How It's Made: The Amy Bag from Design to Delivery

It's so exciting to finally introduce the newest addition to the Stacy Chan handbag family – the Amy Bag! Launching a new handbag is a very long process and I thought I would give an abbreviated look behind the scenes…

It all begins with many, many, many, many sketches of different design ideas.  (a few of the less terrible sketches included below)

When I’m finally happy with the initial drawings, I make my own model(s) out of…well, things that are in the office – which is usually a combination of three or four shopping bags! This way, I perfect the measurements of the bag, see what can actually fit inside, place the handle or straps exactly, etc.

 

Then it’s back to the drawing board, except this time, these are technical drawings that are sent to the manufacturer with detailed measurements for everything from the handle drop to the inside pocket size to the placement of the metal feet. Sometimes these will be done on my computer, and other times, I will draw them.  For the Amy Bag, I drew them all out before I sent them along to my manufacturer.

And finally, the big day comes when I see the very first sample of what I have designed…in white. I head to my manufacturer in Milan where we go over the design, how the leather will handle, what the hardware will look like and if some of the measurements need to be adjusted. Often, there are many trips to Italy (and plates of pasta!) before the final sample is approved for production.

    

But that’s not all! Throughout the sketching and designing process, I am looking at leather and choosing colours from my tannery in Tuscany. My custom colour order is then placed with the tannery months in advance. The designing, leather tannery and manufacturing processes all come together et voila! Our new Amy Bag is ready for production. Each bag is then handmade and placed in our custom dust bags before being sent to London!

 

Phew!  No rest for the weary though, as there is still more to come in the next couple months. There are new colours on the way for our ever-popular Veronica Tote, and a cross-body bag is currently working its way through the design process as I type!  Join our mailing list to keep up to date about our new developments.