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

Ana Laverde on Turning Colombian Craft into a Scalable Handbag Brand | Emily Blumenthal & Ana Laverde

• Emily Blumenthal • Season 1

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What happens when a dream job disappears—and the real opportunity is right at home? In this episode, designer Ana Laverde shares how a Milan-trained industrial designer transformed a setback into a focused handbag brand rooted in Colombian leather, systems thinking, and disciplined edits. Ana explains how her background in luxury packaging shaped her approach to bags as functional objects for daily life, why sourcing in Bogotá’s Restrepo district became a competitive edge, and how proximity to production protects quality, margins, and brand DNA. From killing slow styles to leading wholesale with proven best sellers, she breaks down how testing through pop-ups, trimming color palettes, and partnering with a numbers-driven advisor turned creativity into repeatable wins—without losing identity.

Key Takeaways:

• Design is a system — Structure, function, and durability come before decoration.
 • Edit to scale — Kill slow styles, lead with best sellers, and let data guide risk.
 • Proximity is power — Staying close to production safeguards quality and cash.

🎧 Listen now for a grounded look at how craft, commerce, and clarity build resilient brands.

Our Guest:
 Ana Laverde is a Colombian handbag designer and industrial designer trained in Milan. With a background in luxury packaging and a hands-on approach to sourcing and production, she builds leather handbags defined by sharp edits, functional design, and repeatable commercial success—proving that focus and systems can turn craft into scale.


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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SPEAKER_01:

And most of the time, actually, on today's business, yeah, I'm the one who creates and designs the collection, but I'm also the one that has to make difficult decisions, such as, okay, this is not selling well, I have to change it or replace it. I definitely think that time is the one that gives you the knowledge and this experience to actually manage a business being a creative person.

SPEAKER_00:

Hi, and welcome to Handbag Designer 101, the podcast with your host, Emily Blumenthal, handbag industry expert, and the handbag fairy godmother. Each week we uncover the stories behind the handbags we love, from the iconic brands and top designers to 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, Ana Maria La Verde of Ana La Verde to Handbag Designer101 the podcast. Welcome, welcome. Thank you. I'm so excited to be here. I'm more excited. You are one of our amazing designers that was handpicked, curated, selected, all those buzzy words for New York now. Uh X the It Bag, February 1st through 3rd. We're so excited to have you coming all the way from Bogota, Colombia, right? Yes, correct. Oh my goodness. So your story is it's common but not common for being a handbag designer out of Colombia, right? Because how everybody ends up becoming a handbag designer is different, but you work with a factory with your own people in Colombia, which is freaking awesome. So how did all this come to be?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, actually, it's not that common to be a handbag designer in here, but it is pretty common to be just a designer or any industrial designer, which I am. I I studied industrial design here in Bogota. Um and then I decided to make this master's degree in Italy in Milan on packaging design, which was very luxury packaging design. But at the moment I came back to Colombia, I it wasn't that easy to find a job on packaging, on luxury packaging design. And that was the moment where I decided what was that I wanted to do or to be. And my passion had always been handbags as a woman, you know. We all love them. So as I couldn't find that dream job at that moment, I just started designing bags and going around Bogota and looking for this neighborhood who was the perfect to find leather suppliers and hardware suppliers. And I I just started looking and understanding what was working with leather because I had no information so far about leather as a raw material. I did have the knowledge to design products, but uh with any any other material, glass or plastic, but no leather. So I had to do this, all this kind of learning about the material and the product itself.

SPEAKER_00:

So this is there's so much here. So, yes, and I I want to correct myself. It's very common in Colombia to be a creative, to be a designer of some description. So, because I I gotta tell you, everyone I've met from Colombia has been creative doing so, oh I designed this, I designed that. So, and and you're very, very lucky because there is actual production within Colombia. Yeah, super lucky.

SPEAKER_01:

Very big. All leather tanneries in here are very big. Actually, we export a lot of leather to Italy to be finished there, and for those big brands to use our leather, we are very proud of our of the Colombian leather. It's a very nice leather.

SPEAKER_00:

So you went to school, you got a degree. What inspired you to go to Italy for packaging design for a master's? That were you like, okay, when I grow up, I want to be a packaging designer? Like, or was it like, oh my god, I have this opportunity? I'm not gonna say no because oh my god, it's Italy.

SPEAKER_01:

It was my dream. All five years that I was studying industrial design here in Bogota, I dreamed about becoming a packaging designer. I don't know why. I just dreamed of working actually in L'Oréal. I wanted to work for L'Oréal in Paris. But when I finished my master's in Milan, it was uh arriving in 2008, and this big economic disaster happened. So finding a job in Europe and actually being able to stay there, it was going to be impossible. So I had to came back to Bogota. Was that the time to design packaging? It was my dream. But if you think about it, a handbag is actually a package, you know? Yeah, it's a package that you carry with you the whole time, all day long, with your most precious items and products that you actually need for the day. So it's it's a luxury package. Were you heartbroken when you came home? Of course, I had my European dream. I wanted to pursue, I wanted to keep living there. Europe, it's amazing. It's my place of inspiration. Europe, I love it. I mean, having troubles staying there because of the visa and having to come back like I had to, there was no other way. It made me realize that we have a lot of possibilities here. There's a lot of room and of place to actually become someone and to create something new. Because in Europe or USA, I don't know, you have all these alternatives and they are all already placed there. And you have these huge brands. But in Colombia, of course, we we can find anything that you have, but we have this amazing opportunity on creativity and actually on the industry to pursue something new and to create new.

SPEAKER_00:

That speaks so much to, I think, especially, you know, what does a degree mean, right? Nowadays it could mean nothing. It could mean absolutely nothing. However, and you know, what do nowadays really what does a university degree teach us? It really teaches you how to think, how to learn, how to be given information and to process it and then use it on a day-to-day basis if you're using it in the right way, right? Because it's it's it's a privilege to learn this kind of information because it's not something you get out in the wild. So it's really interesting that you were able to kind of pivot and take everything that you learned and actually use it through a different lens and see it and say, hold on a second, I am skilled, I do know how to do this, I just need to look at it from a totally different angle, which in fact is a very industrial design way of thinking.

SPEAKER_01:

I mean, I knew and I know that I'm really skilled as a designer. I know I'm a great designer. You are, you are.

SPEAKER_00:

I totally agree with you.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you, thank you. And at that moment, I knew that I have these skills, but I had no idea or any information about the material. Now what? Right. But also I had this passion inside me that told me I don't want to keep working for the rest of my life for somebody else's dream, which is actually what it takes to be an employee at any company. You know, you're you're working for somebody else's dream. I just wanted to do it for my own dream. So I had to have to find this strength and quit that job, which was a very good job, and just start from zero and thinking and learning how to establish a brand and also how to create a business. Because as a designer, yeah, I'm very creative, I know how to design a product, but I had no idea, zero information on how to build a business, like a profitable business. That is what you need, actually. So I took after I quit that job, I took the first year to learn what was I getting into and how I was going to make it. So I had to to learn about everything, the legal stuff, the corporative stuff, uh, everything. I didn't know anything, anything. I just knew how to design beautifully. Right.

SPEAKER_00:

And I think like there are a lot of creative people, but you have to, especially if you want what you're making to stand the test of time, to live off of it, to turn it into something that other people can live off of. You have to really look at it from a discerning eye to kind of pull the emotion out, but put the emotion into the creativity, but not into the business. And you have to be very right-left brain to say, okay, I created this. I may have put my heart and soul into it, but it's not selling. So I need to either change it, pivot, or cut it out of the line or kill it. Exactly. Exactly. And a lot of people struggle with that, especially as an independent designer, because you get so emotionally invested and I've created it.

SPEAKER_01:

I've designed your baby.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. Yeah. But the interesting thing is that I, having been a handbag designer myself, at this point, I can say you look at them as your babies, but the longer you're into it, you have to kind of pull it out. Like babies are, these are not babies. These are bags. You want them to sell, you want them to sell again and again and again and again.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

So that's the business side of it, right? So we were talking about you and I, your beautiful collection, and we were discussing like bits and pieces, like, okay, this is special, but it doesn't carry enough of your own DNA. So what can you do to kind of make sure that your DNA is stamped on it? So this could take people a little bit closer to knowing more about the Ana La Verde brand. So they'd want to come back and buy it again and again. Yeah, exactly. And that takes a lot of you can't have ego. And ironically, it's ego that puts you in the creativity business, but it's ego that could take you out at the same time.

SPEAKER_01:

Exactly. You need to learn how to manage your ego as a designer. And most of the time, actually, on today's business, yeah, I'm the one who creates and designs the collection, but I'm also the one that has to make difficult decisions, such as, okay, this is not selling well, I have to change it or replace it. I definitely think that time is the one that gives you the knowledge and this experience to actually manage a business, being a creative person. But for me, the most important thing right now is having my husband who is the numbers head. He's the financial, and he's the one who says with no emotions at all, Anna, this is working and this is not. You gotta be do something. And now so he's the one that sees everything like from a different perspective, a more head perspective, and no emotions involved. And he's the one who encouraged me to take these difficult decisions because as a creative person, it's really hard to do it.

SPEAKER_00:

That's interesting. So, in terms of more of the business side, do you defer to him saying, Okay, I see this is selling, what do you think? And pricing and margin. So you actually have someone to discuss this with.

SPEAKER_01:

He's the one that looks for all of my designs and all of the experience I wanna take as a businesswoman, for instance, participating at the NY show, and he's the one who says to me, Yes, you can do it, or no, you can't. That's not the place for you, or you're gonna be spending too much or whatever.

SPEAKER_00:

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 I'mCast to get 10% off your masterclass today. Right. And it's not like, you know, for those people listening, it's not like he's saying, no, you can't. As a husband, he's saying, no, you can't financially, or no, you can't. This is a bad business decision. And it's someone who's on your team that's looking at it from a fiscal perspective, but also like it's hard, especially when you're by yourself. You get so much sucked into your brain that it's hard to see the yeses and the no's and what's worth it. And you spend so much on one stupid bag that someone needs to say, like, okay, stop. Either this bag is taking you too long, the time value of money you're putting into this isn't worth it. Or why don't you put it aside and come back to it another time and go to something that's productive?

SPEAKER_01:

Exactly, exactly. As a financial, he says, yes or no. But as my husband, he always says, Yes, honey, you can do it. Go.

SPEAKER_00:

Aw, that's amazing. That's great. As this whole process has pushed forward, you know, as independent designers, you always start, one always starts at a small scale, right? You're starting small. You start maybe not so much craft fairs, but small. And like over time, you grow from pop-ups to cash and carry to trade shows and actually putting yourself face forward to actually have boutiques come and place wholesale orders. And we have to learn to be very unemotional with our assortment and our colors and our silhouettes to say, I might love this bag, but other people, it's just not, it's not resonating, right? Yeah. Yeah. Was that hard for you to learn going into this process?

SPEAKER_01:

I think it's always hard because there's one thing that you wanna show to the world through your designs, but it's not always commercial from the business side point of view. So for instance, the collection that I'm going to show at New York, the first meeting that we had, remember, I had this whole range of palette colors, like tropical palette colors, because it's going to be summer. And you were the one who says, No, Anna, so many colors are not going to be what buyers are going to be looking for. So you just have to keep it simple and keep it just a few and the more commercial ones.

SPEAKER_00:

And you know, the thing is, I think there's just for the for the record, there is a place 100% for more colors, more shapes, more styles. But the essence of the origin of what this particular show, this specific show is, is very much bring your best-selling product and sell your best-selling product. Exactly. Exactly. Do the sampling, do the testing, do that in a place that the time value of money spent is very expensive, right? Because your time is labor. And if you spend that time selling something that you may or may not know will sell, then that money and time could have been spent getting orders off of something that you know people already like.

SPEAKER_01:

Definitely. I definitely, I think like in a pop-up store or pop-up show in any other city, like in a more retail experience, all that like huge kind of colors would fit better. But in a wholesale experience, you just have to go to the point and to be very precise.

SPEAKER_00:

Right. I mean, pop-ups are great because, like, let's just say you found a bright color that resonates. I would then, as a designer, I would say, hold on, you know, green is very hot. You know, someone might say, Don't bring green, and you could say, hold on a second, at the 10 pop-ups I did, people are people always bought this one green bag. So I know I've already tried, I've already tested, people want to buy this. So I already have my feedback. So instead of wasting your time and hopes, wishes, and dreams that that bag will sell, you you know you can when buyers come, you can say, people love this bag, people bought this bag. Although it's green, people gravitate towards it. Exactly. Exactly. And I think that number one, that was the essence of why the it bag was created. But also as a designer, like you want to make money, you want to sell, you want, you want your product to sell. And it's one thing to tell people, oh, I'm a designer, I'm a creative, da-da-da-da. But it's just like what you went through coming back. I'm also a businesswoman, so that's why I'm here. Exactly. Exactly. How is it, if you could just speak a little bit about production in Colombia and what that's like and the letters and so forth?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. So as I said, we have this big neighborhood here in Bogota that it's called El Restrepo, and it's the place where all tanneries have their stores, and all suppliers around the leather industry have their places. So you just go there. It's kind of on the south of Bogota, a little bit far away from my home. And in there, you find all you need to create a single bag or a component. complete product line of handbags. So you have different tanneries, different suppliers, different leather category or material, also like raw leather or cow hide leather, and also plastic and all these veg veget no organic. I understand. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Exactly. So of course when I started, I started with the cheapest leather I could find. It's a cow? Yeah, always cow, never plastic. I've never used plastic.

SPEAKER_00:

But you've never let you've never used lamb. Like you've always stuck to cow.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah I have always stuck and that's what I love. Yeah. And so yeah I I first started with the cheapest one and perhaps worst quality like 10 years ago. But as the time goes you as a brand as an and as a business person you need to identify where's the place like the correct place where you have to stand up and that you have to where you have to put your brand because everybody's gonna be thinking and living and feeling that material when they buy your products. So this place also you can find different workshops that and they will they can produce your line that's a very Colombian way to work with designers. It's really expensive and perhaps difficult in terms of human resources to have your own inside production. Right right right but there's a lot of workshops that will work for you with your designs and they just put all the handmade and instrumentals and tools and leather tools because there's specific tools for working with leather and you just give them your designs they will produce for you you I actually what I do is I give my designs and also all materials they don't choose anything for me. They just produce so I I go to the workshop and I say Andres this is the leather we are going to be using on this collection these are the colors this is my line sheet this is how they we already have all the prototypes done and correct and he will produce in 45 days my whole collection and as soon as I have it with me I pay and that's it.

SPEAKER_00:

That's how we produce so you're so your samples are done at a separate place no at the same place same place. And then they can produce honestly you're one of the luckiest people do you just drive down and like stop that's amazing that's really something the ProColumbia they they really should be using you as not only a case study but also as for for the advertising because to say that not only it's a one-stop shop but that you're able to work with people and trust and they understand you and that it all is such a seamless process it's so hard to do that.

SPEAKER_01:

It's hard but I think on leather I don't know if in all industries but on leather I just have this feeling that I have to be near where the production is taking place you know like I have to be there and being able to see and to correct details if it's necessary because details are everything in a handbag everything. It's not only the leather per se as the material but you know the sewing the hardware everything has to be perfect.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah it's really interesting I'm sure when you were figuring all this out it took a while for you to say oh so I made something that's not going to sell or they didn't do it because what most designers go through is that the first sample maker pattern maker production people they find do exactly what you've asked them to only to realize what you've asked them to isn't sellable at all. And then you're like I've just dropped$2,000 on not only sampling and production on a color, a style a shape like there's so many flaws to it that there's nothing you can do about it. And then you're like I can't work with these people or especially as a woman a lot of times when men speak with you from factories in any capacity it's always a bit of a struggle because you have to stand your ground because that's what they do right they've got generations and here you're showing up cute little Anna La Verde being like I think this works and I and you can't you got to be like this is what I want this is how it is that's it and it's definitely you got to learn that confidence.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah but that gives you time I mean it's time and experience that gives you that presence and that confidence on yourself because in Colombia I don't know if if any other countries leather industry is very machista. I don't know the word male male dominated male dominated yes yes at the beginning I remember I worked with this Taneri that was on the outside country of Bogota right and each time that I was going to review the order that they were going to give me I had to go there with my at the time boyfriend you know because if I appear there just by myself they wouldn't take you seriously exactly and they were taking to they were take advantage take advantage of me definitely but with time and experience again today I can handle any business any negotiation with whoever appears male or female and I know who I am I know the value of my brand and the value of my experience but yeah that happened also at the beginning I think what you're saying is really really a really great case study about standing the test of time really putting the work in really finding the patience and saying like this is a long game kind of play.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah actually I've always think that establishing a new brand it's a lifelong term you know like perhaps my my grandchildren they will gain or receive some of what I have been um putting into the world I mean they will they will be the ones who do your grandchildren now okay I just wanted to in the future I hope I have one daughter so if she becomes a mother then my children will will have something of what I've been working on you know like the seeds I'm just planting the seeds right now oh my god Anna La Verde that is so beautiful I can't wait to see the seeds and fruits of your labor and leather at the trade show New York now February 1st through 3rd I'm not sure if this is gonna run before or after but how can we find you follow you and see more of your beautiful bags okay so you can find Analaverde on our website which is www analaverde.com and also at our Instagram account which is analaverde you can find there all our designs and you can see and get uh a little bit of the feeling of our brand which is very colorful geometrical and it's pretty much designed for you all urban women aw and it's A-N-A-L-A-V-E-R-D-E Ana La Verde yes okay unplacer thank you so much it was a pleasure for me Emily thank you so much for inviting me and also for trusting me on this coming show at New York I can't wait 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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