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| Moku Clutch, black leather with suede lining and hand sewn embroidery panel, $210 |
Kalima Clutch, white leather with suede lining and hand sewn embroidery panel, |
Kenjo Shoulder Bag, Pink suede with Mobile Phone internal pocket and adjustable strap, $430 |
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| 1. | Really eye catching and beautiful! - Natasha from London, May 14, 2007. | | 2. | beautiful, love that pink, and your site is very informative,great photos of Mongolia. - April from MA, May 14, 2007. | | 3. | Gorgeous bags with a great story. - Louise from NYC, May 15, 2007. |
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I set up my handbag business as a result of a trip to
Mongolia in Summer 2006. My brother was working there for a year so I decided to
take a holiday to visit him. At the time I was working in fashion pr and
marketing in London. While there I traveled to the countryside where the people
were friendly and once they knew I was involved in fashion keen to show me their
home crafted wares. The traditional skills involved were beautiful (hand sewn
embroidery and woven textiles) but the designs and finishings were not. For
example, one group proudly showed me a range that used owl and eagle feet as the
clasps- it was at that point I realized these people needed some guidance. I got
a group of women together and had them make up some samples. I then returned to
the UK and showed friends and some industry contacts I had and they loved them.
I then sent some more designs for them to work on and then took the decision
that I could set up a business and this could be my first line of products. I
know employ 4 people full time – 3 embroiderers and 1 translator and manager and
then a team who work on the leather side.
My products were featured in UK Vogue as part of the Vogue List 2007. From this
and other favorable press pieces I have customers in UK, US, Europe and Japan.
My design philosophy is to harness traditional skills into a product range that
is accessible, useful but most importantly highly covetable. I am now looking to
extend my product range to more handbags and other things (home-wares etc) and
am currently sampling in the UK, India and Pakistan.
The supply chain is complex and there are cultural differences, but I am
enjoying the process very much and hope to have lasting relationships with my
team in Mongolia and set up similar teams in other countries. Gifted Label
ultimately believes that there should be positive connections between the people
that make products and the people that buy products. We make products that
aren’t faceless for customers that aren’t faceless. We make it our
responsibility to look after the people that make products that are important to
us, and we in turn, help them with important aspects of their lives (fuel for
the winter, schooling for their children etc). This makes my product and
my decision to start this in the first place worth it overall.
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IHDA Finalist: Most Socially Responsible Handbag
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What is your name? |
Clare Elsmore-Dodsworth |
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Where are you from? |
Norfolk, UK |
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Where do you live now? |
London |
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How old are you? |
25 |
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Do you have a design background? |
Yes, I trained in Product Design at The London College of Fashion and then
worked in fashion pr and marketing. |
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Do you still have a day job? |
No, I gave it up to focus on Gifted Label. |
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What year were your bags born? |
End of 2006 |
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Bag brand name: |
Gifted Label |
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What is their retail price range? |
$210 - $800 |
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Where can a shopper buy your bags? |
www.giftedlabel.com |
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For more information, contact: |
www.giftedlabel.com |
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Designer Archive:
Show more... | More Designers:
July 28, 2010 - BAGSLAG - Lee Sylvester
July 26, 2010 - NAUTANKI by Carina - Carina Advani
July 23, 2010 - Pink Koala Design - Katrina Griffis
July 21, 2010 - Kristena Witherspoon Designs - Kristena Witherspoon
July 17, 2010 - CATHY - Cathy de Leon
July 16, 2010 - jlouise - Janet Fichtner
July 14, 2010 - mony's - Mona Harake
July 12, 2010 - Rives Parker Handbags and Accessories - Darlene Rives-Parker
July 10, 2010 - A Woven Life - Elkie Soto
July 08, 2010 - Joe's Brand - JoElynn Welsh
July 05, 2010 - Unique Crochet Collection by Inna - Inna Bubnov
July 02, 2010 - Kahri by KahriAnne Kerr - KahriAnne Kerr
June 30, 2010 - Cyclodelic - Amy Fleuriot
June 28, 2010 - XTHISMO - Valeria Hajdu
June 25, 2010 - bewilde - Pieter Keyser
June 23, 2010 - Heather Lair Designs - Heather Lair
June 21, 2010 - Joanna Nuttall - Joanna Nuttall
June 11, 2010 - mariaLamanna - Maria Lamanna
June 09, 2010 - CLEVERSCENE - Evon Cassier
June 07, 2010 - Saky Sacks - Rupa Wickrama
June 04, 2010 - Muratori - Julie Berard & Anne Matzke
June 03, 2010 - Jane's Kreations - Jane Staniewicz
May 31, 2010 - laboixeta - Janina Rojas
May 28, 2010 - Flower Art Bags - Joyce Hughes
May 26, 2010 - Obi-Sacs - Laura Neadle
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