Nikki Williams - founder and designer of NIKKI WILLIAMS accessories

 

 Nikki, when did you decide to found your own brand?

Can you believe it took me two years to come up with the name NIKKI WILLIAMS. Naming the brand after myself wasn’t what I orginally had in mind, but I just couldn’t find a name that encapulated the brand. We have a simple set of values: Make beautiful handbags. Treat people well. And tell you all the story of the leather goods we make – putting my name to what I do gives it a real honesty. 

How many people are working with you right now?

I have a small team of people who work with me. They are a collection of very creative and talented people. It’s so important to believe in the team around you. We all work to support each other. That’s one of the things that I think is truly the secret to success – treat people well, and of course our customers. This is the core idea of my business, cause it's the people that make my business what it is.

What was the reason for you to start your own business? Have you always been interested in handbags and accessories?

I don’t think I have the one reason for starting my buisness – one day I just started. From then on, I decided to do one thing a day towards starting a business – about 950 days later – I launched NIKKI WILLIAMS. It was a journey of many small steps!

Like most people I wasn’t born with a passion. My dream of designing and making handbags was cultivated over 15 years or more. In my past career, I was lucky enough to work along-side some amazing designers such as Stella McCartney, Victoria Beckham and Tom Ford. It was hard not to “catch the bug“! 

What did you do before?

I grew up in a small remote country town called Sofala, it’s in central New South Wales Australia – the population is about 40 people. My nearest friend was a 15km drive away (and the nearest store selling handbags over 50km away), so my sister and I spent a lot of time entertaining ourselves as children. I think when you to have to create your own fun you really develop your creative skills. I loved to sew and make things, I even tried to teach myself how to tan my own hides. 20 years later, with an Economics degree under my belt and 10+ years working with high-end retailers and brands I decided to blaze my own trail.

What are your primary tasks at the moment? How does your day look like? 

I’d love to sit around dreaming and sketching designs all day – but my day is far from it. I start with checking my emails and discussing designs with my suppliers. Sourcing leather is a big part of what I do. A design is nothing without the right leather. I love doing the occasional photo-shoot and the coffee-run of the day is a great escape from my desk!

Where do you find inspiration for your final designs? 

My inspiration is the leather. A lot of my designs sare simple, classic & timeless and let the beautiful leather speak for itself. I am also very inspired by my childhood growing up on the farm and riding horses. Many of my designs feature natural calfhair, suedes and braided tassels – I always loved the braided leather of the saddles and bridles and now I am just re-creating my own 'designer' version. 

What is special about your handbags? 

Our bags are very much about "Understated Luxury". At NIKKI WILLIAMS our main goal is to make high quality luxury bags that don’t cost the world. We produce the highest quality possible, but don’t charge like the international high-end designer labels. Our all leather Hampton Tote would cost around $800 in a traditional designer store – you’ll have to check out our website to see our price. We want our customers to enjoy having a beautifully hand-crafted bag made from the best leather we can source.  Each bag has its own story.

The Marni clutch e.g. is inspired by two of my favourite places in the world: NYC and a little unknown town of Sofala (my home-town). You couldn't get two more different places. It was first made in dust pink -the colour of a beautiful NY sunset streaming in between the skyscrapers. The leather was bought right on 38 West Street NYC in the heart of the fashion district. The leather braid is inspired by the braided knots on my horse riding gear as a child. It was the first bag I ever designed and it took over 12 months to bring the design to fruition.

Where are your bags produced and where do you sell them?

My bags are a global creation with leather from Italy and Spain and production elements in NY & Asia. We have stockists as far south as Melbourne (www.stylepalace.com.au) and as far north as Gardabaer, Iceland (http://www.mai.is). And you can buy them online at www.nikkiwilliams.com, we offer free shipping globally!

How important are social media and influencers for a new brand like Nikki Williams and your target group? 

Social media is a fantastic free platform for new businesses. I love instagram @nikkiwilliamsco, it’s a fabulous way to connect with our customers and meet new people. I am very honest about the information I put out there. I don’t pay for followers – everyone that follows me is a real person. We’ve also been blessed with some great support from fashionable influencers in New York @fashionpalette, London, Sydney @​jessie_khoo and LA @shoes_and_sashimi.

Your favorite place you’ve ever been to? 

I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world from the Greek Islands to the ski feilds in the USA, but I’d have to say London is my favourite place. It’s not so much the city itself but the people there. London is a melting pot of people from all over the world. It’s a wonderful place full of excitiment if you know how to scratch it’s surface. 

Thank you very much!

Ivanka Patel - Marketing Director at Angela & Roi Handbags

Ivanka Patel is Marketing Director at Angela & Roi Handbags, an online handbag brand that combines fashion and philanthropy by color. In the Donate by Color mission, A&R donates 5$ of each handbag sale to non-profit organization partners by color of a handbag sold.

Angela & Roi  was founded in February 2013. What did you do before?

A&R existed as a retailer before the brand was launched in February 2013. At that time I was still at student at Boston University School of Management (SMG) as well as an employee for SMG’s Information Technology Services Department. Everyone at A&R is a busy bee - it’s a part of our company culture and personal lifestyles! 

Has always been clear that you want to work in fashion?

Let’s just say I used to sew Barbie clothes when I was a little girl. =) I always had an eye for fashion. I start with a smile every morning and concoct an outfit that I know no one else can think to create - I love to be unique; to me the pieces in my closet is what defines me, and there is always a statement to be made.

In your “Donate by Color“ mission you donate 5$ of each handbag sale to non-profit organization partners by color of a handbag sold. Partners are e.g. the AIDS Foundation of Chicago or the American Childhood Cancer Association. 
What was the reason for Angela & Roi to combine fashion and doing good?

Our Donate By Color mission was created because #1 Angela loves fashion, #2 because Angela’s family supports a child in need since Angela was a little girl, #3 Roi’s father dealt with multiple health issues as Roi was growing up. Long story short, the 2 of them combined were destined to make a difference and create a huge movement that combines everything they love and want to change in the world. They are a power couple no doubt, fostering a VERY POWERFUL brand.

How do you choose your partners?

This is where Roi has a heavy hand, he is a very detail oriented person, driven to find and create the best opportunities for our brand. Even as a CEO, he spends countless hours researching and networking to find organizations that are passionate and that have a heart like ours. He strives to find partners that are local, and willing to work with us to make a difference, as every penny counts. We build a special relationship with each of our partners - accross all our partners we do a few things similar - we keep in contact with them, stay up to date with current events regarding those organizations, and best of all we try to volunteer at as many events as possible that these organizations host. We don’t only donate money, we prioritize donating time to help those in need. We make sure we keep our partners close to our heart.

How many people are working at A&R?
We have 6 dedicated and hard working individuals that prioritize our mission at Angela&Roi and have made it part of their Lifestyle. We love our team, we are NOT LIKE a family, but we ARE a family.

Angela is our CFO – “Chief Fashion Officer“
Roi is our CEO – “Chief Executive Officer“
Steve is our “Information Technology Director“
Ivanka is our “Marketing Director“
Heidi is our “Public Relations Director“
Olilvia is our “Do Good Director“

 

Who is responsible for the design of the handbags?

Close to our manufacturer, in South Korea, we have a design team. The design team collaborates and creates handbag designs which they send to Angela. Angela then reviews the designs, and tweeks them to fit her style and taste, as she is the fashion Angela&Roi embodies. She chooses the fabrics and adds those little touches of luxury to every bag, making them unique to Angela&Roi. She sends the designs back to South Korea, and the manufacturer and design team work together to create the handbags with the highest quality materials and craftsmanship.

What are the future goals for your brand?

Angela&Roi is a brand set out to create a movement. What is a movement - does anybody really know? We want to not only fulfill our mission, but also make it thrive and inspire change for others. We want fashion to thrive in the hands of philanthropy, not only with Angela&Roi, but the entire industry can indulge positive change.

What is the best part of your job?

I cannot emphasize enough how much I love our team. Each team member has their quirks, no more or less than the others, but enough to make us love eachother for who we are. We focus on each person’s strengths and let them take the reins when necessary. Just because Roi is the CEO, doesn’t mean he makes all the decisions. We research, present, and discuss every question we come accross, and we require a unanimous vote to move forward. This family structure does not only include us, but it includes our customers. We spend endless efforts to satisfy our customers and make sure they want to stay a part of the Angela&Roi family. Let’s just say we want to spread the love—just as “We‘re not only animal friendly, we are people friendly!“

My favourite bags:

Everyday Navy Long Tote

Essential Burgundy Backpack

Yidi XU - Co-founder of Terracotta New York

Yidi Xu is co-founder of Terracotta New York, a women’s accessories company built around an innate appreciation for menswear-inspired simplicity.

Dear Yidi, when did you decide to found your own company?
Terracotta New York was co-founded in early 2012. I met my co-founder Alina Cheung when we both were working at Credit Suisse. We shared an affinity for fashion and Alina was accepted to fashion school before she decided to study economics at Barnard College.

What exactly is your position at Terracotta New York? How does your daily work look like?
I look after Sales and Strategy, while Alina focuses on Design and Marketing. My morning is usually spent catching up on emails that we receive from the night before, may it be confirming purchase orders and coordinating with our manufactures. Afternoon is usually spent on business development, i.e. reaching out to new channels, gathering design inspirations, etc. One good thing about working on a startup is that you really get to set your own schedule. There are days when we are crazy busy..and there are also days when things can get a little slowers. It requires a lot of discipline to map out what you have to get done and to stick to the schedule.

SS14 Collection

Alina is responsible of the design of your scarfs, bow-ties and neck-ties?
Yes, my business partner Alina designs all the scarves. She’s based in New York City. All of our patterns are hand-drawn by Alina. We then place them in Illustrator and come up with the design for each scarf. Once the designs are laid out, Alina and I work together on choosing the colorways.

When is the most stressful time for you?
It usually gets pretty stressful during the buying seasons. That typically happens in January – February, then August – September. Aside from constant traveling for tradeshows, there is a lot of networking with industry peers, maintaining relationships, all at the same time trying to manage inventory and keep track of orders and followups.

What is the best part of your job?
I always feel really proud when a new boutique or new online channel starts to carry our products. It’s really hard to not take things personally (even though I am not supposed to) when you’re the founder of a business and the designer of a particular product. So everytime we are able to expand our retail footprint, it feels like a big win for the team!

What is the biggest challenge in your job?
To be the jack-of-all-trades. Everyone wears multiple hats in a fashion start-up. The internet becomes your best friend. When you don’t know how to do something, you just google it. For example, even though Alina and I have an amazing web designer who takes care of our online boutique, both of us still need to be very involved with Search Engine Optimization and Google Adwords, all of which involve basic understandings of HTML and web design. It is always good to delegate, but as we are fully responsible for every aspect of the business, to effectively monitor, we’ll need to have basic understandings of every single aspect as well.

How do you draw new inspiration / ideas?
Almost all of our patterns are menswear inspired. When Alina and I worked on Wall Street, many of our male colleagues had ties and cufflinks with really cool patterns. These patterns were conversation starters. They were ways for their wearers to express subtle hints of their personality and uniqueness, a way of self-expression. Our latest SS’14 collection is ocean-themed with creatures such as seastars, turtles and crabs. We try to stay true to our menswear inspired roots, then expand on top of that.

Spring Summer 14 Collection

Did you always want to work in fashion?
Both of us have always been really interested in fashion. We certainly took a lot of inspiration from clients that we’ve worked for while at Credit Suisse and many of them are power players within the retail industry. I worked on the sale of Tommy Hilfiger to PVH in 2010. It was really amazing and inspirational to see how one designer translates his creative vision and aesthetics into a fashion empire.

Is there anything you still want to achieve with your brand?
We want Terracotta New York to be known for whimsical and statement silk scarves the way that Tom Ford is known for his impeccable tailoring and Pheobe Philo is known for her dedication to simplicity.

Which fashion or beauty blogs do you read regurlaly ?
When i comes to beauty blogs, i really like the beauty blog  Politics of Pretty. I also like Refinery29’s beauty section. I am not big on fashion blogs, but i take plenty of inspiration from Pinterest.

Which are your favorite magazines or newspaper?
I am still sticking with Wall Street Journal, sometimes it’s good to take a little break and read something different. Elite Daily is also a really fun read.

Is it possible to do an internship at your company?
We offer a wide range of internships from web design, fashion editorial to sales / marketing. At any given time, we usually work with 4 to 5 interns, many of them actually work remotely. Both Alina and I really enjoy the nurturing environment an internship can offer. It’s always about mutual learning and working together as a team. Find more information here.

Thank you very much, Yidi!