Emily Blumenthal grew organically from a solo handbag designer to the lynch pin of Handbag Designer 101. After the NY-based entrepreneur started designing, she went to Fordham to earn an MBA in international marketing. She’s built her Handbag Designer 101 site and is about to publish her first book. She created a yearly handbag-design award franchise, Independent Handbag Designer Awards that now partners with InStyle and has brought hundreds of aspiring designers together through meetup.com. Now, Blumenthal is hosting Handbag Collective Pop-Up at Openhouse Gallery featuring handpicked rising stars from the industry, a seminar and a few cocktail hours.
Friday, August 19, almost two dozen handbag designers from around the world will be on hand for a shopping experience that also features an instructional seminar and back-to-back cocktail hours. Blumenthal is blending pop-up retail with pop-up education and the shopping goes from 11 am-8 pm. From 3-6 pm, the Handbag Designer 101 Bonus Seminar teaches designers how to launch their line. Swarovski Elements will show designers how to work with crystals, Leather, Suede, Skins will give tutorials on materials, M&J Trimming is dishing pointers on accessories and Global Lux Visionaires will break down the production process. Blumenthal built the pop up not just for shoppers but also anyone who wants to launch a line, work with stitch, patterns and products.
“I want it to be a more engaging version of the Brooklyn Flea,” Blumenthal says about Handbag Collective Pop-Up. “I wanted to have people be able to take something educational away.”
A Mondrina clutch. Mondrina is one of 20 designers at the Handbag Collective Pop-Up at Openhouse Gallery presented by Handbag Designer 101.
Fashionistas from all over the city will of course have entire summer Friday to explore and purchase handbags ranging in price from $25 to $750. Handbag Collective Pop-Up features 20 designers including Antoinette Lee, Avril Lemiux Alicat, Bella Borz, Carol S. Miller Handbags, Stella Chang and ModaRevise (full cadre below). From 6-8 pm, cocktail hour descends on Openhouse Gallery with complementary Figenza Vodka. Shoppers will get to hydrate all day courtesy of Vitamin Water.
“We’ve curated a lot of handbags you can’t find anywhere else,” Blumenthal says.
Handbag Collective Pop-Up lineup
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[Featured photo courtesy of Leoluca]
Gunas London Tote Handbag
Alicat Avril Lemieux
Emilce Borz of Bella Borz
Melanie Mueller the dynamic designer behind Mel Boteri
Dareen Hakim