I mean, you know, for such a big company working on so many countries, you can tell that different countries have different characters. You know, for example, super easy, but you know, the Spanish country, they'll be like, oh, we need colours, you know, we need red and blue. And then the German market is like, oh, can we get beige and dark blue? You know, or the British market, they like everything very short and a bit sexy. You know, the German market, they are more uh classy, let's say, you know. And of course you have, you know, that thinking, and then you have a portfolio and you kind of think of all the markets and different needs, you know. Absolutely. It's very interesting, actually.
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. All right, welcome Katrine Melchior of Got Bag to Handbag Designer101, the podcast. Welcome, welcome.
SPEAKER_00Thank you so much, Emily. Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure to be here.
SPEAKER_01Oh, so where can we find you today, Katrine?
SPEAKER_00I'm actually sitting right in our product office. Um, yes, you can tell behind me is the latest collection. And yeah, I had to kick the product team out so you have some quiet time for us. And I'm sitting where I'm working every day, actually.
SPEAKER_01Good. The product team needs to get out so we can chat. And what city/slash country can we find you?
SPEAKER_00Yes, uh, we're actually located in Mainz, which is a city in Germany close to Frankfurt. Okay, Frankfurt. Located in Germany.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Are you from in and around Mainz?
SPEAKER_00It's actually my hometown. I haven't been here in quite some years, uh, due to career, I let's say, in fashion. But yeah, I'm happy to be back and happy to be working here actually.
SPEAKER_01So knowing a little bit about German fashion, Mainz really isn't at the tippity top of something I would think about for a handbag capital.
SPEAKER_00No, not at all. I would say Mainz is not a city in Germany known for lifestyle of fashion at all. I think it is because our founder is from Mainz and he started building and founding here at home.
SPEAKER_01So for someone who's never been in handbags before, most people are like, let's just stay here because that's where I am. I think that's kind of as it is, yes. I hey, respect. So you said you are not, well, you were originally from there, and then you had a career in fashion, and then as we spoke about before, Benny, Gotbag's founder, brought you back. So, what were you doing before that threw you into the world of handbags?
Well, actually, I studied fashion design. So before I was in designing women's wear, and I was a fashion designer, and actually, never in my hometown because there's no companies here. So I was working in Stockholm for quite a while. My first job, uh, which was what was that like as just someone German going to Sweden? Was that weird? It was a bit weird because all of a sudden everybody was blonde, right? And Germany is not so you're blonde. When I I went there, I was like, wow, everybody kind of looks like me. And Pep, people never would believe that I do not speak Swedish. So yeah, but it was quite nice. It's a big international company, so a lot of you know, international people around. It was absolutely the best experience I ever had. Uh I think working for the country. And that was an HM. Yes. Oh, there you go.
SPEAKER_01I was like, I was like, there's IKEA, there's HM, so pick one.
SPEAKER_00You know, that was like my first job. I think during my studies, I went there as an intern. I went back after my studies. So that was my first job, and I think it kind of really shaped the way I see things, the way I work, maybe, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Also that's that's crazy to have a first job there. I mean, look, for as someone who teaches at FIT, getting a job at a major company like that is quite a coup. It's that is a lucky job to get, you know, like especially when you study. Where did you go to university?
SPEAKER_00In mine, uh, sorry, in Trier, Germany, which is like a very small town. It's not a fashion city at all, right? But it's so interesting because that's actually my first like full circle moment. I remember like being a teenager, you know, and really liking fashion and you know, looking into magazines because when I was young, there was no Instagram. Right. So like and then the first HM opened in our small town. I was walking through and I was talking to my mom, and I go, you know, I wish I would be an a designer at HM one day, right? So it's like saying this with like 13, and then I forgot about it, you know, and I never really forced on you know studying fashion design until later in life. And then comes this full circle moment, and you apply for an internship and it actually works out. And then bing, you're as the kids, as the kids say, that's a vision board moment, you know. Right. It's like these little, you know, you have maybe two or three of these in your life, in your career, but that was like a little full circle moment when I was like, okay, actually, no, you can make this, right? And big companies, they seem to be how to say, not easy to approach, but it's a big company, they need young talents. You know, they need students to be interested in them, you know. And I think HM is actually a company that does it very well, you know, being open to students and you know, young talents. And I got lucky to get the chance, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Well, I you could also say that your talent was something that helped sell you through. And did you just out of curiosity with the interview, did you share that little nugget with them? Like, hey, I had a moment.
SPEAKER_00Really? Oh, I didn't. For some reason. I and the funny thing is, you know, they invited me for an interview and I had to go to Amsterdam, right? And then I was sitting there with a bunch of other, you know, young talents. Everybody had this huge big portfolio. Really small one, very practical, minimalistic. I was like, oh my god, I'm not sure. So you had a very thought, but you had one that wasn't that was very responsible. I guess, yeah, maybe that was it, you know. So I was like, oh my god, I'm never gonna make it. And actually, you know, I think that's really what convinced them because it was really narrowed down and you know, focused and not very artif artistic in a way. I think I've always been a person my biggest why is to actually create products that people love. As many people, you know, and that also makes me somehow a commercial designer, you know, because I like a lot of people like what I do, right? I'm not so much on the artistic side, and I think that was maybe one point where they thought, okay, that's a match, right? Yes.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yes. Did you ever have hopes, wishes, and dreams to have your own brand? Yes, of course.
SPEAKER_00I think probably since I started studying, of course, you always have that vision, right? To have an own brand. I think, but the more you work in the industry and the more you learn, you also realize that it can be quite tough, you know. And like being the creative is one part, but building a brand, I think you need, you know, other specifications also, and strong people, you know, building the brand with you.
SPEAKER_01Right, right. It is true. And we uh on this podcast, we have many people. Some are people like you that are the heart and soul of the creative of the brand. And then we have people who started by themselves and it was able to grow and expand. And there is no right or wrong way to go about it because every little piece of your experience takes you to where you're supposed to be, right? So I like to say, this is my latest thing that life is long, not life is short. I think everyone should look at their life as life is long. So it gives you many, many opportunities to try something out for as long as you want, and then try something else. Like, why be in a rush? So do it for as long as you feel like it makes sense and then evolve and grow on to something else.
SPEAKER_00You know, as I said, you know, I think if you are a creative person, you start thinking on dreaming of having your own brand very early, right? And then you're sitting in this big corporate brand that you're designing for, you know. And of course, this only gives more into the dream of having something owned, more little that you can control, maybe also, right? To rather have your vision. But the thing is now, working for Gut Bank, I've been shaping this brand for the past five to six years now. And that has given me the chance to feel like it's my own brand, right? Because there was not much before. So I have the chance now or had the chance the past couple of years to build something by not having my own brand, you know. So it's like, I don't know, it's perfect.
SPEAKER_01I feel like it's like you have the best of both worlds. So wait a second. So you were living in Sweden. Now, again, like just based on the people who listen, did you pick up Swedish? Yes, a little bit.
SPEAKER_00But I mean, we had to take classes once a week, but I have to be honest that it was maybe not enough to work effectively, you know, every day. So it was mostly in English, and I was quite happy about that.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so you prefer English over Swedish.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. Sorry to say so.
SPEAKER_01Oh my god. So after talk talk, you were like, that's it, we're back to English.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So what made you decide, like, okay, I'm done with this, it's time for me to move?
SPEAKER_00Well,
you know, you learn a lot. It's a very big, successful company and you learn a lot. But it's also special in a way that's very fast and the products have a certain quality and price point. Yeah. And I love the part that it's so creative and has so many collections and it's so speedy, right? But at some point I felt like I want to grow also in product, right? I want to do products that are a bit more higher quality, you know, different audience, maybe, you know, learning more. And that's when I actually moved on. And I went to a German brand, which was more higher premium class for a while, and then I moved on to another retail, like a bigger brand in Germany, also that was more commercial. But I really felt like okay, I've been working for a brand that's very fast and D2C, you know, only D2C. And then I went to a brand that actually had retail and D2C and was on a different level. And uh yeah, so that was Can I ask you something?
SPEAKER_01Because I I think your boot camp of starting off a brand that's fast-paced, direct to consumer, quick response. How involved were you as a designer with the sales of the product you created? Were you aware, or was it like, okay, I need to just keep moving and pumping out new stuff? Like, or were you following the sales? Did they let you follow sales? Was that part of the because now where you are, you you can't decide without knowing sales, right? The customer reaction. So it's kind of ironic to keep you going with create, create, create, create, but not know what the result is.
SPEAKER_00But you do know the result, right?
We had one meeting once a week that was actually like a sales meeting and would run through all the products, how they're performing, you know, and we would discuss why are they performing? Why are they performing in this market and not in this market, you know, like what are the learnings? So you would constantly, you know, reconsider the products and why they're working, they're not working. And that's something that runs in your genes almost, right? Because these meetings, you know, and you learn on the way and you always take your new learnings with you into the new products because there's never a time where you stand still, right? It's a constant re-evaluating the products, learning, and then taking your new learnings into you know your new developments. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Did you ever do any like dissection of who the customer is in this market versus that market? Yes.
SPEAKER_00I mean, you know, for such a big company working on so many countries, you can tell that different countries have different characters. You know, for example, super easy, but you know, the Spanish country, they'll be like, oh, we need colors, you know, we need red and blue. And then the German market is like, oh, can we get beige and dark blue, you know, or the British market, they like everything very short and a bit sexy, you know. The German market, they are more uh classy, let's say, you know, and of course you have you know that thinking, and then you have a portfolio and you kind of think of all the markets and different needs, you know. Absolutely. It's very interesting, actually.
SPEAKER_01That's so cool. That's so cool. I mean, that's something you can, as they say, take with you. Like, and it's uh my case study always with at least in my my university class that I teach is talking about urban outfitters. So in New York City, there's an urban outfitter in the East Village, and there's an urban outfitters on the upper west side. Now, the product you will find will not be the same because even just on a localized level from uptown to downtown, it's a different person. Absolutely. So the different product that gets funneled in for someone on the upper west who thinks they're like living boldly with something that's you know loose fitting that you get to the East Village, you could practically have a gynecologist appointment for how short everything is. It's that short. I must, I must send that. That is an abfab reference. It's I can't help it. But like in terms of who the customer is, it's crazy that you had this really great opportunity to not only live in a different country, but to get educated while getting paid to learn all of this.
SPEAKER_00Exactly that. Exactly. You know, that's exactly how it was. Not only learning so much, you know, about lifestyle products, creation, you know, how does it work, all the cycles, the collections, what moves the people, you know, how do they change their lifestyle dressing and all that follows? So that was very, very interesting. But also the company itself, you know, like they put a lot of knowledge into you.
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Was it hard to move back to Germany after that, or you were ready? You're like, that's it, I'm done.
SPEAKER_00Ready. I was also ready. I was ready, you know, like to see something new, work for a new brand. I was also a bit ready to get home, I guess. I mean, Sweden has very long and tough winters when you're not used to them. Either becoming uh getting a depression almost or becoming an alcoholic kind of feels, you know. But it's really tough, right? If you're not used to it, because it's very dark for a very long time. So I was also ready to leave Sweden.
SPEAKER_01I worked in Russia for a while, and it's like after the white nights pass, and then it gets to I think like the beginning of October, all of a sudden the sun goes down, and you're like, oh no, we're back again. Not that.
unknownOh no.
SPEAKER_01Really at three o'clock, it's gonna get dark. I don't know if I can hand it's a lot. It's a lot. You don't even realize how much that messes with you. And you want to and you're being forced to design a bright collection. You're like, I can't use red.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it was a little bit like that, right? And in the summer, it's the other way around, like at two in the morning, you know, birds start singing, and you're like, why aren't the birds sleeping? You know, it's day bright and yeah, like I need sleep. No, it was it was my best time. I have to say, it saved me a lot, and but I was also ready to move on. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So when you move back, was it kind of like culture shock for you to go from such a well-oiled machine to a smaller, even though being German and being hyper-organized, it's still not the same. You know, you're still not having a molecular conversation on customer, on sales, on this, on that, and like, okay, the shape of this is obviously not working for our customer. It's like, okay, sales were this.
SPEAKER_00I mean, the biggest difference is that if you start with a very big company, you have a lot of data and a lot of knowledge and a lot of very experienced people around you that you can work with. If you go to a smaller brand working mainly for the German market, you're missing all this wide knowledge, right? So you're standing there a bit in the empty and like you're trying to figure out, okay, what has been selling last, you know, last season, and you try to approach the brand and understand the portfolio. And the funny thing was, I've never worked in German. I was missing all the terms the Germans were using, right? I didn't understand what they were talking about first. So that was a bit funny. I mean, I got used to it. But I also have to say, you know, that in German companies, the working methods or what what your role fills is completely different. At HM, you're a creative person, you design products, right? And then you come to a German company and you're the creative person, you're the product manager, you're everything at once, right? And I was like, oh wow, I have to do all this, right? So how the team is structured, how we, you know, how everybody focuses was very different. So I had to get used to it, and it was actually a tough time, I think.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's culture shock. It's like, oh my God, I never thought I would have reverse depression at coming back, being like, I wanted to come home and now I'm not special anymore. And now this isn't unique. Now I've got to do everything everywhere all at once. And I huh.
SPEAKER_00But also, you know, it also gives you a wider understanding of the product itself, right? Just designing kind of isolates you of the reality of a product, right? It's not only designing, like it's everything else around it. It needs a hang tag, it needs to go into shop, and you know, labels, you know, how what's the making? Like all that, you know, it actually, if you work wholeheartedly on a product, you get a better understanding. So I still appreciate it because 100%.
SPEAKER_01You know, at the end, it's what I need today, right? Yes. So you're day jobbing now at uh your third company or fourth. How did Benny come to pass? And how did this whole got bag happen?
And then how did they find you?
SPEAKER_00Well, it's really like a small town story, I would say. You know, I knew Benny before, and he was, you know, uh yeah, starting this backpack brand with one backpack with a crowdfunding. What's Ben, what's Benny's overview and how did you know him?
SPEAKER_01What's Benny's last name?
SPEAKER_00Oh, his name is Benny Mandos. He's from he used to do something completely different before. But he went to Indonesia and saw that there's a lot of, you know, trash uh polluting the oceans and all that. And he came up with the idea to create a backpack that's you know made from recycled PET. So he started that and he made a backpack. And what's PET? Let's just clear it. Okay. Recycled polyester, you know, that is one of the most harming plastics, I would say, especially, for example, Indonesia in general, harming the oceans and the coastal areas. And polyester is a very common fabric that you also use to make backpacks, of course. So he combined both and then made the first backpack made of recycled polyester for gut bag. And Benny and I we actually know us privately because, like, yeah, Catherine, you know, I'm like doing this backpack. Can you help me? I was like, I've never done a backpack before, but what do you need? Yeah, where can I produce this? You know, he really, you know, starting from ground. Did you grow up with him? No, no, actually not. But you know, we're like, I don't know. All kids are the same age, so I know his wife. You know, it was just like somebody you know from your town, kind of.
SPEAKER_01He was like, you had already moved back to mines by this. You were like, that's it, I'm coming home.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. I was I was home already, and then I actually thought, you know, I would never really work in that branch again, now being at my hometown because I had my daughter, you know, I was here with family. Yeah, but then Benny came and it was more like, yeah, can you can you give can you give me an idea of you know where can I find a supplier? And you know, just sharing little thoughts, and then yeah, at some point he really felt like Kathan, I think maybe we could be a match, and then I actually started working uh for gut uh full-time also. Yeah, it didn't work. Was that strange? No, actually, it was not no no, it was really good because I mean the company back then was really small, maybe we were like seven to ten people. There was nobody there who could do product, really, right? So I was needed. I came in, I was like, okay, let's do product, you know, product development, like how does it work? Which colors can we do? You know, how can we improve the product? I mean, there's always work to do. And he was kind of like, wait, what? What? Really? I remember actually our first product meeting was in my living room. I remember that. He was coming by with a lot of bags and backpacks. He's like, okay, we have some prototypes, let's start. I was like, oh my goodness. And then I felt I've been doing fashion, right? Garments. And then I've never done a backpack before. I was like, okay, here we go. So actually, we kind of started together from ground with this. And I have to say, of course, you have a lot of challenges in learning at the beginning, especially as a small brand. You know, you need to find suppliers, you need to find good suppliers, pricing, MOQs, all the burdens that you have to overcome somehow. Yeah, but it worked worked quite well. We kept on going and going, more colors, more products, from backpacks to bags. And then since bags, it's going crazy.
SPEAKER_01This is so interesting. So So like this is purely like community peripheral relationship that just hey, can you help? And then can you help turned into hey, let's have a meeting. Hey, can you be part of this? And then before you knew it, like there you were. But the funny thing is, like, got bag now, from what I know, like I don't know it as a backpack company. So did you and most people when they go from apparel to bags, it's kind of it's almost like a relief because the sizing, it's like, oh, I don't need to do it in 50 different ways. But also having to understand that bags function differently, right? Like you have to understand, is my customer wearing it with a coat? Where is she from? What's the season? What's like, will she care about how the bag is made? Like, there's so many pieces of a puzzle to develop a product, especially with all that data that you had been so fortunate to be exposed to that obviously Benny wouldn't have even taken into consideration where you're not only throwing design at him, you're throwing like, okay, well, for this market and that market, and he's like, wait, we just have a pile of backpacks on the floor. I'm sure you were like, these don't work. We can use a piece of that, a piece of that, and none of that, and this and that. Which is always overwhelming for someone who's an inventor and a concept.
The most important USP we had from the beginning was that people would care about that the product is made from a recycled material, right? And the first product we had this rocket backpack, you know, it's a special silhouette. But here in Germany, this backpack made us big. It has like this, you know, uh tree-colored logo flag in the front, you know, so you can see it from afar and recognize the backpack. And that's how it started. You know, we had the backpack, everybody recognized that. We did colors, all that. And at some point we realized it's crazy. It's a very masculine rocket backpack, but the main audience or the main customers are actually about 70% feminine women, right? So I'm like, wow, it's like it's so interesting because they care, you know, that it's recycled, you know, and they like the everyday lifestylish bag or backpack where they can put everything in. So I was like, hold on, what is this woman gonna wear as well? What does she need as well, right? You don't only need a big backpack, you need a small bag for every day that's easy, you can fit everything in, you know, but it's also a bit feminine somehow, you know. And we got lucky that, you know, the past couple of years, bags made from technical materials, nylon, polyester, they got big again, right? Yeah, so I remember years there was only leather. I would have never worn a bag. So this is so lucky for us, also that you know the whole style has changed, you know, like it's more convenient, also, you know, like to have leisure bags rather than leather bags in a way. And that's when we started with our first handbag, which was the moon bag, really like a shape that a lot of brands carry, but it's so easy and it hit right away with our audience. So you see women walking around with this rocket roll top and having the small little moon bag, and that's how I went to work every morning for years, you know, the combination of both. And that was a hit, right? Because we knew our audience and we realized, okay, hey, that's the next product they need from us. And that's when we kind of opened for us the category of handbags. And that was, yeah.
SPEAKER_01How did you have this aha moment developing a rugged backpack that your customers were women? How did you come to that conclusion? That our customers were women? Yeah, like from the data perspective, because smaller brands, you know, other than checking at a D2C level, who's buying like the name on who's purchasing your product.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but that's exactly what we did. It was only D2C, you know, information that we had. I mean, it's not 100% accurate, you know. We've also have retail, a very strong retail now. Uh so we've been building retail partnerships from the very beginning, but it was only, of course, D2C, you know, who bought the products. And then we sometimes also thought, huh, maybe it's the woman buying the backpacks for their men, but actually not. You see them on the street, you know, it's a very unisex product. And that was our start for handbags, I guess, with that first style.
SPEAKER_01Can I just ask you, because so much of your experience, because Benny Benny did not come from this world, so many designers don't realize the free information that you get from the people buying your product. It's there for the taking, looking their country code or their zip code, or their city, or their name, or if it's misses at the beginning. Like you can deduct, so deduced so much information.
Emily, do you know what the best part is in working in bags and backpacks? You see your customer. When you're on the street, I can directly see who's wearing all the product because it's the outer shell where they carry the product that you're creating, right? And that's something I never had with garments. And even though really big numbers, I never saw my garments on the street. I could never get real people, you know, with the products I made to get where they're going. What do they feel, you know? And now with the bags and backpacks, especially in our hometown, it's a very loyal town. But I always say, if I go to work in the morning, it's 20 minutes, I need to see five of our products, otherwise, it's not a good day. I have seen five of our products every morning for the past five years, kind of, you know. That's amazing. Yeah, and that's the best part because I can I go to the playground in the afternoon and I see mothers around carrying our bags, and I get an idea of how do they live, how do, you know, how do they dress. And that's so much fun because you can get such a bigger idea of who your actual customer is. It's not a name only in a zip code, that's also important. But in my daily life, I see people wearing all our products, you know, and gives me such a great understanding where they're moving, what they're feeling, all that, you know. And I think that's the biggest joy point of this type of product. It's the outer shell, and I can always see who is our customer and where where they're moving to. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01You have touched on so many things from becoming a hometown hero, from the retail anthropology of watching a customer interact with the product, from checking who the customers are from how they're bought, and then seeing all that, and then really dialing into understanding of okay, if they're wearing it this way, then I know we could develop a product that would fit into their lifestyle. So let's make this change, this change, and add these three colors and give it a go and then see what the response is. This is honestly, this is I knew if I was having a German, I knew this would have a lot of educational takeaways. So I'm really, really happy we were able to do it this way. Um,
Katrine, how can we find you, follow you, get our hands on a got bag, a GOT bag? And how did the name where did the name come from? Oh my god.
SPEAKER_00I don't know you can ask that. That's the that's the hardest question. I have to say, I think I would have to leave that to Benny, our founder, because yeah, I think it was the name he came up with. And I don't know. I can't give you a proper explanation for the name. Did you have an opinion on it when he came to I mean it's been there before I came, right? And I liked it because it's easy. But I can understand that it's maybe rather understood in the German market and internationally, it's a bit harder. And then, but it it gives you a focus, right? We do bags. Right. And we've got enough.
SPEAKER_01I love that. Oh my god. And how can we find you, follow you, and get our hands on a got bag?
SPEAKER_00I would say to follow us. I think it's really Instagram. Follow us on Instagram. I know our brand team, they're doing a great job. You get uh everything firsthand there, what we're experiencing, what we're doing. And we do have, of course, a US uh online shop, got minusbag.com and the European uh web shop. So I think you find us through our website and Instagram. And what is the Instagram if you don't mind sharing?
SPEAKER_01Got bag, one word. G-O-T-B-A-G on Instagram. Exactly. Okay, Katrine, this has been incredible. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you so much, Emily. It was a pleasure being here. Really nice to have. Oh my gosh, so good. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to rate and review and follow us on every single platform at handbagdesigner. Thanks so much. See you next time.