Handbag Designer 101: The Stories Behind Handbag Designers, Brands, and Industry Icons

E-Commerce strategies, insights, and content creation with Amber Katz

• Emily Blumenthal • Season 1

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Curious about the journey from journalism to content creation in the world of beauty and fashion? Amber Katz, an expert, writer, and content creator, shares her fascinating story from her Boston University days to becoming a leading voice in the industry. Amber's career trajectory is nothing short of inspiring, from studying journalism and French literature to pioneering one of the first beauty blogs under the moniker Rouge 18. Through her work with major publications and brand copywriting, she offers unique insights into the synergy between fashion, writing, and content creation.

Ever wonder how social media has transformed the fashion industry's networking and branding dynamics? Amber discusses the shift from traditional in-person networking to virtual connections through platforms like TikTok and Substack. She highlights Substack's power as a modern blogging tool, enabling creators to forge direct and authentic relationships with their audiences. As the digital landscape evolves, Amber provides valuable advice on how brands can leverage these platforms to establish a strong and genuine brand identity.

Amber offers a treasure trove of e-commerce strategies to independent handbag designers aiming to stand out in a crowded market. She explores alternative affiliate networks such as Skimlinks and Flagship, emphasizing the importance of adaptable marketing strategies in the digital age. This episode reveals the secrets behind successful editorial pitches and selecting coverage topics, providing listeners with actionable strategies to navigate the ever-competitive market landscape. Dive into these insights and more as we explore the intricate world of fashion and e-commerce with Amber Katz.


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https://www.instagram.com/rouge_18/


Youtube: / Handbagdesigner101-ihda | Instagram:/ Handbagdesigner

TikTok: / Handbagdesigner | Twitter: / Handbagdesigner

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. Welcome, amber Katz, to Handbag Designer 101, the podcast. I'm very excited to have you here today. Welcome, welcome, Amber.

Speaker 2:

Thank you so much for having me, Emily. I'm so happy to be here.

Speaker 1:

Yes, I think I'm happier. So we recently connected because you were doing a handbag story and we connected and I provided you with some unique information. I believe it was about the belt bag, bum bag.

Speaker 1:

Yes, and cross bodies and all that, and I was excited to meet you and then saw your wealth of work and how you've been writing for 100 million publications, it seems like for 100 million years, and I think, hearing the angle of someone who writes and covers content and being on the receiving end and what you look for, I thought it was really important to have someone like you specifically, you come in and talk about the process and everything in terms of how you want to be pitched and all those things you look for. So you know, I've just basically cut you off, thank you, welcome, amber.

Speaker 2:

No, it's fine. Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here. Yeah, so should we start? Where should we start?

Speaker 1:

So I'd love to start. You know where you went to college. Was writing always something that was interesting? Was fashion always something you followed, like, how did those two worlds collide? Interesting? Was fashion always something you?

Speaker 2:

followed. Like how did those two worlds collide? Yeah, so I went to Boston University and I always wanted to work for a magazine, write for magazines, that was always what I wanted to do. But actually it's funny, in college I was in like a, you know, I was going to be a journalism major and weirdly there was like this kind of derailment, like there was a. There's actually a hurricane, my like at the beginning of you know, once I declared my major, I think sophomore year, and the class got canceled and we had to. You know, we didn't learn how to do our first assignment, which was like a new story. I had to write it without you know learning how to write a news story. So of course it was like full of opinions.

Speaker 1:

I didn't know what I was doing and I'd scheduled office hours with my professor this is such a random, random tale and she actually, like, stood me up for the office hour, so I wrote it, you know, without understanding what was going on. A whole episode on that alone. Yeah, I was. Had you ever gotten an F on anything before?

Speaker 2:

Never in my life. So I was so put off by this and in retrospect, like I maybe you know, could have handled it differently I just like withdrew from the class, changed my major and I feel like you know it was sort of a blessing in disguise Not that I don't, you know, I love journalism but I never wound up actually, you know, studying it for a degree. I've taken journalism classes actually a la carte, once I moved, once I graduated, once I moved to New York I took some NYU classes, some new school classes, so I actually did sort of get like a little bit of a professional education in it, but not toward my degree. So anyway, I wound up switching my major. I wound up majoring in French language and literature.

Speaker 1:

Oh, I was a Russian, spanish major. I see you, girl, I see you.

Speaker 2:

Yes, yes, no, it's a great jumping off point for many things and you know, it's like majoring in English, with the added complexity of reading your books in French, writing about them in French and speaking about them in French. So it's much harder but you learn the same skills, but it's kind of dialed up. So, anyway, I wound up majoring in French. I also thought I wanted to go to law school, a thing that never happened. So I had like internships in law. Anyway, the bottom line is I never had internships for magazines, so it was really difficult. I was not able to get a job, you know, out of school, in magazines. I wound up like falling into a career of financial copywriting and editing. Actually, well, I'm sure that paid. So, yeah, kind of it, kind of I didn't work for like an investment bank, but like I worked for these places, it paid better than magazines, certainly Right.

Speaker 2:

And then I started actually I started a beauty blog in 2006. I was one of the first beauty bloggers. Oh, and there it is, and I was able to pivot from there. So it was originally called Beauty Blogging Junkie, which is the stupidest name. I changed it to Rouge 18, which it was named after a Pantone shade. And then, yeah, I had that blog for many years. I actually discontinued it maybe three or four years ago and now I have a sub stack which is sort of an updated version of the blog which is called Things I Buy as a Civilian. So that's the very long story of how we got here. So now I do a combination of writing for various publications, including Time Magazine has a commerce site called Timestamped, kind of like their wire cutter, I write for them. Ap has the same thing. It's called AP Byline. I write for them. And then I do brand copywriting for brands you know across the spectrum, from beauty brands to, you know, kind Snacks, estee Lauder, leather goods brands.

Speaker 1:

You know across the spectrum from beauty brands to, you know, kind Snacks, estee Lauder, leather goods brands. You know it runs the gamut Right, right, right, oh my God. So much to cover here. So, and number one, I want to apologize because both of my ring lights have just died. I had one and I had like a mini backup, so if anybody who watches this on YouTube, you can only see half of me.

Speaker 2:

So I'm in the same. Yeah. Yeah, I'm like the Phantom of the Opera. I don't even have one up here. I forgot mine totally, so you're seeing this on.

Speaker 1:

YouTube. I know the one I had just died and then I bought like a pocket one because you know who isn't up at 1am on Instagram and it's like, oh, I guess I need this too. Well, it lasted for all of six minutes. So, anyway, I'm sorry, but yeah, the early blogging it's funny because I found that anybody who was an early adopter to blogging I had a site that was the origin of Handbag Designer 101. Oh, really Came out in 2006. Yeah, I closed it. I want to say 2017.

Speaker 1:

It was one of those things. It was ongoing and it was so much work, but honestly, it's a marathon to know how to. I mean, writing was something I never thought I would be doing. But then it's like you don't realize that everything you do, especially when you're presenting your own brand, you have to be a craftsman in terms of your words to get the point across as quickly as possible and as effectively as possible, especially when it comes to a fashion brand. Yeah, so why beauty? And were you excited to start getting free product? Was that the end goal and how did that work?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so I always loved beauty. I was always like, you know, I started babysitting solely because, like, my parents were like not giving me the money for beauty products that I needed. I was like very entrepreneurial. I was like I will make my own money for beauty products. So I've always been very into it. You know, I was like buying, you know, masks and lipstick and all kinds of things from the time I was like seven, eight or something.

Speaker 1:

So I was always. Skin looks beautiful. So whatever you did at seven, it's worked, it's held over.

Speaker 2:

Thank you. So I love fashion too. I love fashion and beauty, but mostly, yeah, I was more consumed with beauty and when I started the blog I'm sure you know, as a person who also started a blog in 2006, people were not getting free things really in 2006.

Speaker 2:

A couple of years later I was listed in like a top 10 list of the new, you know, blogs for my women's wear daily. And then I started getting free, like the industry sort of started to catch on in 2008. But in 2006, like you know, I never. I was just like. I thought my mother would read this blog and like maybe that. Yet I just was.

Speaker 2:

I did it because it was mostly for me, like I was working at an accounting firm, which was not a fit, and I was doing marketing and writing, so that was somewhat of a fit, but like I, you know, I didn't like it. I was talking to partners like men in their 50s about my favorite lipstick and obviously that was not the best audience for that. So I started the blog, actually just like, as an appropriate place to talk about the products I love. And then it wound up leading to, you know, a pivot in my career and a lot of, you know, freebies, which was fantastic. But you know I bought it. I was buying my own stuff in the beginning and just reviewing everything I was buying at like TJ Maxx and the Lancome counter.

Speaker 1:

So how long did you do it before you realized you could do it full time?

Speaker 2:

That's interesting. So, yeah, I did the blog. I had a full time job and wrote the blog for four years and then I quit my full time job, but I always freelanced as well, like I always did the copywriting. I never actually, because I just don't believe in a single source of income. I agree, yeah, it just forget it. So I always did other things, but there were a few years where I would say that the blog was like maybe 80 percent of my income.

Speaker 1:

So that must have been hard to do. To say, ok, you know, my writing is my power, which is my income. I mean, that's, that's a lot of pressure to put on somebody.

Speaker 2:

It is. It is, but it was great. I mean, I loved it. It was a very different time. You know, I used to go to events for, you know, fashion and beauty launches, like almost like four or five nights a week and it was great. I would eat hors d'oeuvres for dinner and I got to know a lot of people in the industry and it was really fantastic. And I have to say, like a lot of these publicists who I met, and, you know, people from brands, brand founders, a lot of them are my copywriting clients now. So, like all of that work and networking for so many years, while it was kind of exhausting and I'm an introvert, so it was, you know, well worth it because it established like a great network of so many people who I'm in contact with to this day. And this was, you know, 15 to 20 years ago.

Speaker 1:

I think that that brings up a good point, that don't underestimate networking, because I honestly, at that same time, and I wish those kinds of events still existed because I would still go out for them, but I just, especially in this day and age, it's so hard to find like-minded people within the beauty and fashion industry that don't have an aggressive agenda to meet and connect and you know that, aren't shooting video of themselves while you're there in order to have a conversation until they're looking over your shoulder for someone else.

Speaker 2:

It's funny you say that. Yeah, I have to say, like you know nothing against influencers. They work very hard, but the rise of that sort of, you know, I mean I was also like in my late 30s by the end of this cycle, so I was just kind of not up to, you know, being out every single night, you know, from like five until like 9pm, but it just shifted. You know, the whole focus became about the photography and what you can put on Instagram and it was just sort of expected and you know, the whole landscape shifted, as you said. So it just sort of became less fun for me as a person who, you know, I have an Instagram, but that was never. I was never really like an influencer. So, yeah, it just changed.

Speaker 1:

You know you brought up a good point about Instagram and, obviously, the advent of social media. How has that impacted not even so much you as a brand, but the people you cover and the brands that you look for?

Speaker 2:

It's interesting, I think for a while, everything had to be like pristine and beautiful and stunningly shot, and it was all about that. And now I don't know. I think we're seeing a shift back toward good writing. The images still matter and the items still matters. Of course, things need to be beautifully packaged, beautifully designed, all of that. That's never not going to be the case, but things are a little bit more real. I think Substack has become, sort of it's taken over some of the market share, I think, of Instagram. People are still on Instagram, but it's not as polished and it's not really as fake. And I think TikTok also, you know, changed that landscape too. So, like things are just a little less, you know, performative.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I would say no. I mean, I started my sub stack in September. I moved everything off my Thank you. Yeah, I moved everything of mine off MailChimp and moved it straight there because I figured if I was doing weekly mailing, why should I be paying for that when I could have people start following and reading? Because you know what I've been writing about has been pretty consistent for the past 20 years. So I might as well just put it out there for people to consume by choice and potentially get paid for it and potentially get paid for it.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I have to say I love Substack. I talked to a friend of mine who works for venture capitalist firm Andreessen Horowitz, and she actually put me in touch with one of the founders of Substack like five years ago and I was so impressed by it. I actually started my Substack then and I just didn't start writing it until three years ago, but I was like I love everything about this. You know, people are reading, people are less focused on just like captions and this, as I said, like this performative nature with like Instagram stories and everything.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so it's been great for me and it's, you know, it's very much a return to old school blogging, which, of course, I identify with too, and maybe you do too. But yeah, it's been an interesting shift. And listen, like I'm sure in five years there'll be another shift to something else that we don't even know what it is yet and you know, always changing it's a game of the floor, is lava. But I have to say, like, right now, what we're doing, you know, it really resonates with me and I'm into it.

Speaker 1:

Do you think, though again speaking about this, because I really want to make sure that people take away like nuggets of you know what writers look for and people to cover, and also like ideas in terms of developing your brand DNA I don't think people should sleep on Substack. I think it's an amazing opportunity as a brand owner, even if that's where you're incorporating your weekly journal of what you do as a designer. It's just a way to get followers. It's a way to have your own almost like publication, of sorts, within others. I think that's something that a lot and it's just, it's a pain in the ass, of sorts within others. I think that's something that a lot and it's just, it's a pain in the ass, let's be honest, because it's just another medium you have to do, but as long as you're doing something, the SEO of it. They've made it so easy that I always recommend like bring your followers over there and have an opportunity to get your message out.

Speaker 1:

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Speaker 1:

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Speaker 2:

I totally agree and you know I've gotten a lot of new subscribers from within Substack, from the app, from, you know, notes, which is kind of like a Twitter competitor. So, yeah, it's its own sort of ecosystem and you know it's been good for me. But I do think, you know, it's sort of at the nascent stages, like I don't know that every consumer is aware of what it is and it's. You know, it's like sort of it, but it's on the up, you know. Like you know, podcasting is also like another place where people can go. Obviously, you know this is a meta conversation, but I just yeah, it's one more thing.

Speaker 2:

I mean, yeah, you're doing a million things, we're all doing a million things, but you know, choose the one that works for you and is the medium that really lights you up, whether that's Instagram, a podcast, a sub stack, whatever it is. But there are great people, you know, on all of these platforms and you know you just have to do the one that bolts you out of bed and you have a lot to say on it.

Speaker 1:

Do you find, though? Now I'd love to kind of move the conversation to what you look for in people to cover and what are the touch points that you want them to have? So I'm sure you've reached out, as we all have, at least on this end, because I go on both sides reaching out to brands and having brands reach out to me to be covered, and there's so much misinformation about what is needed to be covered, and there's so much misinformation about what is needed to be somebody that's worthy of consideration. If you could talk a little bit about that that'd be great, sure.

Speaker 2:

So I'm actually happy to see. You know, I think there's so many AI articles. You know, some of them like they don't even real people writing them. They've made up like I forget which publication it was, but they made up like a fake journalist. Like there's a lot of crap online and, you know, for a while it seemed like publications just wanted things to be written for you know robots to be reading it. Ie like just SEO out and it didn't sound like a human wrote it and it just wasn't fun to read and that was sort of the game plan for a while. And I think we're moving away from that. I think that you know these publications are losing readers because, you know, just reading something that's very, you know, highly SEO and not written like a real person wrote it, it's just it's not appealing. You know no one's going to read it, don't you?

Speaker 1:

agree, and I'm sorry, so sorry to interrupt Like the expectation of people like you, tied to publications and the need to pump out content at unrealistic, unhuman speed because they just and so much of that I have found wasn't proofread, wasn't fact checked, wasn't like typos and grammar errors, because whoever was writing it was either unqualified or was in too much of a rush to get another set of eyes, and it's like at this point I feel like the expectation of readers now has to be higher or else we have so many options on where we can read.

Speaker 2:

I totally agree. I totally agree. And you know copy editors, improved readers I've worked as a professional copy editor, improved reader. I can tell. I mean, I'm constantly like, as I'm reading things, like horrified, but they've, they've let these people go for budgetary reasons. You know a lot of the publications have lost. You know ad dollars, of course. So it just it is what it is, but you know, and also e-commerce is a thing you know.

Speaker 2:

Things have to be, as Victoria was saying in your episode earlier, like things have to be available on major retailers. They have to be affiliate friendly. Unfortunately, they have to be on Amazon. That's not the case for all of you know no-transcript for things that are available, you know, at a major retailer, that's not to say like 100 percent of you know. Say, I'm writing a handbag story, I might be able to cover like one or two items that are not available at a major retailer.

Speaker 2:

But the other thing is and I think you know this is one of the reasons I love working with Time and AP they really want expert commentary.

Speaker 2:

Like you know, I'm somewhat of an expert in fashion and beauty, but they don't actually, you know, they don't want the quotes coming from me with regard to, like, specific, frequently asked questions that they always want to include at the end of the article. So they always want me, you know, to interview, you know, someone in the industry who is like a real expert, which is why I tapped you for that handbag article and I think that's great because, you know, I know what I know from being a consumer and I know what I know from being a journalist. But, like I, you know, you spoke to things that I absolutely would not know about and that's, I think, a little bit of a shift. I feel like, you know, the expertise was sort of put on the journalist for a while. We're moving back to like we need experts, we need to differentiate this content from the sea of same on the internet, and I think that that's making a difference.

Speaker 1:

I think all of that's so, so unique. I think you know, speaking to what you just said, a lot of the designers with whom I work. I think it's also really important for them to start seeing that USP, this unique selling point, as a point of differentiation, like what makes you special and understanding the landscape, doing a competitive analysis so you're able to speak to who else is doing what you're doing, analyze it, so when someone like you comes to want to cover that, you already know what you're looking for, as opposed to saying I'm the best thing that's ever happened. You know you've never seen anything like what I've done, because chances are you've seen a million. I think another thing that a lot of people tend to forget is if you're pitching a writer or a writer is covering you or has reached out to you, before you respond, look at everything they've written before.

Speaker 2:

That's great advice. Yes, yeah, just like, a little bit of personalization, I think, goes a long way. You know, I understand it's. You know I can't even imagine how intimidating and just like what a Sisyphean task it is to, you know, look up every single person you're pitching. But it's worth it. You know, even if you just look at their Instagram, even if you look at their.

Speaker 1:

you know, for writers, their muck rack just to get an idea of, like the last two or three things they wrote, what kinds of things they cover. It really makes a difference. Yeah, I think it's one of those things though that are you as someone, when you're looking to cover. Like what if you found, like the best designer product, independent handbag product, independent product, and yet they are not on Amazon, they don't have an affiliate link to a major retailer, Are they able to get an affiliate link through a major retailer if they're not sold on that platform? Like, what are some recommendations you can suggest for someone to get coverage, Because it gets harder and harder? It's like how do you look up a word if you don't know how to spell it? Like, how am I supposed to get on a platform? If I'm it's, I should be a good question.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's a good question, I would say. You know, I think independent sellers can sell on Amazon, so I think you can get on Amazon in a you know a multitude of ways, so that's something to explore and that would you know, take care of the problem. There's also skim links. I forget what some of the other there's shop my. There's actually a new affiliate network called flagship that I just found out about. That's a lot of smaller brands that influencers are working with, not necessarily like editorial publications, but that might be a good route because you know it's all about indie brands. You know, smaller brands on Flagship is another option. Again, like these tend to service content creators and influencers, but I think that that's a way in the door. But I would, yeah, I would reach out to you know, I would see what I could do to get my product sold on Amazon. Look into Skimlinks I'm not as sure exactly how that process works. And then, yeah, shop my flagship. And then there's also like to know it LTK or whatever, that's another one no-transcript.

Speaker 1:

At the very bottom it says affiliate links needed must have, and I think that's something that a lot of smaller brands need to realize, that have it available just for editorial, have it available just as an opportunity in marketing. It's not something you need to publicize, but just have it. So it exists, I agree. I agree, yeah, because editorial, at the end of the day, is supposed to lead to sales.

Speaker 2:

So right. The thing is that, as I said, they're not relying on advertising anymore, they're only relying on this. These you know e-commerce links are keeping them afloat. It is what it is. You can like it or dislike it, but that's just sort of the nature of the beast right now. So I agree with you, it's, you know, it's not ideal, but if you want to be considered that, unfortunately it's just a thing you have to do right now. Maybe that'll change, but for the moment that's the case.

Speaker 1:

That's wild that these publications can't depend on advertising anymore.

Speaker 2:

I mean, it's just crazy, those big events, that we'd go to the upfronts, the whole thing you know, I mean, I think the majority of the budget goes to Google, facebook and influencers, and then whatever's left goes to these, you know, legacy publications, but you know, that's just sort of what's happened.

Speaker 1:

So I just want to speak a little bit about how you receive what you should cover and is a lot of it ideas that you've come up with, or is it typically what's handed to you? Because I know a lot of designers. When they're looking at people to cover them, they'll reach out and saying I'm sorry, I only do what's handed over. Like, how does it work with people like you?

Speaker 2:

So for me. I actually go about it in a few ways. So I will, you know, let's say, I get a handbag assignment. You know the best, whatever the best tote bags, whatever it is I will usually, you know, do some research. I'll look online. You know, I'm a shopper. I'm buying handbags too. So I'm thinking about, you know, whatever I last purchased that I happen to like, and then I kind of cast a wide net, like I go on quoted Q-W-O-T-D, and I get a lot of things sourced through that. So a lot of publicists are on there and they'll pitch me. I find a lot of experts on there to interview. So that's one avenue. I'm in a giant Facebook group of publicists. It's called PR czars. So that's another thing I do once I get an assignment and then I get a lot of that too.

Speaker 2:

You are too OK, great, yeah, I get a lot of everything from small brands to, you know, very corporate, larger brands that way. And then you know I have an Instagram following, so I usually put something on an Instagram story too. So anyone who follows me there will, you know, reach out. And you know I always tell people like friends of mine, if you have a handbag you know that you really like, let me know about it. So I sort of approach it that way and then go from there.

Speaker 1:

Do you ever come up with your own ideas and saying here's a story I'd like to do, and then pitch it out? Or do you typically wait for someone to come to you with a story because you know it's paid for?

Speaker 2:

I do, I do pitch things, but I think I've noticed just in the last several years it tends to just be more assignments, like I think the publications just sort of like know exactly what they're looking for. It's a lot of times it's based on SEO, really like frequently asked questions that people are just asking on Google. It's just sort of the nature of the beast right now. So I certainly can pitch things, I do pitch things, but I would say the majority of my fashion and beauty articles anyway of those assignments tend to be assigned. I also write for the Seattle Times about, like home decor, and that is actually all pitching. So and they don't want any e-commerce. Weirdly, like they don't even want me to mention products at all. So it's a mixed bag. You know it's bizarre, but it just depends on the publication.

Speaker 1:

Now, just to wrap up, how have you seen the trends in terms of stories that have come to you? I mean, I know, like, regardless of when this, this episode runs, like, for example, right now, everything is so election focused. So is it like you know the top 10 products to wear that show your political pride, or something like that? Do you find like that, the stories that have shifted in terms of what's pitched to you to write?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I would say there's definitely a timely angle. I mean, because I write a lot of shopping content, it tends to be like you know, I have a lot of Black Friday assignments. Right now I have one for furniture the best you know furniture sales for Black Friday. The best, dyson hairdryer sales is another assignment I have right now, but it runs the gamut. I mean, I get, like you know, fashion, beauty, home, all of that. So I would say it is definitely timely.

Speaker 2:

But because I'm mostly writing, you know, e-commerce stuff, it tends to be around like Prime Day, black Friday, labor Day sales. There's a lot of that in terms of like timeliness, but the rest of it is pretty evergreen. Though you know I'll do, like you know, time has me doing a lot of like single product reviews. They tend to be more like furniture items or like a perfume or you know something specific. I guess it could be like a handbag too, and I'm always pitching, you know, sort of one-offs like that and you know. But I'd say, like every you know, maybe I'll pitch 15 of those and one will get assigned.

Speaker 1:

Can I just ask you, just as a final question let's just say you're doing a story on handbags just for conversation's sake. What do you need the designer to have to send to you beyond just the link, just beyond an affiliate link?

Speaker 2:

I would say I need like not, you know, I feel like the days of press releases are over, but I would need, like just like a paragraph about it, an image. You know, I obviously need to see it. They don't need to send a sample. That's kind of you know. That used to be the case. It's not the case anymore. No one's really doing original photography. So yeah, for me I would say, you know, a small write up, what makes it different, and an image where I can buy it, how much it is, and that's basically it.

Speaker 1:

And the image should be on a clean white background, just to be clear. Yes, yeah, that is helpful. Yes, yeah, because it's not like you're going to reshoot anything and I think that assumption is long gone of send it in, we're going to review it, we're going to shoot it, we're going to do a lifestyle shoot. Like those are gone. Unless it's a Vogue, it's not happening.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah. And if you have the budget of Vogue, but yeah, the budget is just simply not there for these publications in you know, 2024. Oh my God.

Speaker 1:

Anyway, it's just so true how things have evolved. But you know what I always tell people, because I deal with retailers all the time, and the big box retailers and they're a lot of them are pretty doom and gloom, like, oh, nobody's shopping, and it's just everybody's shopping, everybody's just shopping differently, shopping, and it's just everybody's shopping, everybody's just shopping differently. And I think you know we had a glut of sameness for so long and then followed by COVID, where there was a backlog that I think all of us collectively are just hungry for something new and shiny and something that's going to bring joy. And it has to fall into two categories Either it's luxury that's already been approved, meaning like it's established.

Speaker 1:

I think it's very hard to get somebody to invest in a very expensive product if there's no backstory behind it, or it's been around, or it's within an affordable price point. That theoretically justifies the investment. Yeah, I would agree. That theoretically justifies the investment. Yeah, I would agree. So, amber, you have been phenomenal. Thank you, thank you, thank you for taking the time out of your day to talk to us. How can people find you, follow you and catch some of your amazing stories?

Speaker 2:

Well, thank you for having me on. It was a delight to speak to you. People can find me on Substack. It's ambersubstackcom. The Substack is called Things I Buy as a Civilian. I'm also on Instagram. My Instagram name is the name of my old blog. I should really change that, but I haven't. It's rouge R-O-U-G-E, underscore 18, like the number 18. And yeah, that's pretty much it. It's those two places these days that I'm all over.

Speaker 1:

Oh my God, Amber Katz, thank you, thank you. Thank you for joining us on Handbag Designer 101. Thank you, emily. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to rate and review and follow us on every single platform at Handbag Designer. Thanks so much. See you next time.

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Emily Blumenthal

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