When Handmade Stops Scaling: Andrea Pascual on Pivoting a Handbag Brand | Emily Blumenthal & Andrea Pascual

What happens when the way you start building your brand is the very thing holding you back? We sit down with Andrea Pascual to unpack the shift from early hustle to sustainable growth—when handmaking every piece, chasing quality, and saying yes to everything starts costing more than it gives. From her path through FIT and New York’s garment district to the realities of bespoke pricing and burnout, Andrea shares how designers navigate the tension between artistry and building a real business—and why pivoting is often the hardest, but most necessary, move.

Key Takeaways:
 • What works early won’t scale — Growth requires letting go of old processes.
 • Handmade has limits — Time, margins, and energy must be protected.
 • Production is strategy — Factories, tech packs, and backups are critical to survival.

🎧 Listen now for an honest look at what it takes to evolve from maker to brand.

Our Guest:
 Andrea Pascual is a handbag designer with experience spanning handcrafted leather goods and scaled production. With roots in Canada and training at FIT in New York, she brings a practical perspective on sourcing, sampling, and navigating the complex transition from artisan to entrepreneur in the handbag 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. 

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Transcript

Cold Open On The Pivot

SPEAKER_01 0:00

No questions asked, except the challenge was I thought there was a plan when it came to fashion, but I learned that it's it's up and down and you have to pivot. And especially when you're doing something when you have the wrong brand, it's nothing that I would have expected 10 years ago.

SPEAKER_00 0:20

The pivot is tough. I speak to my students about that. And emotionally, I would say the pivot is almost as difficult, if not harder, than launching the brand because it's accepting and realizing that what you're doing is not working.

Welcome To Handbag Designer 101

SPEAKER_00 0:39

Hi, and welcome to Handbag Designer 101, the podcast, with your host, Emily Blumenthal, Handbag Industry Expert, and the Handbag Perry 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 seat to it all. Welcome to Handbag Designer 101, the podcast, Andrea Pascual. I'm so excited to have you back in our handbagverse. Welcome, welcome.

SPEAKER_01 1:21

Thank you, Emily. I'm excited to be here.

SPEAKER_00 1:24

So what did you say? 10 years since the handbag awards?

SPEAKER_01 1:29

Yes, it's been 10 years. Time has flown by and a lot has happened since then. Isn't that crazy? It's so crazy.

SPEAKER_00 1:39

It's so crazy.

Handbag Awards And A Crowded Market

SPEAKER_00 1:41

You know, the nutty thing is like so the handback awards ran for 15 years, which is insane just to even say that out loud. We are in talks to potentially bring it back this year or possibly next. We're talking partnerships, but the essence of what the awards was was to create a platform for unknown and independent designers to get noticed. And as you and I know, the market is extraordinarily oversaturated. A first-round draft pick for someone like us does not exist. And the way the platform has always worked is that it was never pay-for-play. And I lost revenue on that, where I probably could have just because I didn't charge an application fee. And I always felt like I never wanted to stop talent from having an opportunity to be discovered. So as a result of that, we had like over 2,000 applicants every year. So if you X that times 15, that's we're looking borderline almost 30,000 designers every year. So I have had the privilege to talk and connect with and speak to people like you. And when we're able to do a follow-up like this, like selfishly, this means probably more to me than it does to you to kind of do this. Where are they now? Because everybody has a story, and there are a lot of commonalities and things we as designers that bring us together and unite us. But everyone's story in terms of how they got there is clearly different. So, you know, I met you. You were, I think before or right after FIT. You came from Canada, you came to New York, go, it's all you.

SPEAKER_01 3:28

Okay. Whoa. Okay, no pressure.

Andrea’s Path From Canada To FIT

SPEAKER_01 3:33

FIT was a journey in itself. My background is in graphic design and branding. And after that, I decided, oh my gosh, I love fashion. I'm going to FIT, love handbags, the whole works. I learned a lot at FIT. Like my classmates slash peers were so inspiring. And it just gave me that. It sounds so cliche, but when you come to New York, it's a different energy. You know, you really want to just jump in and do things, right? It puts a hunger in you. Exactly. A hunger that I didn't know existed in Toronto growing up. So actually, after I graduated FIT, being Canadian, they I forget how long it is, but you have X amount of time to find work. So that was tough. I interned at Calvin Klein for a little bit, made my way back to Canada, worked for a designer. His name is John Fluvog. I'm not sure if you're familiar with John Fluvog Shoes, uh, Canadian brand. And then I learned about the handbag awards, went back to New York to do that. I submitted a clutch that was whip stitched by hand because I didn't have a sewing machine at the time. So I was like, what can I do by hand? I'm not gonna, yeah, I just what looks cool. And and actually, that was my aesthetic for a long time because it was just tough finding like a the cylinder arm machine for my home studio. So I I relied on that whip stitch a lot. And then after the handbag awards, uh few years passed, fast forward to right before COVID,

Handmade Hustle And The Italy Shift

SPEAKER_01 5:22

I had a pop-up or show that I was gonna do in Toronto. It was canceled, and my physiotherapist was like, Well, actually, right before it was canceled, I sprained something, a sprained nerve or something happened, and my physiotherapist was like, You're doing too much. Because like leather work is laborious, like it's like skiving and just hunched over and a lot of sewing, and I had to fill my table. So that's when I thought, okay, the journey is changing. I'm going to find manufacturer. I worked with a small factory in Italy. It was difficult, Emily. Oh my gosh, it was so difficult and costly. And now I'm at a point where I'm considering other options for my brand. So that's the gist of it.

SPEAKER_00 6:14

Like, isn't it wild? I mean, and we've spoken about this so much that the most methodical, organized, rational people who fall into this, I don't want to say creator economy because that's not what we are, but fall into this gaping hole of hunger, of passion, become completely irrational, completely like, you know, here I'll sure I'll spend this much, sure I'll sit in this punched over position, sure I'll give myself arthritis. Like all these things that if you were talking to you, you'd be like, what the hell is wrong with you? Why are you doing this to yourself? Why are you spending this money? You don't have orders against it. Why are you, you know, but there is something inside you that's like, well, if life is for the living, this is how I need to live, because I can't compromise my soul by doing something that is just not inherently me. I mean, I'm sure it was a big deal, especially after your first degree in Canada, to say, like, okay, parents, I'm going to New York, I'm getting an additional degree. And they were like, wait, what? You're already earning money. Like, why are you doing this? Like this whole journey, I'm sure, has been brought with challenges being put front-facing to you. And you're like, nope, nope, gonna do it. I mean, did your parents say you were nuts or were they supportive?

SPEAKER_01 7:41

They were supportive because they know I've been nutso since I was a child. I'm an artist, right? So they were like, okay, cool. And what number child are you?

SPEAKER_00 7:52

I'm the eldest, eldest daughter. So oh, so you've always been responsible. You're a caller in the lines girl. Exactly. Yeah. So they so they knew you had a plan one way or another.

SPEAKER_01 8:03

Yes, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 8:05

Yeah, that's why. Yeah. Firstborn girls are animals. I they just, you know, it's like they're gonna do it, they're gonna follow through, and they're gonna follow procedure. And so, oh, if I'm gonna be designer, this is the path I need to take. So I know what I'm supposed to do. So that's what I'm doing. So no questions asked.

SPEAKER_01 8:22

No questions asked, except the challenge was I thought there was a plan when it came to fashion, but I learned that it's it's up and down, and you have to pivot.

Bespoke Pricing And The Emotional Hump

SPEAKER_01 8:35

And especially when you're doing something when you have the wrong brand, it's nothing that I would have expected 10 years ago.

SPEAKER_00 8:43

The pivot is tough. I speak to my students about that. And emotionally, I would say the pivot is almost as difficult, if not harder, than launching the brand because it's accepting and realizing that what you're doing is not working. And as soon as you're able to get over that emotional hump and then treat it as there's no emotion in business, this is the dollars and cents. What I'm doing, the time value of money of what I'm spending, I'm losing money because what I'm doing is not working. Time to make a change. I think that makes you just stronger as a business person and it makes you stronger as a human because then you realize, like, okay, mm-mm, time to change. I think a lot of people will really appreciate hearing that you went through this, especially since we deal, I deal with so many designers who make bags by hand. And boy, do they hold on to that for dear life. And boy, do they say it's bespoke. And people, and the the plus and the minus is if you are a brand with fans, right? People will, in theory, wait and pay and pay you for your time. But realistically, anybody who makes a bag by hand is already in the minus because the hours with a Z you spend will never be comparable to what it ends up selling for ever.

SPEAKER_01 10:09

Exactly. Exactly. You put it so well, you put it so well, and I feel like that, and you're right, I I was one of those designers. I was holding on to that for so long. But when I decided to work with a factory, there was more challenges, like more challenges that I had no idea that I had to deal with. It was just tough.

New York Access Versus Canada Reality

SPEAKER_01 10:33

And I think also because I'm in Canada, it's just it's different here. Like I have friends in New York since we were students, you know, like going around the city, getting samples made, like picking up samples after lunch, like walking around the garment district. Like it does that doesn't exist here. And I actually miss that accessibility. Like when I was a student and living in New York, I miss like going to uh global leathers and like just looking at, like, you know, and it's when it's in your head, it makes you feel alive when you're like, okay, I need to have a purpose.

SPEAKER_00 11:10

I need to feel like I matter, I need to feel like I'm I'm a designer. I'm gonna walk into Botani and look at hardware. I'm gonna go to leather sweet skins, I'm gonna go to Baikal and feel like I've got a purpose. So this is it's a constant internal push to keep yourself going and keep you know your eye on the prize.

SPEAKER_01 11:30

Exactly, exactly. And when you see your friends doing the same thing, it's just even more exciting and inspiring. And as well, what you see in the stores. Like we used to just walk around Soho. Um, our professor at FIT, he's just like, okay, research, just take notes. We would go to like the boutiques, we would go to Mason. Was it Vasilios? It was Vasilios.

SPEAKER_00 11:54

Of course it's Vasilios. Alco Best tag goes back to him. So he's special. I love it. He and and and I can't tell you how many Vasilios alums we've got, but they all he starts every sentence as well, well, uh, you know, it's very pronounced. There's a very Vasilios manner of student, and it sets you all up for success because he he's not an easy teacher. 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 or begin, or if you 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 it bag. 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 I'mCast to get 10% off your masterclass today.

Critique Research And Designing To Sell

SPEAKER_01 13:55

No, it was tough. I even remember I got grilled in one of my final projects with him. Still remember it because I went very artsy and conceptual with my designs. They were like faces, and I forget who else was on the who else I had to present to, but they were the feedback was that's not gonna sell at Nordstrom, that's not gonna sell at Macy's, it's not gonna sell at SACs. I was like, but funny thing is, Emily, like a couple seasons after, I I don't know if it was Fendi, very similar concept with faces on the bags. I was like, hey, I was on to some of the things. There you go.

SPEAKER_00 14:32

You know, it's it's funny like to ride that wave, but the great thing about getting that kind of degree is the ability to accept feedback and criticism and look at it. I mean, obviously it's it's draining and it breaks you because you're like, oh my God, I put so much high, you know, effort. And you know, your emotions are tied as an artist, especially, is your emotions are tied to the work you create and then to have it critiqued. You know, it's like someone had taken a knife and slashed it in half being like, cute, but yeah, no, that's adorable. Like, make that an art piece, it's not gonna sell. Having said that, I'm a huge proponent of research and understanding your customer. And Fendi, I'm pretty sure it's Fendi, because I've I've referenced this so many times, did a ping-pong ball bag. A bag, and it's a bag that held a ping-pong paddle and a ball. And it was a crossbody, but the way it was set up, and people can't see my hands unless you're watching this on YouTube, but it was like a kind of like a mini guitar, almost set up like a mini banjo, and it was like this severe canary yellow, and it had piping around, and it was so like and yes, only a Fendi could get away with that, because again, brands with fans, and the bag was 2,000 euros and limited quantity, and obviously that bag was not created at scale, so their customer could potentially justify, and it was a men's bag could justify buying said product because I don't know how many people need or will want a ping pong ball bag from Fendi for 2,000 euros. But to that point, there's also, you know, the trickle-down effect of the impact of them doing it and then you doing your own interpretation of it. So, you know, perhaps it's an opportunity to do what you've done and make a comeback in some capacity, because we speak about this when launching your product, that it really needs to be in the lane of the fastest, the first, or the best. Because being a pioneer and being an innovator is super expensive because you need to educate your customer. And by educating, you know, if you're gonna be the one who is a disruptor, your price point better be there that they're able to convert that much easier. Because if your price point's higher, it's gonna be that 10 times harder, right? Then you're committing to the long haul to not only educating your customer, but having to teach them that they want this and it should fit into their life. So I understand what they were saying, but I think the bigger picture is if your creations could potentially fit, where would they go and to whom? So having had that feedback, I think is gold. And I think the problem with so many designers, especially the solopreneurs, is you know, it's a lonely business. Being a designer in any capacity is is very, very isolating, right? Nine times out of ten, you're alone. The feedback you get is either severely one way or the other. So you kind of block both of those out. So having the opportunity to go to buyers and even your local boutiques, which I'm a huge advocate, like that's where the sweet spot is. Because that's where you'll hear, okay, I can sell this or I can't sell this, or this needs to change, or this is too specific, or you know, I've dealt with particular designer who paid for a session that said that they really wanted to paint scriptures on bags, and they thought that to the church going audience that would mean so much. And I said, 100%, but the labor for you to paint these scriptures on the bags, say take hours, let alone the quality of the bag. And who's gonna want scriptures on a bag? Who is that customer? And if that's the case, would she be willing to spend upward of

Scaling Craft Without Losing The Maker

SPEAKER_00 18:45

five, six, seven, eight hundred dollars because you just spent six days painting a particular scripture? I can't speak to them, but psalm something, and then the audience gets smaller and smaller and smaller, and then it's like, well, now you're down to an expensive hobby. So, you know, those day-to-day challenges are so tricky, but honestly, it's kind of like you had to become refluent in making handbags because now you were handing it off to someone else.

SPEAKER_01 19:16

I just thought of something when you mentioned those scriptures. I at one point was also offering hand-painted monograms on the small leather goods that I made. So then on top of my making the card case or the passport case by hand, then I was saying, okay, I'm going to use leather paint. And after doing it a few times, I was, I was like, whoa, this what if I yeah, it this like the labor that I put into this? And that's, I think that's the struggle for me because I really care about myself as a maker and the crafts portion. But then how realistic is it when you're trying to scale and you're trying to sell, you know? So that that was like a a big lesson for me as well.

SPEAKER_00 20:06

How long was it from you making them by hand for you getting jumping on a machine for creating your bags? How long did that take you to do?

SPEAKER_01 20:15

A couple years tops. It was a couple years, yeah. So 10 years ago making it by hand, then I sourced a cylinder arm sewing machine from Montreal that took a couple years. And then a couple years after that, I was like, okay, this is too much work. It's a lot of work, like just cutting the pattern and just thinking about all the leather dust everywhere. It was it was a lot.

SPEAKER_00 20:40

Were you able to send a correct tech pack to the first factory, or were you sending physical

Tech Packs Language Gaps And Sampling

SPEAKER_00 20:48

samples that you had made?

SPEAKER_01 20:50

I sent a physical sample. I also sent a tech pack based on the knowledge that I knew at school on how to create one, but as well, they helped the factory helped me like refine it. They had questions about it and it things like that. But as well, there was a language barrier. So the first language was Italian. So I guess I didn't translate like a lot of the comments. I felt there was a disconnect after getting the first sample back. Like I thought, okay, this tech pack is good. And then when I got it back, I was like, oh whoa, this is not what I thought it would be. Right.

SPEAKER_00 21:31

And those are those are the challenges, right? And accepting how long it might take for things to go right and not understanding and the learning curve all over again. But I think especially as women, we become kind of malleable to this process. It's like, okay, it didn't work. Okay, let me try it again. Okay. And the first thing we're so quick to do. Is apologize. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. And it's like, no, no, no, this is business. We don't need to apologize. We just need to say, okay, if this is what you need, let me get back to you with it the correct way. But without having gone through what you did, you would never know the correct way to do it. And each country, for better or for worse, handles tech packs differently. So what they do in Italy might not be the way they do it in the Philippines or in India or in Nigeria. So especially with tariffs right now, I mean, you are in Canada, it's a little different, but people are very thoughtful as to how they want things

Factory Risk Backup Plans And Italy Costs

SPEAKER_00 22:43

made, even factory to factory. Did you ever go to the factory or take a trip to Italy and being like, I'm gonna bobity bob from one factory to another and meet them? No, you know what?

SPEAKER_01 22:53

This was right like a year or the pen. Yeah, around like COVID era, it was like right after COVID, 2021, actually. So a little bit after, but I didn't do that. I wish I did, but now just thinking ahead, I don't even think I want to create uh to manufacture in Italy. It's just like it's costly for one. And then when I do the conversion from the Canadian dollar, it's a lot for me. And maybe it was just, I don't know if my luck was bad or if I didn't research hard enough, even though I thought I was just doing thorough research. It was just tough finding like who can I really trust to help me do this, you know. Not to speak anything bad about that factory, but I feel like there's something no, even the best of factories.

SPEAKER_00 23:54

We have, if you go back and listen to, we have an episode with Peter Grayson. It was Peter or Joy Grayson, one of them had spoken about that they had found this, I'm pretty sure it's them, this incredible factory, and everything was amazing, and they were really smooth sailing. And then I think it turned out that someone within their factory was embezzling and knocking off. So then they were part of this whole story. So it's kind of like, you know, oh, they had a very huge thriving business, and then they had to go and like, oh damn, now what? So I don't think you should be hard on yourself when it comes to that. I think they say in the stock market, buy low, sell high, stay hedged. I think for any designer, be staying hedged, meaning you have one factory, but then you have another, like being able to buffer yourself, but that just comes from like experience and trying and figuring things out to determine, like, okay, I got one factory, I need to make sure I have a backup just in case this doesn't work out. And I think these are all just healthy life lessons. And Italy is extremely expensive. And it this goes along this whole notion. And again, you are not unique to this, to designers who make things by hand are very specific and want to keep, as far as they're concerned, that high level of quality. So the perception is I need to go to the most exclusive country that is known for hand crafted quality and go straight to Italy. And then you have to think about the the after the fact would my customer care if it's not made in Italy if I could have it made elsewhere and it would bring my price point down, therefore allowing more people to buy it.

SPEAKER_01 25:49

Exactly. And at the end of the day, I don't think that they care that it's made in Italy, to be quite honest. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:58

Yeah, it's definitely, but I think Andrea, all these things just speak to you as a brand and you as a designer. And I think, you know, the overall ability to continue to pivot. And I think that strong suit, again, I think the power of the pivot is really what validates success and realizing, like, okay, I can't get emotional about this. I'm this is this brand is going to keep iterating because I will see to its success. So I think for anyone listening who doesn't know your brand or is new to your brand, they should know that they are investing in a designer who's smart and is really thinking big picture because that's those are the designers you want to, that's the product you want to buy, is when you see someone who's really committed to figuring out an organic way to scale, right? Because you can't do it if your prices are so goddamn high. You can't.

SPEAKER_01 27:01

Lesson learned.

SPEAKER_00 27:05

Well, look, I am excited to see where you go next. You have stood the test of time.

Where To Find Andrea And Closing

SPEAKER_00 27:11

You are still doing it. And I am confident that the Andrea Pasquale brand will continue to grow and thrive. How can we find you, follow you, get our hands on your product? Because it is always so thoughtfully and well made.

SPEAKER_01 27:28

You can find me on Instagram at Andrea Pasquale.co and you can find me online at Andrea Pasquale.co. I also have a podcast called Sushi Fridays where I talk to other creative fashion people designers. It's been on hold for a little bit, but I'm starting to get it back up again because I want to create community and continue having these conversations.

SPEAKER_00 27:53

Oh my God, that's the cutest thing. I'll come on. You'll have me. Yes, I love that. I love that. Oh my God, that would be amazing. And just so everyone knows, Pascual is P-A-S-C-U-A-L. Andrea Pascual. Right, right in time for Easter. So perfect. Okay, thank you so much for joining us, and we'll definitely be following up with you in the future to see what's going on and where your bags are going to be made.

SPEAKER_01 28:19

Thanks, Emily.

SPEAKER_00 28:20

Thanks for listening. Don't forget to rate and review and follow us on every single platform at Handbag Designer. Thanks a much. See you next time.