.994 --> 00:37:36.802
<v Adrian Furstenburg>If I'm just doing it for myself, then just do it for yourself, then keep it as art, right, like that's the one thing.

00:37:36.802 --> 00:37:41.447
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And one of the things like I love wearing my own stuff because I think they're really beautiful and well made and all of these things.

00:37:41.447 --> 00:37:50.835
<v Adrian Furstenburg>But when I do a personal unboxing or have someone that I deliver a bag to personally, they bought that because they really wanted it.

00:37:50.835 --> 00:37:59.322
<v Adrian Furstenburg>I managed to have hundreds, maybe even thousands of conversations with women and ask them what do you want?

00:37:59.322 --> 00:38:07.612
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And that's how we developed the design terror technique, which is like it's literally like a terror reading and we have certain key points to get to like a beautiful bag for them.

00:38:07.612 --> 00:38:09.297
<v Adrian Furstenburg>It's not an it bag.

00:38:09.297 --> 00:38:20.275
<v Adrian Furstenburg>I am next to Chanel, hermes, louis Vuitton, prada, everything else, and there's the rest of, like you mean, kate Spade and Tori Berger and everything else, like in that one it's also fighting against.

00:38:20.275 --> 00:38:31.155
<v Adrian Furstenburg>But it comes down to like I had, like I said, hundreds, maybe even thousands of conversations with my perspective or current clients on what is it that you want?

00:38:31.155 --> 00:38:35.034
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And then I'm married with I'm not going to give you everything that you want.

00:38:35.034 --> 00:38:36.684
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Like I mean, I'm still the designer.

00:38:36.684 --> 00:38:38.009
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Like I mean, this is what I think.

00:38:38.009 --> 00:38:47.572
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So having a little bit of attitude and a little bit of flair because if you're a designer, like I mean, you got to that point where you believe in yourself enough to say, oh, maybe I can build a business.

00:38:47.572 --> 00:38:56.353
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So having these two things marry one another, like I mean and I use the word marry because that's exactly what it is Like I mean, does it make sense for your client and does it make sense for you.

00:38:56.353 --> 00:39:02.360
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And I think finding that is really, really hard because it's not overnight, it just takes time.

00:39:02.360 --> 00:39:15.217
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And I think and I've heard you, like when you and I have had a number of conversations and I've listened to you speak and I've seen something on social media, and it is the guidance that you provide is very simple Know your customer, really really know your customer.

00:39:15.217 --> 00:39:24.842
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And I think the thing about being a handbag designer is like this is one of the things that helped me on part of the Singapore Fashion Council and we mentioned some of the young designers and so forth.

00:39:24.981 --> 00:39:29.211
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And the other question that I would add to that is like what is the end game?

00:39:29.211 --> 00:39:36.094
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Do you want to really big business or do you want something to take and small or something in the middle?

00:39:36.094 --> 00:39:42.990
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Like I mean answering and not answering that immediately, like when you say I want to have a really big business, what is involved in that?

00:39:42.990 --> 00:39:50.342
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Because then you need to know taxes, distribution, legal shipping, environmental impact, it's admin, admin, admin, admin, admin.

00:39:50.342 --> 00:39:52.021
<v Adrian Furstenburg>It creates, it's accesses, all of these things.

00:39:52.021 --> 00:39:53.358
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Are you up for that?

00:39:53.875 --> 00:40:01.795
<v Adrian Furstenburg>If you wanna be just a designer, like if you feel like, oh my God, all I wanna do is create, I don't worry about selling, I don't worry about this then I would say you know what?

00:40:01.795 --> 00:40:04.003
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Apply for a really cool job.

00:40:04.003 --> 00:40:07.918
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Like I mean, there are great opportunities for people who can do beautiful design.

00:40:07.918 --> 00:40:21.684
<v Adrian Furstenburg>If you wanna be an entrepreneur and if you wanna make millions and millions and millions of dollars quickly, do something else, because this is not a get rich quick scheme, like it is very much a Long game.

00:40:21.684 --> 00:40:24.123
<v Adrian Furstenburg>It's an art, it's a long game, it's an art and a science.

00:40:24.123 --> 00:40:27.137
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Like I said earlier, I've been out about five, six years in Now.

00:40:27.137 --> 00:40:32.242
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Only I'm like, oh, there's momentum and there are still some very bad months.

00:40:32.242 --> 00:40:33.018
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Like I mean, they're still like.

00:40:33.018 --> 00:40:41.320
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Oh, that's the nature of entrepreneurship Is like I stuck onto believing in myself as an artist, as a designer.

00:40:41.320 --> 00:40:49.400
<v Adrian Furstenburg>I coupled it up with what my client wants, which is absolutely crucial, and I kind of like zoomed out of the whole picture and I was like what is the end game?

00:40:49.822 --> 00:40:50.003
<v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah.

00:40:50.695 --> 00:41:00.679
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Cause I think, like once you have those three things, I mean it's not there's no such thing as a recipe for success, but it is essentially like I mean knowing yourself, knowing your client and knowing the industry Like those are the main things.

00:41:00.820 --> 00:41:01.222
<v Emily Blumenthal>I agree.

00:41:01.222 --> 00:41:07.478
<v Emily Blumenthal>So, just to wrap up, talk to us about the material you've created.

00:41:07.478 --> 00:41:15.039
<v Emily Blumenthal>You know we don't have that much more time, but I would feel guilty being able to give you an opportunity to talk about it.

00:41:15.400 --> 00:41:16.182
<v Adrian Furstenburg>No, no, no, Thank you.

00:41:16.182 --> 00:41:17.346
<v Adrian Furstenburg>That's very, very exciting.

00:41:17.346 --> 00:41:24.880
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So, of course, as a designer like mean, sustainability, environmental impact, human impact, like all of these things are always at the forefront of many, many discussions.

00:41:24.880 --> 00:41:27.175
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So I work with leather, mainly bovine.

00:41:27.175 --> 00:41:35.420
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Like me, we use Epsom from France, but I follow a vegetarian diet, so I always, ironically, yeah, yeah, like I'm sorry, I work with leather, but I don't even eat.

00:41:35.420 --> 00:41:45.324
<v Adrian Furstenburg>In New York, 2017, I had a conversation with Modern Media around like lab grown leather and everything else, and it was like modern metal does the mushrooms, I believe.

00:41:46.036 --> 00:41:48.342
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Modern no, that's my micro works.

00:41:48.342 --> 00:41:50.400
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Yeah, Modern metal does by polymers.

00:41:50.400 --> 00:41:52.394
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Like they started in lab grown leather.

00:41:52.394 --> 00:42:05.880
<v Adrian Furstenburg>It was still very early days yeah, last year May, hearing that Ernst Gritchie in particular the big holding company, invested a large chunk of theories around intercompany called Vitruel Labs in Silicon Valley to do lab grown leather.

00:42:05.880 --> 00:42:09.083
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So that's when I realized here must be something.

00:42:09.083 --> 00:42:22.840
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So in Singapore there's a tannery that's owned by LVMH that does crock skin In the luxury leather goods industry crocodile and ostrich and these leathers are from animals that are bred and culled, usually only for the leather.

00:42:23.074 --> 00:42:27.701
<v Adrian Furstenburg>It's not like regular bovine skin that is by a product of meat and in massive supply.

00:42:27.701 --> 00:42:32.057
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So there's a lot of pushback from organizations like Slay and Petra.

00:42:32.057 --> 00:42:48.920
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So a client of mine who has spent a lot of money with me already, her husband, invested in a lab grown meat business in Singapore and I asked for a meeting and this fellow who's in the lab grown meat space, like I mean, who wants to meet this South African handbag designer, which is just so strange.

00:42:48.920 --> 00:42:56.958
<v Adrian Furstenburg>We had a coffee and I was like what is the possibility of growing exotic leather in a lab and culled?

00:42:56.958 --> 00:42:57.500
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Long story.

00:42:57.500 --> 00:43:08.784
<v Adrian Furstenburg>No, it's short story, long, short story, medium bred back to his team and they have IP in growing skin and then they offered me a joint venture with them.

00:43:08.784 --> 00:43:25.202
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Would you like to partner with us to create this product, because I've got experience in leather and luxury and we have the tanning like right earhands in Singapore and Singapore is one of the leaders in the whole world when it comes to the biotech or lab grown space, because it doesn't grow any of its own material.

00:43:25.202 --> 00:43:32.519
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So lab grown meat is the very first approved lab grown chicken was having it in Singapore, wow, so we have all of the ingredients.

00:43:32.519 --> 00:43:35.682
<v Adrian Furstenburg>With that, we won the Vogue Innovation Award.

00:43:35.963 --> 00:43:36.445
<v Emily Blumenthal>That's amazing.

00:43:36.445 --> 00:43:37.567
<v Emily Blumenthal>Vogue Singapore.

00:43:38.175 --> 00:43:38.818
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Vogue Singapore.

00:43:38.818 --> 00:43:43.061
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Yeah so, which opened us up to a lot of publicity and really cool connections.

00:43:43.061 --> 00:43:45.864
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Former CEO Cartier is on our board.

00:43:45.864 --> 00:43:58.219
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So the goal basically is, like the Asian first and birth brand exists on its own, but myself, as an entrepreneur, is venturing into another startup called Project X for exotic leather, so Non-X, like what Twitter is?

00:44:00.179 --> 00:44:01.764
<v Emily Blumenthal>Oh god, no, I know.

00:44:01.764 --> 00:44:04.543
<v Emily Blumenthal>I just want to clarify that that it's Project X.

00:44:05.596 --> 00:44:07.702
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Project EX for exotic.

00:44:08.103 --> 00:44:08.224
<v Emily Blumenthal>OK.

00:44:08.815 --> 00:44:14.005
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So we're kind of in a bit of a race, but we want to grow the world's first exotic leather in laboratory.

00:44:14.005 --> 00:44:16.804
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So we're off to Geneva in about three weeks time.

00:44:16.804 --> 00:44:19.925
<v Adrian Furstenburg>We have conversations with some of the luxury brands over there.

00:44:19.925 --> 00:44:37.204
<v Adrian Furstenburg>We're part of the luxury innovation summit, so, yeah, so the goal is how do we yield a real leather product, Genuine leather that has a great quality, that has a lesser impact on the environment because we're not using formaldehyde and chloroform to remove the muscle and fat from the skin.

00:44:37.204 --> 00:44:44.003
<v Adrian Furstenburg>It's a genuine leather product, less environmental impact and is quote unquote cruelty free.

00:44:44.554 --> 00:44:45.398
<v Emily Blumenthal>And also luxury.

00:44:45.974 --> 00:44:48.387
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And also luxury, and that's exactly what we're doing.

00:44:48.509 --> 00:44:50.340
<v Emily Blumenthal>So it's very exciting, that is so exciting.

00:44:51.054 --> 00:44:52.561
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Yeah, and that's big business.

00:44:52.561 --> 00:45:03.255
<v Adrian Furstenburg>But like so, as an entrepreneur, following my dream and my passion, like building this handbag brand, that is like really loving and amazing and gives me a lot of joy, pays.

00:45:03.255 --> 00:45:13.101
<v Adrian Furstenburg>My salary, has given me the opportunity to keep a wide scope on what is out there and I believe, from a financial perspective, like this is going to be a big thing.

00:45:13.101 --> 00:45:16.545
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Like I'm still at early stage, but I think this is a big thing.

00:45:16.545 --> 00:45:26.519
<v Adrian Furstenburg>We've had some really cool conversations with brands like Dior and Lulee, time and Ginchin, which are hot in Efsondor, so yeah, Right space or right place, right time.

00:45:26.740 --> 00:45:28.786
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Look at you Right place right time, yeah exactly.

00:45:29.335 --> 00:45:34.759
<v Emily Blumenthal>It's about time when you encapsulate it Like Jesus, like about time, come on after everything's put in.

00:45:35.936 --> 00:45:39.121
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Exactly so, yeah, so it's interesting, so it's full circle.

00:45:39.121 --> 00:45:42.001
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So I'm kind of going back to the farm Materials.

00:45:42.001 --> 00:45:43.887
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Yeah, exactly, back to materials.

00:45:43.887 --> 00:45:44.757
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Yeah, that's the thing.

00:45:45.494 --> 00:45:47.402
<v Emily Blumenthal>Is your dad still around to see all this?

00:45:47.795 --> 00:45:56.217
<v Adrian Furstenburg>No, unfortunately, he unfortunately passed away in COVID, but we still in contact, like I mean he's still here in spirit, but yeah, like I mean he guides me in those ways, so that's good.

00:45:57.355 --> 00:46:00.806
<v Emily Blumenthal>Well, adrienne, thank you so, so very much for your time.

00:46:00.806 --> 00:46:03.063
<v Emily Blumenthal>This has been enlightening beyond.

00:46:03.063 --> 00:46:07.119
<v Emily Blumenthal>I can only wish you good things, because only good things should come your way.

00:46:07.119 --> 00:46:11.940
<v Emily Blumenthal>Tell everybody how they can follow you and find you, because they absolutely should.

00:46:12.342 --> 00:46:13.235
<v Adrian Furstenburg>OK, cool, and I've put.

00:46:13.235 --> 00:46:14.039
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Firstly, I just want to.

00:46:14.039 --> 00:46:27.543
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Before I get to that, I just want to thank you, because, thanks to you and the Handbag Design Awards, I am who I am today, and I remember when I won, you were one of the first people that I sent a message to, because what you have done for me that people like me is unbeleivable.

00:46:27.655 --> 00:46:30.304
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So I just want to give like a huge shout out to you as an individual.

00:46:30.304 --> 00:46:33.960
<v Adrian Furstenburg>You make the most country you really do and thank you.

00:46:33.960 --> 00:46:38.817
<v Adrian Furstenburg>For those who want to like, I would say the best is just get me on Instagram, very easy.

00:46:38.817 --> 00:46:40.742
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Adrienne Firstenberg, b-u-r-g.

00:46:41.835 --> 00:46:44.083
<v Emily Blumenthal>I was going to say got to separate that.

00:46:44.155 --> 00:46:45.500
<v Adrian Furstenburg>First got to separate that.

00:46:45.500 --> 00:46:46.222
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Yes, that's the same.

00:46:46.222 --> 00:46:51.882
<v Adrian Furstenburg>So you're Adrienne Firstenberg on Instagram and then, of course, all of the other links to the website and TikTok and so forth, and on there as well.

00:46:52.344 --> 00:46:53.657
<v Emily Blumenthal>Oh, my god, and everything else.

00:46:54.159 --> 00:46:55.637
<v Adrian Furstenburg>And everything else, and everything else.

00:46:56.179 --> 00:46:57.878
<v Emily Blumenthal>Yes, all right, adrienne, thank you.

00:46:57.878 --> 00:47:01.704
<v Emily Blumenthal>Thank you so much, and thank you for being part of the Handbag Designer 101 podcast.

00:47:01.704 --> 00:47:03.460
<v Emily Blumenthal>I can't wait to see what you're going to do next.

00:47:04.242 --> 00:47:05.143
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Oh, my god, so exciting.

00:47:05.143 --> 00:47:06.938
<v Adrian Furstenburg>Thank you, so good to see you there.

00:47:08.014 --> 00:47:08.798
<v Emily Blumenthal>Thanks for listening.

00:47:08.798 --> 00:47:14.181
<v Emily Blumenthal>Don't forget to rate and review, and follow us on every single platform at Handbag Designer.

00:47:14.181 --> 00:47:15.083
<v Emily Blumenthal>Thanks so much.

00:47:15.083 --> 00:47:16.086
<v Emily Blumenthal>See you next time.