Tamara Rappa’s Story of Making It Rain

WEBVTT

00:00:00.861 --> 00:00:18.150
<v Speaker 1>Hi and welcome to the Handbag Designer 101 podcast with your host, emily Blumenthal, handbag designer expert and handbag fairy godmother, where we cover everything about handbags from making, marketing, designing and talking to handbag designers and industry experts about what it takes to make a successful handbag.

00:00:18.150 --> 00:00:29.768
<v Speaker 1>Hi, tamara Rappa, welcome to Handbag Designer 101, the podcast.

00:00:29.768 --> 00:00:38.920
<v Speaker 1>Tamara, founder of Story Reign publication to the stars, everything you ever needed about everything all seems to go back to you.

00:00:38.920 --> 00:00:43.067
<v Speaker 1>I have been waiting on bated breath to have you here.

00:00:43.067 --> 00:00:44.729
<v Speaker 1>I can exhale now.

00:00:44.729 --> 00:00:47.960
<v Speaker 1>I'm more excited than you even know, huzzah.

00:00:47.960 --> 00:00:48.945
<v Speaker 1>Welcome Tamara.

00:00:49.801 --> 00:00:51.408
<v Speaker 2>I am really excited to be here.

00:00:51.408 --> 00:00:54.408
<v Speaker 2>You and I have known each other for quite a while.

00:00:54.408 --> 00:00:55.210
<v Speaker 2>Oh my God.

00:00:55.210 --> 00:01:01.206
<v Speaker 2>I participated in your Handbag Designer 101 for years and it's great to talk to you.

00:01:01.206 --> 00:01:03.347
<v Speaker 2>Congratulations on your podcast.

00:01:03.347 --> 00:01:08.432
<v Speaker 2>You know we have one too, and I know it's probably such a labor of love as it is for me.

00:01:09.140 --> 00:01:19.451
<v Speaker 1>I don't love talking to people at this point, right, I mean the beauty of a podcast is like you were doing it anyway, so you might as well record it and have other people just listen to the conversation.

00:01:20.081 --> 00:01:32.647
<v Speaker 2>I love hearing about all the stories that people have that the little known or white or better known, and getting to sort of answer, you know, having them answer through the lens of the questions that we're asking them.

00:01:32.647 --> 00:01:36.668
<v Speaker 2>It's really, really fun, and so congratulations, it's very cool, wow, thanks, man.

00:01:38.359 --> 00:01:48.632
<v Speaker 1>I mean, it seemed me I looked after 15 years of doing the handbag of words, of which you were very kindly a part of, in the decision making process of taking people to the next level.

00:01:48.632 --> 00:01:51.909
<v Speaker 1>I think you were on there, a preliminary panel, for a few years.

00:01:51.909 --> 00:02:01.814
<v Speaker 1>It just made sense because, look, I talk to people and that had been speaking to people much like you and handbags specifically, for a really really, really, really long time.

00:02:01.814 --> 00:02:08.086
<v Speaker 1>So, hey, people want to know about this, so if we could be the one to serve it up, let's make a party out of it.

00:02:08.086 --> 00:02:09.871
<v Speaker 1>You know, absolutely I love that.

00:02:13.182 --> 00:02:18.450
<v Speaker 1>So you are and started as an editorial individual.

00:02:18.450 --> 00:02:20.554
<v Speaker 1>How did that happen?

00:02:20.554 --> 00:02:30.881
<v Speaker 1>Because you know it's funny when I feel like when I started out, the chic thing I see your book chic behind you I think that's where that name came from was to get into advertising.

00:02:30.881 --> 00:02:38.826
<v Speaker 1>So I went in a different backdoor of advertising and ad sales and like how can this make money for the publication?

00:02:38.826 --> 00:02:41.960
<v Speaker 1>Ironically, that's not where I ended up going with creating a product.

00:02:41.960 --> 00:02:43.743
<v Speaker 1>That was a very, very hard sale.

00:02:43.743 --> 00:02:47.933
<v Speaker 1>But how did you backdoor into fashion going through editorial?

00:02:48.620 --> 00:02:51.605
<v Speaker 2>So I spent four years in college.

00:02:51.605 --> 00:02:56.133
<v Speaker 2>I did not study fashion, but after college I went to Parsons.

00:02:56.133 --> 00:02:58.246
<v Speaker 2>You did the AAS.

00:02:58.246 --> 00:03:01.286
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I did an associate's degree in marketing.

00:03:01.286 --> 00:03:03.950
<v Speaker 2>I actually didn't finish the degree.

00:03:03.950 --> 00:03:22.074
<v Speaker 2>I didn't finish the course of study because during that time at Parsons I landed two internships and it was really a goal of mine to really what I was trying to do was find my way towards fashion, this thing that I knew that I wanted to do for a living and that I had no connection to whatsoever.

00:03:22.074 --> 00:03:25.528
<v Speaker 2>So I said I'm going to put myself in school and I did that.

00:03:25.528 --> 00:03:28.068
<v Speaker 2>And then, through Parsons, I got two internships.

00:03:28.068 --> 00:03:42.269
<v Speaker 2>And to go back to what you were saying about advertising, my first internship was at Interview Magazine, in the editorial department, in the fashion department rather, and my other internship that I had for so I think one internship was three days a week, the other one was two.

00:03:42.269 --> 00:03:43.151
<v Speaker 2>I filled my whole week.

00:03:48.539 --> 00:03:48.700
<v Speaker 1>Hustle.

00:03:48.700 --> 00:03:49.485
<v Speaker 1>You are a hustler, you have to do that.

00:03:49.485 --> 00:03:52.942
<v Speaker 1>If you're committing to the switch after you spent four years in an undergrad, then you're like, hey, I'm going to switch and move into fashion.

00:03:52.942 --> 00:03:55.271
<v Speaker 1>You have to like double up and there's nothing.

00:03:55.312 --> 00:03:57.139
<v Speaker 2>I wanted more than to have that experience.

00:03:57.139 --> 00:04:08.407
<v Speaker 2>So the first was interview magazine in the fashion department and the second was Marie Claire in the promotion department, and I very quickly realized that editorial was where I needed to be.

00:04:08.407 --> 00:04:29.588
<v Speaker 2>I learned very quickly what promotion and sort of that side at the time was planning on leaving and what, and they ended up asking me to stay and apply for her position.

00:04:29.588 --> 00:04:30.672
<v Speaker 2>And I had to apply.

00:04:30.672 --> 00:04:31.240
<v Speaker 2>I had to.

00:04:31.240 --> 00:04:35.297
<v Speaker 2>There was a big edit test that you know Ingrid Sishi would give people.

00:04:35.297 --> 00:04:36.440
<v Speaker 2>Oh my God, what was that?

00:04:36.440 --> 00:04:45.209
<v Speaker 2>Even on the assistant level, I can't really recall, but it was a very intense written test about like fashion and pop culture.

00:04:45.209 --> 00:04:47.649
<v Speaker 2>I mean, as you would imagine, right, that's wild.

00:04:47.668 --> 00:04:47.870
<v Speaker 1>Yeah.

00:04:48.439 --> 00:04:55.668
<v Speaker 2>And I remember the editors there being like you have to take this test and you have to do well in the test, like the test is a serious thing, like let's get you to take that test.

00:04:55.668 --> 00:04:57.839
<v Speaker 2>And I took the test, I passed the test.

00:04:57.839 --> 00:05:09.689
<v Speaker 2>So that's how I began in fashion editorial and at interview I it was just, you know, magazine like interview you're covering everything as an assistant.

00:05:09.689 --> 00:05:19.341
<v Speaker 2>You're working with really the top men's stylists, the top editors, all sorts of people, top photographers, and you're covering everything from denim to couture and accessories of course.

00:05:19.502 --> 00:05:30.415
<v Speaker 1>So covered out wild, though at such a young age, especially in a publication like that, at an assistant role, the amount of responsibility you had.

00:05:31.081 --> 00:05:47.779
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean it was so much and I think anybody who has been an assistant at interview I've certainly I actually interviewed somebody who worked as an assistant at interview on this podcast that's yet to come out, it's coming out early next year as an assistant interview on this podcast that's yet to come out, coming out early next year.

00:05:48.959 --> 00:06:15.406
<v Speaker 2>I've certainly been in touch with plenty of people in this industry that have been the fashion assistant after me and the assistant position at that particular magazine at that time was really like an editor, like a more elsewhere, but it really set me up for to have a really wide range of experience as a first job there at the time when Cosmo was really building a fashion department this I covered all of New York and all of Paris in terms of accessories.

00:06:15.406 --> 00:06:54.680
<v Speaker 2>But as she built her department she then moved me over to cover all of ready to wear in New York and Paris.

00:06:54.680 --> 00:06:58.651
<v Speaker 2>But I would make my way back into accessories years later.

00:06:58.651 --> 00:07:14.646
<v Speaker 2>Accessories has always been a category that I've worked very closely in, like you know, even as a freelance editor and as a wardrobe stylist, a celebrity stylist, a stylist for TV, always working really closely with accessories.

00:07:14.646 --> 00:07:17.435
<v Speaker 2>And then back at one of my last at.

00:07:17.435 --> 00:07:24.423
<v Speaker 2>My last editorial position at a print magazine was at Oprah magazine, and there I was an accessories editor, so it kind of all came full circle.

00:07:24.803 --> 00:07:26.228
<v Speaker 1>Can I ask you something, though?

00:07:26.228 --> 00:07:33.990
<v Speaker 1>Like just to jump in, going from an independent designer perspective and pitching and reaching somebody like you.

00:07:33.990 --> 00:07:38.262
<v Speaker 1>It's like you know, the landscape has evolved so very much.

00:07:38.262 --> 00:07:44.322
<v Speaker 1>Like now, if you want to reach an editor to get covered, there are so many ways you can reach out to them.

00:07:44.384 --> 00:07:49.879
<v Speaker 1>Like, first, you know, back in the day it was an email, and then you'd have to be thoughtful on how big is your attachment.

00:07:49.879 --> 00:07:52.269
<v Speaker 1>And like, what exactly are you attaching?

00:07:52.269 --> 00:07:54.396
<v Speaker 1>Are you showing product shots?

00:07:54.396 --> 00:07:55.761
<v Speaker 1>Are you showing lifestyle shots?

00:07:55.761 --> 00:07:57.826
<v Speaker 1>Are you attaching your entire line sheet?

00:07:57.826 --> 00:08:00.701
<v Speaker 1>Like how judicious you had to be with what you were sharing.

00:08:00.701 --> 00:08:06.442
<v Speaker 1>And then you know, as the social media platforms grew, it's like can I friend them on Facebook?

00:08:06.442 --> 00:08:07.805
<v Speaker 1>No, that's crossing the line.

00:08:07.805 --> 00:08:10.091
<v Speaker 1>Oh, but I can follow them on Instagram.

00:08:10.091 --> 00:08:11.882
<v Speaker 1>Can I message them on Instagram?

00:08:11.882 --> 00:08:13.185
<v Speaker 1>Is that crossing the line?

00:08:13.185 --> 00:08:16.172
<v Speaker 1>So, can you give some?

00:08:16.172 --> 00:08:18.040
<v Speaker 1>And obviously we'll dig into all that.

00:08:18.141 --> 00:08:28.723
<v Speaker 1>But, like, in terms of protocol and also and you know I teach, like what I teach my students, it's so much of like you need to be prepared.

00:08:28.723 --> 00:08:40.206
<v Speaker 1>Like, if you're reaching out to someone an editor, journalist, whatever, blogger, so forth you have to be aware of what they used to cover what they do, cover their last 10 pieces, so you can speak to them thoughtfully.

00:08:40.206 --> 00:08:50.869
<v Speaker 1>But so many designers with whom I've worked reach out to publications or websites at this point where their product has no fit, no bearing, no connection.

00:08:50.869 --> 00:08:54.023
<v Speaker 1>The price points are off, the trend is off.

00:08:54.023 --> 00:08:57.432
<v Speaker 1>Can you speak a little about that from on the receiving end?

00:08:58.200 --> 00:09:04.164
<v Speaker 2>Well, okay, so from my perspective, with storyandraincom, which I launched in we were 2016,.

00:09:04.164 --> 00:09:06.315
<v Speaker 2>Right, yeah, december of 2016,.

00:09:06.315 --> 00:09:07.623
<v Speaker 2>We launched oh, mazel Tov.

00:09:07.623 --> 00:09:10.575
<v Speaker 2>Seven years, a long time, long time.

00:09:10.575 --> 00:09:14.990
<v Speaker 2>At this point, we launched with Hayley Bieber, then Baldwin on our cover.

00:09:15.539 --> 00:09:34.120
<v Speaker 2>But in terms of Story and Rain, and in terms of my personal ethos as an editor I have and being an editor at places like Cosmo and Interview, which I was just describing like the diversity of product, I've always had to work with a diverse group of product.

00:09:34.120 --> 00:09:39.033
<v Speaker 2>When we put together our pages, when we're sourcing product, you're curating.

00:09:39.033 --> 00:10:27.846
<v Speaker 2>And when you curate, I mean there's certain At the magazines that I've worked at, at Story and Rain, no-transcript, I worked with a branding agency to design story and rain, and one of the things that we did when we were designing all of the visuals where we were putting together the name and story and rain is actually the name.

00:10:27.846 --> 00:10:30.832
<v Speaker 2>Story and rain actually represents high and low.

00:10:30.832 --> 00:10:33.644
<v Speaker 2>It represents two aesthetics, two price points.

00:10:33.644 --> 00:10:41.826
<v Speaker 2>So that kind of combination of products at all price points is really what makes us tick.

00:10:41.988 --> 00:10:45.457
<v Speaker 2>But, that being said, like I do see a world in which somebody is pitching the wrong thing to the wrong people there's that certainly us tick.

00:10:45.457 --> 00:10:47.654
<v Speaker 2>But, that being said, I do see a world in which somebody is pitching the wrong thing to the wrong people.

00:10:47.654 --> 00:10:50.957
<v Speaker 2>That certainly happens too, but I like to see everything.

00:10:50.957 --> 00:11:00.027
<v Speaker 2>I always say, if I walk by someone who's selling something amazing on the street, I would pull that in and put it in my magazine.

00:11:00.027 --> 00:11:20.292
<v Speaker 2>So yeah, there's definitely a world in which someone is pitching the wrong thing, but you would be surprised how I think the best editors think in an open minded way and work in an open minded way in terms of being open to all sorts of resources, if that makes sense.

00:11:20.852 --> 00:11:22.114
<v Speaker 1>It does, it does.

00:11:22.114 --> 00:11:30.506
<v Speaker 1>But again, by the time you rounded out day job world at Oprah right, you were pretty senior, you're pretty seasoned.

00:11:30.506 --> 00:11:34.397
<v Speaker 1>Can you speak about the right way?

00:11:34.397 --> 00:11:43.143
<v Speaker 1>A designer should follow protocol to reach out what they should have, because this is like a whole mishmash of what's right and what's wrong.

00:11:43.384 --> 00:11:46.089
<v Speaker 2>I would say that the don'ts that stand out the most.

00:11:46.089 --> 00:11:54.783
<v Speaker 2>There's a lot of don'ts that stand out the most, and there were don'ts that stood out the most then, and there's don'ts that stand out the most now.

00:11:54.783 --> 00:12:00.873
<v Speaker 2>It really truly is when the brand, the person behind the brand, has not done their homework.

00:12:00.873 --> 00:12:12.350
<v Speaker 2>There's something in the body copy of either let's say they find a way to reach me by email, let's say they are DMing me there's something in their approach that tells me they have no idea who we are.

00:12:12.350 --> 00:12:23.336
<v Speaker 2>I mean and I get these all the time I wish I had one now that we're talking about it would be fun to have one on to refer to what would be things like you know where someone is speaking to me about.

00:12:23.336 --> 00:12:24.881
<v Speaker 2>I just got one the other day.

00:12:24.881 --> 00:12:29.485
<v Speaker 2>I wish I could remember it, but they're speaking to me about, like, some aspect that we just don't cover.

00:12:29.485 --> 00:12:31.429
<v Speaker 2>You know, it's just not something that we cover.

00:12:31.429 --> 00:12:40.788
<v Speaker 2>So I think you're right, emily, and that you have to spend some time really looking at the platform, really going through it, really reading it.

00:12:40.788 --> 00:12:47.729
<v Speaker 2>If there's a place that talks about the founders or the about or the backstory, make sure you read that through.

00:12:47.729 --> 00:12:48.831
<v Speaker 2>I do that.

00:12:48.890 --> 00:12:52.506
<v Speaker 2>When I interview people, I make sure that I read all the materials that are given to me.

00:12:52.506 --> 00:12:56.726
<v Speaker 2>Everything I can find out there Wikipedia, even though that can be misleading.

00:12:56.726 --> 00:12:58.572
<v Speaker 2>I go everywhere for the information.

00:12:58.572 --> 00:13:04.764
<v Speaker 2>So people should really do if they really want to make a connection they really need to do that homework.

00:13:04.764 --> 00:13:27.101
<v Speaker 2>And then, honestly, there's little things like the spelling of a name or typos and spelling mistakes in the body of an email, or you can also tell the quality of the work that's being put together, like sometimes you can see how somebody in their pitch has slapped something together that they're using, that maybe they're not even allowed to use in terms of imagery or what have you Like.

00:13:27.101 --> 00:13:30.094
<v Speaker 2>All of those details, we are looking at all of those details.

00:13:30.094 --> 00:13:40.485
<v Speaker 2>So we are looking for something that we're looking for chic and impressive and polished at any price point, and so when we see mistakes, it's like right away.

00:13:40.485 --> 00:13:44.433
<v Speaker 2>When there's too many mistakes or too many inaccuracies, you've lost me right there.

00:13:45.660 --> 00:13:48.926
<v Speaker 1>So in terms of I mean obviously, because that's my pet peeve.

00:13:48.926 --> 00:14:01.327
<v Speaker 1>You know, with my students, for every guest speaker we have, it's part of their grade that they send a thank you note and I think I give them like three or four templates as to what I think you know it should look like.

00:14:01.327 --> 00:14:04.613
<v Speaker 1>And I'm like pick one input thoughts here in point.

00:14:04.613 --> 00:14:05.894
<v Speaker 1>You know three points.

00:14:05.894 --> 00:14:07.822
<v Speaker 1>Two is too little, four is too many.

00:14:07.822 --> 00:14:12.011
<v Speaker 1>You know three things, three takeaways to the point efficient, knock it out.

00:14:12.011 --> 00:14:15.506
<v Speaker 1>But in terms of so yeah to your point.

00:14:15.506 --> 00:14:20.605
<v Speaker 1>Like spelling errors, typos, sloppy, like there's no excuse for that in this day and age.

00:14:20.605 --> 00:14:31.770
<v Speaker 1>Like at all Like and also like, when people are reaching out to you, you're not friends with them, they're not friends with you, they should not treat you like a chummy bestie, like you're not there.

00:14:32.461 --> 00:14:33.763
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, yeah.

00:14:33.984 --> 00:14:40.195
<v Speaker 2>I also think the other key piece is to make it very easy for that editor.

00:14:45.500 --> 00:14:46.884
<v Speaker 2>Make it very easy for that editor, that stylist right, to work with you.

00:14:46.884 --> 00:14:57.443
<v Speaker 2>And that means like giving out whether it's for that particular brand, it's providing imagery, or providing like an image in the body of a copy, that in the body of the email that allows me to really understand exactly who you are.

00:14:57.443 --> 00:15:00.952
<v Speaker 2>It talks about availability and where it's shoppable.

00:15:00.952 --> 00:15:19.251
<v Speaker 2>If you can give that to me in that first few lines and if I'm working on something I can't tell you how many times this has happened to me where I receive a pitch from somebody where they've caught me with their first few bits of information, like either some imagery or some details on availability, that kind of thing.

00:15:19.251 --> 00:15:24.573
<v Speaker 2>It's like if it's all there and I'm working on something and it's 7.30 at night, like I'm going to call that in.

00:15:24.573 --> 00:15:39.212
<v Speaker 2>I think never underestimate just getting everything to that editor, to that stylist, to that influencer, to make it easy for them to understand who you are and like make a connection and make it easy to work together.

00:15:40.240 --> 00:15:44.611
<v Speaker 1>If you ever wanted to start a handbag brand and didn't know where to start, this is for you.

00:15:44.611 --> 00:15:50.470
<v Speaker 1>If you had dreams of becoming a handbag designer but aren't trained in design, this is for you.

00:15:50.470 --> 00:15:55.109
<v Speaker 1>If you have a handbag brand and need strategy and direction, this is for you.

00:15:55.109 --> 00:16:03.730
<v Speaker 1>I'm Emily Blumenthal, handbag designer expert and handbag fairy godmother, and this is the Handbag Designer 101 Masterclass.

00:16:03.730 --> 00:16:20.292
<v Speaker 1>Over the next 10 classes, I will break down everything you need to know to make, manufacture and market a handbag brand, broken down to ensure that you will not only skip steps in the handbag building process, but also to save money to avoid the learning curve of costly mistakes.

00:16:20.860 --> 00:16:31.450
<v Speaker 1>For the past 20 years, I've been teaching at the top fashion universities in New York City, wrote the Handbag Designer Bible, founded the Handbag Awards and created the only Handbag Designer Podcast.

00:16:31.450 --> 00:16:37.993
<v Speaker 1>I'm going to show you like I have countless brands to create in this in-depth course, from sketch to sample to sale.

00:16:37.993 --> 00:16:48.182
<v Speaker 1>Whether you're just starting out and don't even know where to start or begin, or if you had a brand and need some strategic direction, the Handbag Designer 101 Masterclass is just for you.

00:16:48.182 --> 00:16:52.013
<v Speaker 1>So let's get started and you'll be the creator of the next it bag.

00:16:52.379 --> 00:16:56.408
<v Speaker 1>Join me, emily Blumenthal, in the Handbag Designer 101 Masterclass.

00:16:56.408 --> 00:17:08.412
<v Speaker 1>So be sure to sign up at emilyblumenthalcom slash masterclass and type in the code podcast to get 10% off your masterclass today.

00:17:08.412 --> 00:17:28.825
<v Speaker 1>To that in terms of images that you would expect to be shared, should they and I've spoken about this ad nauseum before with designers like make sure you have one available that's like a PNG with a clean background, so if they want to use it immediately, that they can use it.

00:17:28.825 --> 00:17:34.074
<v Speaker 1>Make sure it's high res, make sure there's no watermarks, like you know those kinds of things.

00:17:34.394 --> 00:17:56.996
<v Speaker 2>Yes, like, yeah, the flat images I think, especially these days, certainly for us are like gold, like if you're a designer or brand and you have access to a great photographer that does that kind of work and you can create, even if you don't have a huge budget, if you can create a barter system with that person, like have them shoot your things beautifully that way, that is so game changer when we have images like that.

00:17:56.996 --> 00:18:03.384
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, so making things like that accessible, do you know the other thing we were talking a little bit about, the don'ts, right, the sloppiness that can happen.

00:18:03.384 --> 00:18:26.980
<v Speaker 2>Sloppiness too, and even some of the most seasoned brands and publicists, like you know, will send you a plethora of images, none of which are available anywhere, sort of they haven't done their edit of cleanup of like they've sent you all these things and you're opening these huge files, you're an editor and you're on deadline and we're always on deadline.

00:18:26.980 --> 00:18:28.565
<v Speaker 2>We're always on deadline.

00:18:28.565 --> 00:18:38.621
<v Speaker 2>And that's why I say if you catch me, you may end up in Oprah's favorite things, you may end up on a cover shoot right around someone's neck or in their arm or hand.

00:18:38.621 --> 00:18:39.963
<v Speaker 2>It can happen.

00:18:40.285 --> 00:18:44.355
<v Speaker 2>So when you're accurate with and you have all the assets, that's really great and that's game changer.

00:18:44.355 --> 00:18:47.201
<v Speaker 2>But the sloppiness is also something to look out for.

00:18:47.201 --> 00:18:53.873
<v Speaker 2>Like don't just send 56 images you know four of which are available.

00:18:53.873 --> 00:19:02.486
<v Speaker 2>Or like don't send me 56 images in black, gray and pink when, like, a whole other colorway is now the current colorway.

00:19:02.486 --> 00:19:03.680
<v Speaker 2>So little details.

00:19:03.680 --> 00:19:05.467
<v Speaker 2>It's really about attention to detail.

00:19:05.467 --> 00:19:09.442
<v Speaker 2>What we all do in this business is really about attention to detail.

00:19:09.442 --> 00:19:10.144
<v Speaker 2>At the end of the day.

00:19:10.165 --> 00:19:12.335
<v Speaker 1>Oh my God, this is already so gold.

00:19:12.335 --> 00:19:12.856
<v Speaker 1>I can't.

00:19:12.856 --> 00:19:28.615
<v Speaker 1>I don't even know what to do with this To this point and I know this stuff seems so inane and trivial, but like these are key points that I've seen over and over, and having somebody speak about this on such a expert, I'm in the know because I know level is so valuable.

00:19:28.615 --> 00:19:31.203
<v Speaker 1>But like, let's just say you're pulling in.

00:19:31.203 --> 00:19:33.211
<v Speaker 1>Obviously, for this case we're pulling bags.

00:19:33.211 --> 00:19:45.538
<v Speaker 1>How do you handle designers Because I've dealt with so many that I call it basement to Beyonce where they're struggling, they're hustling and then they get a tiny bit of attention and then all of a sudden they think they're Beyonce.

00:19:45.941 --> 00:19:52.834
<v Speaker 1>So you know you're calling something in and they're like OK, are you paying for the shipping to me?

00:19:52.834 --> 00:19:55.107
<v Speaker 1>Am I paying for the return for you?

00:19:55.107 --> 00:19:59.971
<v Speaker 1>I'm assuming that because you want it, you're going to have to pay for shipping and coverage.

00:19:59.971 --> 00:20:03.109
<v Speaker 1>And, like you know, how have you dealt with that?

00:20:03.109 --> 00:20:32.624
<v Speaker 1>And also I know that, because you've styled, how do you deal with like pulling products and so forth for celebrities and what are those expectations you know for returns and shipping and having it available, because it's so dumb and I hate using any other word to ship a product, to go through that whole headache getting someone's attention, having that discourse, going back and forth and then the product is not available for sale or you couldn't handle the production or it's too expensive.

00:20:32.624 --> 00:20:36.573
<v Speaker 1>So I know this is a lot, but like, yeah, let's think about it.

00:20:36.920 --> 00:20:42.346
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, let's sort through all of this because there's a lot of points to be done, much, a lot of points to be made here.

00:20:42.346 --> 00:20:49.395
<v Speaker 2>So I can give you a pretty vast perspective because I worked at I've done it all.

00:20:49.395 --> 00:21:01.911
<v Speaker 2>I've worked at magazines with huge budgets where the in-house messenger service there had been times when I'd call our messenger service 60 times in one hour.

00:21:01.911 --> 00:21:02.873
<v Speaker 2>I mean no exaggeration.

00:21:02.873 --> 00:21:06.205
<v Speaker 2>That's the amount of volume of product and amount of shipping back and forth.

00:21:06.205 --> 00:21:23.521
<v Speaker 2>I have also been a wardrobe stylist given a budget to work on a television show and you don't want to allot your budget to shipping because you want to allot your budget to getting the talent, the clothing and the accessories they need, and it really is tough to say there's one way to do it for everyone.

00:21:23.521 --> 00:21:36.424
<v Speaker 2>But all I can tell you is this is that currently and so now with Story and Reign, I have styled some of our covers and I've called in items for photo shoots myself, things that I've been very hands-on working on.

00:21:36.424 --> 00:21:45.608
<v Speaker 2>But we also work with a lot of celebrity stylists and so I need to get them like I'm in a position now, as founder and editor-in-chief and editorial director, to get them.

00:21:45.608 --> 00:21:48.781
<v Speaker 2>I need them to get what they need for our cover shoots, you know.

00:21:48.781 --> 00:21:51.567
<v Speaker 2>And so there is a budget for shipping.

00:21:51.567 --> 00:22:11.759
<v Speaker 2>We have a FedEx number, we have a messenger service and what I currently do and what I think is very typical right now is for the shipping one way and I think that's another thing I would say for a brand that's important, it's like you should work that into your budget, like work the shipping into your expected budget.

00:22:11.839 --> 00:22:20.980
<v Speaker 2>If you're trying to take investment, or if you have some money and you want to allot it to something, yes, you're going to need to get your product in front of people.

00:22:20.980 --> 00:22:25.039
<v Speaker 2>Then you started to sort of talk about sending out product that is not available.

00:22:25.039 --> 00:22:53.528
<v Speaker 2>I mean, sometimes that's really bad, but sometimes that can be good because yes and I've experienced this many times myself where I fall in love with the hot pink clutch with rhinestone trim and it's perfect for this person on the carpet or it just we had that one hole in the story and we needed pink and we need red and it fits perfectly and like, sometimes you know it does just work.

00:22:53.528 --> 00:23:06.888
<v Speaker 2>And so you know when the goal is sales, then you know if it hadn't been produced, that's not great, but if the key goal is getting it into a magazine, on an editorial page or getting it on a celebrity.

00:23:06.888 --> 00:23:09.374
<v Speaker 2>You know those things are not to be discounted.

00:23:09.374 --> 00:23:11.125
<v Speaker 2>You know those are not to be discounted.

00:23:11.125 --> 00:23:18.767
<v Speaker 2>You just don't want to be sending out constantly, make a practice of sending out product that people can't find anywhere, because that is no longer acceptable, right?

00:23:18.767 --> 00:23:20.231
<v Speaker 2>Well, that's no longer acceptable.

00:23:20.573 --> 00:23:36.970
<v Speaker 2>There were times when print magazines had, like, all sorts of items that were never available to anyone, and that's literally why I started storyandreencom, because when I left the print world, it was people were shopping online, but it was kind of the beginnings of e-commerce.

00:23:36.970 --> 00:23:43.050
<v Speaker 2>So we were at a place at that point where guilt group had exploded and people were now comfortable shopping online.

00:23:43.050 --> 00:23:51.039
<v Speaker 2>Now it was like, oh, I don't need to go into a changing room, and so I wanted to launch a magazine whose pages you could shop right away.

00:23:51.039 --> 00:24:05.792
<v Speaker 2>And so in the pages that we build for storyandreencom, everything has to be available and has to be shoppable, and I have to have a certain kind of image in order to get it out there, get it in front of people, curated in an editorial way, and get people to shop for it.

00:24:05.792 --> 00:24:11.410
<v Speaker 2>Like it's not acceptable, no one's going to build editorial based on items that people can't have.

00:24:11.410 --> 00:24:13.281
<v Speaker 2>It's just, we don't live in that world anymore.

00:24:14.042 --> 00:24:31.970
<v Speaker 1>You know, to that point I have found and I've even worked with plenty of editors where they're like OK, well, if we're going to and I see on the editorial polls that I deal with, you know it has to have an affiliate link, it has to be available at these certain stores, because these stores are our advertisers.

00:24:31.970 --> 00:24:34.022
<v Speaker 1>So you need to make sure they're available.

00:24:34.022 --> 00:24:40.542
<v Speaker 1>You know for sure on Amazon and you know at this price point and so forth, does that affect you?

00:24:40.542 --> 00:24:42.025
<v Speaker 1>Do you look at things from that way?

00:24:42.444 --> 00:24:45.528
<v Speaker 2>Yes, yes, so we have a couple of things going on.

00:24:45.528 --> 00:24:59.887
<v Speaker 2>We actually have a Shopify shopping cart, so we have the ability to drop ship and to sell things directly and we do, and we're probably going to be doing a lot more of that in the future but all of our items are affiliate linked items and we do the imagery to go with it.

00:24:59.960 --> 00:25:11.258
<v Speaker 1>The flat imagery is of If a designer, an independent designer, is not part of any kind of affiliate marketing sales program.

00:25:12.007 --> 00:25:21.009
<v Speaker 2>They have to be, they should be, or they need to be prepared to build a drop ship relationship with that person, Like if you're an independent designer.

00:25:21.009 --> 00:25:23.596
<v Speaker 2>You know and this is I troubleshoot things like this all the time.

00:25:23.596 --> 00:25:31.130
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, you know, every so often we have a cover story launching within the next week or so, and there are these again.

00:25:31.130 --> 00:25:32.526
<v Speaker 2>This will never go away.

00:25:32.526 --> 00:25:43.047
<v Speaker 2>There will be that killer like encrusted earring that may not be available, Like we pulled during a certain season, maybe the story came out a little too late, maybe was available in stores and it's not anymore.

00:25:43.106 --> 00:25:50.976
<v Speaker 2>These things happen and it doesn't make the product any less fabulous or the story any less interesting or inspirational to the shopper or the reader.

00:25:50.976 --> 00:25:57.096
<v Speaker 2>So it's still great, it's all good, but, yeah, everything has to be shoppable for us.

00:25:57.096 --> 00:26:08.011
<v Speaker 2>And so I say, if you aren't able to I know it's costly to join forces with, like LTK and this Pepper Jam, there's all the maybe you don't qualify to whatever it is.

00:26:08.011 --> 00:26:09.877
<v Speaker 2>People don't have the budget for it and it's hard to get some people to do it is.

00:26:09.877 --> 00:26:12.913
<v Speaker 2>People don't have the budget for it and it's hard to some people that do it.

00:26:12.984 --> 00:26:25.806
<v Speaker 2>But I say be willing to forge a dropship relationship Like if, for example, if an independent brand, if I fell in love with someone's bag, I would put it on the site tomorrow and I might put it on.

00:26:25.806 --> 00:26:29.990
<v Speaker 2>It could end up on a cover story, like on the homepage of the cover.

00:26:29.990 --> 00:26:42.441
<v Speaker 2>If that person was willing to give me the photo, the imagery that I need, and was willing to say, yeah, like Story and Rain will take the order for you guys to fulfill, for the brand to fulfill.

00:26:42.441 --> 00:26:44.142
<v Speaker 2>So think about that.

00:26:45.904 --> 00:26:48.105
<v Speaker 1>I think there's a lot of opportunities like that out there, and then you take a percentage of the sale.

00:26:48.224 --> 00:26:50.353
<v Speaker 2>You take a percentage, but you've got to be prepared.

00:26:50.353 --> 00:26:54.955
<v Speaker 2>So I think that's sort of a golden rule right now is, I think, what we just landed on.

00:26:55.345 --> 00:26:57.292
<v Speaker 1>There's no such thing as just editorial.

00:26:57.292 --> 00:27:00.654
<v Speaker 1>It has to be editorial with commerce tied to it one way or another.

00:27:01.444 --> 00:27:12.204
<v Speaker 2>I, after working in print magazines for 20 plus years my last print magazine was at 2012 that everything was becoming antiquated Like.

00:27:12.204 --> 00:27:16.455
<v Speaker 2>That's just not the way people are living or shopping anymore or wanting to experience editorial content.

00:27:16.455 --> 00:27:19.613
<v Speaker 2>So I just say you should be prepared to make it available.

00:27:19.613 --> 00:27:25.551
<v Speaker 2>So maybe I think for a starting out brand is maybe don't approach unless you know you can produce.

00:27:25.551 --> 00:27:30.491
<v Speaker 2>Somebody may be able to work out something with me, for example, independent handbag designer.

00:27:30.491 --> 00:27:31.715
<v Speaker 2>I love this bag.

00:27:31.715 --> 00:27:33.444
<v Speaker 2>I want to put it in a handbag roundup.

00:27:33.625 --> 00:27:43.176
<v Speaker 2>I want customers to be able to check out our Shopify shopping cart and I can say to order or, like you know, allow one month, deliver whatever it is.

00:27:43.176 --> 00:27:44.058
<v Speaker 2>It can happen.

00:27:44.058 --> 00:27:47.086
<v Speaker 2>People will wait for the things that they love.

00:27:47.086 --> 00:27:49.948
<v Speaker 2>If they've landed on something that they've fallen in love with, they will.

00:27:49.948 --> 00:27:52.750
<v Speaker 2>You know, because think about how people shop now.

00:27:52.750 --> 00:27:54.471
<v Speaker 2>People don't walk it like again.

00:27:54.471 --> 00:27:58.093
<v Speaker 2>It's not about walking into a store trying something out and making that decision right then.

00:27:58.093 --> 00:28:08.979
<v Speaker 2>And there People are buying things, they're returning things, they're curating themselves, they're looking at a number of websites and walking into stores figuring out what they want, and so that's fine.

00:28:08.979 --> 00:28:11.380
<v Speaker 2>Somebody is going to want your items, so they'll wait for it.

00:28:11.980 --> 00:28:13.101
<v Speaker 1>Right, right, right.

00:28:13.101 --> 00:28:38.527
<v Speaker 1>That is such good advice because, god, to be a designer now it's so costly Not even so much the learning curve, not even so much the cost of business just to try and lock in who your market is, understanding your customer, their nuances, all of those things from an ethnography ethnographical, that's like I'm big into, ethnography.

00:28:38.527 --> 00:28:49.714
<v Speaker 1>That is like my big thing about recognizing how people's day-to-days go and how can you design into those needs to recognize, like that customer, because that's really going to be the only way.

00:28:49.714 --> 00:28:53.708
<v Speaker 1>But, yeah, I think this has been some golden advice.

00:28:54.209 --> 00:29:03.957
<v Speaker 1>Tamara, we've taken up so much of your time and I feel like you just ran a masterclass on how to do editorial and like unbelievable, if you could.

00:29:03.957 --> 00:29:17.510
<v Speaker 1>Just, you know, and I absolutely want to have you on again because I feel like this is like a surface scrape of what we can talk about in terms of knowledge you can impart, because there is like so goddamn much If you can talk a little bit about.

00:29:17.510 --> 00:29:21.866
<v Speaker 1>Like I know you said, you're always looking for a range of handbags and a range of prices.

00:29:21.866 --> 00:29:38.086
<v Speaker 1>How, at Story of Rain, are you looking at product, specifically handbags in this case that you would want to see or pull, or you've had success with, or designers that you know were amenable to what you needed and therefore you wanted to work with them again and again.

00:29:38.729 --> 00:29:47.834
<v Speaker 2>You know I just said it like, for me, a successful, unless it's a price point story, right, but truly we don't do price point stories and story and rain.

00:29:47.834 --> 00:29:49.326
<v Speaker 2>It's like the magic is in the mix.

00:29:49.326 --> 00:29:49.974
<v Speaker 2>The magic is in the mix.

00:29:49.974 --> 00:29:51.066
<v Speaker 2>The magic is in the mix.

00:29:51.066 --> 00:30:18.957
<v Speaker 2>I've always felt like the thing that I have always loved about curating is that oftentimes, when you get a bunch of great pieces together, they complement each other so much that they elevate one another so suddenly that I remember finding what was probably a $15 scarf at a trade show and it looked so rich, it looked so expensive, and I remember putting that in the pages of the magazine that I worked for.

00:30:18.957 --> 00:30:23.794
<v Speaker 2>So again for us, for me, for Story and Rain, the magic is in the mix.

00:30:24.496 --> 00:30:31.944
<v Speaker 2>And when I'm doing a story I think a recent story was about curved handbags and so we did like the whole range of curve.

00:30:31.944 --> 00:30:33.248
<v Speaker 2>We did curve for somebody.

00:30:33.248 --> 00:30:37.817
<v Speaker 2>You know, because people approach shopping in so many different ways.

00:30:37.817 --> 00:30:42.116
<v Speaker 2>Somebody might decide that they want a curved handbag for an event that they're going to.

00:30:42.116 --> 00:31:02.277
<v Speaker 2>Somebody might decide that they want a curved handbag for the season, and some people might decide like, oh my gosh, I'm so glad curved handbags are finally in fashion because that's my shape and I love it, and I'm going to invest in an investment bag, so I always like to see it all together from a wide range of designers, all complementing one another.

00:31:02.277 --> 00:31:13.185
<v Speaker 2>That's what we editors do we pick things that are going to elevate each piece, each piece.

00:31:13.205 --> 00:31:19.574
<v Speaker 2>And so, yeah, like, I'm always very open to having a big mix at all price points for anyone who might, you know, be interested in buying a bag at the point, because people buy things for different reasons, right, like.

00:31:19.574 --> 00:31:27.851
<v Speaker 2>Someone may just say, like I want the Amazon bag because I want this for the season I don't know if I'm going to want to carry this next season I want the little, the PVC version or whatever.

00:31:27.851 --> 00:31:30.897
<v Speaker 2>And some people may say I have been looking for this shape all my life.

00:31:30.897 --> 00:31:33.914
<v Speaker 2>I'm so glad Bottega Veneta is finally doing this shape.

00:31:33.914 --> 00:31:36.252
<v Speaker 2>So the magic is in the mix.

00:31:36.252 --> 00:31:37.867
<v Speaker 2>I can't say it enough.

00:31:37.867 --> 00:31:55.433
<v Speaker 2>For us and for me, and from what I know and from I just think, the most stylish people are the people that think out of the box, that combine high and low, that look for fashion in unexpected places, whether they're buying, like I said, something on the street and combining it with something they had in high school and something they invested in a piece of cash.

00:31:55.433 --> 00:31:57.792
<v Speaker 2>That's how I look at it, yeah.

00:31:58.325 --> 00:32:01.353
<v Speaker 1>I mean so much, so good.

00:32:01.353 --> 00:32:02.896
<v Speaker 1>I don't even know.

00:32:02.896 --> 00:32:08.694
<v Speaker 1>I think like this is like a nail on the head with a hit slam dunk around the bases home run.

00:32:08.694 --> 00:32:11.855
<v Speaker 1>This has been absolutely fabulous, Tamara.

00:32:11.855 --> 00:32:14.369
<v Speaker 1>How can we follow?

00:32:14.369 --> 00:32:15.993
<v Speaker 1>Learn more story and rain.

00:32:15.993 --> 00:32:17.498
<v Speaker 1>Share all the good stuff.

00:32:17.805 --> 00:32:21.634
<v Speaker 2>Yes, so we are storyandraincom, so you find us online.

00:32:21.634 --> 00:32:22.335
<v Speaker 2>We're a website.

00:32:22.335 --> 00:32:26.451
<v Speaker 2>We are also story and rain talks, wherever you get your podcasts.

00:32:26.451 --> 00:32:31.192
<v Speaker 2>Our podcasts are conversations with creatives, so we talk to creatives from all fields.

00:32:31.192 --> 00:32:34.160
<v Speaker 2>We actually have a jewelry designer about to drop today.

00:32:34.160 --> 00:32:38.632
<v Speaker 2>And then on Instagram, we're at Story and Reign, at Story and Reign Talks.

00:32:38.632 --> 00:32:39.974
<v Speaker 2>And then there's me.

00:32:39.974 --> 00:32:50.238
<v Speaker 2>I collaborate on a lot of our posts and put some personal touches on a lot of the things that we do at Tamara Rappa and on threads at Story and Reign, at Story and Reign Talks and at Tamara Rappa.

00:32:50.944 --> 00:32:55.196
<v Speaker 1>And after this, anybody who listens should know how to reach out to you the right way, not the wrong way.

00:32:55.196 --> 00:32:58.192
<v Speaker 1>Well, spellcheck all that good stuff.

00:32:58.192 --> 00:32:58.712
<v Speaker 1>That's right.

00:32:58.712 --> 00:32:59.355
<v Speaker 1>That's right.

00:32:59.355 --> 00:33:02.253
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, we're not here to mess around because time is precious.

00:33:02.253 --> 00:33:05.768
<v Speaker 1>And one thing I know dealing with editors they don't have a lot of it.

00:33:05.768 --> 00:33:09.813
<v Speaker 1>So make sure you proofread anything you send to Tamara and make sure it's good.

00:33:09.813 --> 00:33:11.835
<v Speaker 1>That's it, we're always on deadline.

00:33:11.875 --> 00:33:18.280
<v Speaker 2>We're always what people don't realize, that there's always a story brewing, there's always something that's about to be dropped, there's something that's being prepped.

00:33:18.280 --> 00:33:23.865
<v Speaker 2>We're always working on a million things at once, and so we love seeing things, we love learning about more resources.

00:33:23.865 --> 00:33:24.990
<v Speaker 2>It's at the core of what we do.

00:33:31.565 --> 00:33:37.106
<v Speaker 1>But, yeah, there'm absolutely going to have you back if you'd be so kind to entertain us, because this was like a drop in the bucket of knowledge.

00:33:37.106 --> 00:33:41.095
<v Speaker 1>This has been amazing, tamara, thank you so very much.

00:33:41.095 --> 00:33:42.838
<v Speaker 1>You've been absolutely incredible.

00:33:42.838 --> 00:33:46.009
<v Speaker 1>I've so enjoyed this and to the next time.

00:33:46.009 --> 00:33:48.634
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening.

00:33:48.634 --> 00:33:53.989
<v Speaker 1>Don't forget to rate and review, and follow us on every single platform at handbag designer.

00:33:53.989 --> 00:33:54.892
<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much.

00:33:54.892 --> 00:33:55.894
<v Speaker 1>See you next time.