|
New products appear all the time, but every once in a while something pops up that combines enormous appeal with a wonderfully simple premise. This is the one that has product designers slapping their foreheads and muttering, "I wish I'd thought of that."
Foreheads at the ready, the z becky brown purse is here. . .
Customization was once the exclusive plaything of the wealthy but these days everyone demands something personal. From the skin on your phone to the embroidery on your jeans, mass production has given way to mass customization. Everyone wants something distinctive – and we are all designers now.
"The new mantra is 'just for me'," Robyn Waters writes in The Trendmaster's Guide. "Customization is the name of the game. Self-expression is key."
The z becky brown collection is the brainchild of South Carolina mother-of-three Carolyn Whiting and plays upon the desire for self-expression. It is the ultimate in custom design, with transparent facings allowing the owner to encapsulate whatever takes her fancy, from fabrics to photographs to graphic designs — as individual as a painting, as changeable as your mood.
“The purse is aimed at a group of women interested in self expression," says Carolyn. "We are a new canvas for the display of artistic designs of all sorts.”
While the z becky brown purse is fast attaining a reputation as a must-have item of haute couture, it’s designed for the real world, not the catwalk. And in the real world accidents happen. That's why Carolyn chose Eastman's Tenite cellulosics for the outer facings of her purses. Called The Natural Polymer because it is made from wood pulp, Tenite combines clarity with durability and the reassuring feel and tone of a natural material.
“Of course I wanted clarity, but I also knew the outer skin needed to be made from a material that was durable and scratch-resistant,” explains Carolyn. “I did not want this coming back cracked because someone dropped it.
“I don’t have a background in plastics or in manufacturing. I just had an idea – I wanted to make a purse. And so I started talking to fabrication companies. I looked at acrylic, and I looked at polycarbonate and several other materials before settling on The Natural Polymer. It feels good, looks good and it’s durable. It’s a great product for us.”
The z becky brown purse taps into the growing U.S. arts and crafts market, but its renown has already spread far beyond its roots. The start-up company has already seen interest around the world with enquiries from as far away as Moscow and Tokyo. And the purse will soon be seen on the streets of London, Paris and Milan where no two will look the same.
And that's the whole idea.
|