Turning Leather Waste into Luxury Handbags | Emily Blumenthal & Cassandra Kane

What happens when a designer steps inside the Italian luxury manufacturing system and sees how much material never makes it into the final product? In this episode, Cassandra Kane shares how a move to Florence transformed her understanding of craftsmanship, sustainability, and the hidden costs of luxury production. After years designing for major fashion brands, she discovered the staggering amount of leather waste generated during manufacturing and set out to create a different model. The result was Sieme, an upcycled handbag brand that transforms leather offcuts and overstock into modern, luxury-quality accessories. Cassandra also discusses the challenges of building a circular supply chain in Italy, the creation of Zero Lab, and why transparency, education, and thoughtful design are essential to making sustainability more than just a marketing claim.

Key Takeaways:

• Waste is built into luxury production — Understanding the manufacturing process reveals opportunities for innovation.
 • Sustainability requires infrastructure — Great intentions aren't enough without systems that support circularity.
 • Storytelling builds trust — Transparency, education, and product longevity help customers connect with purpose-driven brands.

🎧 Listen now for an inside look at Italian craftsmanship, circular fashion, and building a luxury brand with sustainability at its core.

Our Guest:
 Cassandra Kane is the founder of CMA, an Italian-made handbag brand that transforms luxury leather offcuts and surplus materials into elevated accessories. Based in Florence, she combines her background in fashion design and product development with a deep commitment to circular manufacturing. She is also a co-founder of Zero Lab, an initiative focused on creating practical infrastructure for sustainable and compliant upcycling within Italy's fashion industry.

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. 

Transcript

Welcome And A Product Tease

SPEAKER_00 0:00

I also have like a how to wear, you know, you scan it and it takes you to a video of exactly how to wear it. A lot of our bags are also convertible, or just you can buy additional accessories for the bag. So if you want to zud it up with a woven strap instead of the strap that it comes or a braided strap instead of the strap it comes with, right? We have giant, you know, tassel keychains that you can add so you can customize all the bags the way that you want as well.

SPEAKER_01 0:25

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, 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 deep to it all. Welcome, Cassandra Kane of CMA to Handbag Designer 101 the podcast. Cassandra, welcome.

SPEAKER_00 1:06

Thank you. I'm so excited to be here.

SPEAKER_01 1:09

So I'm excited to share that you're one of the new designers that will be with us at the It Bag X New York Now at the New York Now show in August in New York City at the Javit Center, August 2nd through 4th. When this episode runs, we'll probably be before that. But and I want to make sure that you're able to use this episode because your brand and your bags are so incredible. So having you part of this, it's it you are no spring chicken within the handbag industry. It's not like you woke up and said, let's do this. So I think your brand has so much DNA and there's so much uniqueness to what you've created. And I just think everyone listening will really benefit from hearing your story just because it's so inspirational and the bold leaps you've taken. So I've now monopolized, I've mono station. So Cassandra, welcome.

SPEAKER_00 2:04

Yeah, but no problem at all. Thank you so much. That's very, very nice of you to say. I'm very excited to do the show and showcase our brand, especially in New York, where I lived for many, many years. Now, as you know, I'm in Florence, Italy, but coming home to New York will be a real homecoming. So I'm I'm so excited.

SPEAKER_01 2:22

No pun intended. So so how like let's go way, way back. Did you always design? Was this something that you accidentally stumbled onto? Because with the guest speakers that I have in my class, we talk a lot about that an entrepreneur is not necessarily a linear journey. So, how did all this get started?

Growing Up In The Schmata World

SPEAKER_01 2:46

What's your background?

SPEAKER_00 2:47

I always knew I was wanted to be in fashion and a designer. I like to say that I definitely grew up in the schmata business. My Bambi and my Zadie were seamstresses and tailors. And we think going back as far as Russia and Poland before they came to the United States in the late 1800s, like a lot of other Jewish Americans, ended up coming to the New York, New Jersey area. I always joke that even my mom was a buyer for a luxury boutique and actually at Bloomingdale's for many years. She used to take me to Barmies and Bergdorfs, like instead of the zoo, to go visit the Izzy's and the Ivan Grundles. She would teach me about good fabrics. And so there was no hope for me, I like to say. And I ended up going to fashion design school studying. I actually went to Drexel. I didn't go in New York, but right afterwards, I moved to New York. Drexel had a co-op program where you went and interned for full time for six months. And I did my internship at Dennis Basso, where they make everything in the city. Yeah. And couture evening wear and even bridal, sometimes like very custom bridal pieces, because he has the line with Kleinfelds and everything. So that was my first experience, definitely with very, very high-end, with made in New York and artisan made. I remember there everything was made in-house. So the furriers were in-house. We dealt a lot with exotic skins. That was all in-house. An outerwear designer. I wasn't a handbag designer at the time. And I was always really drawn to all of those materials, wool, leather. Fur I didn't really know about the implications ethically or sustainably yet. I was young. And to be honest, this was back in like 2008, 2009. So there wasn't a lot of conversation about it in the fashion industry back then. And it was the financial crisis. So coming in as an intern, for me, it was great because the team had been seriously reduced. And as an intern, I remember you end up doing a thousand times everything. I was pattern making, I was an assistant designer. I was costing runway collections at like 21 years old. And so it was a it was a really amazing experience. After that, I ended up becoming the fur and leather and outerwear designer at LE Tahari Collections. And I did that for a few years until I moved over to Zach, I Zach Posan, and did outerwear and always in like kind of fur, leather, and outerwear space. And then I very briefly was doing DVS as well. And finally in 2017, I found myself in between jobs and a little bit disillusioned with apparel, to be honest.

SPEAKER_01 5:45

Do you think it's funny? But do you think like that as a result of the internship, you kind of got, and not for not that there's anything wrong with it, but you kind of got pigeonholed into outerwear. And it's like everything that happens in our life, for whether or not we want to believe it happens for a reason, does or doesn't, but it's a lower hanging fruit to get a job in something you've already done. So do you think that like the beautiful thing about universities that have co-ops is that you know your chances of getting hired are much higher. So you're able to like walk in being like, hey guys, I've already done outerwear, I've done for I've done costing. I'm like the key person to hire. So do you think you just got stuck in something that wasn't necessarily for you?

SPEAKER_00 6:32

I really wanted to be an outerwear. I remember taking an evening wear class and dealing with like silk and chiffon in college and being like, no, this is not for me. But it's funny because there's a very big difference between the European more contemporary luxury market and the American market, in that because I was already working a lot with Italian tanneries and wool mills and stuff in Prato and things like that. At a couple of these brands that I worked for, they would come to me and be like, Can you just whip up some accessories? We'd like some belts, we'd like some like leather Minotiers or some leather clutches or bangles covered in leather or something for the runway show or for the presentation. And I'm here sitting there going, that's a completely different factory. It's a completely different tannery, it's a completely different supply chain because in Europe it's so segmented because leather goods are a huge category in their own right, whereas in the US, it's a not as I wouldn't say it's as important in most France as it is in Europe. So it was actually because of that that I was like, wait a second, maybe I should pivot into handbags. I was feeling a little bit disillusioned in outerwear because you kind of end up getting pushed into licensing and seasonality. Yes, and outerwear designers tend to also be swimwear designers because of the seasonality, the sizing, the sizes and inventory, and just constantly fighting over sell-throughs based on whether the merchandising plan was correct or whether it was a design issue. I was like making 80 SKUs, 80 different designs a season, and they would maybe buy 20 and then want all completely new skews the following season when there were still so many good ideas that hadn't been fully fleshed out. I was like, this doesn't seem to be the case in handbags. Right. So maybe, and I was looking around the market in New York and I felt like there weren't that many luxury hand eye designers, not nearly as many in Europe. And

Burnout And The Florence Leap

SPEAKER_00 8:29

so I thought I was in between jobs and I said, why don't I go to Italy for six months? I've always wanted to live in Europe. I've always been so drawn to Italy and I love working with all the suppliers there. Why don't I learn hand dages in Italy? Go to one of a program there, and then I'll come back to New York and I'll have this really unique experience of having studied in you know the Mecca of luxury handbags. And so that's can I can I just interrupt you?

SPEAKER_01 8:53

That is so ballsy. What number child are you? Firstborn. Oh wow. Firstborn of how many?

SPEAKER_00 9:02

There's two of us.

SPEAKER_01 9:04

Okay. That is a very unfirstborn first female because it's it's high risk, right? It's not methodical, it's not let me just look for another job. This was, I mean, the funny thing is that when we do the creative side, all of the all the organization and that mentality is thrown out the window. So the fact that you had a burnout or burn rate so young and was like, okay, nope, I'm investing in myself. I'm going like, did you sell your apartment? Like, what did you do with where you like how did you do that? I need to know.

SPEAKER_00 9:46

It's crazy because I came with a my best friend on a trip for three weeks when we were both unemployed to Italy and Spain. And I justified it as I was coming to look at a few different programs. And by chance, I happened to meet my now husband the first night I was in Florence on that trip. And so there was a lot of things like that that just kind of happened. I like to call them the share moments that were pointing me in the right direction. But essentially it was leading him and deciding that I liked the program in Florence. It's called the Swallow Coyo. They've been a leather's fool since the Renaissance. And it was him pushing me a little bit to be like, you know, you I'll help you find an apartment. Obviously, we weren't serious at that point. But he was, you know, I'll help you find an apartment and get set up. You could stay with me for a few weeks. So I like to tell people, right? I like to tell people I've I never came to Italy thinking I'm moving to Florence and I'm never coming back and I'm gonna build a whole life in Florence. Anybody I know who's moved to a different country, that's not been the story. It's I'm gonna go for six months to a year and I'm gonna try it out. And you know what? When you start thinking about like what's my I always think, what's my worst case scenario if this fails? And for me, I'm I go back. That's it. For me, I'm very fortunate. My worst case scenario was like, I have a loving family who's very supportive and I could sleep on my parents' couch for a few months until I found a new job and got another apartment in New York again or moved in with a friend or a sublet or something like that. It was definitely, I got a lot of flack for giving up my apartment in New York because I had a great one bedroom on the upper west side for like less than $2,000 a month. Oh my God. Yeah, which today is just like crazy. I remember people were coming, they're like, won't you just sublet it? Don't let it go. I'll sublet it from you. They're gonna raise the price. But I just knew I had to let everything go in order to have this experience. That's so impressive that you were.

SPEAKER_01 11:44

I mean, I'm just blown away by the no, I need to, I need to have a hard reset, a hard launch. I just, you know, for everyone who's listening, I think that's so inspirational because hypothetically, even if you didn't have parents who were so who wouldn't be like, come stay with us, even if you didn't, knowing that you had built enough of a career that you could always look for a job in something so specific, have it ready and waiting, stay with a friend for a week, find a place, like all those things are doable. So the fact that you had the courage to be like, nope, I need a clean slate, I'm getting rid of everything, I'm just packing up. Do you think that had a lot to do with the co-op? The fact that you were able to work so young and it was so targeted that your mindset was different.

SPEAKER_00 12:35

Yeah, I do because I mean, I think starting the co-op I started that co-op when I was 20 years old. And I basically somehow I finished school while mostly living in New York. Like, even though it was in my third year of school, I just knew I wanted to be in New York. I didn't, my best friends were at NYU and Pace, and I was like, I don't want to go back. And so it it felt like I jumped in with both feet, maybe a few years even earlier than most. Uh, I think also having that internship during the financial crisis, that was definitely a big, big part of it because that there was so much. If you were an intern, it was great. If you were anybody else working in the industry, it was probably a nightmare. But yeah, I think so. But I've always been a person that's like, I would rather try something and fail than regret not doing it. It's kind of how I feel about my handbag brand as well. So coming to Italy, you know, went to the Scuola del Pollo, that was an amazing experience because it had been many, many years at that point since I was able to just into my creativity without having to it to be a commercial product that is sold to a customer.

SPEAKER_01 13:39

So, did you just you packed up, you moved there, you were temporarily living with some hot Italian guy that you accidentally ended up staying with, sounds like permanently. But you were pretty much you were you had saved enough money to be like, I can take this time just to focus on me, to focus on learning and just to focus on like next chapter. Because and then also you didn't speak Italian.

SPEAKER_00 14:03

No, I didn't speak any Italian. My now husband spoke barely any English, so that was pretty funny in the beginning. But in terms of financially, yes, I was like, I can last six months through a year. I have this amount of money to get the student visa. You had to show you had a certain amount of money in the bank that you can support yourself because you so that was that was really my idea. It was like, um, yeah, it was a leap of faith. It was like, I have this amount of money, I'm gonna go. It's either gonna work out or I'm gonna, like I said, come home and figure out my next move. And which just for anybody out there who's listening, while I was there and transferring my finish scuola Coyo and transferring my student visa to a work visa so that I would be able to work in Italy all of a sudden out of the blue, I started getting freelance comic ins, still in outerwear or in apparel or things like that. But really, that was also another sign that okay, I'm meant to continue being here and keep going. And then I was able to also support myself better financially.

Life As A Luxury Bag Prototypist

SPEAKER_00 15:02

I also, after I finished with Scuola de Alcoyo, got a job in a factory here in Florence, making very high-end handbags for luxury brands, you know, brands like Dolcing Gabbana, Todd's, Fairgan. What were you doing in the factory? I was a prototipista, which is a handbag sample maker. So the difference between handbag factor or leather factories and garment factories, especially handbags, I always tell students is like with leather, you only can stitch it one time because you can't, once you make a hole in the leather, you can't unstit make it. So you often find the workers at the benches that are putting the pieces together, maybe gluing, doing the edge painting, adding the hardware. And then they pass it to the machinist, the macchinista, as we call them in Italy, who only sews the bag. So I was somebody working al banco on the tables, kind of reading the patterns and assembling all the pieces. And because I had a background in design, I was also a sample maker in terms of like looking at the tech pack and working with the pattern maker to kind of understand what the customer wanted and make the first prototypes of the bags and then revise the patterns and all that kind of stuff. So it was a really good thing.

SPEAKER_01 16:24

Because they're women. I you know, you see in the videos for Chanel and these super Louis Vuitton, these super, super high-end brands, like people do that for a living forever, because it's a slow process. It's a slow, thoughtful, methodical process. Like you could have done that. 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 up again, or if you've 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 APAG. 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 Podcast to get 10% off your masterclass today.

SPEAKER_00 18:18

Yeah, and you absolutely need to be somebody that can is not just executing in the production line, but can interpret a sketch, interpret what a designer wants, kind of figure out what the order of operations needs to be. So it definitely is a merging of design and product development, pattern making, kind of all the things I was doing in my career in lots of different capacities. And I really enjoyed it, but I think in my heart, I'm an entrepreneur and I don't like a clock in and clock out.

SPEAKER_01 18:50

How did all this come to be? So you now have a day job, you're freelancing, you're with a hot Italian. Like, how did all this go from temporary to I'm doing it in the moment to I guess I'm starting something?

The Leather Waste Lightbulb Moment

SPEAKER_00 19:05

It was at that factory job that I saw the amount of leather we were throwing away during production runs. And it was as high as 60% of the leather that we were using was getting thrown in the track away. And I went to my boss, I remember, I'll never forget this. And I said, Did somebody really mess up here? Like somebody in the design office of this brand, and just choose the wrong material for the product, and everybody has to eat it or they're gonna get fired. And he said to me, No, I mean, it's a little bit worse than we normally see, but normally it's about 50% that we throw away. And that was really my light bulb moment. I this was back in 2018, 2018, 2019.

SPEAKER_01 19:51

But did you say to him, like, let's do something with it? You know, that was the origin of Coach Topia. That's how they ended up doing it. So did you say, here's an opportunity for me, or did you say, here's an opportunity for you? Like, how did you handle that?

SPEAKER_00 20:06

No, I immediately thought, here's an opportunity for me. I don't know. At first, I was really just shook that there wasn't a wider conversation happening, especially at the luxury level, about leather waste. There's so much talk about fabric waste and especially about sustainability in fast fashion. But this was before COVID. I think the needles shifted a lot since COVID. But in the luxury space pre-COVID, it was kind of assumed that if it was a luxury brand, it would it was ethically and sustainably and responsibly made, period. And now I think we know that that is absolutely not the case. But in my mind, especially coming from the outside and the leather industry here in Florence is very closed, very traditional industry. But coming from the outside, I was like, why is nobody talking about this? And if this cannot be solved at the luxury level with the margins that we are working at at the luxury level, like there is no hope for the rest of the industry. And then also just the fact that it was real leather, like going back to my days at Dennis Faso, there was an artisan there who made exotic skin products. And he said to me something to me that it would take him a month or two months to make one jacket. And I asked him why one day he was this Russian man with like 40 years of experience. And he said, this was a living thing. Like we need to respect the material and make the highest possible product that we can make out of this material because it's a very precious material. Like it had a life. And most of the leather in, you know, our fashion supply chain comes from the meat industry. But that kind of always stuck with me as just like, you can't just throw 50% of this away. That's insane. And especially Italian leather in the luxury industry, like it's so expensive. I get so worked up still talking about it. I'm just like, this is crazy. So that was definitely how I felt. And I didn't feel like anybody was talking about it. Naively in my head, as a designer, I was like, well, I'm gonna start a brand that's Always how it works. Off cuts and overstock, but really focusing especially on the offcuts, because overstock is like kind of another thing that's much easier. And I wanted the biggest challenge possible. And it's funny because I always used to say I never wanted a brand because I never felt like there was an I was like, I'm not interested in starting a brand until I feel like there's a strong enough why and a strong enough story and a proposition that really sets the product apart because there's so much product out there. So I naively started the brand, just riding my bicycle around the industrial zones outside of Florence, like knocking on factory doors. And I had broken Italian, getting a lot of doors slammed in my face. Finally found one partner who was willing to listen to me at least. And I started that way. This was during COVID 2021. And for me, the other thing working with offcuts, and especially because this is a podcast that people can't necessarily see the bags is that all of our bags are hand woven, hand macramaid. No, you can show.

SPEAKER_01 23:02

We have we have the episodes go up on YouTube. So okay.

SPEAKER_00 23:06

So here's a perfect example of one of the spectacular is manipulated. Number one, so that it's scalable for quantities. And number two, so that it doesn't look like waste. It doesn't look like offcuts, it doesn't look quote unquote upcycled, which is really important to me. It's it has to look just as good, if not better, than another new product next to it in a store. So it has been a lot of years of really figuring out not just how to perfect the product and that aspect of working with a letter off that, but also building out a supply chain because the supply chain didn't exist. So that brought me kind of to 2022. And the benefit of putting yourself in crazy situations and talking to people and networking is that I ended up meeting my business partner who uh for we opened in June of 2022.

Zero Lab And Circular Supply Chains

SPEAKER_00 24:05

It's called Zero Lab. It's in Florence, and it is the first leather upcycling center and kind of circular design hub in all of Italy, and that's what we focus on because it was very clear to me that I was not legal to just go around to factories and like dumpster dive for their leather outside of factories. It's amazing. It is technically industrial waste. There's a lot of paperwork involved. Yeah. So a supply chain actually needed to be developed so that I could legally work with the material and also make sure I had enough material always coming in to be able to be a real brand.

SPEAKER_01 24:40

Do you buy or is it how does that work? Like, how do you get the having worked with enough factories in Italy to know that there is significant wastage that you can then repurpose? Did you go around like knocking on doors, be like, hey guys, any scraps? I'll get them off your hands so you feel good. How did you do that?

SPEAKER_00 25:00

Basically, and a lot of them were like, we would love for you to take our scraps, but legally we can't because they're technically industrial waste and we have to prove that we're throwing it away in the correct waste management chain. Right. But if you come back to us with a contract, it's called the contract di sotto prodotto, a subproduct contract. And but in order to be just without a physical space to take in the material and all that kind of stuff, it was impossible. So that's why I ended up opening up this other business with an Italian business partner here. Um, that's a physical space. It's like for, you know, like 400 square. No, it's like 400 square meters. What's that? 4,000 square feet.

SPEAKER_01 25:43

It's too much math. I trust you. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 25:46

But yeah, because it is manufacturing in Italy. There are a lot of laws around, you know, protecting the environment and what you have to legally do with material waste and product waste and all that kind of stuff. And it's only gotten stricter over the last few years. So now it was not as easy as just going around and like being like, I'll just collect it. Also, leather's heavy logistically. Very heavy.

SPEAKER_01 26:08

You know, we get these boxes of leather strap, and it's like 400 pounds a box because it's just, you know, so it's not so simple to be like, hey, because then, you know, and also the things that we forget when starting this, it's like, oh, I'll just pick it up. Oh, I can't. Maybe I'll find a friend with the truck. And then, and then little by little you realize, like, oh damn, this is labor. I need to work this into pricing. I need to work this into business. Like, it's not so simple when you're like, oh, I have the best of intentions, and now this is going to cost me.

SPEAKER_00 26:44

And just I always have to explain this to people too, because just because our material costs are a lot less, our labor costs are so much more because we have to transport the material, sort it, cleave it, yeah, you know, transform it into the end products that you see, and that has a cost to it as well.

Designing, Pricing, And Boutique Power

SPEAKER_00 27:04

And I make everything absolutely 100% in Italy, even our macrame bags, which you know, there's like even a lot of luxury brands that don't macrame in Italy anymore. They do it in Eastern Europe because it's cheaper. So I'm really dedicated to 100% working in Italy and in Tuscany because the manufacturing supply chain here is just so incredible and so high quality. And definitely over the last 10 years, 20 years has suffered a lot, you know, because of globalization and a lot of other things. So we produce all with independent family-owned factories, and I work very, very closely. We do everything in in small batches. And the great thing about woolen leather is that no two bags are completely alike. So it's harder to sell. I have not found it harder to sell because up until this point we've been pretty much mostly direct to consumer and online. So it's definitely a selling point. But even with the boutiques that we've worked with and do work with, they appreciate being able to order like five pieces, you know, not huge quantities, but then, you know, always having that sellability factor as well that it's a unique piece and a special piece. It is scalable in the sense that like this bag, which is our light color, I can offer this bag season after season in this colorway. It might be slightly different because the leather I find might be slightly different, but overall I stick to pretty neutral colors and colors that I know that we're always going to be able to found and produce.

SPEAKER_01 28:39

Do you have a disclaimer on your hang tag explaining that? Or do people you knew, like, note that this bag will have subtle differences if you want to buy another as a result of saving the environment, blah, blah, blah. Also made in Italy.

SPEAKER_00 28:56

Yes, yes, absolutely. With the QR code and it goes, you know, we have a lot of information also on our website. I also have like a how-to wear, you know, you scan it and it takes you to a video of exactly how to wear it. A lot of our bags are also convertible, or just you can buy additional accessories for the bag. So if you want to juge it up with a woven strap instead of the strap that it comes or a braided strap instead of the strap it comes with, right? We have giant, you know, tassel keychains that you can add so you can customize all the bags the way that you want as well. So yeah, I mean, that's always the hurdle, I think, with any product, even when I was in outerwear and and other, you know, other product categories is having salespeople that are trained in the product to be able to sell the product, which is why I also love working with boutiques because they're much more passionate. They tend to be much more passionate about the product as well. But you know, we do we do we do the best that we can, but so far it's definitely been a positive for customers because they feel like they're more of a story around the product.

SPEAKER_01 29:58

There is a story. It's definitely, you know, we talk a lot about USP unique selling point. And I think again, what people tend to forget is the benefits of boutiques from those who are listening who love handbags and those who are designers. It's like kind of the reason why bookstores are so hot right now, again. It's the human experience, it's the CPL touch, it's talking to someone who can not only help you create your own look, but source and help you find product that really tell this amazing story for what you're trying to do. So it's kind of, you know, D2C is always amazing because it's great. You get a higher markup, you're able to make more money, but the thing people tend to forget is that boutiques are essentially your paid PR. So you get people in different places who can start carrying your product and help telling the story, and it's just really cool. It's really, really cool. So I think there's so much opportunity, especially for you as a brand and as a female business owner in Italy who's got these two arms going of business.

SPEAKER_00 31:16

Yeah, absolutely. And I think the other big thing is with handbags too, and especially our handbags, because they're all woven and macrama made and so tactile, is that they look great on the website and everything, but when you see them in person, it's just a completely different, different story. The quality is so, you know, I'm producing in all the same factories that work with luxury brands. We're using all the same materials. Fortunately, I'm not the same margins or markup as luxury brands. We try to keep, I try to keep a really sharp contemporary luxury price point. That's to be honest, that's always the uh level of the industry that I've been in and that I know. So still doing custom hardware and really personalized and specialized things. And then sometimes I think that's the hardest range to be in because you still need to make a really, really beautiful, great product, but it the price has to make sense too. Yeah. Where it's not just like, let's make it as cheap as possible and use all factories apply to everything, or let's make it as outrageous as possible and sky's the limit, and you know, nothing matters. But I always found the challenge of working in those parameters really, really gets me going. Yeah. And it is definitely where my where my strength is.

Where To Find CMA And Wrap-Up

SPEAKER_01 32:32

Oh my God. Cassandra, how can we find you, follow you, get our hands on a CMA bag and learn more about the other work you do with your factory?

SPEAKER_00 32:43

Absolutely. So you can follow CMA. We are online at wearecma.com. And I didn't mention this, but CMA is spelled S-I-E-N-E because the word in CMA means together in Italian. So that's where it came from. You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram and TikTok. I'm always talking about this on TikTok, and especially the luxury industry here in Italy and scandals that are happening and all that kind of stuff. That's at We R C N A. And if you would like to know more about Zero Lab, you can find us at Zero Lab Fiance on Instagram, mostly Instagram and LinkedIn as well. We do work with a lot of brands and we also now are recovering fabrics as well. So with our sister company Zero. So it's not just leather, um, but our mission is to help reduce the over 1.5 billion pounds of materials a year that ends up in Italian landfills, just in the leather and footwear industries. So that is where you can find me. Um otherwise, you can find me at the show in August at New York now, in our lovely handbag in the emerging handbag designers booth, which I'm very, very excited to be a part of.

SPEAKER_01 34:02

I just need to correct you. It's not emerging designers. I don't like emerging. You have already emerged, you have already bloomed, right? So it is the independent designer section because you are way past emerging. The level of quality and work you would put into yourself and your brand are far beyond, and as far as I'm concerned, on the same level as many more established brands. So it is our special it bag section. And you absolutely with CMA have a bag that deserves to be there. So thank you, thank you, thank you, Cassandra. I hope everybody comes and checks out your brand in person and uh listens to this episode because your story is just it's it's so inspirational. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 34:48

Thank you so much for having me and excited to see you in August.

SPEAKER_01 34:53

Thank you. 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.