Hunting & Gathering

I am figuring out which piecegoods work best today. I hand-antiqued the solid brass hardware using natural kitchen ingredients to bring out a more rich-colored patina. I also have my first business trip to the midwest today to check out an innovative non-toxic coating... very exciting!

Business Cards

Letter-pressed business cards, printed on recycled paper, came in today. Just in time for my meeting tomorrow!

Labels

Whew, I ran all over the garment district today in the rain... twice. I finally found a label embroiderer who can make my labels even though my logo font is a little "small and difficult." Finding this woman was worth my two pairs of sopping wet clothes! I will run again to the garment district tomorrow to drop off the recycled cotton canvas on which my labels will be embroidered. Also, I received the swatch of the beautiful undyed Belgian eco-linen that will be hand-printed for the lining. I can't wait to see it printed with my talented friend Kyoko's print (www.kyokokato.com). I'm still working on the hardware...

Business card & full size sketch

Business card final version will be made by a small scale letterpress-er in NYC this week so it will have a dimensional quality. Full size sketch for manufacturer completed today. It will hopefully minimize sample rework!

Final Sketch

Final sketches, all views of first bag are complete!

Source & Manufacture

I find that designing a bag is like putting a puzzle together where you have to design and then search everywhere yourself for all the pieces. Fortunately, I am enjoying the journey and the search. The hand-drawn lining my friend Kyoko designed years ago in our FIT class finally repeats both ways. Hand-printed lining has a really nice quality to it because it is never perfect - kind of like people. :) It's the reason that Hermes scarves are so beautiful and expensive; every color on their scarf is a separate screen that has been created and printed by hand.

Also, the hardware for the bag has been mostly designed and sourced. There will be minimal but high quality hardware so the bag will be lightweight. I never understood the 5 lbs of hardware on some bags. If you wear heels, that weight makes it 10x as painful to walk! I'm also finalized on the leather. Leather tanning is usually very toxic for the environment. But, I found a supplier that uses natural plant oils and waxes to tan and treat its leather. The leather has a nice hand to it as well. And, I'm narrowing down my choices for fabrics, coatings and manufacturers.

Through the journey of designing and sourcing, I've gotten to travel often to vibrant areas of NYC that I would not usually see... [above] is a pic courtesy of my iPhone of an industrial part of town, with a scrap metal yard in the background. I've also traveled through other parts of Brooklyn and to the familiar Garment District, which I love. Any place where things are being created or work is being done is interesting and exciting.

Rough Sketch

I started the morning with very rough sketches on paper towel and came up with six more silhouettes in two minutes. Thankfully, no shortage of ideas. I will flesh out the designs for these six silhouettes this week. But, I still like the idea of focusing on one design at a time to make each one perfect. To diversify initially or to not... that will be the end of week decision.

I also have a couple more appointments for manufacturers in nyc. One of them launched several recognizable boutique brands, so it's promising. I wish manufacturers would offer more price transparency. It is always make samples with us (which involves a relatively large initial cost) and then we can determine the per unit cost afterwards. They are trying to lock me in, and I am working on persuading them to at least state a range. As I said before, baby steps towards the end goal!

Rework & Rethink

I made my way around Brooklyn today. First stop was to drop off the print design on acetate for the hand-printed lining. The acetate [on the left] is the positive that is used to create a negative image on the screen. The ink is pushed through the screen to recreate the positive [on the right]. There, I discovered that I needed to repeat the design manually to fit the screen vertically. Ergh. Frustrating, but not difficult to do. Will be trekking again to Brooklyn again later this week.

I also visited the manufacturer in Brooklyn for my interview. I was little nervous because I was not sure of what to expect. Start of the appointment was my sharing of the vision of the brand and product and his silent staring at the designs and inspiration board.

After I stopped babbling on, he offered helpful advice. First, he said do not produce and sell in only one style because then the brand will not be long-term meaningful to luxury boutiques or customers. He suggested I develop a collection of styles. His justifications were that buyers want to feel like they have a choice in shaping their assortment. Also, he thought I should try to sell into a small case in a boutique to establish my brand.

On the positive side, after he talked more about how his company has been in business since 1930 and launched the original Halston, Donna Karan, Marc Jacobs and Ralph Lauren accessories, he said that my concepts and brand idea were beautiful and easily expandable to more silhouettes. But, he stated 'I don't work with just anyone so I only want to work if you launch a brand, not a bag. See me when you're ready.'

So, I have some thinking to do this week. I developed my financial plan based on launching with one style and slowly developing more styles, rather than launching multiple styles at once. Also, he is expensive compared to other manufacturers, so I have to assess quality of his production vs prices. Back to the drawing and finance board!

What's in a Name

So, when I went to register my business in NY state, I discovered that all words used to name a business have to mean something in English or another language. AND you have to prove it by using google or wikipedia, which is kind of funny. Thank goodness I had my iphone on me. Proving that 'atelier' means studio or workshop in french was easy. Now, 'nunu' was a different story. I told the guy that nunu was my name - a silly nickname that I earned at Kellogg. He sighed and said that does not make it a real word. I couldn't really argue with that, so I googled nunu to see if it meant anything in any other language. I found out that in South African, it means crawling organism, such as a spider or worm. Gross, but I showed it to him as proof that it means something. I probably should have kept searching to see if there was anything better for 'nunu' in another language! On my business license, I had to write atelier = studio or workshop in french, nunu = insect in South African. This whole time, my friends who know me best have been calling me an gross little insect. Great. :)

In business news, my website, http://www.ateliernunu.com/ is up! It is a holding page that points you right back to this blog. Starting a business is defined by constant progress in baby steps. Today, I opened a business banking account as well; I will soon have checks with the name atelier nunu on them. On the design side, I reached out to a innovative fabric coating company in MN. Most coatings, such as those on LV and Goyard bags, are PVC-based, which is toxic to the environment and humans. This coating that I'm looking into is environmentally friendly and innovative; it is waterproof, abrasion resistant, lightweight, and stain resistant. It was even featured in the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum Extreme Textiles book. I hope the look and feel of this coating is as good as the technology so that I can use it on my bags. Will be chatting with them sometime next week.

Food Inspiration, Design & Paperwork

For some reason, I find that many inspiring experiences are in nyc restaurants. Perhaps it's because I'm always looking to eat! For example, the doughnut plant (www.doughnutplant.com)... I love that one man's obsession with doughnuts has grown into this delicious little place in the lower east side. It's specialization on overdrive and a constant striving for perfection of a simple food. Similarly, I adore chikalicious (www.chikalicious.com). Every part of the experience is lovely, from the host in a bowtie (I love bowties) to the subtly tasty desserts served on delicate teacups and plates. I hope to emulate these sweet experiences by intensely focusing on one piece at a time to create a little bit of happiness!

Yesterday, I finished up the repeat of the hand-drawn print design for the lining of the bag. Also, I went to the the nyc small business services office (www.nyc.gov/html/sbs/html/home/home.shtml). This is such a great service in the city, and it's free! A nice man walked me through every form I need to fill out to get my business started in nyc. With his help, I will be a legal business this afternoon. He also offered advice on transitioning to an S corp, creating trademarks and copyrights, and importing raw materials.

Concept and Sketch Part II

I finished my concept board [see above] and rough sketches and specs on a grey Sunday afternoon; the weather is finally cooling down in NYC. I love the transition seasons, autumn and spring. While working, I realized that I really should try to relearn photoshop, to conserve paper if nothing else (I at least recycled it). I created both concept board and rough sketches by hand... literally by cutting out each photo and putting it together or sketching manually. However, there is some satisfaction in creating things by hand.

This past Friday, I sourced fine Belgian linen for the lining of the bag. It is undyed and chemical free, certified as the highest standard of Eco-Tex. I cannot wait to get it and have it hand-printed in Brooklyn with my friend Kyoko Kato's beautiful print. On the business side, I am working through the paper work of legally doing business and selling goods in NYC. Not surprisingly, I'm not nearly as excited about doing this. Ready to start the new week - hope everyone has a good one!

Concept and Sketch

I'm working diligently on concepts and sketches for my interview with the manufacturer and for sampling & production. I've stored the image and details of the bag in my head for over a year, so it is nice to finally put them down on paper. Throughout the design process, I keep in mind that the contents should be what's heavy, not the bag itself.

I'm also putting together a concept board which captures the spirit of the brand; the drivers are the somewhat conflicting industrial revolution and recent environmental revolution. atelier nunu will reference the longevity of past industrial equipment through its durability and choice of materials, while leveraging new technology in textiles & leathers to minimize its impact on the environment.

Labor Day with Manufacturers

Today, I met with a NYC handbag factory owned by an intimidating Korean lady. We couldn't communicate that well, and she ignored some of my questions. But, her samples looked good, and she agreed to work with me.

I also had a call with another manufacturer who, after chatting for a bit about my idea, said he would do me a favor and let me come in for an interview to show my concept and sketches. He stated that he only works on challenging, pure design projects. He launched accessories for Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, etc. I thought I would be interviewing him on his capabilities and pricing, but apparently it will be the reverse. Real life porter's five forces - why am I so small!? :) At least he speaks the same design language as I do. Time to prepare for my interview!

Introduction

my blog will share the joys and trials of launching and building a new brand. the logo has been finalized, and this blog will begin to replace portions of my design notebook [above].

atelier nunu was a studio founded by nunu and was formed and enhanced through collaborative efforts with friends. atelier nunu's promise to customers/friends is to provide luxury through extreme durability and consistent quality & attention to detail, with minimal impact to the environment.

the first project for atelier nunu is to develop a lightweight, classic luxury tote bag that can be used across work, travel & play. the styling is inspired by la garconne as well as men confident in both their masculinity and femininity.