Building a Socially Responsible Handbag Brand, Soli and Sun with Clare Hynes

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<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.

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome, Claire Hines from Soli and Son Sun to Handbag Designer 101 the podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Claire, it's a pleasure, Nice to see you.

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<v Speaker 1>Nice to see you too.

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you for having me.

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<v Speaker 1>So, as we just said, you are currently in Washington State, correct?

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<v Speaker 2>Correct yes, just east of Seattle, in a place called Sammamish I love how anybody from the UK refers to where they are.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a place called.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh really.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it'd be like oh yeah, it's the city outside Seattle, that's it Not in a place called it never gets that kind of introduction.

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<v Speaker 1>You're much more formal, yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>There's definitely different nuances, isn't there, between the, the english, english, english and american english.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, right.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, if you were speaking about a friend, you'd be like, oh so, and so's name is this.

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<v Speaker 1>And then for you it would be like, well, he is called the german yeah, what is he called that?

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<v Speaker 1>or is that his name?

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<v Speaker 1>So there's that, yeah, yeah, oh, agree.

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<v Speaker 1>So you said you've been in Washington State.

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<v Speaker 1>I love how you've been here long enough to know that you have to separate the two.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, yeah, we just need to always know the difference.

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<v Speaker 1>You've been there about four years now.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, just over four years, yeah, and before that you were in the.

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<v Speaker 2>We were in Manila in the Philippines for three years and then before that we were in China for five years and then before that, Ireland, Dublin and Ireland.

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<v Speaker 2>So my husband's Irish kids were born in Ireland and then, when my daughter was about three, and my son was Wait, so you left London, england, uk, to go to Ireland.

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<v Speaker 1>Yes, was that a scandal?

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<v Speaker 2>That must have been so.

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<v Speaker 2>My husband and I met 2000 and we had a long distance relationship for a couple of years.

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<v Speaker 2>Then the pair of us went traveling around the world for nearly two years.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh, wow, yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>Then I came back when I okay.

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<v Speaker 2>So it lasted, we survived.

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<v Speaker 2>So we were tasked to make the move.

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<v Speaker 2>So I decided I'd give it a go.

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<v Speaker 2>So I moved to Dublin.

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<v Speaker 2>Were your British?

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<v Speaker 1>parents like why have him come here?

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<v Speaker 2>no, in fairness to my mum and dad, because we've ended up living all over the world now that they are wonderful and we're very and actually, my mum was gutted when we left Ireland because she loved coming to visit us.

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<v Speaker 2>She loved her weekends away, coming over to Dublin, yeah, yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>So I moved over to Dublin and got married 2006 and then then off we went to China in 2011.

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<v Speaker 2>Why'd you go to?

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<v Speaker 1>China who, whose idea, whose job, what?

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<v Speaker 2>was so, oh my goodness.

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<v Speaker 2>So Rob, my husband got offered a job.

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<v Speaker 2>So he we're very different.

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<v Speaker 2>He works in the cement industry.

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<v Speaker 2>He works yes, very different.

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<v Speaker 2>And at that time I was working on ireland's newspaper, irish independent.

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<v Speaker 2>I my background's in graphic design, so I was working for I was designing the, the supplement, the Saturday supplement, which was a job I loved until I had my second child.

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<v Speaker 2>And then that pressure of the weekly, you know is press deadlines, became a little bit too stressful and then adds on to that mum guilt of, you know, dropping the kids at creche, et cetera, et cetera.

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<v Speaker 2>Then, randomly, rob got off at this job in china and we were like, okay, we could do it, we could try it.

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<v Speaker 2>And the only way we were able to do it was we said to ourselves okay, if it doesn't work after a year we can come back right and I have to say it was possibly the hardest thing I've ever we have ever done.

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<v Speaker 2>It was was.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, when you look back, I was like this is an odd crazy story after crazy story.

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<v Speaker 2>Even the journey over there in the first place was incredibly stressful.

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<v Speaker 2>Killy and my son got chicken pox, but actually both of them got chicken pox on the way over.

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<v Speaker 2>Emily, my daughter, got chicken pox on the way over.

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<v Speaker 2>We got stranded in Beijing.

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<v Speaker 2>It was just, yeah, crazy.

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<v Speaker 2>And then when we we ended up so we were moving to a place called Changchun, which is northeast China, a place I'd never heard of before, and I thought then then my son got really ill with chicken pox.

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<v Speaker 2>We had to stay in the hotel room for two weeks.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh my god, oh, it was just crazy, but we survived and it ended up being quite an incredible experience and we stayed in changchun for four years.

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<v Speaker 2>Wow.

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<v Speaker 2>Then we moved to beijing for a year and then he was asked to move and offered a job in the philippines.

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<v Speaker 2>So that's then what took us to the philippines.

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<v Speaker 2>And then same thing happened he was offered a job in america.

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<v Speaker 2>So we thought we were going to move back to the UK actually, but often life throws curveballs, doesn't it?

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<v Speaker 1>And we kind of just went for it career and then you had kids and you're like I can't, I can't do both.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, which is so gutting as a mom, as a woman, as you know those responsibilities.

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<v Speaker 1>You're like I would rather leave the continent and be a stay at home mom to the best of my capacity than for me to leave this dream job because it was just too much.

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<v Speaker 1>Like I bet, if you were able to balance your job, that you probably wouldn't have been as open to leave but yeah, that's interesting.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, I mean for me because you both have to be on the same page to back up and go oh, absolutely, and I think for me and this has been kind of the constant, you know, when you look back and reflect on things like for me, being creative has been my constant and I suppose, luckily, at that time when I had my son from maternity leave, I started making jewelry and that was kind of my creative outlet and kind of it de-stressed me as well and it was something that then I just kind of held on to.

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<v Speaker 2>When we moved to China I was like, oh, I can have more time to put into that creative outlet.

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<v Speaker 2>So I think if I whether it was designing magazines or doing something else I think I just I've always had to have a creative outlet and yeah, that's my thing, that's what kind of keeps me going, I suppose so by the time you got to the Philippines, what were you like?

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, you've been creating jewelry.

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<v Speaker 1>You kind of figured out your own aesthetic.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>You kind of were like okay, by this point you've just been a stay-at-home mom, I'm assuming.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, so what I did in China was I ended up really focusing in on jewelry and ended up sort of selling to other expat moms.

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<v Speaker 2>I had women.

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<v Speaker 2>It's quite funny, like I became well known within that kind of expat community, had women coming around to my house and I think that gave me confidence in my sort of design abilities as well, because it's really scary at the beginning putting especially like with jewelry, putting something out there yeah you've designed and made.

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<v Speaker 2>Will anyone like it?

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<v Speaker 2>So that really sort of helped me.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, get that confidence.

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<v Speaker 1>But I think that allows you also to realize the value of community, because, oh yes, you found your customers, you got feedback, you started realizing the value of dialogue, interaction, that firsthand, even, I'm sure, learning just because someone asks for something doesn't mean that the customer knows it's right, because then you go through all these hoops to jump only to realize this isn't going to sell, this is expensive, I can't do that, yeah, yeah, and even then, like getting used to dealing with suppliers and talking to suppliers and you know, and forming relationships, I think that made me realize how important relationships are as well.

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<v Speaker 2>And, yeah, like, just, you're always learning, aren't you?

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<v Speaker 2>And I had a great supplier I found in China who he ended up once taking my, helping me take my son to a hospital in Shanghai again another crazy story.

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<v Speaker 2>But just I thought, yeah, these relationships are so important.

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<v Speaker 2>But then, what was interesting, when I moved to the Philippines, this aesthetic changed because even the customer, yeah, and the different climate, and in China, a lot of the women wanted statement necklaces right years ago, when statement necklaces were really on trend.

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<v Speaker 2>You move to Manila and it's so hot and humid, you don't want a, you don't want a necklace, you don don't want all.

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<v Speaker 2>Then statement earrings.

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<v Speaker 1>So, yeah, it's hot and to that point and I think that's so amazing you were able to learn it, probably not even aware of how organic that is.

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<v Speaker 1>But some of the things I teach with my university students is there's this thing called ethnography and understanding the day-to-day life of what your customer goes through, like what car do they drive, what food do they eat, and all that goes back into designing a product into the lifestyle of which they their day-to-day needs.

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<v Speaker 1>And, to that point, recognizing that someone, just speaking about the US, the person in New York who's taking public transportation, their needs, are very different from someone in Miami, from someone in Austin, someone in LA, let alone someone in Seattle.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, yeah, no, definitely yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>And it's funny because I then ended up having to like pierce my own ears, because I never had pierced ears.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh my God, you were making earrings for people and you didn't even have pierced ears.

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<v Speaker 1>That's amazing.

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<v Speaker 1>That just goes to show you have to take your product for a test drive, yeah exactly.

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<v Speaker 2>I was like I want to wear them.

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<v Speaker 2>So, yeah, so, and then so the Philippines kind of changed everything really for me and how I randomly really ended up in bag design, like it was never in China, I'd never have thought I was going to end up having a brand of handbags.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, so the Philippines did.

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<v Speaker 2>First of all it changed my aesthetic and introduced me to different materials.

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<v Speaker 2>And then it was when I was living there and sort of discovered all different beautiful traditional fabrics and weavings.

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<v Speaker 2>I was like, well, I love these.

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<v Speaker 2>And why didn't other people know about these?

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<v Speaker 2>Like I was surprised that sort of in the UK, or I mean, I wasn't familiar with America at the time, but you know I knew like in in the UK I hadn't seen any of these kind of fabrics there and I was like, okay, what could I design?

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<v Speaker 2>Hadn't seen any of these kind of fabrics there and I was like, okay, what could I design or create with them?

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<v Speaker 2>So it was a very kind of high in the sky idea, Like what could I do?

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<v Speaker 2>And randomly found a handbag course, design course.

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<v Speaker 2>So I did a like just a small course, and then ended up Was it online or in person.

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<v Speaker 2>It was in person.

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<v Speaker 2>I think I was really craving after being in China, where obviously the language is very different.

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<v Speaker 2>In the Philippines, there's a lot you know in apart from this Tagalog, but there's also a lot of people most people speak English.

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<v Speaker 2>So there was actually a fashion college right near where I lived and it was a Saturday course and I got taught in English.

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<v Speaker 2>So I was like okay.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm here for it.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, like nothing to lose.

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<v Speaker 2>And the person who taught it happened to be the designer for this company called Regs to Riches and they are a really well-known company in the philippines and what they do is just incredible.

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<v Speaker 2>So they are what really inspired me, because they work with communities of artisans.

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<v Speaker 2>You know true social enterprise and all that kind of social enterprise business I didn't know anything about until I moved to the philippines.

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<v Speaker 2>So sort of over the three years of living there kind of learned as much as I could and there's so many like small businesses there working with social enterprises, working with communities, and it just really inspired me and made me want to do something similar if I could.

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<v Speaker 2>But, as you can imagine, with all these things it takes time, like it's building relationships and finding a manufacturer and yeah, so it's been a very kind of slow process to where I am now.

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<v Speaker 1>What inspired you once you started learning that you keep saying social enterprise and location, local communities.

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<v Speaker 1>You pivot jewelry into handbags.

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<v Speaker 1>You take this course.

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<v Speaker 1>What made you say you know what?

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<v Speaker 1>I think?

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<v Speaker 1>I'm going to use local artisans, I'm going to use local materials, but I'm going to turn this into a product that is much more I don't want to say much more but is more contemporary as opposed to traditional.

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<v Speaker 1>Because what?

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<v Speaker 1>A lot of people don't realize that if you're pulling product from indigenous cultures, they have generations of product that looks the same because it sustains their culture.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not meant to sustain anybody else.

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<v Speaker 1>Yes, now, when you bring the product in in your different mindset and have this idea, you almost need to be the directed, because you don't want them to lose their authenticity, but you also want to come up with a way to help them make money to sustain their culture, their people.

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<v Speaker 1>So it's more than just a one and done, because it means that much more yeah, yeah, yeah, I think there's.

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<v Speaker 2>There was lots of different elements, like for one.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, even the school that my children went to, like you can't help but be aware of the disparity when you're living there, of like the rich and poor, like it's, and even my children were at school were taught about that.

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<v Speaker 2>The school would do lots of projects to help, like underprivileged communities.

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<v Speaker 2>So it's very much.

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<v Speaker 2>You are, yeah, you're surrounded by it.

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<v Speaker 2>So you just, unless you were like an evil person, you would.

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<v Speaker 2>And then I just loved, like especially that rat, the ratan soli here, which I love, which I would see in lots of furniture.

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<v Speaker 2>So I think the Philippines do export a lot of the furniture and they there was an expo that I would go to which I saw all this furniture and I just loved it and that's what gave me the idea to use it in bags somehow.

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<v Speaker 2>So, and obviously you know being very conscious about not exploiting anyone, or you know, and I think it worked because I was able to connect with the cooperatives and that's how we create our bags.

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<v Speaker 2>It's a cooperative, so I know that they look after their artisans and the women weavers like it's legit and yeah, they're not being exploited.

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<v Speaker 2>But yeah, it took a long time to kind of get to that point and to create that relationship.

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<v Speaker 1>How did you go about finding a cooperative, and if you could just define what you mean by social enterprise and what is a cooperative, and how does this tie back to what you do?

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<v Speaker 2>yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>So again, it was pretty much like I was in this expo so and like it's so the in an expo you've got lots of different like a trade show, trade fair, exactly, yeah, for philippines.

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<v Speaker 2>So it was all filipino companies.

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<v Speaker 2>And then there was a section where it was a certain area showcasing a certain area of the Philippines and I just was walking past and I saw like this bag that just, it was like a clutch bag and it just caught my eye.

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<v Speaker 2>So I went and chatted to them and got talking and asked them about their business and then asked them if they could make some like if we could, you know, if they'd be open to working together.

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<v Speaker 2>And it just, and because I was living in Manila at the time, it was a lot easier to start that relationship because they could easily send me samples and at the beginning, like the quality you know we had to improve the quality and work on different and also like maybe an idea I had about for a bag at the beginning, like actually, like my fault, like it didn't work.

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<v Speaker 2>You know you could right, like actually, yeah, this looks cheaper but it's not working.

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<v Speaker 2>So with the cooperative, so it means that people they get money from like whatever's made, like the money goes to all the weavers because they have their own workshop, but they also oversee the women from the taboli tribe, who are the women who do the weaving.

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<v Speaker 1>So they get part of, they're invested in, that cooperative as well was that something that was strategically planned or it just kind of organically worked out?

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<v Speaker 2>from the cooperative.

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<v Speaker 2>I think it's been like that for quite a few years because of the taboli tribe.

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<v Speaker 2>They have the cooperative kind of look after them as well.

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<v Speaker 2>So in terms of social enterprise, what does that mean?

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<v Speaker 1>good question, so social enterprise so well that I mean it makes you truly a pioneer within that field, because now there's case studies to brands that do that and you were doing it on a smaller scale but just kind of thoughtfully, like you know what this matters yes, and it's when I was living in the Philippines for a while.

00:19:11.800 --> 00:19:13.183
<v Speaker 2>I was working with us.

00:19:13.183 --> 00:19:17.096
<v Speaker 2>So again through another organization called Geekonomics.

00:19:17.096 --> 00:19:21.281
<v Speaker 2>So they've set it up for quite a few years and they work with.

00:19:21.281 --> 00:19:23.726
<v Speaker 2>They're a registered charity and NGO.

00:19:23.726 --> 00:19:34.201
<v Speaker 2>They work with different small communities and they put me in contact with some women from Tacloban and I worked with them one-on-one to make some jewelry.

00:19:34.201 --> 00:19:43.624
<v Speaker 2>So that was for a time when I was living in the Philippines, so that's when I learned how that kind of worked as well and it's creating jobs so specifically for these women.

00:19:43.624 --> 00:19:48.032
<v Speaker 2>They can't leave their homes so they can work from home.

00:19:48.032 --> 00:20:05.601
<v Speaker 2>So it's about, without exploiting people, giving specifically women work that they can earn money from, to give them more say in their family, in their community, in their health conditions, to give them a bit in their, in their family, in their community, their health, visions, to give them a bit more what's the word.

00:20:05.621 --> 00:20:06.261
<v Speaker 1>It's a, they call it.

00:20:06.261 --> 00:20:07.810
<v Speaker 1>They call it power of the purse.

00:20:07.810 --> 00:20:20.182
<v Speaker 1>Without having income, they don't get a say in terms of how the family is run, therefore rendering them almost mute within the order of how their home is run.

00:20:20.182 --> 00:20:32.315
<v Speaker 1>Yeah Right, so when you are bringing in money, that makes you a decision maker, it allows you to almost take the power back within the household, and I mean this is really interesting.

00:20:32.315 --> 00:20:52.550
<v Speaker 1>But I'm so curious to know at what point did you realize I guess I'm a business, I guess I'm a brand, because you get so and I also think as women we get ridiculously vested in other people's causes lively, and meanwhile you've got your own family, you've got a husband and then before you're like well, they have children and they have this.

00:20:52.550 --> 00:20:58.759
<v Speaker 1>Then I guess I'm doing this, like was it one of those moments that you were in the thick of it and you're like oh damn, I guess I'm really do it.

00:20:58.759 --> 00:20:59.619
<v Speaker 1>I guess I'm a brand.

00:20:59.619 --> 00:21:03.965
<v Speaker 1>I guess I have a responsibility to make this into something at this point.

00:21:04.529 --> 00:21:08.487
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I think it probably wasn't until I moved to the US, and that was the other thing.

00:21:08.487 --> 00:21:10.553
<v Speaker 2>I got my business license.

00:21:10.553 --> 00:21:18.953
<v Speaker 2>So once I moved to the US, obviously I built up this relationship with the cooperative and we'd got to a point where we had these samples of bags.

00:21:18.953 --> 00:21:19.694
<v Speaker 2>It's like right.

00:21:19.694 --> 00:21:29.463
<v Speaker 2>Moving to the US, this is when I'm going to properly launch the brand Got here and my business license came through literally the day.

00:21:29.463 --> 00:21:30.506
<v Speaker 2>We went into lockdown.

00:21:31.105 --> 00:21:42.480
<v Speaker 2>So all the plans, and then the guys in the Philippines, the workshop they couldn't make anything for me because they had a mandate from the government that they had to make masks.

00:21:42.480 --> 00:21:42.701
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, yeah.

00:21:42.701 --> 00:21:45.988
<v Speaker 2>Then the, the, uh, I can't remember the word, isn't that crazy?

00:21:45.988 --> 00:21:51.601
<v Speaker 2>All the COVID stuff and and it's mad, isn't it?

00:21:51.601 --> 00:21:53.471
<v Speaker 2>When you look back, you just didn't know what was going to happen.

00:21:53.471 --> 00:22:07.040
<v Speaker 2>But it was so good because I'm proud that we kind of kept that relationship, so I, you know, I was able to like donate some money to them because I knew to get them through that period and then eventually we were able to then make bags.

00:22:07.040 --> 00:22:18.817
<v Speaker 2>But at that time I suppose everyone just didn't know what was what was going to happen and just like cross our fingers and hope for the best, and you were committed though, regardless You're like I'm going to see this through.

00:22:19.950 --> 00:22:33.875
<v Speaker 1>Committed though, regardless you're like I'm gonna see this through, I'm not gonna let this brand, because I have a responsibility to them and also responsibility to myself, to what I've put everything in absolutely, and we've spent, you know, I think, probably about 18 months to almost two years when I was living in Manila.

00:22:33.934 --> 00:22:41.432
<v Speaker 2>We'd, you know, we'd we'd forge that relationship and you know I'm very grateful and proud that we did, because I think it would have been, it would.

00:22:41.432 --> 00:22:46.951
<v Speaker 2>I don't know if I'd never lived in the Philippines, how I would have connected, what you would have done.

00:22:46.951 --> 00:22:48.454
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:22:48.454 --> 00:23:01.065
<v Speaker 2>So it's kind of almost organically grinding to what, what it is now and then it was interesting when I moved here, like I think I was then from Manila to Seattle is very different.

00:23:01.065 --> 00:23:14.162
<v Speaker 2>Oh my gosh, no one dresses up here really, and I think I was maybe swayed to change the design at the beginning a bit, but I kind of came around again.

00:23:14.162 --> 00:23:25.144
<v Speaker 2>I was like no, it's a resort style brand and actually I'm not selling a huge amount here but selling to other parts of the US, like there's plenty of places that are more resort style.

00:23:27.794 --> 00:23:34.973
<v Speaker 1>But the interesting thing I mean everything you're saying is a fascinating case study of learning your customer right.

00:23:34.973 --> 00:23:38.980
<v Speaker 1>That you came there Seattle, I don't know.

00:23:38.980 --> 00:23:47.221
<v Speaker 1>I'm sure it's on trend for whatever it's on trend with, but your brand speaks to a different aesthetic, a different customer.

00:23:47.221 --> 00:24:05.113
<v Speaker 1>And if you were to scrap that and restart it's not to say that you couldn't, but all this time and effort you spent into product development, pricing strategy, sizing, that would have been all out the window.

00:24:05.113 --> 00:24:16.223
<v Speaker 1>So for you to and maybe it's because your mom, maybe because you know you don't have the bandwidth to dabble if you were single or if this was just you, it was very much like, okay, I'm going to try this.

00:24:16.223 --> 00:24:16.951
<v Speaker 1>You know what?

00:24:16.951 --> 00:24:21.897
<v Speaker 1>That's not my customer, or there's enough places that are this customer within the United States.

00:24:21.897 --> 00:24:23.500
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I'm gonna push forward.

00:24:23.961 --> 00:24:27.105
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, no, definitely, and yeah, I mean so.

00:24:27.105 --> 00:24:43.573
<v Speaker 2>It's been nearly four years, well, since I launched the business, three, what, like three and a half years, but that first year was very much a bit trial and error and then wholesale kind of has grown and grown and and now I'm just leaning into what's working and what's working.

00:24:43.573 --> 00:25:05.355
<v Speaker 2>So what's working is like spas at resorts, and that kind of happened in the beginning this year and now we've stopped at four, three, nearly four spas at four seasons resorts, which is amazing, like, and it makes sense now, like of course that makes sense, but yeah, I didn't see that last year.

00:25:05.656 --> 00:25:14.778
<v Speaker 1>But I think, as a designer, you're again recognizing your customer and thinking I should be in all the places that everybody else is.

00:25:14.778 --> 00:25:22.583
<v Speaker 1>But no, no, there are enough resorts across the United States, across the the world, to realize you know what.

00:25:22.583 --> 00:25:24.275
<v Speaker 1>That's where my brand belongs.

00:25:24.515 --> 00:25:26.039
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and smaller boutiques.

00:25:26.039 --> 00:25:32.010
<v Speaker 2>I think you know a few years ago it was always the dream to be in these big box stores, but actually no.

00:25:32.531 --> 00:25:32.972
<v Speaker 1>Not my dream.

00:25:32.992 --> 00:25:40.442
<v Speaker 2>No, no, no, no, no More headache than it's worth yeah, that's what I hear from lots of people now.

00:25:40.442 --> 00:25:51.000
<v Speaker 2>And boutiques, the smaller boutiques, sort of areas like Texas and Florida, yeah, arizona, yeah, these different.

00:25:51.000 --> 00:25:56.691
<v Speaker 2>This is where I'm selling to, and wholesale is, yeah, where now most of my revenue is coming from.

00:25:56.691 --> 00:25:59.429
<v Speaker 2>So that's where I'm leaning into more.

00:26:00.480 --> 00:26:01.686
<v Speaker 1>This is so interesting.

00:26:01.686 --> 00:26:03.423
<v Speaker 1>It is you know.

00:26:03.423 --> 00:26:12.240
<v Speaker 1>So I mean, you've found a community accidentally, You've found manufacturing accidentally.

00:26:12.240 --> 00:26:22.586
<v Speaker 1>You know, give back is not even part of your brand, it's core to your brand, because that's how your brand is sustaining itself.

00:26:22.586 --> 00:26:35.208
<v Speaker 1>And then you've been able to figure out a customer base that's kind of seasonless right that they will always want and need your bags as a result of the aesthetic.

00:26:35.888 --> 00:26:41.094
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and again, it's taken me a while to realize that.

00:26:41.094 --> 00:26:49.520
<v Speaker 2>I think it's hard at the beginning that you think you have to serve everyone or you cannot be everything to everyone, and that is a big lesson to learn.

00:26:49.520 --> 00:27:02.471
<v Speaker 2>Yes, yeah, and to have that confidence that you know, and also, throughout the year, if there's a time where you're not selling so much, being confident, don't worry, it will come around again.

00:27:02.471 --> 00:27:07.971
<v Speaker 2>And there's yeah, it's always lots of lessons to be learned, isn't it?

00:27:08.152 --> 00:27:09.583
<v Speaker 1>boring Like enough.

00:27:09.583 --> 00:27:10.244
<v Speaker 1>Already.

00:27:10.244 --> 00:27:12.845
<v Speaker 1>I've learned that, like I think I've learned everything I need to learn.

00:27:12.845 --> 00:27:16.201
<v Speaker 1>At this point, there's nothing left, like I know it all Lead me be.

00:27:16.402 --> 00:27:32.646
<v Speaker 2>and then, lo and behold, it's like oh damn, there's more I know there's more, and the whole thing with social media now as well, and marketing like it's, yeah it's, and you're bombarded as well, aren't you, with different messaging, different courses to do.

00:27:32.646 --> 00:27:36.314
<v Speaker 2>That's one thing I've had to try and do is just because I do love a course.

00:27:36.314 --> 00:27:50.500
<v Speaker 2>So, yeah, I've had to, kind of like now I think I'm more confident in, obviously, after that, in the amount of years I've been working on this now that, yeah, I should know what I'm doing a bit more.

00:27:50.500 --> 00:27:55.569
<v Speaker 2>But still, you know, I know there's always stuff to learn and but yeah, I get it.

00:27:55.710 --> 00:28:12.410
<v Speaker 1>I mean I am launching a handbag designer 101 masterclass, purely because of not only how many people who've come through the handbag awards you included huzzah cheers to that but that there's so many steps and it's so costly.

00:28:13.111 --> 00:28:29.821
<v Speaker 1>And I think a lot of people don't realize that learning is so much more affordable and cost efficient than diving into sampling and diving into buying materials and then not knowing what to do with them.

00:28:29.821 --> 00:28:40.375
<v Speaker 1>Because most people, when they start as I'm sure you get it you want to be a high-end brand, you want to be in Sacks, you want Italian leathers, you want to be this aspirational person.

00:28:40.375 --> 00:29:07.944
<v Speaker 1>And what so many people don't realize is that at least here, everybody's money is green, every customer is worthy and the majority of people who buy it, excluding the people who go to resorts are in towns, as I'm sure you get, being from the uk, have a bar, slash pub, a stop sign, a church, a school and a walmart, and you know a lot of them are not petite, they're not beautiful people.

00:29:07.944 --> 00:29:11.532
<v Speaker 1>You know meaning like fabulous, beautiful people.

00:29:11.532 --> 00:29:12.200
<v Speaker 1>I want to go out.

00:29:12.200 --> 00:29:16.425
<v Speaker 1>You know it's like people who want to just look good and feel good and that's why they're buying your products.

00:29:16.425 --> 00:29:17.948
<v Speaker 1>So why exclude them?

00:29:18.489 --> 00:29:23.414
<v Speaker 2>yeah, yeah, yeah, no, definitely yeah, clear.

00:29:23.695 --> 00:29:26.663
<v Speaker 1>How can everybody find you, follow you?

00:29:26.663 --> 00:29:32.448
<v Speaker 1>And you know, give one more shout out to the co-op who's making your bags.

00:29:33.809 --> 00:29:41.277
<v Speaker 2>So you can find us on Instagram, which is at Solly and Son, S-O-L-L-I-A-N-D-S-U-N.

00:29:41.277 --> 00:29:43.929
<v Speaker 2>My website as well is Sollyandsoncom.

00:29:43.929 --> 00:29:45.474
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, so that's it.

00:29:45.474 --> 00:29:46.558
<v Speaker 2>That's how you can find us and the co-op.

00:29:46.558 --> 00:29:51.132
<v Speaker 2>The co-op is called Klowel, which is K-L-O-W-I-L.

00:29:51.559 --> 00:29:52.740
<v Speaker 1>And what do they stand for?

00:29:52.740 --> 00:29:54.000
<v Speaker 1>What's their mission?

00:29:54.000 --> 00:29:55.102
<v Speaker 1>So?

00:29:55.241 --> 00:30:08.268
<v Speaker 2>they represent the women of the Tivoli tribe and the fabric which is called Tinalak, which is indigenous to that tribe, and then also the rattan weave that the women weave as well.

00:30:08.268 --> 00:30:17.412
<v Speaker 2>So that's what the Cloil they're all about supporting those women weavers and supporting the Tivoli tribe and the name origin of Soli and Son.

00:30:17.412 --> 00:30:20.712
<v Speaker 2>So Soli and Son came to me.

00:30:20.712 --> 00:30:25.575
<v Speaker 2>So the weave that I use in most of my bags is called Soli here.

00:30:25.575 --> 00:30:29.196
<v Speaker 2>So it's the beginning of that word, which also means sun.

00:30:29.196 --> 00:30:37.232
<v Speaker 2>So it's Soli and sun, yeah, so perfect for your vacation.

00:30:39.160 --> 00:30:40.464
<v Speaker 1>So if you're going to a resort, we know what bag we need to carry.

00:30:40.464 --> 00:30:43.596
<v Speaker 1>Claire, thank you so much for joining us at handbag designer 101.

00:30:43.596 --> 00:30:46.884
<v Speaker 1>We will all be following you to see what happens next, thank you.

00:30:46.884 --> 00:30:48.507
<v Speaker 1>Thank you, bye.

00:30:48.507 --> 00:30:50.811
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening.

00:30:50.811 --> 00:30:56.170
<v Speaker 1>Don't forget to rate and review, and follow us on every single platform at Handbag Designer.

00:30:56.170 --> 00:30:57.031
<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much.

00:30:57.031 --> 00:31:03.986
<v Speaker 1>See you next time.