Sample Maker...Maybe?

In my previous post I mentioned that I had a meeting this past Sunday with a potential pattern and sample maker based out of New Jersey. I searched high and low for someone located right here in Philly but I only found manufactures and seamstress that dealt with apparel; this is not to say that there aren't handbag manufacturers in Philly, I just couldn't find any.

Lucky for me, I was introduced to Mano through a fellow handbag designer Sherrill Mosee. I stumbled upon her blog minkeeblue.com on one of those late night research nights, where I was roaming endlessly on the Internet for manufactures and sample makers when I came across one of her post. Instantly I was sucked in. Sherrill invented the coolest handbag for women on the go, which eliminates the need to carry multiple handbags at once. Check out her site and, if you can, support her Kickstarter campaign. Her blog is what inspired me to start my own. 

Anyways, I reached out to Sherrill because she had gone through a lot of the growing pains that I'm currently going through. Long story short, she shared with me a ton of her resources, including Mano. After a few emails back and forth, Mano and I finally set up a time to meet. After reading multiple articles on the internet, I learned about protecting my ideas and drafted a non-disclosure agreement or NDA. With my NDA in hand, I made my way to North Jersey with my fingers crossed. 

Mano was so sweet and super patient, as you can imagine I had a million questions. His resume was pretty lengthy, so I knew I was in the presence of an experience professional. All in all, Mano kept it VERY real, to say the least. We talked for almost two hours. To sum it up, he told me that it is a very expensive process, making handbags and that it takes time to get things right. He told me I would have to take my time and work in steps. Many of my designs were pretty intricate and I would have to do a lot of the initial work to give him , or whomever I decided to work with, an idea of what exactly I wanted my clutches to look like. He was even nice enough to give me resources in NY as well; names of leather and trim suppliers. 

After we wrapped up, I felt completely overwhelmed. I mean do I REALLY think that I can do this and be successful. The ride back to Philly wasn't a pleasant one. So many thoughts and questions were plaguing my mind. I would share them all, but I promised these posts wouldn't be long and this is already turning into something pretty lengthy. I have one more potential meeting this week with a sample maker. Rachel, from MADE and also mentioned in a previous post, connected me with her. Once I meet with her I'll make a final decision on what I'm going to do. 

Decisions, decisions...

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