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

Ukrainian Passion and Persistence with Olena Wills

• Emily Blumenthal • Season 1

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Discover the captivating journeys of handbag designers who have transformed their passions into thriving careers. This episode features Olena Wills, a former math and physics teacher from Ukraine turned celebrated designer with her brand Olena New York, who shares how her upbringing as a second-generation tailor unexpectedly set the foundation for her success. You will learn how Olena's early resistance to the world of design ultimately became the catalyst for her creative journey, blending her heritage and academic background with her newfound passion for handbags.

Join us as we also highlight the story of a creative entrepreneur who defied convention by transitioning from a housewife to a handbag designer. This narrative delves into how her experience as an antique dealer enriched her design perspective, weaving historical knowledge into innovative creations. The episode celebrates the spirit of self-learning, the courage to experiment, and how a Swiss watch strap maker influenced her mastery of leather crafting—a testament to curiosity and resilience driving success in the fashion industry.

And for those eager to build their own brands, Emily Blumenthal, our beloved handbag fairy godmother, shares her expertise in launching a successful luxury handbag brand. We explore the balancing act between creativity and business strategy, the importance of understanding your audience and committing to sustainability. Emily's personal anecdotes, including her unexpected foray into design and passion for beekeeping, offer valuable insights for aspiring designers. The episode concludes with Olena's artistic vision, inspired by Ukrainian avant-garde art and historical architecture, underscoring the joy and fulfillment found in pursuing one's creative ambitions.

Connect with Olena:

https://www.instagram.com/olenanewyork/

https://olenanewyork.com/ 



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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.

Speaker 2:

Welcome Olena Wills of Olena, new York, to Handbag Designer 101, the podcast. Thank you so much for joining us today. Hi, hello, hello, emily, hello, hello. So I feel like we've overlapped in the past. You know, selfishly, think that I know every handbag designer, or I've met every handbag designer, or every handbag designer should know me. So we were chatting a little bit before we started recording, but it got a little too juicy so I said pause, let's go back. So, without monopolizing the first part, because your story is really fascinating, and again just to reiterate that becoming an entrepreneur, starting your own brand, is not a linear journey, right? Nobody actually sets out. I think, in my opinion, in this day and age sets out to be what you end up doing, right? It's like you've stumbled into something and now that's all you do. So you want to talk a little bit about you? I know you're from Ukraine. You want to go from there, yeah.

Speaker 3:

Okay, so as you write, everyone's story is different and my story started a long time ago and it's actually started not with the handbags. It started probably from my yeah, everyone's childhood. But I am a second generation tailor, if you're going to start about it. So my mom is a tailor and I grew up, you know, just Making things. Making things, but not because my parents wanted.

Speaker 3:

I wanted to make it, but my parents were different because they probably like everyone else's parents and they want children to do better than them. So my mom and my dad pressurized me. They said you were too good to you know, academically good. And my mom said I never wanted you to sit and sew just like me, because it's a hell of a job. So you have to receive a proper education and just do a career or whatever. So this is what I did. I did what my parents wanted and my first education I'm actually graduated university wanted in my first education I'm actually graduated university I'm a math and physics teacher, you know, for the high school.

Speaker 3:

So yeah, and I worked in a high school very fast. I moved out of that, but I studied math and physics in a special school for two years and then in a five-year university. I graduated what people say in crazy math, but for me it was not a big deal because, again, it's easy. And if you think now, like I'm thinking about past and reflect to the future, for the handbag designers, you know shapes, 3d, geometry it's something that it's easy if you know how it's math, though, and that's I think a lot of people don't realize the science behind a product that somebody has to physically wear Like.

Speaker 2:

There's so much science and math that goes into it beyond just measurements, right, it's how it falls on the body, how it hangs, how certain materials don't have the same structure. That's. There's so much more math to that, and I think you know lucky you that math and physics came easily, but you know I've heard the story, and we've spoken about this that people end up repeating, in some shape or form, what their parents do Like, whether you like it or not. You end up going back to it in some bizarre shape or form.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, yeah, because I was reading a lot of stories of people like interesting people and they say whatever you learn from the age of like 12 to 20, you will, and if you progress with that people who start learning it after 20, after 30, they will never catch you, even in their 50s. So I was learning all of that against my parents' wish, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, but in order to do it if I wanted to do fashion in a big sort of sense you need to be also in the right environment, and I'm from a very small city in Ukraine. What?

Speaker 2:

city.

Speaker 3:

It's called Sumy City, but it's funny because it's translated as handbags.

Speaker 2:

No, yeah, sumak, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3:

Sumy Sumyac, and we have a monument of handbag in our city as a legend and my first design, when it's like, came out, it's kind of resembles of this big leather bag and, yeah, it's a monument of handbag with the money.

Speaker 2:

So there you go no way, that is wild. Yeah, did you walk past it hundreds of times in your childhood and never even thought twice about it.

Speaker 3:

No, monuments are only built, like recently. But you know, again small city and it's monuments are built, I don't know, five, ten years ago. I visited it three years ago and probably five years ago when I could, just before the war. I've been again and I usually visit it every couple of years. Ukraine.

Speaker 2:

Right, that's wild.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. Second thing with experiences when I left school I went I'm thinking I went to work in optical workshop because Soviet Union collapsed, I'm quite you know from a long time ago. So Soviet Union collapsed, very poor people need a job. I left school and I went. I was offered to learn how to make glasses in Optica. You think it's a bit different, completely random, but I spent three years in the workshop making and repairing glasses, sunglasses, cutting glass, riveting, polishing, whatever. It was a hard job but it, I understand. It helped me to understand how a workshop works and how working with small tools. I don't know how, but my workshop at home. I have a workshop at home where I'm making bags. I'm half-half between my office and between my workshop and I organized it with the same principles because I was working in a small workshop with the people who would come after me and every tool have to be placed, you know, in a special place, no scatter around and people who come after me. They supposed to find the tools where they supposed to be.

Speaker 3:

So it's everything had to be super organized, yeah, and every evening we were cleaning our workshop, we were wiping the floor, wiping off the the table, everything put back in place, left for another person to come back tomorrow. I spent three years Same time. I was very young. I was still thinking, what do I do next? Because in my brain I had to do something different, not just stuck in some workshop working for other people, and I went to study another education. I studied economics and management of organization in Ukraine. Again and same time.

Speaker 3:

Again I was young, but I already had a child and I was already divorced and my next husband came and this is how I moved to England and it was random sort of thing and I moved to another country without speaking English. But it took another three years for me to decide whether I want to leave country or not. And did you meet him in in Ukraine? No, it was through online. It was online sort of again online dating. But it took three years and he visited ukraine about 15 times before we decided. So he fell in love with you as well?

Speaker 2:

yeah, can he speak ukrainian a little bit?

Speaker 3:

ukrainian and a bit of russian. He visited teacher for two years, so he actually englishman who speaks russian and it's helps him sometimes with his job.

Speaker 2:

he's engineer, civil engineer, civil engineer, and in England he was working at a railway station and other things and yeah, nnml, yeah, this is so interesting because you know my friends who are Eastern European descent, historically they're all education junkies. You know, they just throw in like, hey, by the way, I've got a degree, I'm an engineer. You know they just throw in like, hey, by the way, I've got a degree, I'm an engineer, and then I've also done physics and, by the way, I've I'm a chemist and it's like, you know, just keep learning more and more and more it's interesting, but I'm thinking about me, because I had to survive or start over in in three countries like ukraine was one sort of background.

Speaker 3:

In England you come new country and you start from zero again. Nobody care what you learn, nobody care what your career was, because who you are and language, language barrier was huge and I had to start learning English. And I found a job just in the office doing administration work, but same time it's interesting saying I discovered photography, but same time I was sewing, I had sewing machine, I was making clothes, but something just wild sort of passion came and in England I graduated university with a photography degree and I tried to do career in photography. I don't know Again, I was looking to make my ways as a photographer, moving to London and my husband said we're not moving to London, we're moving to New York. Because he found the job and, looking at him, in New York he started everything from zero, almost from zero.

Speaker 3:

Here's a career, everything else, and I was at home with him like normal housewife but I was making clothes, I was doing different things and handbags wasn't in the picture. But you know, I always had sewing machine, I always was making stuff. Photography helped to just photograph, sometimes sell things and in England I found interesting thing. It's connected with history. I stuck with antiques. I was in the antique auction and I became antique dealer and it's helped me for more than 10 years buying and selling different pieces of history and learning what they are, their stories and just interesting things. And now we're coming close to handbags because I was doing my things and I had a piece of leather and I decided I will, oh, I won't yeah.

Speaker 3:

I'm a normal housewife now. Now you know, my child has them, but you know, if I may, learning the history of things.

Speaker 2:

I mean it's so interesting that you know. If you were to reflect on everything you've done, I mean obviously you'll go back to the story, but every little piece kind of ties into the pie of what you're doing right the math and how to build something, the optical experience, how to put it together, the photography, how to visualize the history, understanding the origin as to why things are what they are. Because without all those little pieces, you know, so many designers and so many brand owners don't do their homework right. You need to do that due diligence, to understand, and I've always said you can't open up a clothing store if you don't know how to shop, meaning you have to understand what your customer is looking for. You have to understand how they function and interact with those products and everything you're doing.

Speaker 2:

It just makes you sound like even more of an expert in terms of whatever you had decided to put your mind to. Also, being an immigrant like that so many times, it makes you such a hustler that it's almost like you are agnostic to a challenge. It's like OK, it's just normal. You know so many people would be risk averse, but to you it's like OK, so maybe I'll do this and maybe I'll do that, and in the meantime I'll do this and I'll still do that. You know, it's like it's just rolling going with the flow of saying okay, let's just keep going.

Speaker 3:

And I will explain how it happened. You know how it ties up with what they do, you know eventually. And so, as a normal housewife, I said at home, oh, I'm going to go buy myself a handbag. And my daughter being a teenager at the time and she said, mom, you're not buying yourself a handbag, you know you have enough, ma'am. No, no, and I said, yeah, I had a piece of leather. I thought I'll make a bag and see if it's going to look decent. And I made a bag and it's actually on a domestic sewing machine, actually on a domestic sewing machine. It was okay. It was okay. You know, embarrassing if you look at that now, but I thought if it's gonna look decent, I will continue.

Speaker 3:

And it was 10 years ago and since then I started with a sewing machine and actually, same time, looking at 10 years ago, this is what happened. This is what created this big movement that I'm think I'm crying. You know, part of leather crafters movement it's when hermes brought a show all over the world and started showing how they making bets to general public. Yeah, this is what created it. And people came, people. So it's not that difficult. If you think it's not difficult, like, for example, people who think, uh, you know, I take a iphone, start taking pictures, I become an expert, it's easy. So same thing with the people who think I'm probably was one of them and you're trying to make something and it's kind of look okay, but then when it grows on you, you start learning, learning, start making and you're doing it professionally. Then I took countless of lessons.

Speaker 2:

How would you take the lessons?

Speaker 3:

Online through people who I know. I have now colleagues in Switzerland same as me. He has his workshop doing watch straps for various brands. He learned from a guy who, second generation, he worked for 20 guy. He worked 28 years for louis vuitton and the yard. So he's my teacher through internet and sometimes people I would call gifted. If you know what you're doing and a lot of things it's a try and error, miss takes and so you see how it works and I'm constantly like, as a student, go to store and check how high-end bags are feel in your hand. So when I make my bag I always so I'm very good with feeling in my hands.

Speaker 2:

Seat feel touch.

Speaker 3:

Yes, yes, yes. And handbags if you know how they're built, a lot of that is not only outside. Secret is inside and inside is what keeps its structure. And through mutual friends, colleagues, last year I had a girl. She works in London, she calls herself a critical pattern cutter and she works in famous brands. She did countless bags designed for other brands and I asked her about like reinforcement and structure. Do you know? Is it, you know? Is it any guidance? She said no, it's always try and error. She said I'm actually testing for other brands how to make it lighter, how to make it cheaper, what materials she used. And we were talking and we have same knowledge, but it's all I said. Who taught you? She said no one. She said I, we have same knowledge, but it's all I said. Who taught you? She said no one. She said I'm self-taught and it's all through testing and you-.

Speaker 2:

There's no secret sauce at all, there's no shortcut at all. You know and I think you're raising so many good points Like, no matter where you're at, they say always be learning. You're never, never so far ahead that you can't learn something new. And I think a lot of brands again make going to say, huh, I didn't think of that, why are they doing this? Why are they doing that?

Speaker 2:

You know, when, like the biggest example I can think of is, you know, Monsieur Gabriel, when they came out with that bucket bag in that very sturdy leather and the red lining and it became kind of an overnight sensation. And the interesting thing is that it was just a simple bucket with no decoration, nothing, but it was the finish on the leather, how sturdy and heavy the leather was and the structure that made it unique. So again, all it takes is one to be I guess you can call it a quote unquote disruptor to the market, of doing something just a little bit differently, because we're all going to shop. We always, you know, as you said, always want a new bag. But how can you take a new approach to want people to continue to shop over and over? And that's only by constantly doing your research, doing history, reflecting on history, on how people used to shop and say, okay, history is bound to repeat itself. Let me go back and see what they were doing then, so I could be ahead of the curve.

Speaker 1:

If you ever wanted to start a handbag brand and didn't know where to start, this is for you. If you had dreams of becoming a handbag designer but aren't trained in design, this is for you. If you have a handbag brand and need strategy and direction, this is for you. I'm Emily Blumenthal, handbag designer expert and handbag fairy godmother, and this is the Handbag Designer 101 Masterclass. Over the next 10 classes, I will break down everything you need to know to make, manufacture and market a handbag brand, broken down to ensure that you will not only skip steps in the handbag building process, but also to save money to avoid the learning curve of costly mistakes.

Speaker 1:

For the past 20 years, I've been teaching at the top fashion universities in New York City, wrote the Handbag Designer Bible, founded the Handbag Awards and created the only Handbag Designer Podcast. I'm going to show you like I have countless brands to create in this in-depth course, from sketch to sample to sale. Whether you're just starting out and don't even know where to start or begin, or if you had a brand and need some strategic direction, the Handbag Designer 101 Masterclass is just for you. So let's get started and you'll be the creator of the next it Bag. Join me, emily Blumenthal in the Handbag Designer 101 Masterclass. So be sure to sign up at emilyblumenthalcom slash masterclass and type in the code PODCAST to get 10% off your masterclass today today?

Speaker 3:

yes, absolutely, and also a lot of things. When you're building your brand, it's about constantly thinking who is your client and also who you creating it for, and I always looking back at me. So I always thinking who am I and what am I building? And I was always looking back in the future and at the moment, if you look at the current fashion, I'm thinking about it. So I don't think people need too much stuff, because we already have too much stuff as consumers. We have so much. So when you think who needs another thing like that, and I was looking at the models of business, models in general, how you know what exists, and I was thinking who do I want to be in the future? Like, for example, you're always looking at the North Star, that you know who is your North Star, who would you like to be when you grow up, for example, or how you would like to be remembered?

Speaker 3:

And I found only a few sort of models that I'm interested in and not exactly traditional. So, in order to be like everyone else, I can't compete with them, you know, with the speed and manufacturing, and I was always thinking do I really want to be on the shelves as a big department store and I decided no, it was the first decision and I was looking at the designers who already exist and one good example it's a designer from a fashion world, it's Iris Van Harpen, or people from Amsterdam. Girl came she said Iris, so how you pronounce your name? And I thought I love what she's doing. It's not for everyone, it's exceptional, it's one of a kind and it has a price, but it's not exactly for sale for everyone and it's very difficult to exist like this without sort of you know, dollar sign attached to a constant sales, you know dollar sign attached to a constant sales. And it's a very hard job which I'm trying to trying to keep steady and doing what I love, because for me, happiness and creativity and freedom of creativity it's the most important thing for me personally.

Speaker 3:

Second thing who am I and my husband? We are as a couple, we both we are the beekeepers. So we have bees at our home, we have a small garden. Oh, you really have bees. Yes, we do have bees. We know we're not just like other brands saying we think about these.

Speaker 2:

I thought, I thought this was a metaphor of some description, but no, no, no no.

Speaker 3:

So we keep bees in our garden because they're nice for environment. We have a small garden. And how I create my bags, I'm thinking about sustainability only from terms of longevity. First you select the material that is, you know, going to be sustainable long term, and then I'm making pieces that are going to last the longest possible time, hopefully longer than its owner, and I don't know if they're going to be passed for generations or going to end up somewhere else. I don't know, but at least they're not going to pollute environment in the multiple qualities, not going to pollute environment in the multiple qualities. And as a third thing, I try to help with content I create to some people who want to become. I don't know young designers who want to learn as well. So if people have questions, I'm always happy to answer them through social media. Thanks God for that big, big, open window to the universe where you could talk to other people.

Speaker 2:

That's such a positive outlook on social media. I've never heard anyone be so positive about it.

Speaker 3:

I don't know Again. When I was in school, I loved talking. I loved talking to people and whoever was around me. So at home, if I'm open to social media, I like to talk, and why not?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, no, I've seen some of your videos and I'm always so impressed that you're able to just talk into the camera so comfortably and it's yeah, it's a lot, but it's definitely something I want to just touch upon. What was your aha moment, you know? When your daughter said, okay, you know, don't buy that bag. And you made a bag and with that piece of leather, what was the impetus to keep going and say you know what? Now I'm going to take some classes and find some people, and now I'm going to move forward and maybe this will be my next step.

Speaker 3:

It's probably I like to create something to probably to the stage of excellency and see how far I could go. So we usually a good judge of what we like to our taste. So, for example, if I have expensive taste and like some expensive things and if you go, I like that one. So when I make something myself, I want to be as much proud of my creation as I see. You know good examples, the best examples, so I want them to be at that level as well. So if I'm not happy with some sort of stitching or how it works, or design, so I'm not going to stop until I learn to the death of it. And then yeah, so just create to perfection. So I'm satisfied, and if I'm happy, I hope my client's going to be happy.

Speaker 2:

How were you able to recognize? You know the challenge, with a lot of independent designers who are making bags for that high-end client right, people who like luxury things, people who like nice things the biggest challenge is that customer will drop $800 plus on an established brand. If that's the kind of person they are, without even thinking twice To make an investment of a brand or designer that they don't know. It's a bigger sale. It's a lot more of a heavy lift for the designer. So how did you come to terms with saying, okay, I'm not going to sell, you know, thousands of these bags, I'm comfortable with that decision.

Speaker 2:

You know to say I'm going to keep it at this price. I'm going to keep it for this kind of customer because I've worked with so many designers that think that selling their bags because they lack economies of scale, meaning they don't have tons of orders. Therefore the price point's higher, the time value of money put in is higher. They're working longer because most of the time it's handcrafted. So the bags are like 2000 plus. And I said you know you're only going to sell a handful. If that's what you want, that's OK. But you have to realize like that your profit margin is going to be inconsistent, because you don't know how many bags you're going to sell and when it's going to take. So you know, how did you come to terms with all of that?

Speaker 3:

It's one of the most difficult questions. It's all comes to expectations and how quickly you want to succeed. And what do you think of a success or failure? Because we always see our peers or colleagues or competitors when they share their winnings, and nobody talking about downtime, when you're thinking in the corner and crying how failure you are. And I was studying success and failure, and I come with the terms with myself and I was always thinking about Van Gogh. When he died, he said I'm dying as a failure, but when we're looking at him, he was a success. He just couldn't wait long enough and also he wasn't, as I said, mentally stable as well. So, in order to continue this steady route and I call this theory of Van Gogh versus Picasso, because Picasso, during his lifetime, he was loved, he was celebrated, he was successful, he was selling his art and Van Gogh, compared to him, he only sold one painting, you know, and he was poor. But from other side, van Gogh had a brother who supported him, brother in art world, with the art gallery and all of that. So if Van Gogh wouldn't pressurize himself, he would be probably success if you continue doing what he love, and this is how we take it.

Speaker 3:

So for me with the handbags and the clients, again, who your client is. If you're creating it for the client who will take your bag and just you think they would value your bag as an already established brand. It's not true, because the product that you create in it has some sort of set of values inside and big brand usually when you put it on. I was talking to my clients my sister, for example, she's a great example Because she said I want Chanel bag. I said OK, tell me the truth, why do you need that Chanel bag for? And she said well, because she started talking you know, like all of this stuff that you read on the internet, because of that, that and that I said no, you have to tell me the truth. I'm standing with that bag, everyone looking at me and everyone said, oh, she has like 10 grand bag on, you know, so she could do it and it gives you probably quick recognition and acceptance in a certain circles of people Because handbag, whatever it is, but again, it's a symbol of status for women, especially now.

Speaker 3:

So clothes before, like a long time ago, even 50 years ago, good clothes it was a lot of money to make to buy, to get a good coat for you, for your children, cost a lot of money and people would judge you probably by appearance first, by your suit. Now you could buy just a t-shirt, just a pair of jeans, but people still gonna scan you up and down for your shoes, for your jewelry, for something just to you know. And what your job, what do you do? So they're trying to understand what level of respect they're going to give you. A handbag on you and a special, expensive, designer bag, let's say Birkin, would give you instant recognition. Oh, oh, okay. So this person is on this sort of pedestal.

Speaker 3:

So my bags wouldn't give it to anyone at the moment, only for the people who value what they have and a lot of my clients who bought from me. They actually don't need designer bags. They already have multiple options and they come for something else. They come, for example, for some special pieces made from exotic materials, something else that would fit into the style that they already have. So this is my clients and I know them and I value them and they come back to me. Also. Handbag it's a highly priced item. Handbags if you think about accessories, it's a big, valuable piece. Apart from handbags, if I work with leather, I also have belts, I have watch straps, I have small accessories key rings, wallets that help as well. So, in order to concentrate on the handbag only would be not exactly clever, because people would come for something else and I would make it as well.

Speaker 2:

I love your Van Gogh Picasso analogy, not to dive into the whole construct of mental health, but I wonder, if he wasn't so tortured, he probably would have sold more. You know, I really think like he, probably, and we're unable to ask him personally, but you never know what he did and how he could have been repelling his client, as opposed to Picasso, who was a salesperson, and you know, the art of the sale is so much integrated into being your own best publicist of your brand. I can't tell you how many designers I've dealt with who don't want to sell, don't want to promote. They want to pay people to do everything for them. And when you are representative of your own brand, especially at such a high price point, especially when it's something so unique, even if it was at a lower price point, the only way other people are going to know about you is by you promoting until you're at a point where you can outsource, Because you also need to know all those certain key points to know if someone else is doing it wrong or if you're being taken for a ride and losing lots of money.

Speaker 2:

So you know, maybe if he had taken a different approach, like a Picasso to sell his work.

Speaker 2:

He probably would have sold more, so at that same price point. He probably would have sold more so at that same price point. So I think your analogy is so bullseye to say and to answer that in such a thoughtful way that, yes, your bags are expensive, but you know your customer and that's the difference. And if you've been able to carve out this customer base that is willing to spend that money and is brand loyal, and that 80, 20% where 80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers, if you protect that 20%, then your customer acquisition costs and that labor you're doing to find new people is low. So it's impressive that you've been able to do this, because I think a lot of people just can't or have tried and I think, as a result of all that training and craftsmanship and you know, it's not you making a bag by hand and therefore it's more expensive, it's you making a bag as a craftsman. That's making the bag and therefore it warrants the price.

Speaker 3:

That's making the bag and therefore it warrants the price, and I think that's the difference. Also, when I was looking about the design and what do I want to make bags about and how they want to be, it just I decided I'm reading a lot of stories, artists as well, a lot of historical parts like about architecture as well. It's from my husband he loves, he always tells me stories and it started being incorporated into a bag, so every bag has a story. So it's not just a bag and it started with actually New York and Art Deco architecture and it's connected to Ukrainian avant-garde art as well, which has been known as Russian before.

Speaker 2:

Now it's Ukrainian. Yeah, now we know who you are Actually it's so funny.

Speaker 3:

It's like two, three years ago and they started talking more and more. And even in the museums I'm visiting quite often Metropolitan Museum, moma and in Metropolitan Museum they already changed nationality of some artists. In MoMA they're still refusing and today was another article. They're pushing and it's like it's just a matter of time. Now they rewrote.

Speaker 3:

Kazimir Malevich now is Ukrainian and before it was Russian, with this famous black square. He was only Russian because but it's okay, history rewrites itself and I'm reading all of the stories and somehow we just go into a bag and I thought it's strange. But then I was listening to an interview of Zaha Hadid and she you know she's a famous architect. You in an interview of Zaha Hadid and she you know she's a famous architect, you know she was, and a lot of her buildings actually based on a mathematical sort of formula. I could see it because she was very good at math when she was young and she was talking about Kazimir Malevich painting and she created some projects just based on his paintings and they're unbelievable. So this thing exists and if you apply your mind, your imagination to it, you could create actually very interesting pieces and they will be unique if you think about.

Speaker 3:

You know, what do you want to do? What design and why many people fail? Probably because they were prepared for a run. And if you prepared for marathon I'm, for example, as long as would say, god, permit me to keep going I would like to go as far. As you know, I prepared for a long walk and with the bags, and I started making clothes again. And with the clothes actually I made a small collection of clothes just to complement my bags for the recent show and I love what I'm doing and for me it's not exactly a job, it's a joy. Every day I go downstairs to my workshop and I just love doing it and I became very good at that, as people say. And they said please don't stop now. I don't know.

Speaker 2:

Oh my God, Alina, it's wonderful If your grandparents were only able to see what they brought, just the whole circle of life, from where they were to you are and how you know. Your parents thought of it as a task and you're treating it like a privilege.

Speaker 3:

Absolutely.

Speaker 2:

And it's wild how history comes full circle in its own wild, unique way.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, Now my mother is still alive and she's now living in England with my sister and she still believes I am doing something wrong and it's not nice and it's very difficult and she thinks, you know, she would never do it in a thousand years.

Speaker 2:

Well, God bless moms for their perspective. If anything, I think you know that angle is something that almost keeps you going and saying OK. Well, even the constant unnecessary feeling to consistently prove your mom wrong, saying look, look, look, look, I'm doing great. Just fine, don't you?

Speaker 3:

worry.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, oh, my gosh, alina, thank you so much for joining us. Can you please share how everybody can find you learn more? Reach out to you, okay.

Speaker 3:

You can find me on my website, alinanyouyorkcom. You could also, you know, on Instagram and TikTok. It's all, alina, new York. It's easy.

Speaker 2:

So O-L-E-N-A New York. Yeah, alina, new York, yes, fabulous Alina. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you, thank you.

Speaker 3:

Emily, thank you.

Speaker 1:

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.

People on this episode

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Emily Blumenthal

Host