Sherrill Mosee’s MinkeeBlue: Transforming a Layoff into a Handbag Entrepreneurship Triumph

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Hi and welcome to the Handbag Designer 101 podcast with your host, emily Boomenthal, handbag Designer Expert and Handbag Fairy Godmother, where we cover everything about handbags, from making, marketing, designing and talking to handbag designers and industry experts about what it takes to make a successful handbag.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Welcome everybody to the Handbag Designer 101 podcast.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Today we have Cheryl Mosey of Minky Blue.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Cheryl, welcome, thank you.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Happy to be here.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Oh, my gosh, so we were just talking.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>We've overlapped for many, many, many handbag years, which, to me, handbag years are like dog years, so it's like at least 65 at this point.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Well, seven isn't a denomination of 65, but whatever, you know what I mean.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>What year did you officially?

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<v Sherrill Mosee>start.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I officially launched in 2014.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I came up with the idea in 2012, and it took me a minute to kick fear to the curb and say you know what, let me just go ahead and do this thing.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So what were you doing before and what happened in 2012 that gave you this idea to give birth to this psychotic concept of a handbag and brand and business and life that it would hold you captive for until now?

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<v Sherrill Mosee>Yeah, so I have a degree in engineering, so I used to work at Lockheed Martin for a number of years, so you're a smarty pants.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>Well, you know, that's what I thought.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>Anyway, too was like, okay, I want to do something different, but how long were you working there?

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I worked at Lockheed for about nine, ten years.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>That's a long time, yeah.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>And then, where I was working over in New Jersey I'm in Philadelphia now the plant shut down and so I was laid off and I started a nonprofit organization.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>That's because, well, in personal reasons, I started a nonprofit to help low income single moms in college, paid for childcare.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>My mom was a single mom, didn't really have the opportunity to go to college, and so I know how important it was to have an education and try not to raise kids, and so I did that.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>Why did that?

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<v Sherrill Mosee>For a number of years as well.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>While you weren't working, like your degree from university is an engineering.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah Well, there aren't many women, especially women of color, who do that.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>No, you were like one of what one You're absolutely right, I would sometimes be one in my class African American, one female, and so, yeah, it was really really hard.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>It still is.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>My daughter now is an engineer and I thought the things that I went through telling my age here about 30 years ago, she's going through the same thing, wow, and so not much has changed over the years.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So building things, making things, you know, I don't know what engineering, but I'm assuming it's not an easy engineering that you studied, but how things are made in an integral sense and the why I mean.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Obviously that must have some sort of impact on you if that's something you committed to studying in school because, again, not an easy degree it absolutely isn't, and I struggled my way to earn that degree as well.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>But it's all about problem solving, which is really attributed to how I fast forward to where I am today.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>But in between that stop, between engineering and handbag I started a nonprofit called Family Care Solutions, where I raised money to help low income single moms in college pay for childcare.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah, so you were living off of that.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>While you were, you know, like hey, I'm not working, let me just start because I'm Jesus, like this is a journey in itself.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So you were started this new brand, new business 501c3, assuming if it's a nonprofit profit, yeah, and whilst doing this, and if I count the years you had a child at this point to, who must have been eight, nine around for that span yeah, so you're doing this nonprofit, you're being very good to people, community, give back.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>What was the moment where you're like, oh damn, I should start a handbag line brand and change everything?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>What was your moment that you were like this is missing on the market and yeah, there were a couple of things that happened while I was working with the moms.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I would see them come in struggling with their diaper bag, their book bag, their purse, and I was like, wait a minute.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I'm taking the train in the city, I'm carrying my lunch bag, I have my shoes in a plastic grocery bag and I'm putting that bag in my tote bag.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>So I'm the bag lady and I look around on the train.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I said, well, there are a lot of bag ladies on this journey and we're all struggling with bags.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>And that was it.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>Like you know what?

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I just want one bag and I want to mix my banana in with my laptop.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I don't want your shoes, my shoes, right, and I want to be able to separate and organize everything in my bag.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>And I did.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I was shopping.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I went shopping, couldn't find anything, and I said you know what?

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<v Sherrill Mosee>We have this idea, maybe I can do this.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>And I was like, nah, I don't know anything about manufacturing, I don't know anything about design, and so it took me a minute before I actually made that decision.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>You know what?

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I'm just going to do this.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>What was your process?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Did you sketch it out?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Did you do it on construction paper?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Did you do the traditional path of buying materials domestically that were extraordinarily expensive and dropped five to 10k on a sample and then maybe tried to do it yourself?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Does all this drag?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>I?

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<v Sherrill Mosee>drew it out first and then I was like I gotta think about how I can make this thing work.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>So I don't.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>So my drawings were circles and squares, so I was really like a good artist.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>But what I did is I went to Target.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I bought a bag for $29.99.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I bought it home.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>It was the same size, the shape of the bag I had envisioned in my head, because I wanted to carry my laptop and things like that, and I just started cutting it up.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>You deconstructed it up.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I deconstructed the bag.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I had some materials around the house, some fabric.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>It had frogs on it.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I stapled and glued things, because I don't sew and I just got to put it all together and I used cardboard and I figured things out.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I said, hey, maybe this looks pretty good for my life.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Okay, so you made this for a sample.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Do you have it?

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<v Sherrill Mosee>Yes, I do.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>You know I couldn't sew don't sew, I hardly draw.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>And so I went to Target and I bought this bag for $29.99, $39.99.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>And it was the same shape and size of this bag I had envisioned in my head.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I wanted to be able to carry my laptop and things and what I did is I literally just started cutting it up.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>And so the bag.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I said, okay, I can put my lunch bag back there.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>And you have this little fan break.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I found in the kids' room.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>It has frogs on it.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>And again, I don't sew, right, I made my little lunch bag with my dot board.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>There's glue and staples in here.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>Oh, my gosh, this could be my lunch bag and I could fit it in the bottom here.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I cut this out, I could shoot it in here.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>And then I had my little handle on here and I said, when I'm not using my little lunch bag, I can put my shoes in here.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>Yep, I could put a change of clothes at the bottom.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>And then I could close it up and zip it up.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>And I also cut it this way.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I said, maybe I can put my shoes in this way.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>Look at that.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>Yep.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>And then on the top part.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I had a you'll see these Velcro strips here because I had a piece of cardboard Right that was flipping up and down and that was my shelf.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I put a shelf right in the middle of the bag, uh-huh.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I wanted it to be able to separate my purse essentials from my lunch at the bottom Right Use.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>And then so this was my purse little prototype that I bought from Target, and Let me tell you something.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>I did a vision to life.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>You need to obviously keep this, which I know you will.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>My first samples yeah, my first samples I did out of construction paper, taped, glued.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>I remembered reading the story when Kate Speed got started and how she wasn't a designer by trade, and that's exactly what she did.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>And I found every article about how she started her line and matched it up.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>I'm like, okay, she did it with construction paper, I'm gonna do it with construction paper.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>And the wildest thing to find a sample maker not knowing how to make a bag that every single sample maker I met said we were Kate's first sample maker.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Wow, every single one.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>There were at least six of them in the Garmin Center.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>And I'm like, okay, and I discuss this with other people, but my students at FIT, when Kate's made past what she went through, so many of my kids in my class didn't even know that she was a person we should have.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Oh yeah, how's that for Wackadoo?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So yeah, the legacy goes on.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So one of the things I've always said to brands and designers never start the line named after yourself because, to God's ears, if you're ever able to sell it, there goes your own IP and therefore you're never actually able to start anything new, because who's gonna follow another brand if you're not part of it?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>It's a pickle.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah, may we all have that challenge.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So you do this mock-up.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>What did you do next?

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I knew that I needed to differentiate the bag because the handbag market is so saturated and if I was coming in with a new bag I wasn't really gonna get too far.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>It was just gonna be a real uphill battle.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>It was an uphill battle anyway, but I knew I needed to differentiate myself with that shelf, and so I started studying patents.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>And so this is where the engineer and geekiness of me come in.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I've seen patterns.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>We got patents, patents.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So I am a handbag patent obsessed person, obsessed.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>I have this giant dossier of the history of the handbag.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Actually, I made it because I felt like if I need to be an expert, I need to know when this came out and what's the why and all of that stuff.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>But determining and discovering who and what created and the why, and I don't know if you've noticed, but historically I don't know up until I don't even know how long ago every single handbag patent was by a man, oh yeah.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>You know what?

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I did not know that, but what I did is that I researched Designer utility patents.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>Did you look at Utility?

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I had two utility patents Right and I researched.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I wanted to find a patent attorney who had already gotten a patent for a handbag so that I would work with that person.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So you looked up the attorneys who filed handbags and went backwards.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I went backwards and I also researched would there you know any bags that had this shelf, this movable shelf, in the middle of it?

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<v Sherrill Mosee>And I was like, oh my God, I'm going to follow this patent.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>And what I did is I did a provisional patent at birth, which gives me the 12 lungs to say patent pending, we're out.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>If I really had this idea and it's worth it yeah, it definitely is.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>Provisional patents really don't cost much.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>Even now I know when I did it it was about under $300.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I think it's still less than.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>Did you do it yourself or you had that?

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I did the provisional patent myself.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>Well, yeah, I did the provisional.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>Then, when it was time to file the regular patent, I hired a patent attorney.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>But, yeah, I did the provisional.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I'm actually working on another provisional patent, too, for a new idea that I had for a bag.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>You reverse engineered it, didn't you?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Yes, it's funny because so many people know and again, as a non-lawyer, and you being a non-lawyer, we cannot give out legal advice.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So we can't recommend for people to do it by themselves.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>We can't tell people they should do it themselves.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>That said, I've done provisional patents myself, I've done trademarks myself.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>I've done so much myself to the point where the USPTOgov, I think, has aligned through my voice saying oh no, she's calling again, being like, hey, so do you think this would fall under this class?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>And can I put more than one?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>And do you think if I doubled up it would be a problem?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>And this whole narrative, because they can't give legal advice, but they seem to be very, very helpful.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>They are very helpful.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>But let me tell you they hear my voice and I hear that ugh, oh there, yeah, that's shit Back.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>She is back.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>That's amazing.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So you had your 12 months.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Who made your first sample?

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<v Sherrill Mosee>Well, let me see, I found someone who recommended, referred me to a guy in New Jersey who used to work for coach and he retired and he was making samples in his basement and I know that you're talking about oh no, he made samples in his basement.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I got connected to him His name is Mano, in New Jersey, yes, worked for coach Amazing and he worked with me until we got it right.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>I had some iterations.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>He said listen, let's stop with the iterations.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>You just got to.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>Let's find this manufacturer and do it, because it was costing me more and more.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>He said, let's just go ahead and get started.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>That is a newbie issue, especially with sample makers, and you're very lucky that you had someone who was able to cut you off.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>It's like drinking like you've done enough.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>It's too many times because as a new designer, it is 1,000% a pitfall where you're like, well, what if we change this and what if we change that?

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<v Emily Blumenthal>And most manufacturers or sample makers will either pander to that and keep charging you or will put you on the bottom of their list and being like, yeah, we don't have time for this because clearly you don't know what you're doing.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>I call it the green cost not green in the recycled version, but the green is in new names that the prices get jacked up for you not knowing a damn thing.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So you are very fortunate that you found this lovely gentleman speaking like Sheryl you are cut off, cut off.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>Like that's it, I stop, I'm not going to make it anymore.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>You're always going to make changes.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>You're always going to make improvements down the road.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>So, yeah, I was really, really fortunate.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>He was wonderful to help me along the way and I can still talk to him today about it and he's so amazed and impressed and excited for me.

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<v Sherrill Mosee>But yeah, it was wonderful.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>So you get this first bag, you have your provisional patent.

00:15:19.980 --> 00:15:21.153
<v Emily Blumenthal>Then what did you do?

00:15:21.909 --> 00:15:24.458
<v Sherrill Mosee>I hugged my bag like it's my baby.

00:15:24.458 --> 00:15:25.953
<v Sherrill Mosee>That's what I did.

00:15:25.953 --> 00:15:30.606
<v Sherrill Mosee>I was like oh my god, my dream, my vision.

00:15:30.768 --> 00:15:32.897
<v Emily Blumenthal>I guess I'll Do you have a picture of you hugging the bag?

00:15:33.149 --> 00:15:34.636
<v Sherrill Mosee>I do, I do.

00:15:34.636 --> 00:15:39.201
<v Sherrill Mosee>It was my sample bag with Mano because he did such a beautiful job.

00:15:39.201 --> 00:15:43.134
<v Sherrill Mosee>I mean, he worked in bags for coach and yeah, I do.

00:15:43.134 --> 00:15:46.659
<v Sherrill Mosee>I have a picture of me and Mano and me hugging With the bag.

00:15:46.659 --> 00:15:47.913
<v Sherrill Mosee>Absolutely.

00:15:48.355 --> 00:15:50.253
<v Emily Blumenthal>Oh my god, with the bag spawn.

00:15:50.253 --> 00:15:53.855
<v Emily Blumenthal>So you have the sample.

00:15:53.855 --> 00:15:55.413
<v Emily Blumenthal>Now, what do you do?

00:15:55.413 --> 00:15:56.778
<v Emily Blumenthal>So I have?

00:15:56.778 --> 00:15:57.894
<v Emily Blumenthal>Did you have pricing?

00:15:57.894 --> 00:15:59.655
<v Emily Blumenthal>Did you have idea of pricing yet?

00:16:00.350 --> 00:16:02.558
<v Sherrill Mosee>Well, we're in between steps here.

00:16:02.558 --> 00:16:05.559
<v Sherrill Mosee>So with Mano I had my sample, my prototype.

00:16:05.559 --> 00:16:07.636
<v Sherrill Mosee>I didn't have any idea with pricing.

00:16:07.636 --> 00:16:18.998
<v Sherrill Mosee>So what I did originally I was adamant about making my bag in the USA and I wanted to find a manufacturer in the USA and I just couldn't afford it.

00:16:18.998 --> 00:16:24.120
<v Sherrill Mosee>I just could not afford it and I started working with the Department of Commerce.

00:16:24.120 --> 00:16:26.077
<v Sherrill Mosee>Now this was a few years back.

00:16:26.077 --> 00:16:34.458
<v Sherrill Mosee>They probably still do it, I'm not sure, but the Department of Commerce will help you find a manufacturer in the US because they want businesses to stay in the US.

00:16:34.458 --> 00:16:41.035
<v Sherrill Mosee>But unfortunately, the way my bag was made, all of this, too many things, it was too much.

00:16:41.035 --> 00:16:45.875
<v Sherrill Mosee>So it was the decision whether I not make the bag or I go overseas.

00:16:45.875 --> 00:16:47.817
<v Sherrill Mosee>And so I decided to go overseas.

00:16:47.817 --> 00:16:50.517
<v Sherrill Mosee>And then that was a whole other issue.

00:16:50.878 --> 00:16:53.712
<v Emily Blumenthal>I'll bet A whole other issue, I'll bet.

00:16:53.712 --> 00:16:57.298
<v Emily Blumenthal>So what country did you start with, and are you still with them now?

00:16:58.049 --> 00:16:59.375
<v Sherrill Mosee>I started in China.

00:16:59.375 --> 00:17:19.990
<v Sherrill Mosee>I had been blogging about my experience about just starting this whole handbag business, all of the ups and downs, what I was going through, and I had quite a few people that was following my blog and so I wrote this story about me going overseas to find a manufacturer.

00:17:19.990 --> 00:17:22.178
<v Sherrill Mosee>And this guy emails me back.

00:17:22.178 --> 00:17:25.314
<v Sherrill Mosee>He says, hey, I'm in Hong Kong, I can help you.

00:17:25.314 --> 00:17:31.534
<v Sherrill Mosee>And I was like, hey, I don't know, I'm here, I don't know who you are Like, who are you?

00:17:31.890 --> 00:17:47.719
<v Sherrill Mosee>But apparently this guy had been following my story and he was from Florida and he lived in Hong Kong at the time and he was starting this business to help US companies find factories in Hong Kong, china.

00:17:47.719 --> 00:17:49.093
<v Sherrill Mosee>Was he American or Chinese?

00:17:49.093 --> 00:17:50.435
<v Sherrill Mosee>He's American?

00:17:50.435 --> 00:17:52.790
<v Sherrill Mosee>Okay, yeah, american, I mean.

00:17:52.790 --> 00:17:58.258
<v Sherrill Mosee>The story goes on and on, but just amazing, I mean that's just God's in, right there, yep.

00:17:58.258 --> 00:18:05.722
<v Sherrill Mosee>And I got to tell you even today, even though that was years ago, 2013, 2014, his name is Harry.

00:18:05.722 --> 00:18:07.596
<v Sherrill Mosee>Harry and I are still connected.

00:18:07.596 --> 00:18:10.690
<v Sherrill Mosee>He has since moved back to Florida, thanks, you do.

00:18:10.690 --> 00:18:25.557
<v Sherrill Mosee>He worked at a university, a college in Florida, and I just did a speaking engagement with his students last month, and so this is years ago and Harry and I are still friends, but I back then I was like I don't know who you are, like, who are you?

00:18:25.557 --> 00:18:27.261
<v Sherrill Mosee>You just want my money, right.

00:18:27.261 --> 00:18:30.077
<v Sherrill Mosee>And he did help me find a manufacturer.

00:18:30.670 --> 00:18:32.012
<v Emily Blumenthal>Are you still with that same factory?

00:18:32.012 --> 00:18:33.678
<v Emily Blumenthal>No, what is that?

00:18:33.678 --> 00:18:34.539
<v Emily Blumenthal>There's that?

00:18:34.539 --> 00:18:41.762
<v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah, no, you know, it is really wild if you are to do a timeline with pushpins of like.

00:18:41.762 --> 00:18:55.121
<v Emily Blumenthal>And then I found Harry and then I was with the first factory and then I went to shit with factory number one and then I had factory two and then I realized I needed factory three and four just in case factory two went upside down.

00:18:55.121 --> 00:19:00.396
<v Emily Blumenthal>So I was especially doing this all by yourself, it's like, and funding it by yourself.

00:19:00.396 --> 00:19:04.940
<v Emily Blumenthal>And it's to someone who's organized, strategic and engineer.

00:19:04.940 --> 00:19:07.077
<v Emily Blumenthal>Everything needs to have a Y and a place.

00:19:07.077 --> 00:19:17.882
<v Emily Blumenthal>And then you're basically throwing yourself off a cruise ship and saying maybe I should go to an island, maybe I should float all the things that are so antithetical to being who you are.

00:19:17.882 --> 00:19:21.921
<v Emily Blumenthal>But you get on this almost like an obsession, like I got to do this.

00:19:21.921 --> 00:19:26.684
<v Emily Blumenthal>I got to figure that like, oh my God, I'm so close, right, yeah absolutely.

00:19:28.594 --> 00:19:30.259
<v Sherrill Mosee>I always say that you know.

00:19:30.259 --> 00:19:31.702
<v Sherrill Mosee>I say that it's you know.

00:19:31.702 --> 00:19:35.737
<v Sherrill Mosee>People always talk about passion, passion, passion, this is not a passion.

00:19:35.737 --> 00:19:43.778
<v Sherrill Mosee>I say I have passion, but I just sprinkled with a little obsession, because it's no way, because you can fall in and out of love.

00:19:43.778 --> 00:19:49.298
<v Sherrill Mosee>It is that obsession, right, you going and like this is going to work.

00:19:49.298 --> 00:19:50.855
<v Sherrill Mosee>I got to make this work.

00:19:50.855 --> 00:19:54.358
<v Sherrill Mosee>Yeah, I always say passion sprinkled with a little obsession.

00:19:54.730 --> 00:19:56.454
<v Emily Blumenthal>I call it passion sprinkled with crazy.

00:19:56.454 --> 00:20:18.154
<v Emily Blumenthal>But yeah, you know, it's one of those, because I don't know when I started mine and then I was getting my MBA and I was working at this magazine, which, rip, didn't last very long, but you know, learning the back end of like okay, now I need a press kit, rip press kits too.

00:20:18.154 --> 00:20:22.290
<v Emily Blumenthal>But you know, now I need a celebrity, now I need a picture Now.

00:20:22.290 --> 00:20:24.595
<v Emily Blumenthal>I need testimonials, now I need to give them.

00:20:24.595 --> 00:20:24.911
<v Emily Blumenthal>Now.

00:20:24.911 --> 00:20:27.157
<v Emily Blumenthal>I need to get into a magazine Now.

00:20:27.157 --> 00:20:29.576
<v Emily Blumenthal>I need this, now I need to get it on a TV show.

00:20:29.576 --> 00:20:36.520
<v Emily Blumenthal>And you're like, I only have one sample and I really don't know how I'm supposed to make it or have production, but I need to do all this now.

00:20:37.329 --> 00:20:50.210
<v Emily Blumenthal>So my first order was a store on Bleaker Street and they may have been gone by the time you started called Verve, and it was this lovely man and he was one of the first people to buy Minkoff, monica Byker, like.

00:20:50.210 --> 00:20:55.932
<v Emily Blumenthal>He was the first store Deluxe, which is now Nackety, which is Sarah, it's like, I believe.

00:20:55.932 --> 00:21:06.777
<v Emily Blumenthal>But he was one of these incredible men who said, okay, a handbag is not a Van Gogh, it's not supposed to go on a wall, you want people to come in and you want them to buy more.

00:21:06.777 --> 00:21:08.675
<v Emily Blumenthal>You can't out-price yourself.

00:21:08.675 --> 00:21:25.858
<v Emily Blumenthal>I mean all these things and the stories like that he would tell me about, like even with Rebecca Minkoff and I believe this to be true based on what he said, I believe she could probably confirm but shipping your first bag and how he called her in and said I'm not going to pay you for this.

00:21:25.858 --> 00:21:29.694
<v Emily Blumenthal>I want you to come in, I want you to see how to pack, I want you to see how to ship.

00:21:30.049 --> 00:21:38.895
<v Emily Blumenthal>Now you take this home and reship it to me and then I'll pay you, like one of these things, because with boutiques, the one thing you learn boutiques will pay you upfront, right.

00:21:38.895 --> 00:21:47.317
<v Emily Blumenthal>Like you send that UPS, you get the check COD with department stores which everybody thinks are so sexy and exciting.

00:21:47.317 --> 00:21:55.458
<v Emily Blumenthal>It's like you might as well kill yourself because I read that big fat book for Nordstrom over a break to do it myself.

00:21:55.458 --> 00:22:07.575
<v Emily Blumenthal>I got into burgdorfs myself and I physically delivered my first box of bags to burgdorfs, to the train there, got there and they're like you can't do this, you need to ship it to us.

00:22:07.575 --> 00:22:09.978
<v Emily Blumenthal>I'm like why should I ship it if I could take the train?

00:22:09.978 --> 00:22:14.000
<v Emily Blumenthal>Like here's the DC right here, take it, take it, take it.

00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:23.116
<v Emily Blumenthal>You know, so it's part of these stories where you're in uncharted waters but you're, like on the psychotic mission, like oh hey, now what, now what?

00:22:23.538 --> 00:22:25.882
<v Sherrill Mosee>Yeah, yeah, you're absolutely right.

00:22:25.882 --> 00:22:33.042
<v Sherrill Mosee>It's this forever wheel that's turning and you're running and it's just ongoing all the time.

00:22:33.390 --> 00:22:39.436
<v Emily Blumenthal>So had you started showing said bag to anybody for sale yet Like did you have orders against it?

00:22:39.436 --> 00:22:44.291
<v Emily Blumenthal>Because if you know, if you're going to speak to a factory, you need to say like hey, people want to buy this.

00:22:44.291 --> 00:22:47.480
<v Emily Blumenthal>Or you're just saying like I'm on the mission for like bad one.

00:22:48.010 --> 00:22:51.259
<v Sherrill Mosee>I mean, I said people were going to buy it, but did I have an audit?

00:22:51.259 --> 00:22:53.413
<v Sherrill Mosee>Did I have a customer base?

00:22:53.413 --> 00:22:58.756
<v Sherrill Mosee>Things that I know that I should have had back now, nothing, I didn't know anything.

00:22:58.756 --> 00:23:11.021
<v Sherrill Mosee>It's about this thing, about being naive, about starting a business and going after all of this stuff, and someone asked me just last week what did I wish I knew then that I know.

00:23:11.021 --> 00:23:15.079
<v Sherrill Mosee>Besides, I wish I knew how much this was going to cost me.

00:23:15.079 --> 00:23:25.019
<v Sherrill Mosee>I probably would have said nothing because had I known everything that I know now, I would have clamped up and I probably wouldn't have pursued it.

00:23:25.019 --> 00:23:30.136
<v Sherrill Mosee>It really is about being naive, about going after what you believe.

00:23:30.136 --> 00:23:35.443
<v Sherrill Mosee>Nauseosity, yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely yeah.

00:23:35.443 --> 00:23:38.897
<v Sherrill Mosee>No, it's a lot of work, but I really appreciate.

00:23:38.897 --> 00:23:48.920
<v Sherrill Mosee>I enjoy just the creativity, what I come up with, and just having this patent and being able to use that and leverage it, and that sort of thing.

00:23:49.450 --> 00:23:50.715
<v Emily Blumenthal>People don't know the value of that.

00:23:50.715 --> 00:23:54.880
<v Emily Blumenthal>That's what got me my first licensing deal, because when I did it, nobody had a patent.

00:23:54.880 --> 00:23:56.573
<v Emily Blumenthal>Mine were.

00:23:56.573 --> 00:24:07.318
<v Emily Blumenthal>I had a design patent and a utility patent and that's like I was able to knock myself off, which, to me, most people don't know that you can do that.

00:24:07.318 --> 00:24:10.270
<v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah, I'm working on that now, Emily.

00:24:10.311 --> 00:24:13.759
<v Sherrill Mosee>I'm working on that now, so you absolutely can.

00:24:14.121 --> 00:24:14.300
<v Emily Blumenthal>Yep.

00:24:14.300 --> 00:24:18.077
<v Emily Blumenthal>So okay, you find a factor, you get a sample.

00:24:18.077 --> 00:24:18.921
<v Emily Blumenthal>Then what happens?

00:24:19.250 --> 00:24:24.351
<v Sherrill Mosee>I started in the community with the diaper bags because I had been working with the moms, as though.

00:24:24.351 --> 00:24:27.601
<v Sherrill Mosee>I started talking to moms and child care providers.

00:24:27.601 --> 00:24:32.182
<v Sherrill Mosee>I was trying to then build a community before I got the bag.

00:24:32.182 --> 00:24:34.635
<v Sherrill Mosee>Then I did a Kickstarter campaign.

00:24:34.635 --> 00:24:35.719
<v Sherrill Mosee>I lost.

00:24:35.719 --> 00:24:40.490
<v Sherrill Mosee>Yeah, I did raise some money there, not nearly enough, but definitely it was helpful.

00:24:40.490 --> 00:24:41.294
<v Sherrill Mosee>Did you get your goal?

00:24:41.294 --> 00:24:42.775
<v Sherrill Mosee>I did get my goal.

00:24:42.775 --> 00:24:44.884
<v Sherrill Mosee>Yes, my goal was 15,000.

00:24:44.884 --> 00:24:45.849
<v Sherrill Mosee>I got about 19,000.

00:24:47.153 --> 00:24:50.241
<v Emily Blumenthal>Did you put any of your own money into it to get the ball rolling?

00:24:50.590 --> 00:24:51.454
<v Sherrill Mosee>Yeah, I did.

00:24:51.454 --> 00:24:53.376
<v Sherrill Mosee>I had some money saved up.

00:24:53.549 --> 00:25:07.195
<v Emily Blumenthal>Fortunately, I have a husband that believes in my dreams, and not everybody could say that, but yes, People don't realize that with Kickstarter's that most people end up putting their own money in to look the part.

00:25:07.195 --> 00:25:10.599
<v Emily Blumenthal>It's not like nobody invests in something with no money.

00:25:10.599 --> 00:25:11.773
<v Emily Blumenthal>I don't care what it is.

00:25:11.773 --> 00:25:14.636
<v Emily Blumenthal>You need that smoke, buys mirrors element.

00:25:14.636 --> 00:25:15.680
<v Emily Blumenthal>That's amazing.

00:25:15.680 --> 00:25:19.539
<v Emily Blumenthal>I'm so happy you made it because there's nothing worse, because those things live forever.

00:25:19.910 --> 00:25:21.615
<v Sherrill Mosee>Yeah, they absolutely do.

00:25:21.615 --> 00:25:24.855
<v Sherrill Mosee>There's a system even behind that.

00:25:24.855 --> 00:25:26.178
<v Sherrill Mosee>That I learned later.

00:25:26.178 --> 00:25:34.016
<v Sherrill Mosee>You do need some money upfront, because there are things that you just need to buy to get things going upfront.

00:25:35.329 --> 00:25:42.394
<v Emily Blumenthal>You raised under 20K, just about 20K Did you immediately go into production or did you start trying to shop it around?

00:25:42.394 --> 00:25:46.123
<v Emily Blumenthal>Actually, I had started production with no orders.

00:25:46.544 --> 00:25:48.998
<v Sherrill Mosee>with no orders, I can't do anything.

00:25:48.998 --> 00:25:51.104
<v Sherrill Mosee>With no orders, I can't.

00:25:53.635 --> 00:25:54.861
<v Emily Blumenthal>I can't get my camera to lean.

00:25:54.861 --> 00:26:03.002
<v Emily Blumenthal>Oh my God, it's like you want to tell a younger man over and smack you being like no, no, no.

00:26:04.535 --> 00:26:07.625
<v Sherrill Mosee>Yeah, but then I started getting with my campaign.

00:26:07.625 --> 00:26:16.835
<v Sherrill Mosee>I got orders from that, but not nearly as much as I put in for the water Frightened for a thousand bags, I don't know a thousand people.

00:26:16.835 --> 00:26:18.541
<v Sherrill Mosee>That was way too much.

00:26:18.541 --> 00:26:21.304
<v Sherrill Mosee>I would never tell anybody to order.

00:26:21.304 --> 00:26:28.423
<v Sherrill Mosee>I mean, if you can get away with a hundred or 200 initially, make sure you have somebody that's going to buy it.

00:26:28.423 --> 00:26:32.674
<v Sherrill Mosee>As a matter of fact, I tell people build your community first, start talking about it.

00:26:32.674 --> 00:26:34.321
<v Sherrill Mosee>Put to your provisional patent.

00:26:34.321 --> 00:26:37.365
<v Sherrill Mosee>If it's patentable, that's not talking about it.

00:26:37.674 --> 00:26:38.619
<v Emily Blumenthal>Brands with fans.

00:26:38.619 --> 00:26:39.577
<v Emily Blumenthal>That's what you're doing.

00:26:40.415 --> 00:26:44.987
<v Sherrill Mosee>That's the best way to grow your brand and to sell it even before you get it.

00:26:44.987 --> 00:26:48.546
<v Sherrill Mosee>If it gets off the boat, you want to start selling it, which I did.

00:26:48.634 --> 00:26:52.584
<v Emily Blumenthal>I did pre-orders, but the pre-order is the way to go.

00:26:52.584 --> 00:26:54.320
<v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah, that really is.

00:26:54.935 --> 00:27:01.721
<v Sherrill Mosee>So I still do pre-orders today because I want to make sure that I am yeah you don't want to get stuck.

00:27:01.994 --> 00:27:05.605
<v Emily Blumenthal>Also, another thing that people don't realize is the hook of the pre-order.

00:27:05.605 --> 00:27:26.795
<v Emily Blumenthal>It also helps you with this narrative of sustainable production that you're not producing more than you need, which to you it's more than you can sell, right, but truly it's part of a whole narrative of what's important of today's like no, I'm only producing as much as people want to buy, so I'm not left and I'm not messing with the environment.

00:27:26.795 --> 00:27:29.443
<v Emily Blumenthal>But it's also a good angle to keep in mind.

00:27:29.443 --> 00:27:40.361
<v Emily Blumenthal>It's like, hey, I'm making sure that I'm not adding to that overarching problem that exists, that we're all pretty much part of at this brand, yeah, yeah, absolutely.

00:27:40.454 --> 00:27:44.866
<v Sherrill Mosee>And then you hit the nail on the head there, because that's the way that I'm working now.

00:27:44.866 --> 00:27:48.224
<v Sherrill Mosee>I get samples and I sell by the samples.

00:27:48.224 --> 00:27:53.287
<v Sherrill Mosee>I'm building and jumping ahead a little bit, but I'm building out a corporate gifting program.

00:27:53.776 --> 00:27:59.122
<v Emily Blumenthal>So not just in retail, but you know that's an unknown business that people don't know.

00:27:59.122 --> 00:27:59.743
<v Emily Blumenthal>It's a gem.

00:28:00.255 --> 00:28:01.378
<v Sherrill Mosee>Yeah, yeah.

00:28:01.378 --> 00:28:03.895
<v Sherrill Mosee>So I'm building that out now, and what's?

00:28:03.957 --> 00:28:05.622
<v Emily Blumenthal>a corporate gifting program.

00:28:05.622 --> 00:28:06.545
<v Emily Blumenthal>Just to explain.

00:28:07.175 --> 00:28:07.616
<v Sherrill Mosee>Yeah.

00:28:07.616 --> 00:28:32.663
<v Sherrill Mosee>So corporate gifting is that you know you have these companies, that if you work for a company five years or 10 years, or even if there's a corporate event and they want to give there for my bags, it might be the executives there, or if there's an event and they want to give the speakers, or I'm also looking into uniform bag, which means, since I can design the bag.

00:28:32.663 --> 00:28:45.846
<v Sherrill Mosee>So uniform bags is another way of corporate gifting because, for example and I'm just going to put it out there because this is also a dream so for Delta Airlines, they have uniforms and they carry bags.

00:28:45.846 --> 00:28:49.535
<v Sherrill Mosee>So I would love to do corporate gifting for a company like that.

00:28:49.535 --> 00:28:51.462
<v Sherrill Mosee>So, yeah, that's what we're working on.

00:28:52.058 --> 00:28:54.015
<v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah, but can I challenge you with that?

00:28:54.015 --> 00:28:56.815
<v Emily Blumenthal>Now, minky Blue is your brand.

00:28:56.815 --> 00:29:10.027
<v Emily Blumenthal>How can you convince a Delta Airlines or a corporation that if you have clients at an executive level that your bag is at that level branding wise, that they would then be excited?

00:29:10.027 --> 00:29:11.255
<v Emily Blumenthal>And I'm not saying your brand isn't.

00:29:11.255 --> 00:29:12.974
<v Emily Blumenthal>But how do you go up against that?

00:29:12.974 --> 00:29:25.875
<v Emily Blumenthal>Because I know historically, like the buyers of Bloomingdale's have told me, that the first bag you know historically again I'm sure things that you have all the first bag she would buy with her first job would be a Minkoff bag.

00:29:25.875 --> 00:29:32.990
<v Emily Blumenthal>As soon as she gets a bump in salary, the next bag she buys is a Chanel flatback because it's status I've made it.

00:29:32.990 --> 00:29:34.840
<v Emily Blumenthal>It's timeless, it's my first real bag.

00:29:34.840 --> 00:29:42.403
<v Emily Blumenthal>How do you work up against that as a Minky Blue bag brand versus somebody else in terms of perception and branding?

00:29:42.696 --> 00:29:43.079
<v Sherrill Mosee>Yeah.

00:29:43.079 --> 00:29:44.894
<v Sherrill Mosee>So that's a great, great question.

00:29:44.894 --> 00:29:55.154
<v Sherrill Mosee>And so the way that I ran and promote the bag is about travel and work, and so I'm not competing with the Chanel's or Louis Vuitton.

00:29:55.154 --> 00:29:59.366
<v Sherrill Mosee>It's about the functionality and utility of the bag.

00:29:59.366 --> 00:30:15.701
<v Sherrill Mosee>So if you're traveling and you need to put an extra pair of shoes or you know the change of clothes, if it's an overnight bag, then you're going to want a backpack or tote bag or something like that that you can pack your toiletries in, right Things like that.

00:30:15.701 --> 00:30:21.599
<v Sherrill Mosee>And so it's the way that you brand the product, the way that you promote it, and that's what I do.

00:30:21.599 --> 00:30:23.240
<v Sherrill Mosee>So and you're in golf.

00:30:23.375 --> 00:30:26.954
<v Emily Blumenthal>That's your SP, that's your unique selling point, absolutely so.

00:30:26.954 --> 00:30:29.924
<v Emily Blumenthal>This is not a bag that I'm using for fabulousness.

00:30:29.924 --> 00:30:35.696
<v Emily Blumenthal>It's the functional bag that you will look good because I've already thought of everything that your people need, right.

00:30:35.817 --> 00:30:41.086
<v Sherrill Mosee>Exactly, and they are carrying the things that the bag can be used for.

00:30:41.086 --> 00:30:45.083
<v Sherrill Mosee>They are carrying their shoes, they are carrying their snacks and things like that.

00:30:45.083 --> 00:30:45.905
<v Sherrill Mosee>Yeah, and they're too.

00:30:46.717 --> 00:30:50.065
<v Emily Blumenthal>So if they're smart, they're bringing snacks because you can't buy anything at the airport.

00:30:50.065 --> 00:31:03.741
<v Emily Blumenthal>I know I was selling to airports years ago and I had someone on the phone who was I can't remember which airport, but you know it was very sign felting and I was like listen, listen.

00:31:03.741 --> 00:31:09.502
<v Emily Blumenthal>I want to know how and who determines the markup on a bottle of water, because it's like 8000 percent.

00:31:09.502 --> 00:31:18.086
<v Emily Blumenthal>I know it's offensive, like seven dollars for a bottle of water, that it you know Costco costs 17 cents, but you know too bad.

00:31:18.086 --> 00:31:20.624
<v Emily Blumenthal>So OK, you have the sample.

00:31:20.624 --> 00:31:22.643
<v Emily Blumenthal>How are you able to get to retail?

00:31:22.643 --> 00:31:26.095
<v Emily Blumenthal>What's your thought process of direct to consumer versus retail?

00:31:26.095 --> 00:31:28.194
<v Emily Blumenthal>I know you were in the Philly Macy's incubator.

00:31:28.194 --> 00:31:36.707
<v Emily Blumenthal>So what was that evolution and where are you at now with all of that in terms of where it should be sold and what works best for you as a sole brand owner?

00:31:37.678 --> 00:31:51.454
<v Sherrill Mosee>You know, there was really no plan is like trying to figure things out every step of the way, right and so initially, being a part of the Philadelphia fashion incubator was about getting into boutiques and doing these retail.

00:31:52.000 --> 00:31:53.414
<v Emily Blumenthal>Do Macy's pick it up immediately?

00:31:54.040 --> 00:31:55.394
<v Sherrill Mosee>No, not when I was there.

00:31:55.394 --> 00:32:02.173
<v Sherrill Mosee>No, there was so much to learn about running a business that I just wasn't ready back then.

00:32:02.173 --> 00:32:06.914
<v Sherrill Mosee>Anyway, right, and there was just so much to get into retails very, very difficult.

00:32:06.914 --> 00:32:23.174
<v Sherrill Mosee>But for me it really the best way was direct to consumer and so building out my Shopify store and then doing my best to promote it and digital ads and things like that and these events and building the brand.

00:32:23.174 --> 00:32:33.015
<v Sherrill Mosee>Social media has been a big part of introducing Minky Blue, because it is a different type of bag and so it is one of your price points.

00:32:33.015 --> 00:32:42.615
<v Sherrill Mosee>They've range from I have a little small cross body for $39.99 to my backpacks for $230.

00:32:42.615 --> 00:32:46.214
<v Sherrill Mosee>So it was something for everybody on the air on the website.

00:32:47.118 --> 00:32:51.255
<v Emily Blumenthal>So were you just out of curiosity, when you had your first shipment come?

00:32:51.255 --> 00:32:57.815
<v Emily Blumenthal>Your husband must love you, but does he love you enough to have a thousand bag in your garage, like I think it wouldn't fit?

00:32:58.721 --> 00:33:00.375
<v Sherrill Mosee>He was like you're going to have to do something else.

00:33:00.375 --> 00:33:07.315
<v Sherrill Mosee>I mean, I had a little room where I put some bags in there, but I had to get a warehouse, I had to get storage.

00:33:07.315 --> 00:33:18.374
<v Sherrill Mosee>My house went to a thousand bags and my bags are so big, they're not little, small, little, you know clutter things like that.

00:33:18.374 --> 00:33:21.531
<v Sherrill Mosee>This takes up a lot of room.

00:33:21.531 --> 00:33:23.273
<v Sherrill Mosee>And the shipping that was another thing.

00:33:23.273 --> 00:33:33.888
<v Sherrill Mosee>I had no idea about shipping and how I had to pack this, so the divider wasn't damaged and it had to be.

00:33:33.888 --> 00:33:35.705
<v Sherrill Mosee>That's what happened my first time.

00:33:35.705 --> 00:33:39.763
<v Sherrill Mosee>Yeah, the way I had made the divider and then I can show you that.

00:33:39.763 --> 00:33:41.347
<v Sherrill Mosee>But it was crunched up.

00:33:41.347 --> 00:33:43.383
<v Sherrill Mosee>I was, oh my God.

00:33:43.383 --> 00:33:48.701
<v Sherrill Mosee>So there was just really, I don't even know I was like so well.

00:33:49.082 --> 00:33:50.946
<v Emily Blumenthal>Oh my God, my first shipment.

00:33:50.946 --> 00:33:52.259
<v Emily Blumenthal>I went to JFK.

00:33:52.259 --> 00:33:55.644
<v Emily Blumenthal>My mom drove me to JFK and I picked it up myself.

00:33:55.644 --> 00:33:59.144
<v Emily Blumenthal>You know, literally my mom was waiting outside.

00:33:59.144 --> 00:34:03.246
<v Emily Blumenthal>I carried the box myself, like you know, like a cartoon.

00:34:03.246 --> 00:34:05.962
<v Emily Blumenthal>We open it in the back of my mom's trunk.

00:34:05.962 --> 00:34:15.197
<v Emily Blumenthal>The samples were terrible, they smelled, and it wasn't even so much the look of me dealing with it, but was the look of my mom.

00:34:15.197 --> 00:34:20.947
<v Emily Blumenthal>Her facial expression made me feel like what the hell did I just do?

00:34:20.947 --> 00:34:35.079
<v Emily Blumenthal>You know, it's like it's all good that you can like hide it yourself and keep it to yourself and swallow all of this, but as soon as you show someone else that's close, you're like now I'm accountable, now what am I going to do?

00:34:35.079 --> 00:34:39.681
<v Emily Blumenthal>So did you pack, ship yourself every single order for that first thousand?

00:34:39.681 --> 00:34:40.664
<v Emily Blumenthal>I know I did.

00:34:40.664 --> 00:34:43.509
<v Emily Blumenthal>Oh yeah, yeah, I discussed I PTSD.

00:34:43.509 --> 00:34:44.958
<v Emily Blumenthal>I had no concern.

00:34:45.219 --> 00:34:49.039
<v Sherrill Mosee>that was very helpful, though I've always had concerns.

00:34:49.039 --> 00:34:55.079
<v Sherrill Mosee>But yeah, pretty much responsible for packing now it took me a long time to sell that thousand.

00:34:55.480 --> 00:34:56.001
<v Emily Blumenthal>I bet.

00:34:56.402 --> 00:34:56.822
<v Sherrill Mosee>Yeah.

00:34:57.063 --> 00:34:58.445
<v Emily Blumenthal>I bet, are they gone?

00:34:58.445 --> 00:34:59.606
<v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah, yeah.

00:35:01.514 --> 00:35:03.782
<v Sherrill Mosee>Now I have more thefts than I have other thousands.

00:35:03.983 --> 00:35:04.625
<v Emily Blumenthal>Oh my God.

00:35:04.625 --> 00:35:10.027
<v Emily Blumenthal>So so at this point, you are no longer packing and shipping your bags yourself.

00:35:10.574 --> 00:35:14.365
<v Sherrill Mosee>No, I have a warehouse and a team down there that ships the bag.

00:35:14.365 --> 00:35:21.364
<v Sherrill Mosee>Well, occasionally depending on you know, if it's slow the week or something, I'll go and check out things and occasionally we'll ship stuff.

00:35:21.364 --> 00:35:24.918
<v Sherrill Mosee>But I do have a team that ships stuff out In New Jersey and.

00:35:24.918 --> 00:35:26.824
<v Sherrill Mosee>Philadelphia, yeah, philly, yeah, philly.

00:35:27.594 --> 00:35:30.182
<v Emily Blumenthal>So when your stuff comes in, is it Port Philadelphia?

00:35:30.715 --> 00:35:33.882
<v Sherrill Mosee>New York and then it's trucked over to Philadelphia.

00:35:33.882 --> 00:35:36.978
<v Sherrill Mosee>Oh my God, yeah, and I've been through a couple of.

00:35:36.978 --> 00:35:45.503
<v Sherrill Mosee>I had a warehouse in Michigan, maryland, and trying to say Medalla, but it turned out to be really, really expensive.

00:35:45.844 --> 00:35:56.744
<v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah, it's so interesting like learning terms like FOB, ldp, you know, freight on board, lands duty, and I got to the point where I just said I just need landed prices.

00:35:56.744 --> 00:36:01.266
<v Emily Blumenthal>Like please don't put it on me to get it from China, from India, from the Philippines.

00:36:01.266 --> 00:36:07.320
<v Emily Blumenthal>Like I think I went through five or six countries and I'm like please just get it, get it into this country.

00:36:07.320 --> 00:36:11.599
<v Emily Blumenthal>I don't want to have to deal with an expo data, I don't have to deal with customs, just give me a final price.

00:36:11.599 --> 00:36:15.713
<v Emily Blumenthal>And I know I've probably lost money on that and they gave me an extra.

00:36:15.713 --> 00:36:17.722
<v Emily Blumenthal>You know they marked it up extra on their end.

00:36:17.722 --> 00:36:27.181
<v Emily Blumenthal>But the time, value of money, of distress and the anxiety of like having it leave the country, having it go through customs you know I'm Garmento offspring.

00:36:27.414 --> 00:36:39.045
<v Emily Blumenthal>So my very first shipment my dad had a guy this is like a thousand years ago and I was calling him all the time, like we were friends, like okay, so is it coming?

00:36:39.045 --> 00:36:39.726
<v Emily Blumenthal>Did it come?

00:36:39.726 --> 00:36:40.327
<v Emily Blumenthal>Did you see me?

00:36:40.327 --> 00:36:44.898
<v Emily Blumenthal>And then my dad was like he doesn't want to work with you anymore and I was like why?

00:36:44.898 --> 00:36:51.583
<v Emily Blumenthal>You know he's got other people and you know what did I bring in 300 bags and I'm like do you know, can you open the box?

00:36:51.583 --> 00:36:52.940
<v Emily Blumenthal>Can you tell me what it looks like?

00:36:52.940 --> 00:36:54.579
<v Emily Blumenthal>You know he's like he's an after friend.

00:36:54.579 --> 00:36:56.344
<v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah, but I'm paying him.

00:36:56.344 --> 00:37:00.923
<v Emily Blumenthal>He's like doesn't matter, and that first shipment to come in was $7,000.

00:37:00.923 --> 00:37:09.041
<v Emily Blumenthal>I remember that and I was, you know, doing this during my day job and during lunch, and then my mom drove me to pick it up and then she's like what the hell are you doing?

00:37:09.041 --> 00:37:10.059
<v Emily Blumenthal>I'm like I'm doing this.

00:37:10.059 --> 00:37:11.541
<v Emily Blumenthal>I don't know, but I'm doing this.

00:37:11.541 --> 00:37:13.360
<v Emily Blumenthal>She's like that's not good.

00:37:13.981 --> 00:37:14.483
<v Sherrill Mosee>That's not good.

00:37:14.483 --> 00:37:16.438
<v Sherrill Mosee>You know, my first shipment.

00:37:16.438 --> 00:37:23.967
<v Sherrill Mosee>There was a snowstorm, things got delayed and I was paying for all of that when it's delayed.

00:37:23.967 --> 00:37:30.019
<v Sherrill Mosee>And it kept adding up and adding up because they wasn't moving anything, it was just sitting there.

00:37:30.420 --> 00:37:33.916
<v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah, oh, I had a factory once and again.

00:37:33.916 --> 00:37:35.161
<v Emily Blumenthal>This is to live and learn.

00:37:35.161 --> 00:37:44.503
<v Emily Blumenthal>When you're new, you tend to stalk and harass people who you're working with and to them it's not, they're working for you, they're working.

00:37:44.503 --> 00:37:46.626
<v Emily Blumenthal>It's the other way around.

00:37:46.626 --> 00:37:48.902
<v Emily Blumenthal>And I didn't know it was a Muslim factory.

00:37:48.902 --> 00:37:51.021
<v Emily Blumenthal>No one told me it was a Muslim factory.

00:37:51.021 --> 00:37:56.706
<v Emily Blumenthal>But I had my very first shipment to Nordstrom, like finally, real, the whole thing.

00:37:56.706 --> 00:38:01.806
<v Emily Blumenthal>I'd gone through the whole book and I kept contacting them like hey, you know, confirming when it's going to go out.

00:38:01.806 --> 00:38:03.097
<v Emily Blumenthal>And I was like hey, nordstrom just asked.

00:38:03.097 --> 00:38:05.766
<v Emily Blumenthal>I was contacting them during Ramadan.

00:38:06.235 --> 00:38:11.521
<v Emily Blumenthal>And they were so insulted that they mined the last and I'm like, oh my God, I'm so sorry.

00:38:11.521 --> 00:38:15.447
<v Emily Blumenthal>You know, it's like the lost girl, like can I fix this?

00:38:15.447 --> 00:38:16.349
<v Emily Blumenthal>Can I do anything?

00:38:16.349 --> 00:38:17.514
<v Emily Blumenthal>Can I send you something?

00:38:17.514 --> 00:38:20.644
<v Emily Blumenthal>Like does Amazon go overnight?

00:38:20.644 --> 00:38:21.739
<v Emily Blumenthal>This is a learning curve.

00:38:22.315 --> 00:38:24.001
<v Sherrill Mosee>Yeah, it absolutely is.

00:38:24.001 --> 00:38:28.465
<v Sherrill Mosee>I mean, I would panic all the time when the factory would respond to me.

00:38:28.954 --> 00:38:30.019
<v Emily Blumenthal>Which is what was happening.

00:38:30.195 --> 00:38:33.985
<v Sherrill Mosee>And they were on their holiday for a while and then they like, let me know.

00:38:33.985 --> 00:38:36.862
<v Sherrill Mosee>So I will be like, oh my God, they're not responding.

00:38:36.882 --> 00:38:44.367
<v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah, I finally got the owner of the factory and he was like we can't work with you anymore.

00:38:44.367 --> 00:38:52.885
<v Emily Blumenthal>And I started crying on the phone with him, like literally crying, crying, and he's like, ok, we'll give you one more chance, but don't do it again.

00:38:52.885 --> 00:39:03.400
<v Emily Blumenthal>I'm like I'm so sorry you know the amount that that phone called cost me was almost equivalent to my production Because you're like, what am I going to do?

00:39:03.400 --> 00:39:09.070
<v Emily Blumenthal>They have my balance, they have my brand, they have my life, yeah, so, oh my gosh, yeah.

00:39:09.070 --> 00:39:10.880
<v Emily Blumenthal>So let's go to where you are now.

00:39:10.880 --> 00:39:14.603
<v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah, let's see what's the light at the end of the tunnel where you are.

00:39:14.603 --> 00:39:16.362
<v Emily Blumenthal>Like, what's going on with Mickey Blue?

00:39:16.362 --> 00:39:19.362
<v Emily Blumenthal>And, oh my God, I also want to know how you came up with the name.

00:39:19.844 --> 00:39:37.956
<v Sherrill Mosee>Yeah, so coming up with the name really goes back to me working with the moms, because I originally started making diaper bags, right, so I wanted the name Pinky Blue made sense, but the domain was taken and I liked the sound of Pinky Blue so I literally went to why?

00:39:37.976 --> 00:39:41.079
<v Emily Blumenthal>Pinky Blue Because the diaper bag pink and blue.

00:39:41.079 --> 00:39:41.639
<v Emily Blumenthal>Yeah.

00:39:41.679 --> 00:39:46.894
<v Sherrill Mosee>Yeah, pink and blue just made sense and I liked the sound of Pinky Blue.

00:39:46.894 --> 00:39:49.344
<v Sherrill Mosee>So I was like, oh man, I can't get that name.

00:39:49.344 --> 00:39:54.750
<v Sherrill Mosee>So I literally went through the alphabet so I said Linky Blue, jinky Blue, jinky Blue.

00:39:54.750 --> 00:39:59.184
<v Sherrill Mosee>No, oh, none of this, this.

00:39:59.184 --> 00:40:01.579
<v Sherrill Mosee>And I landed on Jinky Blue.

00:40:01.579 --> 00:40:06.025
<v Sherrill Mosee>Wow, that was basically it.

00:40:06.025 --> 00:40:12.128
<v Sherrill Mosee>So then Macy's had an opportunity to sell, with QVC working to get back there.

00:40:12.128 --> 00:40:16.646
<v Sherrill Mosee>And then it's really about this corporate gifting and the diffusion line.

00:40:16.646 --> 00:40:20.139
<v Sherrill Mosee>You were talking about knocking yourself off, so that's what I'm looking.

00:40:20.139 --> 00:40:24.925
<v Sherrill Mosee>I'm working on this year's the diffusion line and the corporate gifting.

00:40:25.454 --> 00:40:29.585
<v Emily Blumenthal>How are you able to knock yourself off if you've got bags that are already selling at $30?

00:40:30.235 --> 00:40:31.862
<v Sherrill Mosee>No, those are the crossbody.

00:40:31.862 --> 00:40:34.483
<v Sherrill Mosee>These are the little teeny crossbodies that I have.

00:40:34.483 --> 00:40:37.063
<v Sherrill Mosee>They do not have the divider in there.

00:40:37.063 --> 00:40:40.735
<v Sherrill Mosee>The tote bags in the backpacks are T25 to T30.

00:40:40.735 --> 00:40:44.505
<v Sherrill Mosee>I think small crossbody bags are literally.

00:40:45.215 --> 00:40:49.885
<v Emily Blumenthal>Your goal is to get that $249 bag sold under $100 per say.

00:40:50.286 --> 00:40:53.710
<v Sherrill Mosee>It would not be the exact same bag, it would be a cousin.

00:40:53.710 --> 00:40:57.954
<v Sherrill Mosee>Yeah, it would be a cousin different materials, same functionality.

00:40:57.954 --> 00:41:04.516
<v Sherrill Mosee>But to be able to go and some other retailers at a lower price and to build out the corporate gifting program.

00:41:04.516 --> 00:41:14.472
<v Sherrill Mosee>In addition to I have licensees that are first, they were infringing on my patent on Amazon and I turned it around.

00:41:14.472 --> 00:41:26.237
<v Sherrill Mosee>I was going to kick them off and said I only want to be the one selling my bags on Amazon, but these are factories that are selling at a lower price, different materials, different looks.

00:41:26.784 --> 00:41:31.615
<v Emily Blumenthal>So you have a full on licensing agreement with them to sell your bags without them.

00:41:32.144 --> 00:41:33.929
<v Sherrill Mosee>Their bags using my patents.

00:41:34.590 --> 00:41:36.476
<v Emily Blumenthal>So exactly, exactly.

00:41:36.476 --> 00:41:40.034
<v Emily Blumenthal>That's how I got my licensing deals, and people don't know about that.

00:41:41.224 --> 00:41:42.911
<v Sherrill Mosee>So that's where and to build that out too.

00:41:42.911 --> 00:41:48.257
<v Sherrill Mosee>So there's a lot of different opportunities and not really limiting myself in just retail.

00:41:48.257 --> 00:41:50.411
<v Sherrill Mosee>Yeah, there's a lot of different opportunities.

00:41:50.985 --> 00:41:56.150
<v Emily Blumenthal>Just out of curiosity, are you thinking to move to other categories or you're staying staying firm in handbags?

00:41:56.724 --> 00:42:00.514
<v Sherrill Mosee>I hadn't thought about it, but I need to make sure I got this down.

00:42:00.514 --> 00:42:10.514
<v Sherrill Mosee>So I want to talk to you after we've done this, because you have a lot that you've done that I would love to get some advice on.

00:42:10.514 --> 00:42:13.032
<v Sherrill Mosee>So I would want to talk to you about that, yeah.

00:42:14.344 --> 00:42:20.389
<v Emily Blumenthal>So now I'm working with a handful of designers that I believe in and then helping them move to other categories.

00:42:20.389 --> 00:42:25.809
<v Emily Blumenthal>It's one of those things that I always say everybody loves an underdog, but everybody loves a handbag more.

00:42:25.809 --> 00:42:33.989
<v Emily Blumenthal>But right now, novelty has a moment, so there's a way for us to do something cool and clever and out of the box that most people don't even realize.

00:42:33.989 --> 00:42:48.019
<v Emily Blumenthal>And I applaud you not venturing beyond what you're doing because I mean, I think I created a solution bag that was very specific and had a very unique design, like not a regular tote.

00:42:48.019 --> 00:42:49.742
<v Emily Blumenthal>It was a wallet, wristlet fusion.

00:42:49.742 --> 00:42:50.605
<v Emily Blumenthal>It was a club bag.

00:42:50.605 --> 00:42:51.809
<v Emily Blumenthal>It was up the time.

00:42:52.030 --> 00:42:59.436
<v Emily Blumenthal>Whatever Can't even fit a real phone in it now, but the flip phone I had to deal with Nokia to have that sold in my bags.

00:42:59.436 --> 00:43:00.378
<v Emily Blumenthal>It was a whole thing.

00:43:00.378 --> 00:43:05.735
<v Emily Blumenthal>You're like had I known how crazy it is to call the CEO and be like hey, let's chat.

00:43:05.735 --> 00:43:06.818
<v Emily Blumenthal>And they're like who are you?

00:43:06.818 --> 00:43:08.849
<v Emily Blumenthal>Well, I've got this bag.

00:43:08.849 --> 00:43:10.655
<v Emily Blumenthal>You need to see what we can do.

00:43:10.655 --> 00:43:13.331
<v Emily Blumenthal>So yeah, it's definitely one of those things.

00:43:13.331 --> 00:43:18.396
<v Emily Blumenthal>But I ventured into traditional bags and I think it ate up all my money.

00:43:18.396 --> 00:43:24.748
<v Emily Blumenthal>And then I did a trade show and then it ate up more of my money that I didn't have, and that was the thing.

00:43:24.748 --> 00:43:33.909
<v Emily Blumenthal>Like to do a trade show, premiering product that you know, when you don't have a USP unique selling point, when everybody else is already doing it, and you're doing it because you think you're supposed to.

00:43:34.210 --> 00:43:40.211
<v Sherrill Mosee>Yeah, yeah, and you know, I just need to make the things work that I got going on now.

00:43:40.211 --> 00:43:41.755
<v Sherrill Mosee>Yes, yeah, I agree.

00:43:42.797 --> 00:43:43.157
<v Emily Blumenthal>I agree.

00:43:43.157 --> 00:43:46.932
<v Emily Blumenthal>Oh, Cheryl, it has been an absolute joy.

00:43:46.932 --> 00:43:52.456
<v Emily Blumenthal>Tell everybody where they can follow you and find you and purchase your amazing bags.

00:43:52.876 --> 00:44:00.664
<v Sherrill Mosee>Yeah, so I am at at minky blue on Instagram and TikTok and it is minky blue dot com.

00:44:00.664 --> 00:44:03.173
<v Sherrill Mosee>But check out the bags and minky blue.

00:44:03.344 --> 00:44:03.987
<v Emily Blumenthal>How do you spell that?

00:44:06.327 --> 00:44:07.932
<v Sherrill Mosee>M-K-E-E blue dot com.

00:44:08.353 --> 00:44:11.072
<v Emily Blumenthal>Woohoo, cheryl, you've been an absolute joy.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Thank you for joining us on the Handbag Designer 101 podcast.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>We can't wait to see what you're doing next.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>All right love, have a great day, thank you.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Okay, thanks for listening.

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

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<v Emily Blumenthal>Thanks so much.

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<v Emily Blumenthal>We'll see you next time.