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

Quitting Marc Jacobs to Create an Iconic Brand: The Story of Joy Gryson | Emily Blumenthal & Joy Gryson

• Emily Blumenthal • Season 1

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What happens when you walk away from Marc Jacobs and Calvin Klein—and bet on your own name instead? In this episode, Joy Gryson shares the bold pivot from corporate fashion to building a modern handbag brand that exploded in Korea and won a loyal global following.

She reveals how consulting bridged the leap, why she and her husband chose small Italian workshops over legacy factories, and how a park meetup with Steven Alan unlocked their sales pipeline. From the “It Bag” craze to mastering retail math and international strategy, Joy offers the real roadmap for scaling without selling out.

✨ 3 Takeaways:

  1. Learn the math behind the magic — taste gets you noticed, but knowing costs, margins, and calendars keeps you in business.


  2. Localize to globalize — success in Korea wasn’t luck; it was built on tailoring silhouettes, service, and merchandising to the market.


  3. Bet on your own name, strategically — consulting, smart sourcing, and timing made her leap sustainable, not reckless.


Our Guest:

Joy Gryson is the founder and creative director of Gryson, Olivia Harris, and TriBeCa by Joy Gryson—brands known for their sophisticated balance of modern design and timeless craftsmanship. Before launching her own labels, she honed her skills at Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, and Coach, gaining a deep understanding of both design and business that would later define her entrepreneurial path. Her handbags have been carried by women around the world who appreciate understated luxury built with intention.

Host Emily Blumenthal is a handbag industry expert, author of Handbag Designer 101, and founder of The Handbag Awards. Known as the “Handbag Fairy Godmother,” Emily also teaches entrepreneurship at the Fashion Institute of Technology. She is dedicated to celebrating creativity, craftsmanship, and the art of building iconic handbag brands.

Find Handbag Designer 101 Merch, HBD101 Masterclass, one-on-one sessions, and opportunities to book Emily Blumenthal as a speaker at emilyblumenthal.com. 

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#HandbagDesigner101 #JoyGryson #FashionBusiness #ItBagEra #Entrepreneurship #HandbagDesign #BrandBuilding #WomenInBusiness #IndependentDesigner #MarcJac

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SPEAKER_01:

What have we just done? Like we both walked away from big money, big salaries, security. Well, as much security as you can get from a day job, but security enough. And then to be like, what? Like, what are we supposed to do now?

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, exactly. Yes. That was definitely how we felt. We were comfortable. We certainly not wealthy at all. So like it was definitely not something that we were just resting on and just, you know, no big deal. It was definitely a big deal. But I think at that point, I had so much faith in Pete and so much faith in our abilities that I think that I just went in. I'm a very positive person to begin with. So I think I just kind of went in with as much positivity as I could. And fear, of course, set in, but not nearly as overwhelming as maybe later down the line.

SPEAKER_01:

Hi, and welcome to Handbag Designer One and One, the podcast with your host, Emily Blumenthal, Handbag Industry Expert, and the Handbag Perry Godmother. Each week we uncover the stories behind the handbags we love, from the iconic brands and top designers, the creativity, craftsmanship, and culture that define the handbag world. Whether you're a designer, collector, or simply passionate about handbags, this is your front row seat to it all. Welcome, Joy Gryson, the elusive Joy Gyson, as I've been saying, to Handbag Designer 101 the podcast. I had your other half, but just quietly, I told him don't be insulted if I'm more excited to speak to Joy than to you.

SPEAKER_00:

I'm sure he's kind of used to that a little bit. So uh hopefully he was kind about it.

SPEAKER_01:

No, no, no. We we had a laugh. But, you know, you are one of the brands, essentially, that was part of the massive rise of the independent designer, truly within the scope of the evolution of handbags. Like, you know, as someone who fashions themselves as an unofficial handbag historian, and you know, if we were to go back to the earlier 1920s, 30s, 40s, like most of the independent brands per se were run by men except for a couple, and they were very old school and very industrial, and it was very much for, you know, the ladies. And then as things progressed and life changed and women went back to work and all that good stuff. The first real existence of designers being independent and making their mark was in the 2000s. So it's pretty cool, at least to me and everybody else listening, as I can say, that Droy Gryson as a brand is definitely part of that lexicon. I mean, I'm monostationing here, but I that's these are all cold hard facts.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you very much. Um, first of all, thank you, Emily, for having me on. I'm I'm really quite honored and I'm really excited and um I'm excited that you had Peter on first and now you have me. I really appreciate that. It's really kind words for you to say. You know, it's very funny because Peter and I were very much in it, and so, and because we were so busy, and we're just I'd like to think that Pete and I are a little bit more on the humbler side. So we actually we don't really hear people talking about us like that, to be honest. We just really love what we do, and we feel very fortunate and lucky to have had the experience and the success and a lot of pitfalls, but success, especially at that time of launching. But thank you very much. That's a very kind introduction.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, it's it's you know, we'll get to you in your background, but you know, your claim to fame prior to all this would be your time at Marc Jacobs. And I know you worked at Calvin Klein. I know that's where you and Peter met, but those famous, famous, famous handbags with the heavy hardware and the silhouettes and that all, and and obviously, of course, Marc Jacobs is part of it, but you were there. That was you, essentially.

SPEAKER_00:

That was myself and and a bunch of other amazing talents. I was very fortunate and going a little bit back into history, but one of the designers that I worked with at Liz Claiborne back in the day, she did she ended up going from a couple of different companies, ended up at Marc Jacobs. And when they were looking for um, it was actually a product development slash design person, she knew that I was in the search for a job, and and I'd worked with her for a couple of years, and I was clearly a very hard worker, and so and so she thought of me to come in, and so um she really was the catalyst for everything, and she's and she's the talent. I mean, she was she's amazing, and um who's she? Her name is Emma, Emma Hill. She's definitely someone that I was considered a mentor, and um, she was there for a while and she brought me in, and she's the super talent, and I learned so much from her, and then she did end up leaving, and then I kind of took over the spot, and you know, that's how things kind of worked out. So very, very fortunate. But yeah, I was there for the beginning of like the mid to beginning, beginning mid of like the whole Marc Jacobs collection craze. And that's what I came in for initially was for Marc Jacobs collection accessories, which was all made out of Italy. That was the heavy hardware. Oh my god, suede lining, that was all those it bags, and to be there at the time when when it was on fire was definitely amazing, but we worked our asses off. So, you know, we again we were in it. So we I I feel like in some ways, like I wish I would have enjoyed more of the the craziness at the time. But you know, we and I were very passionate and we loved what we did, and we were um in Italy a lot, so um, so that was amazing. And then um we launched Mark by Marc Jacobs, you know, during our time there, and that just exploded afterwards. But um a lot of amazing talent at Marc Jacobs. Mark was at Louis Vuitton at the time, he was back and forth quite a bit as well, but yeah, so we had we had an amazing team. It was a small team, but it was a very, very amazing team, and um, I'm very grateful for my time there.

SPEAKER_01:

But I mean, you just touched on so many things because it's impossible for a brand to have a continued rise of success. I mean, look, brands could have good teams and not be successful, but to hit a zeitgeist moment and then have hit after hit after hit, you need to have a good team or else it won't happen. It won't be consistent. There won't be a way to keep things going at that same cadence, right? Like you need to have people who are excited, who are passionate, especially since anybody who knows this time of history that Mark was boppity bopping back and forth. So, you know, he had to give direction. Obviously, his hand was in it, but you can't just say I think this should be like this and this should be like that, and then leave without having a team that could execute that vision. Was it hard? Yeah, and I and I talked to a lot of people who day jobbed before, and that is always how I tell people if you ever want to have your own brand, like get paid to do it for other people, learn learn the resources, learn the process, learn peace goods, learn margin, learn retail math, because all that shit is so complicated if you don't get it. Learn how factories work, learn how factories don't work, and then go off on your own. But we had spoken and you said like it was never in your bingo card to have your own brand. Like, were you so heavily in this? Like, I'm working for a great brand, I'm working for great people, this is where I belong. I'm a I'm a really solid soldier. Is that how you saw yourself?

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, definitely. You know, growing up, I always knew it was funny because my parents remind me of this, which you know, I don't I always knew I wanted to be in fashion, but my parents reminded me that I wanted to be a CEO one day, which I don't honestly remember saying that, but apparently I did. Um I definitely had a business acumen initially. So I think maybe that's part of where I came from, but I always was interested in fashion. But honestly, you know, I worked at major corporations, really, really large companies, really strong brands since day one. And so, and I really, like you said, for me, it was about learning how to do everything that you possibly can to the best of your ability, you know, watch, listen, and do, and make your mistakes on someone else's dime. Yeah, because we're all gonna make mistakes and just really work your butt off. And back in those days, as you know, you know, there was no work-life balance. It was all no, it was all work. But honestly, for me and for people who really enjoy what they do, especially when you're young and you're really just a go-getter, you're you enjoy what you're doing. So for me, I was fine with that.

SPEAKER_01:

I didn't have to put me on a plane to Italy. I'll go. You know, I'll work all night, I'll do walk around sketching and work with the factory.

SPEAKER_00:

That's kind of it was a good, it was definitely a good life. Actually, funny that you mentioned because the reason I ended up leaving Marc Jacobs was actually not necessarily to start our own company. It was I had my daughter, I'd just gotten pre I'd gotten pregnant. Um, travel, and I was funny because my husband was like, I don't even know how we got pregnant because I was in Italy all the time. So, you know, so that was kind of funny. Um I mean, you met up once. I'm sorry, like you met up once, so there was that. We know that. Yeah, don't tell Pete, don't remind Pete of that. But um, so you know, so I we I was traveling a lot prior to having Olivia, and then I was definitely traveling a little bit after having Olivia, and that is when I realized that this was not sustainable for my lifestyle and for what I wanted to do with regard to being a mother. And then Peter at the time also was kind of in his crossroads of like what does he want to do in his future from where he was? So it was actually kind of like a situation where we were both thinking, oh, you know, what are we gonna do? How are we going to proceed with the rest of our life as parents? Because that was obviously the priority.

SPEAKER_01:

Can I ask you? So, like Olivia falls out, you give birth, you're working for this major company, the expectations don't stop, the momentum doesn't stop. You have Mark Jacobs, Mark by Mark. All of this is essentially falling on your head. And you know, the interesting thing is having a kind of job like that, a day job like that, it's not a day job, it's who you are, it's how you define yourself. This is me, the brand can't survive. And then there's this bizarre, like, oh my God, I have a child. Like, what like I can only imagine your first business trip must have been in tears, like on a plane, hysterically crying. Like, should I really be doing this? I don't know if I should be doing this.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, it was really, really hard, even on maternity leave. So the smartest thing that not the smartest thing I've done, but one of the things that I realized was when I was going when I realized when I was pregnant with Olivia, and Emma had unfortunately already left the company, and it came to a point where I was like, you know what? I need someone who can come in who I really trust to be my eyes and ears and to take the division and go with it and know that I can I feel comfortable and so on and so forth. So I ended up hiring a close friend of mine who happened to be at another company and was looking to leave for quite some time. And she ended up consulting for us while I was on maternity leave. But it was great because when I came back, I was, you know, working a couple of days, you know, I was actually doing, I think I was even on maternity leave, I think I was still working a little bit on maternity leave. Of course you were. So yeah, so I mean it was it was nice because I had someone there who I really trusted, who I knew who was talented. So that all worked out. So that was something that was, thank goodness, a smart thing that um myself and my boss had thought of. And so that made life a lot easier for sure. And then, yes, when I got back, it was really hard. And that's where that's when I and I I think the one time that really, really I realized that this was not gonna work was when uh sustainable. Yeah, it was it was like it was during, you know, right leading up to fashion week, and you're in the office and you're you know putting together all these looks, and you have to do things that need to get done, and you're literally barely sleeping, and and I had to go and I had to go, and yes, I had a team, but like everyone had to pitch in. And I'm not one of those people where I was like, I'm sitting at my desk and doing nothing, and everyone else. Because of course, our our believe or not, our our team was tiny, right? So there wasn't even a lot of people doing that, and honestly, like I needed to make sure that things were done, getting done correctly, and I am a little bit of a control freak when it comes to that, and especially when Mark's asking for something, you need to make sure it's correct, otherwise, he will let you know that it's not. So I had to go to the belt factory in in New York and all these things, and and I was there for hours beyond hours, and that's when I was like, and my daughter by that point was already like a couple like at least six months to a year old. And so I knew at that point I was like, okay, I'm like, you know, it's just this is not the right time for me. So when I left, you know, it was really interesting because I didn't really tell them what was going on. I just knew that it was time to go. And I think they thought that I was going to another company.

SPEAKER_01:

You can't tell people when you have a baby at that time. People don't care. And you know, they're like, oh, great, congrats. Wow, uh, you look so good pregnant. Oh, look at your beautiful pictures. Okay, so back to me, back to us, back to the collection. So I almost feel like unfortunately, for you to have said, Hey, I miss my child, I like nobody would, that wouldn't even be fathomable.

SPEAKER_00:

You know, I have to say that the the women who were actually most of the senior people at Mark Jacobs Accessories and um Mark by Mark Readyware, which we fell under, they're all women, and one of them was a mother of two, or maybe a mother of one at the time, maybe. But like we all, like, you know, we were all at that age where we were kind of going through it. And so they understood, but that wasn't the situation, you know. I think now the times are so much better, and it took that long for, you know, the industry and and the world to understand, you know, how important it is for women to be able to be both in uh realistic situations. At that time, you know, this was in the early 2000s. Clearly, we hadn't gotten there yet. So even though my bosses were understanding, it just wasn't realistic with what needed to get done, and especially with, you know, just the type of work that we did, especially having to travel and getting things done for fashion shows and market and stuff like that. It was it was really hard. I mean, they somehow they seem like I think they figured it out. Not necessarily Mark Jacobs, but just industry as a whole, it seems a lot better than it used to be. But um, yeah, at that time it was definitely difficult. And it's unfortunate. But you know what? At the end of the day, clearly it was meant for meant to be. And it was and I'm I'm so happy that Peter and I took the leap of faith to do that.

SPEAKER_01:

I'm excited to share my new book with you. Welcome to Savvy Susanna's Amazing Adventures in Handbags and the start of Susanna's triumphant journey to become a young handbag designer. Filled with ingenuity, fun, and a hint of steam, Susanna will inspire children and you everywhere to follow their dreams and put in the hard work to get there. Savvy Susanna is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or wherever you get your books. Thanks for your support. Did you tell Mark personally, like, hey, and did he ask where you were going?

SPEAKER_00:

No, he was actually still at Louis Vuitton. So he was not in the offices. So no, I spoke to my direct report who was the president of accessories and mark by mark. And uh, and you know, she's a very kind woman. She understood, but I think she everyone assumed, like, oh, I'm going to another company because that is the natural inclination. And I and at that point, I think what happened was I actually had a maybe a consulting job at that point. Like someone wanted to hire me to consult. Maybe I but I think at that point Peter and I just weren't even sure. Like we knew we were gonna start something, but we didn't know exactly what that was gonna be, and we hadn't we hadn't even like started designing anything or starting anything. So for me, it was like it was right before the summertime, and it was just the time to say it was the end of a it was right after like fashion week, and it was time to be like, okay, time to cut the cord before anything else happened. And so that was it.

SPEAKER_01:

So you said, All right, I'm calling it, that's it. You came home, Peter was home. Was it one of those like, oh damn, oh shit, like now what? Like, what do we do? Oh my gosh, yeah. I mean, uh I the silence is deafening when you're there with a child who's napping, and then you're looking at each other like, what have we just done? Like we both walked away from big money, big salaries, security. Well, as much security as you can get from a day job, but security enough, and then to be like what, like, what are we supposed to do now?

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, exactly. Yes, that was definitely how we felt. You know, it the best thing was that it was the summertime, so it made things a little bit easier, and so we got to enjoy our time with Olivia. I mean, honestly, it was one of the best times because I actually we have a family beach house and I went to go see my sister there, and I I don't I don't think I've ever done that with my sister, just the two of us. So that was wonderful. It was wonderful just to be able to actually just breathe and take time. But of course, I mean, I've worked my entire life since I was probably 14, 15 years old and never stopped working. So for me, not to work was really awkward and weird. And then, of course, you know, you know, I think part of me didn't even realize the real ramifications of like income situation. I mean, like we were, you know, we were comfortable. We certainly not wealthy at all. So like it was definitely not something that we were just resting on and just, you know, no big deal. It was definitely a big deal. But I think at that point, I had so much faith in Pete and so much faith in our abilities that I think that I just went in. I'm a very positive person to begin with. So I think I just kind of went in with as much positivity as I could. And fear, of course, set in, but not nearly as overwhelming as maybe later down the line. That's crazy. What did you study, by the way? So I went to um first I went to Albany and I did business, and then I hated business after the first semester, and I decided to do art. So I decided to do art, be an art major. And then I realized that the art at Albany was not like the best thing. And then so I was like, oh my gosh. I went into poli sci for like a second because I did think I have dreams of maybe being a lawyer at one point in my life. Don't ask. And then I realized, oh boy, this is like I'm not figuring anything out here. So I transferred to FIT. And because I'd gotten so many credits in the business and you know, general requirements, I was able to, when I transferred to FIT, I ended up taking tons of design classes, actually. Right. Like dream classes. I'm sorry, like dream classes. Oh my god, oh my god. Some were dream and some were not. I mean, the pattern, you know, pattern making and grading, and those were not my my special use whatsoever. Sewing, I was not glade at. I mean, I love the learning aspect of and understanding how to sew, but I was not, I mean, when I had to sew my dress for my final project, I would tell you it was not the nice work. But I did appreciate, I love I love architecture, I love engineering, so which makes sense why handbags worked out well for me. Right. Because it's so three-dimensional. And I've always been into architecture, so I kind of feel like somehow the world figured it out and the stars aligned, and I did end up being in the right place.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, but I your parents supportive of all this? Were your parents like you're like, like, oh, I'm transferring again. No, I I'm changing my major. No, I'm changing my major. You know what? I'm just leaving. Like, I can't do this anymore.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh no, my parents are amazing. They're super, super supportive about anything we do. Uh oh my gosh, yeah. They they were just like, do what you need to know.

SPEAKER_01:

When you moved back from Albany, were you living at home?

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, I was. Yes. Was that hard? Very much so. Yeah. But I mean, honestly, like it was nice because my father worked, uh, he's a he was a dentist and he worked at N by the NYU buildings. So we would drive in together and he would drop me off. And so we actually got a lot of father doctor time for two years. And it was actually great. And and and I didn't, I mean, I didn't what didn't bother me back then. I did want to live on campus, but I think you had to live like a certain mileage away, and we didn't live that far. And you know, honestly, I felt bad that I was making them pay for, you know, an extra year of school and so on and so forth. So I wanted to be respectful of that. And um, no, it was actually, I kind of enjoyed it. And I knew that I'd be living in the city probably for the most of my adult life afterwards. So it wasn't a big deal. I mean, I think the the cultural, the social aspect was a little bit harder because I wasn't living on campus, but you know, it was all good. And I was very serious. I was a year older than everybody in my grades. I transferred, so I was and I'd off and I'd had my college experience. So for me, this is more about what am I doing with my life? I want to start a career now. So, and I always knew I wanted to be in fashion. So it actually was the best thing. So, yeah. So I actually studied fashion buying and merchandising thinking that I wanted to become a merchandiser, to be honest. And then when I was doing all those credits and learning about that, what was great about even fashion buying merchandising was that you actually needed to take fabric sourcing classes, you had to take salesmanship classes, you had to take product development classes, you had to take all these other classes that you maybe don't think that you have to take. And it was, and it was amazing because I know more than most designers know from a business standpoint. And then from a design perspective, I got to take a lot of design courses when I was there, which was awesome. And then after I got my first job, I ended up going back to FIT, taking like, you know, adult courses, learning more about sketching and learning more about, you know, other things. And so it was it was actually if I had to do it all over again, I probably wouldn't have done it that differently, maybe a little differently, but not that differently. So I worked out.

SPEAKER_01:

That's I mean FIT is a very funny place, I gotta say. I mean, having taught there for so long, it is. It's but it's much like any university or any college experience, like it's there for the taking if you want to get it, and nobody is going to hand it to you, especially being in New York City. And I think it seems like you've been very, I don't want to say fortunate, but you know, right place, right time. But none of that means anything unless you have a work ethic. Like unless you're just like down to grind, down to hustle, down to make sure that okay, my time here matters. I'm gonna get a return on investment. I'm going to be responsible with other people's money. I'm going to ensure that what I do has a purpose and the why is always being answered. Correct.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. I mean, I came from a family where my my parents have amazing worth of work ethics. So I've just by being part of the family, you know, you just see it and you watch it, and that's just like part of your DNA after a while, you know? So for me, it was never a question. And um, I was always a good student in school. I wasn't like the best, but I was always really good. And if I love the classes, then forget it. Like I was, you know, straight A in those classes. So um, and then I knew that I wanted to be in fashion, and I knew that, you know, the courses that I was taking at FIT was going to help me get to where I want to be. So for me, even though like I honestly didn't love the marketing class for some reason, but you know, I studied my butt off and could have been the professor, just saying. Yeah, it could have been. She wasn't so bad. It just I think you know, I've obviously I was more interested in the product development and fabric textiles and and anything more tactile and more, you know, creative for me. Obviously, that makes sense. But yeah, I mean, on the work ethic, I mean, like I mentioned to you before, you know, going to Marc Jacobs, I knew I'd worked for somebody who had then brought me in because she knew of my work ethic. And basically, when I first, my first job out of school was at Liz Claiborne and I reported to five designers, and they were all very different from each other, like night and day, every single one of them. But I worked my butt off for each and every one of them to the point where like I was overdoing stuff that I actually woke up late one morning because I was so exhausted from doing like someone's expense report, let's say. And so the office called because they were concerned about me because I hadn't come into the office because I was so tired. I was up till like three in the morning doing it. Right, right. It's like, and not that that was whatever, but it was just it was just like one of those, and I didn't mind doing it because I just honestly like I loved working, I loved showing that I cared, and I was just willing to do whatever I needed to do to like, you know, further myself and learn as much as I possibly could. So, and so every single job that I actually had gotten pretty much was through either one of those designers or through somebody I'd worked with at another company because they saw the work ethic.

SPEAKER_01:

I isn't that amazing. And I I hate sounding generationally old, but there there is so much to say about like doing things that aren't within your wheelhouse or within your job description or within what your expectation is. Like I was hired for design. Why are you doing an expense report? Because that's that because you're doing what it was, right? Because you want to make yourself look like a team player. So when opportunities come, you'll be the first one to get it. And that's that's the only way you lock it in.

SPEAKER_00:

And exactly. I think there's a there's a fine line between, you know, there are some people who abuse their situation and do things that are totally inappropriate. But to me, and the back, especially back in that day, that was not an unheard of thing to ask. Of course not. I was a design assistant, I was an assistant, so you did pretty much anything that the designers needed you to do that was in their work well realm, which doing your own expense reports was part of their work as well. So, and they needed to travel and this and that, whatever. So to me, I did not think that was an and and that was normal. So it wasn't anything like that was wrong. But yeah, when you go in, and especially this day and age, I think there's a lot more of like a fine line for things in people's perspective and minds. But to me, like it it, I I definitely was more like, I'm gonna do whatever you tell me to do, as long as it's okay with me, you know, and I'm okay, and you know, and it's not breaking any laws, I'm good with that. So um, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

So this, I mean, like, this is like peeling a design onion. I'm so excited. So you're at the summer, you have this baby, she's cute, you have a husband, he's like okay, he's cute. He is, he's sweet, he is, he is, he's tall, which is good because it's hard to do that when you're short, but that's just my personal opinion. That's just me offhand. It's true, because then you'll get short kids, which again, nothing wrong with just makes people's lives hard.

SPEAKER_00:

You know what my mom said about being short? The one of the benefits of being short, because I'm only five, two, is that you can marry or date anyone who's short or tall. It's a lot easier. And not that you can't when you're tall, but it's sometimes it's a little bit more awkward or uncomfortable.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, well, you know, you are cute too. So, you know, you've got that going for you. How to how to Olivia's tall though, isn't she?

SPEAKER_00:

You know what? She was always like 99th percentile up until about fifth grade, and then she's very that's it, average in height. She's uh five five. Okay, two, right. But she, yeah, she's a beautiful, she's beautiful. She always she looks taller than she really is, which is I find very interesting how that works.

SPEAKER_01:

But anyway, that's an aura. That's an aura thing. Oh, I like that. She's got a tall aura. Yeah, I mean, I've never met her. I just assume if you if you match the two of you together from the one time you guys met between Italy and every and China, you know, of him traveling. So I I want to ask, like, okay, so you had the summer, it was a delight. You finally were like, I can exhale, but then there's always that kind of like panic inside, like, I don't want to get too comfortable. Because if I get too comfortable, my whole work ethic is gonna fall in the toilet. Like my senior year of high school when everybody else was like, screw that, I'm in college. I think that was my best year academically, because I'm like, oh my God, if I stop working so hard, I'm gonna forget how to work hard and then I'm gonna be screwed once I start in school. I'm not gonna know how to do that. I mean, that's my own ridiculous insecurity of, you know, oh no, oh no. How are you like, okay, Olivia's asleep? Like, hey, Pete, I've just started sketching bags, or hey, Pete, you know, I think this is the DNA of what our bag. Should look like because it's not gonna look like Marc Jacobs, it's not gonna look like this, it's not gonna look like that. How did this come to be where you were like, okay, let's do it, we're all in. 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. 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 Emily Blumenthal.com slash masterclass and type in the code IMCAST to get 10% off your masterclass today.

SPEAKER_00:

So interestingly enough, so when I was, I guess right after I left, we had gotten uh I gotten a phone call. Someone reached out about consulting, design consulting. And so I actually ended up very small company somewhere in Maine. And it was interesting because they were like, oh, we want to launch um some handbags. They were actually a rug company, but they had really beautiful, amazing.

SPEAKER_01:

Did you do carpet bags? Did you do carpet bags?

SPEAKER_00:

No, I did not do carpet bags. It's so on the nose, but I love carpet bags.

SPEAKER_01:

It's my favorite silhouette. Like, oh my god. Oh my god. I love a good carpet bag. Sorry, sorry. No, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_00:

Not at all. But I mean, it was a great, it was a great company, and they had beautiful prints um patterns. And so they really just wanted to apply them to some handbags. So I ended up consulting for them. And then in the interim, that was when Pete and I started figuring out, okay, we're gonna, this is what we're gonna do. And it was amazing. We had, you know, with Pete, you know, because Pete and I both met at Calvin Klein, we knew how to work together. You know, he was the the business side of it and merchandising side. I was the creative design side. And we actually had a couple of different business partners, two, two friends who were also people that we we knew from work in our previous lives, who actually were living in Italy and they were American, but living in Italy for quite some time and started a studio. And so we were launched, we knew we were gonna launch our bags out of Italy. So we uh those um co-workers slash friends partners on the ground in Italy, searching out for factories that were right for us. So you weren't using the factories that you were using. No, no, we wouldn't, no, we wouldn't, we wouldn't do that. I think it we definitely didn't want to do that. One because we didn't want to step on anyone's toes, and obviously we were a small startup. I uh the companies that we were using for Marc Jacobs or Calvin Klein were certainly not most likely gonna touch. I mean, we were using the Celine factories back in the day for Mark Jacobs. Right, right, right. So it was not something that, I mean, we were looking to do maybe 50 pieces to start out. Yeah, right, right, right. So it was a very different, you know, quantity. So they weren't even gonna probably even take us. So we had to find smaller companies that were willing to take a chance on us on an unknown person and an unknown brand. So um they were scoping that out. And then we were honestly, we were looking for one last puzzle to our uh piece to our puzzle, and that was the sales entity. And Pete had been like an amazing salesperson back in his his you know previous jobs, but he did not want to sit there and be selling. That was not what he wanted to do. Accounts receivable, accounts payable, design and sales. It's like it's it's a lot. I mean, it's a lot, and they all have their own strengths and purposes and importance. But he knew that he didn't want to do that, and so we needed to find a sales entity and figure out how we were gonna do that. So that part we had did not have in place, and that was like kind of the the last piece that really needed to be figured out in order for us to say, okay, we can do this.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh damn, now what? We got this great product. Who's gonna get it to people?

SPEAKER_00:

No, I mean, it was it was it was interesting. I think that at that point, we actually, I mean, this is a complete different little segue, but before we actually started our brand, we were actually thinking of potential other businesses to start. So we were, you know, we were kind of feeling those out. So everything was kind of happening all at the same time. And then talk about Kismet, whatever, the stars aligning. I actually took my daughter to the park where we were living, and sh she happened to see, and remember, she was oh my goodness, two at the time, like one and a half, but she recognized one of the kids that were there at the park, and so Olivia's so clever, she's so clever.

SPEAKER_01:

My god.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, she recognizes one of the kids that she had done play dates with, you know, with with my with her nanny, with her babysitter at the time. And so then the father is there, and we look at each other, we don't know who each other is at all, and we're like, oh, our kids seem to know each other, and we're like, okay, that's nice, nice to meet you, blah, blah, blah. Of course, you go through the what do you do? What do you do? Blah blah blah. Turns out to be Stephen Allen. Stephen Allen. Yes, yeah. So that was, and that was how um, and then he, you know, he obviously had his own company, his own stores, but he also had a showroom, which I was and you knew him. You were like, I well, I knew of him.

SPEAKER_01:

I went to you like, oh my god, Stephen Allen.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh my god. Yeah. So when he said he was Steven, I was like, oh, you know, a little starstruck, but you know, like definitely like, oh, cool. I mean, you live in Tribeca, you see a lot of people, it's you know, it's nothing crazy, but but it but you know, I admired him. I've been shopping at his stores for decades by that point. So it was definitely like, oh, cool, that's pretty awesome. You know, I never knew what he looked like, so I had no idea. So you know, back in the day we didn't have really social media at the time, you know, so it was a little different. And so yeah, so then we just started talking, and he was telling me how he has a showroom and he's looking for a new handbag line to rep, blah, blah, blah. And I was like, How did you how did you weave that in? Being like, hey, hey, girl, you wouldn't believe it. You know what? It was very natural. And he's actually the one that kind of, you know, he's the one who actually brought it up to me because he was like, What do you do? You know, he's like, What do you do? I'm like, Oh, I'm a handbag designer. I just recently left Marc Jacobs, but my P my husband and I are looking to potentially start something, blah, blah, blah. And then he's like, Oh, he's like, Well, I have a really great strong handbag brand that was in my showroom, who unfortunately is leaving because they've gotten so big that they want to take sales in-house. And I'm Was that Monica? Maybe.

SPEAKER_01:

So um it's I've I've had so many Stephen. I I have to reach out to him after that. I have to have him on because between having Monica back here, I just spoke, did a part two with Claire Vivier yesterday, which is going to be coming up. So I'll all roads lead back to Steven, Alan. We've had so many overlaps, and I've had um, I used to do these handbag industry symposiums that I've had him speak at, like, hey, and he's like, Who are you?

SPEAKER_00:

And I'm like, Well, I know who you are. Nice, he is such a nice person. The problem is he knows. I mean, people know everyone knows who he is, you know. So that's the problem. I don't think he could possibly know who everyone is. Uh that no, you know, because he because he's just he's so amazing, he's very kind. He was a great business partner. We were very fortunate. I mean, and he was just so cool. He was just like, hey, he's like, Well, why don't you call up your husband and let's go have lunch and let's go just talk about it. I'm like, really? He's like, Yeah, I'm like, okay, you know, and he's and he clearly he was an entrepreneur, so he knew how to talk to people and deal with things because he'd been doing his entire young life. So, you know, me, I'm always used to working the corporate umbrella, you know, corporate umbrella situation. So I'm kind of like, okay, is this how it works in this other world? And I guess it is. So he was just like, Yeah, call up Peter and let's go sit down. And we sat down with the kids and boat and had lunch and and started our business together.

SPEAKER_01:

So crazy. I can't, you know, and it's like had you not been out that day. Exactly. I mean, and that wouldn't have happened if you were still working.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, because there's no way you would have been out. No, I would have been in the office working, or in Italy, actually. But yeah, no, it would not have happened. And honestly, the fact that Olivia and his son Max, that they recognized each other. I mean, it was just so many different things that just had to align that it's kind of crazy that it's in. I mean, I think in retrospect, obviously we would have figured out another sales entity, but Stephen Allen Showroom at that time was the perfect place for our brand. And it blew us up, you know, just from the onset. So we were very fortunate um to be with him. So that worked out really well.

SPEAKER_01:

God, I I get so excited talking to people like you. Like, cause I know there's and fortunately we have a lot of puzzle pieces that Peter filled in of what happened next. But I wanna, because honestly, I could have parts one, two, three, and four with you. I wanna just jump ahead and talk about like where you guys are now. And I got a lovely message from Peter saying, Don't forget to talk about House of Joy. So what is going on? I respect that. Totally respect that. So what like you guys have been through iterations. You had stores, you moved to Brooklyn, you had you did private label, you were representing brands, you had showrooms, you closed the store, you went, you got your brand to Korea, and now it's like I think the number one handbag brand in Korea. You sold a minority slash majority steak. Peter said that during COVID, your bag was on one of the Korean telenovelas. I'm saying all this incorrectly, and K-pop, and now it's the brand to watch. I can't wait for your bags to now be resold back into the US, ironically, because they're so beautiful. It's so funny now that your life is 50% now greater value in Korea. What is going on with what's happening happening now? House of Joy, bringing it back, you know, empty nester. Well, actually, now you're the opposite of an empty nester now.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, now we're I don't what do you call that when your child returns after empty nesting? Our roommate situation. That's what it is. So yeah, I mean, yes, I'm I'm sure Pete has filled you in for a lot of that stuff. So I won't, I won't um duplicate or repeat. But yeah, so fortunately enough for us, we found an amazing partner in Korea who does uh does own a percentage of our company. And we were so lucky because the company that that we work with and our partner is again very much like Stephen Allen, kind, generous, smart, and just has such a vision. And thank goodness, you know, has the experience to really, really bring our brand to the next level. And we've been so fortunate in Korea through the craziness of COVID. We really did re that was good timing for us, sad for everyone else, unfortunately. But our brand definitely blew up at that time, you know. That's and that what was happening here too. Obviously, everything was shut down in Korea. Believe it or not, businesses were not shut down. Weird. My entire staff went to the office every day. They did not miss work, and everyone just wore masks, and and that was that was just how it was. So as usual, exactly. So that's you know, a couple of years later, our you know, our brand, we opened we're opening up a store literally starting tomorrow, which is I think the pictures that maybe Pete might have sent to you, the House of Joy, and it's in um Itewan in Korea, which is actually a very big, really great shopping area. If anyone's has not been to Korea, you really need to go because it's really beautiful. And I'm saving my points for it. It's such, I mean, the food is insane, the people are warm, the shopping is great. You know, I I'm I'm right now, I'm trying to not go through that at this moment. I haven't even done both Botox yet. And I say yet because not that I want to, but I might, you know, I can't ever say never. You can flex that genetic giftness.

SPEAKER_01:

Like you, you, you talk about that. That's good. I mean, like if you are genetically superior and you don't need that, like I would tell everybody, be like, I've had nothing. I've had nothing. Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

No, it's called using a lot of serum and uh spending a lot of money on, you know, lotions and potions and serum. And that's what I do, and I spend a lot of time and energy on that. So, you know, got to figure out what's what's more important to you. Pick and choose your battles. So that's my battle. But yeah, so we um we have many stores in Korea, some freestanding stores like the House of Joy that's opening up tomorrow in Itewon. And then we also have a lot of shopping shops in Korea. The department stores are very different than they are here in Korea. People shop differently there. Well, you have to lease the spaces. It's like like it's like the big Louis Vuittons or the big Fendies and Gucci's in our department stores. You know, they don't have buyers that buy the product, basically. You you you own, you lease the space, and you put your salespeople in, you put your product in that you want. You you kind of like your own store within a store. Right. Well, that's how all the department stores are in Korea. There's no such thing as a buyer buying your stuff from a department store level.

SPEAKER_01:

Do you do meet and greets there?

SPEAKER_00:

No, you know, no, not is not culturally into. No, it's unless you're a K-pop singer, that's the only that's and maybe an actress, but uh meets meet and greets for designers, those are not something that you really do in Korea. You know, I think what's interesting is our brand is really it's an interesting brand because obviously it's my name that's not very Korean sounding, but yet, you know, we're partially owned by a Korean company. And so you get the mixture of understanding the Korean culture, but also you have the essence of Joy Grayson, the designer from New York, which is all 100% true. So it's a really interesting uh connection and and difference from most of the other designers that you have in Korea. So we try to treat, you know, we treat it like a Korean brand, but we also treat it like an independent New York City brand as well. And I think that's part of what our success is, which may sets us apart from most of the other brands there.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, I think there's something to be said about my vintage days and working in television, that when I worked for CNN and they were opening up international versions in different cities, and someone had the foresight to say, hey, you've got to localize everything or else it won't sell, it won't work, it won't be respected, it won't be received. So you can't try to sell two people in a way that's very much centric to where you're from if that's not how they shop.

SPEAKER_00:

Exactly. Exactly. No, I mean it's just like everything else, even the stores that you sell to in the United States, they have to make sense for your product. Yeah, you can't sell your stuff in a place that you're the that's not who your the customer is coming. You know, it's like it's kind of like you need to make sure that you're doing your due diligence. And you know, the product that you design, you have a person in mind, you have a customer in mind. And you know, obviously there's choices for every single age, gender, type, aesthetic, everything. So, but you can't put yourself in every single door and every single website, you know, it's not gonna sell, it doesn't work that way. And that's the same thing with countries, clearly. You know, there's just definitely different ways of shopping, different aesthetics. So um, yeah, you do need to, and even the designs, going back to designing, you know, what I used to design for the US market, or at least, you know, when we had stores in the US and in New York City specifically, you know, it's definitely different than what we design and what I designed for Korea, but also the times are different too and the trends are different. So there's part of that as well. But of course, I need to consider, you know, the majority of my customer base being Korean. So that always goes into uh consideration.

SPEAKER_01:

Are you gonna have the brand ever resold back in the US? Is that the goal?

SPEAKER_00:

That is definitely the goal. And you know, we were actually very close to doing that right when when COVID. No, actually when COVID, yes, a little bit, but even more so before the tariffs came into play. Oops, okay. Yeah. So we were looking to probably do that probably out of this past year. And unfortunately, once the tariffs came into play, that definitely halted us because we actually need to figure out and see what's what's right and when the timing is right to do that and and take that stuff into consideration. Because, you know, if we're gonna relaunch back into the United States, then we want to do it the right way. And and I think right now with what's going on, there's so many variables. Variables, exactly. So we'll think.

SPEAKER_01:

I mean, not that I'm thrilled about the tariff situation because it affects everybody, but the other part of me is like it needed to get addressed at some point. So at least it will get addressed because it has to be addressed. So at least we know this isn't a forever thing. This is uh it will get figured out, and then like everything else, it'll stabilize and we'll all proceed business as usual because that's just how life works in terms of you know the life cycle of a product and sales and doing any kind of business. Yep. So I am very much looking forward to getting your product back here because it's absolutely spectacular. Joy Grayson, thank you so, so, so much for joining us today. I want everybody to follow you, find you. How can we do that?

SPEAKER_00:

So, um, our Instagram is um JoyGriyson official. So please follow us. And you know, thank you, Emily. It was it's honestly, I don't do this very often, and especially because we're mostly in Korea right now. So I haven't actually done this in quite some time. But it was really lovely to finally meet you in person. I know we spoke on the phone, but um, you know, I'm super excited to be part of your talk. And congratulations to you on Savvy Susanna.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you. I love the book. So good. Well, I'm glad you can relate and identify because that's really what it's about. Moms pushing forward their uh entrepreneurial thread and empowering their their children to to do their own thing and to fail forward and to learn from those mistakes, and especially in handbags, because those are our people, right? Exactly. Exactly. Well, thank you again. It's really been a pleasure. Thank you, Joy. 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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