Are you the type of person who goes shopping and thinks, "I could design as well as this?" Then you will love Handbag Designer 101, a how-to hardbook on the practical and marketing aspects of bag design and merchandising…
Are you the type of person who goes shopping and thinks, "I could design as well as this?" Then you will love Handbag Designer 101, a how-to hardbook on the practical and marketing aspects of bag design and merchandising.
‘Handbag Designer 101: Everything You Need to Know About Making, Designing, & Marketing Handbags’ is written by Emily Blumenthal (pictured below left) of handbag website www.handbagdesigner101.com. Emily created the Yasmena bag which hit "the big time" and sold out on shopping channel QVC in four minutes and had a cameo on Sex and the City.
I am envious of Emily’s own handbag collection. It must rival Imelda Marcos’ shoe cupboard. But you can create your own hoard de la handbags, with this handy (no pun intended) guide.
Who is it aimed at? I would say those interested in creating bags right from personal use or amateur craft market level, right up to professional production. It is likely you would have done a tertiary training qualification if you wanted to enter design on that scale, but this book may tempt you to get into it at an entry level.
The book has templates for fifteen bags including the most current seen around today: the tote, clutch, hobo, messenger and satchel. Also included in the book are patterns and their easy-to-follow how-to illustrations. On a more cerebral plain it has material to inspire from famous bag designers.
I liked that beyond the creativity, it looks at the marketability. Like any good design course, it delves into how to turn your creative hobby into a successful business including SWOT analysis, Competitive Analysis, Retail Anthropology and budgeting.
I enjoyed the sections on the Golden Rules of Design, how to define your target customer, and how to go about getting distribution through stores. I think the publicity section would be useful for designers in fashion design as well as handbag design, with its tips on press releases, getting into magazines, and ensuring social media presence.
In short, it’s everything you need to get a handle on handbag design.
‘Handbag Designer 101: Everything You Need to Know About Making, Designing, & Marketing Handbags’ by Emily Blumenthal is out now and retails for $39.99, published by Voyageur Press, and distributed in NZ by Bookreps.
By Megan Robinson, 31 January 2012
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