New bags arrive

The first full samples of our new shoulder-bag/handbag designs arrived today. Again, we are having these part factory-made to our specification, then we will do the printing, sewing on the flaps and the finishing here. These will gradually replace our current silk shoulder bags (they are much smaller and dressier than the messengers) and we've put an awful lot of thinking into getting them just right.I realised the other day that the buzz-phrase for this is of course "mass customisation" - I'd never quite termed it that before. Then I realised (hey, two realisations in one day!) that it's something I've been interested in for many years. I think it's the way much good product design will go next - instead of mass-production versus small-scale hand-production it provides a potentially fantastic way of combining the two.The samples are beautiful - this is a whole new level for us as these are up there with 150GBP ($300) designer bags - in fact better than some I've seen. It means lots of hard thinking about the kinds of imagery and fabric to use for the flaps. Hugely exciting but also quite demanding. Price? I don't want to go for real high-end designer prices. I'm more interested in being accessible - I like the notion of people being able to just enjoy these bags - than being exclusive. On the other hand we may think about doing the odd really lavish "special" with lots of antique fabrics and components and embroidery. I'd love that.I won't post pictures as we have a lot of small tweaks yet (the strap is not quite right, and one internal pocket is too big) and also the bags are of course only part-made. However, expect - with luck and a good shipping service - to see these appearing on our shop in early October.Meantime, well, I suppose I am just going to have to get a couple of samples - one in black, one in silver - made up here and complete with flaps. Then I will have to wear them to test them out. A hard task but you know, I'm dedicated.