Tola Adeagbo’s Florian London Journey from Lagos to London

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<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.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Welcome my dear sweet Tola Adiabo from Florian London, creative director, founder, inspirer, everything amazing.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Tola, welcome to Handbag Designer 101, the podcast.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>Thanks you for having me.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>Emily, Thank you so much for having me.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I've had you a few times.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>Yes, you've had me a few times.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Just to dive right in, considering Florian was a handbag awards winner, an audience fan favorite.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>You are clearly not from the United States.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>What's your story?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Where'd you come from?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Where were you born?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>All that good stuff?

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<v Tola Adeagbo>Currently I live in London, but I wasn't born in London, so I grew up in Lagos, nigeria.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>So I was born in Nigeria.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I came to London when I was 11.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>So from 11 to now, not going to everybody by age, it's a big blur.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>It's a big blur, it's very precisely so.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I spent most of my adult lives in the UK, in London.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So you were born in Nigeria.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>You came here at 11.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>And that was the first time you were on an airplane and everything.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Do you remember packing up and being told all right, that's it, sweet little Tola, we're getting out, we're going to London?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>And you were like wow, what's that going to be?

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<v Tola Adeagbo>Yeah, I think my dad had already moved to London, and my so did my mom.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>Actually, we were living with my grandmother, so it was so fair.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So who flew you?

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<v Tola Adeagbo>over.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I came with my mom, so my parents already had you know, they just came over to get me and my older sister, so it had an older sister already living in the UK that I've never met as well, so they were just bringing us to join them in the United Kingdom.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>So I think that was really the start.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>How long were you living with your grandma?

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<v Tola Adeagbo>So from about six I think.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>So I needed my grandma and my dad moved over to the, my dad moved over to London and my mom used to travel between London and the UK so my mom would go and come back or come back and I think when they got settled in the UK then they came to get me and my sister's also.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Do you think, though, that experience of you know having your parents, not having your parents, like it, makes you grow up really fast, you know, like, even if you don't even realize, I mean, you accept it as normal.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Like this is it?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>But not having your parents, and I'm sure your grandma, was a force to be reckoned with, but it's not easy.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>What?

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<v Tola Adeagbo>Yeah, generally we never felt like that because I think the African culture, the culture back home, was very family orientated, so it wasn't really a case of I think when you're thinking in the West, the world being with your grandma can be very isolated, but it wasn't like that.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>So I had my cousins right.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>This is, this was like a big family home, so we never really felt like we were missing our parents or to sleep.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Can you imagine your girls being like we're good?

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<v Tola Adeagbo>You know what you know.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I think when you live in London and you know you live in I don't know, it's very.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I think, like I said, the culture is very different.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So you're part of a community, so your family it's kind of extended, so your cousins, you know everybody's family, so everybody's like you know, it must have been isolating for you coming to London and then leaving all that, because here you are in this very homogenous community and now you're not.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Now you're having to basically start all over.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>I'm sure you were pretty self conscious of your accent, how you looked, being thrown into a new place Now having to wear different uniform and you have a sibling.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>You said you'd never met, like wow.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>It's a lot I know.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>So glad you mentioned that Cause.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>When I I mean, like I said, grew up in Nigeria, I was very confident.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I didn't really experience, I didn't really feel like I didn't feel this difference.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I didn't really feel like, oh, my accent is different.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I didn't really feel I was such a.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>Now I like to feel naive, and naive in a good way.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>Yeah, Naive, yeah, I'll come into London full of dreams, you know you were well, you were in a protected bubble, so it's fair.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>I don't think you should have.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah, you should apologize for being a child that felt safe enough to dream.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>I mean, that's what you want for your kids.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>Yeah, precisely yeah, and I'm so glad you mentioned that Cause.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>When I came to UK I experienced severe bullying and you know you mentioned exploring has been 10 years and I think the experience I had in secondary school in this country, especially being so confident and being so outspoken and coming to school and, you know, being laughed at for my accent, being laughed at because I was so bubbly, being laughed at because I was so full of confidence, and just learning that the bullying was really, you know, I might get just a little bit emotional thinking about tonight, especially because I have two daughters.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>You know people say that I smell because I'm from Africa.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I smell some African it was.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>It was really horrendous when I came then.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I mean things have changed now, but it was severe bully and not just it wasn't, it was really bad.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>And I think when I look back at that little girl and I look back at the reason why you know, running a brand is a roller coaster of different emotions it's.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>You're trying to hang in there, you're trying to be resilient, but I think the easiest thing for you to do is to just quit and get a nine to five.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>And I think, looking at that little girl and looking at the way of Fran Florent and just holding on and knowing that very soon, this brand that I've bought so much passion, so much of myself into would eventually get it stuck Precisely so, you know, at which I have, you know, throwing up and being a London resident, but it was never.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>You know, it wasn't easy.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>I mean it's so funny because you know, I know so many people like you, and I'm not minimizing you or your story, but you know there's so many people who you have to know how to weather the storms.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>You have to know how to be resilient, how to be scrappy and how to just keep pushing forward.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>And it's funny that you know the mindset.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>It's like you're growing up in a very risk averse environment and home because your family being immigrants and so forth.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>There's a book you have to follow, there's rules to be followed, there's expectations.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>However, in order to succeed, you have to bend all those rules in order to get around what's expected right.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So it's kind of like running a business you dive in and most of it's naivete, most of it's ignorance, because you don't know what the hell you're doing, let alone a handbag brand right, which you know.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Let's get a little bit into it.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So, after you finished high school or sixth form or whatever you people call it, with your lovely levels, o levels, q levels, p levels, whatever I just figured it all the levels out, but within the UK did you go to university after?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>And then what did you do after?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Because I'm sure, as an immigrant child, the expectations were very high yeah.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I mean, I was very good at math and also very artistic, so a lot of, like I said, I was very bullied but I never really stopped coming to it, so I used to do a lot of them.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I found my escape through design.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I used to do a lot of paintings.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I was very artistic and I remember that Did you come home and paint, kind of thing.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah, I did.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I stayed after school painting and I used to paint all the time.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>And when it was time for me to go to university, I mean for my A levels, which is what you do D levels are first yeah, a levels and A universities.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>So you start, yeah For you to your A levels.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>And I did business studies, it and art and design.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I'm always sneaking it in Because, like I said with immigrant parents, yeah, you can't do that.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>You can't do that Okay.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>She's doing it because you know she's doing.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>She's doing economics and she's in business.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>Yeah, and, by the way, here's some pretty pictures she's painted, by the way, exactly.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah, you know she's a.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>This is definitely little of the.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>You know I've got a bit of an hour into university.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>It was like a like what do I do now?

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I really wanted to study fashion design, but I could not for the life of me.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>Really, that to my parents, like I said, with with our culture, it's very you can't just go.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I'm like, yeah, that's what I'm doing and this is final.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>No, you're parents are very much part of your lives, and I was in 18 years so I studied finance at university, yeah, at university.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>So I graduated in fair with a you know two, one which is like first class in this two one and it so on and so forth, and I started working in the city as an analyst.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>For the city, for people don't know.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>It's the wall street of one in a central area.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I was working in the bank.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I was working in a banking sector.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>Can you imagine that?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>now.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I could not.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>A little taller in a bank, I was, I was.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>Which I can't even imagine it now.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>But you know, I was working in the bank, I was an analyst, you know nine to five going to, you know, just boring.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>Well, I don't mean to say it's boring for everybody.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>No, no, no, no.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah, you felt like your soul was stifled, like you've done everything you were supposed to.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Now you're doing what you're supposed to, but now what?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah, I had a moment like that with my first job and I remember sitting and staying late with the bright office lights coming in, and I was still in my 20s and I'm like Jesus, this is what my life's supposed to be.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>I think I'm dead already.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>It's like now, yeah, so that's how I felt.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I mean, for me, it was like this is not me, this is not what I really want to do.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I'm doing it, you know, to get by, not to get by, even, so to speak.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>Just you know, I'm just doing it To do the right thing, just to do the right thing.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>Exactly that's the words I'm looking for, and luckily for me well, not luckily.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>At that time I thought it was the end of the world.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I got married, I was pregnant with my first daughter and I was made redundant because we said a financial crash.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah, right Again, just to decrypt that.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>You were laid off.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah, I was laid off, yes, okay, no, no, no, this is like this is educational.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>X 50 already.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So you know we're global audience.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So you were pregnant.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Did that kind of freak you out or were you like oh, thank God.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>A part of me was like oh, thank God, as you know, I didn't really want it anyway.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>So now I'm going to be a stay on mom, you know, because it was my first child, I just really want to now try and just be this mom and just stay calm.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>And you know, yeah, so that was what I was doing.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>Yeah, I thought, you know, I'm going to figure out what's my daughter's files.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>And so I was laid off.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>Make sure you don't do.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>And after seven months of being a mom, I'm like are you ready to lose your mind?

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<v Tola Adeagbo>What's the meaning of that?

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I can't do this.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I'm so.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I just felt like I was losing myself.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I mean, I've been to so many talks about being a mom and losing your identity.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I really thought like I was losing myself.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>You know, going to the baby model groups, I had the heart you know this, this is not me and I started looking for a job.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>Actually, I didn't really.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>And at the same time, I was divided by, you know, by taking land bags, adding a bit of stuff to it, redesigning it, reconstructing it.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>How did that happen?

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<v Tola Adeagbo>So I was just doing that, because I was bored, just being there with my daughter.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>Yes, I was doing that before you know what kind of bags were you?

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<v Tola Adeagbo>buying.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I was going to put a bellow road in Nothing, ale, and I was buying vintage bags.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I was then, you know, taking them to be refurbished because the levers are worn out.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>Then I'll stitch some little designs in there and then I'll sell it to family and friends.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So it kind of became like purposeful on the hunt, like you would go to Portobello Road and like look for bags that had some sort of authentic DNA and say, oh, I could do something with this and I could do something with that, and then and I forget that, and that kind of gives you a purpose.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>And then every week you would then go to Portobello Road, like then all of a sudden you were on a mission every week, like this is what I'm doing now.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>Yeah, precisely yeah, so I was just doing that just on the side.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>Was it really a business?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So it's a net organically happened.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>It was one day you were like oh, I could do something with that.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>Yeah, yeah, just one day, just turning in shopping and just thinking, oh, I can really do this.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>But, like I said, it was obvious that I was in on the side when my daughter was about seven months.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I'm blinded to get back to work, but it was very close to the financial crash I think I walked into like employers not demanded.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>We're like you know what I want four days in the office, one day at home.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>And it's like is she crazy?

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I mean it's nowhere.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>Now we're back.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>Then it was.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>I'll forget it.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>I mean yeah, especially being a woman, especially being a mom.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>They were like who are you to demand something like that?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah, exactly.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>So eventually, you know I was going to believe, so Me.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>Then it was like, why don't you just start your own business?

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<v Tola Adeagbo>Like you have so much passion for design that let's start exploring.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>And that was the beginning of exploring London.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>And if you started thinking about it again, it's so ironic now because I wasn't very keen to start with at first and it was almost like he served me the idea.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So, john, we're talking about our friend John, yeah, come on, your husband.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So was it his idea to call it Florian?

00:14:26.033 --> 00:14:27.650
<v Emily Blumenthal>Like, what's the origin of that?

00:14:28.505 --> 00:14:30.172
<v Tola Adeagbo>It was his idea to call it Florian.

00:14:30.172 --> 00:14:32.585
<v Tola Adeagbo>He came up with that.

00:14:32.585 --> 00:14:40.096
<v Tola Adeagbo>I think he was trying to rescue his wife and he was trying to rescue me from mentally as well, because it was almost like I couldn't find a job.

00:14:40.096 --> 00:14:49.171
<v Tola Adeagbo>I want a flexibility because, remember, when I was made to London, I really wanted to be a stay-at-mom, but also, you know, I also couldn't do that.

00:14:49.171 --> 00:14:51.277
<v Tola Adeagbo>As well as trying to find that balance.

00:14:51.277 --> 00:14:59.596
<v Tola Adeagbo>So I think I was struggling a lot and, right, I think Florence started from a place of the name.

00:14:59.596 --> 00:15:04.797
<v Tola Adeagbo>Florian actually means growth, watching, flowering and nurturing something and watching it grow.

00:15:04.797 --> 00:15:06.471
<v Tola Adeagbo>And this was what.

00:15:06.471 --> 00:15:07.494
<v Tola Adeagbo>So it's on a fork.

00:15:07.494 --> 00:15:13.052
<v Tola Adeagbo>I like that name because he came up with all the different names and I'm like, yeah, I like that name, awesome the names.

00:15:13.052 --> 00:15:16.085
<v Tola Adeagbo>Yeah, the name Florian just stopped with me.

00:15:16.085 --> 00:15:18.614
<v Tola Adeagbo>So that's how Florence started.

00:15:20.105 --> 00:16:02.057
<v Emily Blumenthal>Oh, it's so funny because the sensibility of your bags, I think what's always drawn me to them, has been the uniqueness of the silhouette, the DNA, the color, and I think they definitely have a vintage feel to it and I mean, being as a handbag person, I feel confident in saying I can speak to the authenticity of the silhouettes and you know the cut out handles and so forth that it definitely has always had its own DNA and very throwback and having the confidence to do color, which back then was really hard to come by.

00:16:02.057 --> 00:16:09.777
<v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah, if you ever wanted to start a handbag brand and you didn't know where to start, this is for you.

00:16:09.777 --> 00:16:15.636
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00:16:15.636 --> 00:16:20.296
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00:16:45.457 --> 00:16:56.594
<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.

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<v Tola Adeagbo>When I started designing bags for Florian, I really wanted to design something and I like the fact that you make your color something that injects color into the everyday, because, like you know, london is very gloomy, very, very rainy, very depressing sometimes.

00:17:56.278 --> 00:18:09.005
<v Tola Adeagbo>So I work with a lot of colors and my aesthetics are very bold, which embodies, you know, kind of my personality as well, and I want the Florian woman to feel confident.

00:18:09.005 --> 00:18:15.372
<v Tola Adeagbo>So when I'm designing the bag, I want something that would last us over season, so more or less season less.

00:18:15.372 --> 00:18:21.512
<v Tola Adeagbo>Aesthetic needs to be very strong but yet feminine, so it's like trying to find those two balances.

00:18:21.512 --> 00:18:29.318
<v Tola Adeagbo>So a lot of our design kind of just marry both boldness and, you know, femininity.

00:18:30.744 --> 00:18:37.305
<v Emily Blumenthal>How did you go from buying these vintage bags and getting them refurbished to?

00:18:37.305 --> 00:18:47.192
<v Emily Blumenthal>You know like you definitely had some sort of practice or academic, you know, in terms of design, like you had the basics.

00:18:47.192 --> 00:18:52.924
<v Emily Blumenthal>But how did you go from that to getting your first sample, to getting your first order, to getting your first stoccas?

00:18:52.924 --> 00:19:00.501
<v Emily Blumenthal>Because that's like a bit of a, that's a jump, especially with John being like hey, give it a go and it's like well, where do I start?

00:19:00.501 --> 00:19:00.924
<v Emily Blumenthal>Like, what did you do?

00:19:02.651 --> 00:19:14.653
<v Tola Adeagbo>I mean what's very close to this again, but the first thing that really gave us that seal of approval, it's the embargo and now I've said this before each one applied for it.

00:19:14.653 --> 00:19:22.741
<v Tola Adeagbo>I think I was sorry because, like I said, the first thing, you try to describe suppliers and they've started learning about nervous.

00:19:22.741 --> 00:19:26.819
<v Tola Adeagbo>They're learning about what works, what doesn't work, what materials you want to work with.

00:19:26.819 --> 00:19:30.012
<v Tola Adeagbo>So those are all behind the scenes and that takes a lot of time.

00:19:30.012 --> 00:19:33.627
<v Tola Adeagbo>And even now I'm learning, adding your learning of the boat, the boat.

00:19:33.627 --> 00:19:40.692
<v Tola Adeagbo>I traveled to China, traveled to Spain, to so many different places, even within Europe, trying to find suppliers for the bag.

00:19:40.692 --> 00:19:45.386
<v Tola Adeagbo>That was even before we launched a website for the bag.

00:19:45.386 --> 00:19:48.071
<v Tola Adeagbo>So do you recommend that?

00:19:48.071 --> 00:19:49.694
<v Tola Adeagbo>I actually do.

00:19:49.694 --> 00:19:55.040
<v Tola Adeagbo>I think it's important because sometimes the easy part is, you know, finding a name for your brand.

00:19:55.040 --> 00:19:58.512
<v Tola Adeagbo>All these things are very like encouraging.

00:19:58.512 --> 00:20:00.238
<v Tola Adeagbo>Yeah, it's very tough.

00:20:00.238 --> 00:20:03.950
<v Tola Adeagbo>We're encouraging like, but it's very fantasy because you're just stuck.

00:20:03.950 --> 00:20:14.532
<v Tola Adeagbo>You know, yeah, what my website to look like this, and I mean I mentor a lot of people where they spent so long on the aesthetics of the website but there's nothing about the product.

00:20:14.532 --> 00:20:18.608
<v Tola Adeagbo>Yeah, but they're like, yeah, what I'm going to get samples made, but it's no product, there's nothing.

00:20:19.230 --> 00:20:22.317
<v Tola Adeagbo>So I would say, like research your product first.

00:20:22.317 --> 00:20:23.991
<v Tola Adeagbo>Research the market first.

00:20:23.991 --> 00:20:25.680
<v Tola Adeagbo>Research your competitors.

00:20:25.680 --> 00:20:26.904
<v Tola Adeagbo>Who's in what you're doing?

00:20:26.904 --> 00:20:28.390
<v Tola Adeagbo>It was the price.

00:20:28.390 --> 00:20:31.077
<v Tola Adeagbo>What's your unique selling point?

00:20:31.077 --> 00:20:31.960
<v Tola Adeagbo>Why are you different?

00:20:31.960 --> 00:20:37.818
<v Tola Adeagbo>As you know that every market is saturated now, there's no new idea under the sun.

00:20:37.818 --> 00:20:39.717
<v Tola Adeagbo>It's like what are you bringing is different?

00:20:40.210 --> 00:20:42.954
<v Tola Adeagbo>And those questions you have to be be honest with yourself.

00:20:42.954 --> 00:20:48.855
<v Tola Adeagbo>I would even advise you to get a consultant, because I asked myself this question what was I honest with myself?

00:20:48.855 --> 00:20:49.557
<v Tola Adeagbo>I don't think so.

00:20:49.557 --> 00:20:52.098
<v Tola Adeagbo>I would say, yeah, this is easy.

00:20:52.098 --> 00:20:53.269
<v Tola Adeagbo>You know there are competitors.

00:20:53.269 --> 00:20:56.934
<v Tola Adeagbo>You know we can design buys, then look like this and we can sell it to any.

00:20:56.934 --> 00:20:58.394
<v Tola Adeagbo>We know our target market.

00:20:58.394 --> 00:21:06.778
<v Tola Adeagbo>But you need someone that would help you evaluate the market properly and help you kind of decide why I really want to do this.

00:21:06.778 --> 00:21:13.260
<v Tola Adeagbo>Do I really want to spend my life savings, all my time and effort, stuff, in this business?

00:21:13.260 --> 00:21:18.977
<v Tola Adeagbo>Is it truly my passion or is it, I don't know, an extensive, highly passion viable?

00:21:18.977 --> 00:21:21.115
<v Tola Adeagbo>Yeah, exactly, is my passion viable?

00:21:21.115 --> 00:21:24.795
<v Tola Adeagbo>Those are really important questions, more now more than ever.

00:21:24.795 --> 00:21:27.436
<v Tola Adeagbo>So that's the overall.

00:21:27.436 --> 00:21:28.692
<v Tola Adeagbo>I didn't even have lost the question.

00:21:30.151 --> 00:21:33.394
<v Emily Blumenthal>Well, you know, how did you figure out to get your first sample made?

00:21:33.394 --> 00:21:35.099
<v Emily Blumenthal>How did you go from there?

00:21:35.099 --> 00:21:36.295
<v Emily Blumenthal>Was it like a Google search?

00:21:36.295 --> 00:21:43.335
<v Emily Blumenthal>Like like it's so funny, when you're unfamiliar with the process you don't even realize it's called the sample.

00:21:43.335 --> 00:21:47.277
<v Emily Blumenthal>Okay, so what I pay for the sample isn't going to be what I pay for production.

00:21:47.277 --> 00:21:51.457
<v Emily Blumenthal>Oh, so my samples I shouldn't get done at the same place where I do my production.

00:21:51.457 --> 00:21:53.773
<v Emily Blumenthal>But you think you need to do everything at the same place.

00:21:53.773 --> 00:21:59.730
<v Emily Blumenthal>You want to have everything done locally, domestically, so you can, you know, sit on top of your manufacturer.

00:21:59.730 --> 00:22:04.455
<v Emily Blumenthal>And then you realize they hate you that much more because you don't know what you're doing and you're paying them by it.

00:22:04.455 --> 00:22:06.438
<v Emily Blumenthal>And then they're like okay, I'll do the sample.

00:22:06.438 --> 00:22:07.555
<v Emily Blumenthal>Now you need to go away.

00:22:07.555 --> 00:22:09.596
<v Emily Blumenthal>You're like, oh, I need to start over again.

00:22:09.596 --> 00:22:10.092
<v Emily Blumenthal>Now what?

00:22:10.092 --> 00:22:13.077
<v Emily Blumenthal>So it's this learning curve cycle.

00:22:13.950 --> 00:22:27.361
<v Tola Adeagbo>This is a lot I think was important and I would advise anybody to find inventor, find somebody that's done it before, or sometimes even pay somebody, because I remember not knowing what a MLQ was.

00:22:28.637 --> 00:22:29.363
<v Emily Blumenthal>I'm like is that a MLQ?

00:22:29.363 --> 00:22:30.674
<v Emily Blumenthal>A MLQ?

00:22:32.115 --> 00:22:34.230
<v Tola Adeagbo>Yeah, minimal, all that kind of thing.

00:22:34.230 --> 00:22:38.538
<v Tola Adeagbo>There's so many different terminologies that you know absolutely nothing about.

00:22:38.538 --> 00:22:40.257
<v Tola Adeagbo>So I mean, google is your friend.

00:22:40.257 --> 00:22:41.634
<v Tola Adeagbo>Now Everybody can start.

00:22:41.634 --> 00:22:48.289
<v Tola Adeagbo>All you have to do is go on Instagram, well, social media, go Google, and then you think you know you can just start a business.

00:22:48.349 --> 00:23:01.295
<v Emily Blumenthal>So back then, finding my suppliers, I went into Google, but then I traveled as well because I wanted to see the future, how did you tell John, like I need to go to Italy, I need to go to Spain, this is a work trip, or was he like go for it.

00:23:02.210 --> 00:23:14.210
<v Tola Adeagbo>Yeah, he was like go for it, and sometimes we went to Spain together, but I went to China by myself and that was, you know, was that terrifying, that terrifying, but also a massive learning curve as well.

00:23:14.210 --> 00:23:27.199
<v Tola Adeagbo>So I've learned so much through that that, you know, trying to make our samples in China and then decided we want to, you know, produce in China and what we phrase there, oh my goodness, almost ended the business as well.

00:23:27.199 --> 00:23:29.897
<v Tola Adeagbo>So I've learned so much over the years.

00:23:30.589 --> 00:23:31.132
<v Emily Blumenthal>Are you?

00:23:31.132 --> 00:23:34.316
<v Emily Blumenthal>Because I know you also and I could be incorrect.

00:23:34.316 --> 00:23:37.058
<v Emily Blumenthal>I know you produced in Spain.

00:23:37.058 --> 00:23:39.597
<v Emily Blumenthal>I believe you may or may not have produced in Portugal.

00:23:39.597 --> 00:23:47.695
<v Emily Blumenthal>How are you able I mean, you're lucky, being in the UK, that for you to go to Spain is a lot of it's like us going to Florida, but without the same benefits.

00:23:47.695 --> 00:23:53.282
<v Emily Blumenthal>So how, I'll take Spain over Florida for a short trip.

00:23:53.282 --> 00:24:19.159
<v Emily Blumenthal>But how are you able to make these decisions and come to these conclusions Like, okay, the MLQ for China was too difficult, or I can't have the same control, or I don't know how the taxes and duties have impacted China and UK versus China and US, but I know it's almost prohibitive right now for somebody to do small production runs from here to there and it's better to go into almost a European country.

00:24:19.159 --> 00:24:21.136
<v Emily Blumenthal>So how have you navigated all of that?

00:24:22.191 --> 00:24:28.056
<v Tola Adeagbo>So when I started, the initial thing was to actually produce, because I thought Florida, london, we're going to make everything in the UK.

00:24:28.056 --> 00:24:45.150
<v Tola Adeagbo>So I went, yeah, so we went to Somerset where Merbrie samples, and I took a trip there, found quite a manufacturer there, but the only thing you get is really, really expensive, because part of what I wanted to do was to have bags that are an attainable price point.

00:24:45.150 --> 00:24:48.855
<v Tola Adeagbo>So I didn't really want it to compete with luxury brands, but it was possible to do that.

00:24:49.671 --> 00:24:51.336
<v Emily Blumenthal>And what was the attainable price point?

00:24:51.890 --> 00:24:58.250
<v Tola Adeagbo>So I didn't really want to go over 500 pounds for a bag, so we didn't really want to exceed that.

00:24:58.250 --> 00:25:05.396
<v Tola Adeagbo>But if we made in the UK, I mean the quantities were very small but the prices were ridiculous.

00:25:05.396 --> 00:25:17.814
<v Tola Adeagbo>But then with the UK manufacturing as well because, like I said, a lot of my bags are very structured and they struggled to produce that I mean we wasted so much money at first and that's a learning curve.

00:25:17.814 --> 00:25:27.615
<v Tola Adeagbo>That was the learning curve we produced in London, first our samples and I remember after the third sample I'm like they're never going to get it.

00:25:27.615 --> 00:25:29.561
<v Tola Adeagbo>This is not what I had in paper.

00:25:30.125 --> 00:25:30.829
<v Emily Blumenthal>So that's why I started.

00:25:30.829 --> 00:25:32.516
<v Emily Blumenthal>Did you look into Cambridge?

00:25:32.516 --> 00:25:40.414
<v Emily Blumenthal>Just out of curiosity, knowing that Cambridge I'm not kidding like I spoke to Julie Dean from Cambridge Satchel, like she built the factory.

00:25:42.201 --> 00:25:46.309
<v Tola Adeagbo>Yes, yes, yeah, and then she works with vegetable town level, so it's very different.

00:25:46.309 --> 00:25:53.787
<v Tola Adeagbo>I think they work very well with that in the UK, but not so much like normal car skin level.

00:25:53.787 --> 00:25:57.078
<v Tola Adeagbo>It was really difficult Even buying the level in the UK.

00:25:57.078 --> 00:26:02.598
<v Tola Adeagbo>It was imported from Italy, as I said, to go to the source Right, so it was really difficult.

00:26:02.598 --> 00:26:10.819
<v Tola Adeagbo>I feel we need to invest in the UK in our manufacturing, especially for other bags and leather goods, but it's a topic for another day, maybe not for you.

00:26:13.250 --> 00:26:15.674
<v Emily Blumenthal>I know who they should hire to be that spokesperson.

00:26:15.674 --> 00:26:25.507
<v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah, so, in conclusion, after you went through all this, you went through a few countries.

00:26:25.507 --> 00:26:25.769
<v Emily Blumenthal>Right?

00:26:25.769 --> 00:26:28.942
<v Emily Blumenthal>You did do production in Spain for a while too, didn't you?

00:26:30.066 --> 00:26:30.266
<v Tola Adeagbo>Yes.

00:26:30.266 --> 00:26:32.355
<v Tola Adeagbo>So winter Spain actually made it.

00:26:32.355 --> 00:26:38.969
<v Tola Adeagbo>We went to Spain to produce, to do like a short production of a particular bag.

00:26:38.969 --> 00:26:44.007
<v Tola Adeagbo>But then the structural styles that I was designing they recommended I'll go to China.

00:26:44.007 --> 00:26:55.665
<v Tola Adeagbo>So they're like, you know what best for you to go to China, because you know we have they'll say to a lot of these designs they would get it much easier in China.

00:26:55.665 --> 00:27:01.833
<v Tola Adeagbo>So I'm like, yeah, then I'm saying that's why I took the trip to China.

00:27:01.833 --> 00:27:07.647
<v Tola Adeagbo>I'm like, okay, you know people straddle from China, but I'm going to, you know, take a chance and go to China.

00:27:07.894 --> 00:27:14.429
<v Tola Adeagbo>And it kind of started okay, but then it just turned out to be a disaster that it came back to Europe.

00:27:14.429 --> 00:27:16.580
<v Tola Adeagbo>So where are they produced now?

00:27:16.580 --> 00:27:19.039
<v Tola Adeagbo>Bags are produced in Turkey.

00:27:19.039 --> 00:27:32.136
<v Tola Adeagbo>So I finally, after many years of like, working with so many different you know manufacturers, we found a third generation atelier in Turkey and they produce all their bags now.

00:27:32.136 --> 00:27:35.703
<v Tola Adeagbo>So they take a lot of pride in what we do.

00:27:35.703 --> 00:27:37.989
<v Tola Adeagbo>Is every call it's everything I want.

00:27:37.989 --> 00:27:47.045
<v Tola Adeagbo>It took me five years, six years or so many different suppliers and so many different manufacturers to find somebody that I'm really comfortable with.

00:27:47.515 --> 00:27:56.440
<v Emily Blumenthal>It's definitely a journey and you know, I've spoken to designers from all over, from Mexico, from Morocco, from Turkey.

00:27:56.440 --> 00:28:17.605
<v Emily Blumenthal>I'm trying to think I know there was another country and each one has eventually, I mean in those kinds of circumstances, was able to go back and saying like, hey, we might as well empower, employ the local people here, because they have the skill set, because they've always had the skill set, but they just need to be taught how to modernize it and then to make it something more commercial.

00:28:17.605 --> 00:28:18.548
<v Emily Blumenthal>I get that.

00:28:18.548 --> 00:28:25.356
<v Emily Blumenthal>It's so frustrating because I know in your heart of hearts you would obviously prefer to do it in the UK, but it's like, yeah, what are you going to do?

00:28:25.356 --> 00:28:31.587
<v Emily Blumenthal>You're a small business and you want your product to sell and you want to get it into the hands of people.

00:28:31.587 --> 00:28:34.361
<v Emily Blumenthal>So it's like at some point you're playing this dance.

00:28:34.361 --> 00:28:39.267
<v Emily Blumenthal>Has anyone called you out on saying it's not manufactured in the UK whilst naming it London?

00:28:39.267 --> 00:28:41.974
<v Emily Blumenthal>No See, nobody cares.

00:28:43.118 --> 00:28:45.888
<v Tola Adeagbo>No, no one has ever said that.

00:28:45.888 --> 00:28:47.294
<v Tola Adeagbo>You know why are you throwing London?

00:28:47.294 --> 00:28:50.182
<v Tola Adeagbo>You know manufacturing in London, I mean, I even loved it.

00:28:50.182 --> 00:28:52.186
<v Tola Adeagbo>So the designs are designed in London.

00:28:52.186 --> 00:28:54.980
<v Tola Adeagbo>Yeah, so that I think that is for nobody really.

00:28:54.980 --> 00:29:02.082
<v Tola Adeagbo>No, yeah, I don't, we're not really known in London, or I don't know, for lever goods.

00:29:02.082 --> 00:29:06.295
<v Tola Adeagbo>I think if I was Italian that was going somewhere else.

00:29:06.295 --> 00:29:10.826
<v Tola Adeagbo>That might be different.

00:29:11.688 --> 00:29:14.474
<v Emily Blumenthal>Where do you think you're best well known now across the world?

00:29:14.474 --> 00:29:16.903
<v Emily Blumenthal>Do you think it's the US or do you think it's the UK?

00:29:16.903 --> 00:29:19.092
<v Emily Blumenthal>At this point, I think it's the US.

00:29:19.512 --> 00:29:29.641
<v Tola Adeagbo>My goodness, we're currently stopped the shop, but a lot of our customers I would say 60% of our customers are from the US.

00:29:29.641 --> 00:29:36.291
<v Tola Adeagbo>Yeah, new York, la, and I'm so familiar with all the different states.

00:29:36.291 --> 00:29:39.317
<v Tola Adeagbo>We get a lot of our customers from the US.

00:29:39.317 --> 00:29:57.326
<v Tola Adeagbo>So I'm just, I love the US, I love them in the US, I love their support, I love the fact that in the US, I think it's a female black owned brand, I think it's really celebrated in the US and you know, that is just.

00:29:57.326 --> 00:30:00.055
<v Tola Adeagbo>It goes a long way, I think, in the US.

00:30:01.355 --> 00:30:02.678
<v Emily Blumenthal>Do you ever throw in?

00:30:02.678 --> 00:30:03.719
<v Emily Blumenthal>Nigerian born.

00:30:05.020 --> 00:30:08.251
<v Tola Adeagbo>Yeah, yeah, from time to time, I think it's weird.

00:30:09.039 --> 00:30:12.023
<v Emily Blumenthal>I think it's part of your career, 100%.

00:30:12.023 --> 00:30:16.309
<v Emily Blumenthal>I think it's part of your DNA and I think it's part of your story.

00:30:16.309 --> 00:30:54.069
<v Emily Blumenthal>And I think the relevance of brands with fans and you know, as you said, usp Unique selling point the customer right now is so much more discerning and she, he or they are much more keen to want to know the person behind the brand, want to know the why, want to know the inspiration, whereas before that was just, you know, a lost page on your site called blog, where you'd be, like I was walking down the countryside and it only fell and lo and behold, now there's a bag, inspired like it has to come from something real, and the customer wants to see you take it for a test drive.

00:30:54.069 --> 00:30:59.191
<v Emily Blumenthal>They want to see you speaking about the value points of what makes it so special.

00:30:59.191 --> 00:31:08.220
<v Emily Blumenthal>And you yourself have turned into an influencer of some discretion as well, which such a fan of watching you come out of cars.

00:31:08.220 --> 00:31:10.026
<v Emily Blumenthal>I was like what's she wearing today?

00:31:14.286 --> 00:31:16.911
<v Tola Adeagbo>Oh, thank you, Thank you, love it, love it.

00:31:16.911 --> 00:31:17.893
<v Tola Adeagbo>I think you're right.

00:31:17.893 --> 00:31:27.799
<v Tola Adeagbo>When we started Slurring, I really didn't add this action up on the brand, because you get a PR company and people just want to know what magazine you're in or not.

00:31:27.799 --> 00:31:30.945
<v Tola Adeagbo>You per se your bags and now it's very different.

00:31:30.945 --> 00:31:34.674
<v Tola Adeagbo>People want to know what on this brand was a story behind this brand?

00:31:34.674 --> 00:31:39.042
<v Tola Adeagbo>You know how did she, you know, start flooring what inspires it?

00:31:39.042 --> 00:31:39.846
<v Tola Adeagbo>X, y, z.

00:31:39.846 --> 00:31:50.705
<v Tola Adeagbo>So that's why I started my personal Instagram page to sort of show my day to day, not complete a child.

00:31:50.705 --> 00:31:51.448
<v Tola Adeagbo>Free me too.

00:31:53.563 --> 00:32:19.972
<v Emily Blumenthal>I mean, you know, the funniest bit is, since the pair of you have come to the awards the second time, when we re honored you not the first, because you came up, you showed up alone the first- I remember you said on stage I'm not John, just in case you were one but I'd like to say that he's been very Banksy and since that time I've never actually seen him again.

00:32:19.972 --> 00:32:24.623
<v Emily Blumenthal>So I firmly believe he's alive and kicking somewhere, but he is.

00:32:26.027 --> 00:32:27.109
<v Tola Adeagbo>You can't make that up.

00:32:27.109 --> 00:32:28.321
<v Tola Adeagbo>No, no, no.

00:32:28.321 --> 00:32:34.344
<v Tola Adeagbo>He makes an appearance on my story from time to time, but not on my big feet, oh my gosh.

00:32:35.059 --> 00:32:53.750
<v Emily Blumenthal>So, tola, I am just such a huge, huge fan of Florian, always had been from the Turquoise bag that won that best handbag and style and design and audience fan favorite and there was a reason why I think so many people gravitated towards it.

00:32:53.750 --> 00:33:20.587
<v Emily Blumenthal>And you know, I can only say that, you being part of our community, that all I want is good things coming to you, because the brand, the brand, should be sustainable, because what you've done for it and what you've created in your aesthetic and your eye and you know I think people almost get annoyed hearing this cheesiness, but if people haven't seen a Florian bag, it definitely carries its own DNA and I'm here to see it grow.

00:33:20.587 --> 00:33:23.051
<v Emily Blumenthal>I'm here for that, thank you so much Thank you.

00:33:23.092 --> 00:33:23.972
<v Tola Adeagbo>It means the world.

00:33:23.972 --> 00:33:24.874
<v Tola Adeagbo>Thank you, Amy.

00:33:24.874 --> 00:33:27.125
<v Tola Adeagbo>Thank you for your support over the years.

00:33:27.125 --> 00:33:28.505
<v Tola Adeagbo>It's really appreciated.

00:33:29.922 --> 00:33:32.086
<v Emily Blumenthal>Well, well, Tola, how can we?

00:33:32.086 --> 00:33:33.289
<v Emily Blumenthal>We fuck you?

00:33:33.289 --> 00:33:34.413
<v Emily Blumenthal>Follow Florian.

00:33:34.413 --> 00:33:36.244
<v Emily Blumenthal>How can we buy a beautiful bag of yours?

00:33:36.244 --> 00:33:37.669
<v Emily Blumenthal>Let us know, Okay.

00:33:38.519 --> 00:33:39.821
<v Tola Adeagbo>Hi, florian London.

00:33:39.821 --> 00:33:47.401
<v Tola Adeagbo>You can follow on Instagram, on Facebook, on Twitter it's Florian London, uk.

00:33:47.401 --> 00:33:50.104
<v Tola Adeagbo>You can follow me personally.

00:33:50.104 --> 00:33:54.393
<v Tola Adeagbo>It's Florian, underscore C and in three E's.

00:33:54.393 --> 00:33:56.006
<v Tola Adeagbo>So that's T, e, e, e.

00:33:57.224 --> 00:33:58.311
<v Emily Blumenthal>Not to make it easier.

00:33:59.660 --> 00:34:01.682
<v Tola Adeagbo>Just to make it easier, and it also.

00:34:01.682 --> 00:34:05.730
<v Tola Adeagbo>You can purchase Florian London on wwwflorielondoncom.

00:34:05.730 --> 00:34:11.291
<v Tola Adeagbo>You can also stop on ShopBog, so you can also check it out on ShopBog.

00:34:13.121 --> 00:34:17.711
<v Emily Blumenthal>My dear, thank you so much for being part of the Handbag Designer 101 podcast.

00:34:17.711 --> 00:34:20.606
<v Emily Blumenthal>I can't wait to see what happens next.

00:34:20.606 --> 00:34:21.748
<v Emily Blumenthal>Talk to you soon.

00:34:21.748 --> 00:34:23.552
<v Emily Blumenthal>Talk to you soon, thank you.

00:34:23.552 --> 00:34:24.355
<v Emily Blumenthal>Thanks for listening.

00:34:24.355 --> 00:34:31.972
<v Emily Blumenthal>Don't forget to rate and review, and follow us on every single platform at Handbag Designer.

00:34:31.972 --> 00:34:32.813
<v Emily Blumenthal>Thanks so much.

00:34:32.813 --> 00:34:33.840
<v Emily Blumenthal>See you next time.