Chelli Look’s story is as inspiring as it is emotional. A self-taught designer since high school, she began making handbags after her sister challenged her to “figure it out yourself.” What started as a creative outlet became a livelihood—and later, a lifeline through unimaginable personal loss.
In this moving episode, Chelli opens up about losing her best friend and business partner in a tragic accident, and how creating bags became her meditative way to process grief. Her journey, captured in the documentary Dawn Dusk, shows the power of creativity as both healing and self-discovery.
💡 Key Takeaways
- Creativity can be a profound tool for processing grief and hardship.
- Entrepreneurship is all-consuming—know when it’s time to step back.
- Closing a chapter can bring unexpected peace and perspective.
- Sharing your story can transform pain into connection and healing.
🎧 Dawn Dusk premieres on Amazon Prime and Tubi August 15th.
Our Guest: Chelli Look is a self-taught handbag designer whose journey of resilience and creativity became the subject of the documentary Dawn Dusk. Through her candid story, Chelli reveals how making bags was both her profession and her path to healing.
Host Emily Blumenthal is a handbag industry expert, author of Handbag Designer 101, and founder of The Handbag Awards. Known as the “Handbag Fairy Godmother,” Emily also teaches entrepreneurship at the Fashion Institute of Technology. She is dedicated to celebrating creativity, craftsmanship, and the art of building iconic handbag brands.
Find Handbag Designer 101 Merch, HBD101 Masterclass, one-on-one sessions, and opportunities to book Emily Blumenthal as a speaker at emilyblumenthal.com.
Youtube: / Handbagdesigner101-ihda | Instagram:/ Handbagdesigner
TikTok: / Handbagdesigner | Twitter: / Handbagdesigner
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
So for me after her loss, it was like one operating
through a new lens of like.
Now I'm approaching thisbusiness alone, which I had just
never imagined doing, so I hadto take on a new mindset with it
.
But it was like the way inwhich I process things and this
comes out in the documentary too.
(00:20):
It's one of the underlyingthreads is the one of the ways
that I process emotions isthrough either light or movement
, and so creating things is veryhelpful for me, it's very
meditative for me.
Yeah, so it really played thatrole of being able to make
things, just to be able to havethat time to like focus on a new
(00:42):
project, allowing me to justmeditate into whatever it is
that I need to process throughthat grief, of course.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Hi and welcome to Handbag Designer 101, the
podcast with your host, emilyBlumenthal, handbag industry
expert and the handbag fairygodmother.
Each week, we uncover thestories behind the handbags we
love from the iconic brands andtop designers to the creativity,
craftsmanship and culture thatdefine the handbags we love.
From the iconic brands and topdesigners to the creativity,
craftsmanship and culture thatdefine the handbag world.
Whether you're a designer,collector or simply passionate
(01:11):
about handbags, this is yourfront row seat to it all.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Welcome, shelly.
Look to Handbag Designer 101,the podcast.
Shelly, we have realized we'vegone way back than we thought to
vintage times, because itwasn't until you told me your
actual handbag brand name that Irealized that we have been in
communication probably since2012 at the earliest and the
(01:45):
dots connected.
Yes, yeah, we look exactly thesame, so it's perfect Totally.
But I am so honored to have youto talk about your documentary
that you've shared so much aboutwith me, dawn Dusk, which
follows the evolution of you asa designer while you were
grieving the loss of your sister.
(02:05):
And I can only imagine becauseso many people, when they become
handbag designers, it's usuallynot on purpose.
Nine times out of 10, they haveeither day job, corporated,
something like that, and thenthey have this aha moment and
something inspired them to dosomething creative.
(02:27):
Something was missing on themarket, something triggered it
and they started said handbagbrand with absolute blinders,
where somebody who is typicallyvery strategic and well thought
out dives right into somethingthey know nothing about and
throw themselves into a businessand it's totally off brand.
(02:47):
If someone were to say, why areyou doing this, you probably
couldn't have even answered.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Is this right.
Well, in my journey yes, myjourney starts out even in my
high school years, and so theprogression and the nuance of
life that took on in thosephases, yeah, it's quite the
leap to actually go full time tobuilding your own brand in that
way.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Yeah, were you a sewer, were you one of those
crafting people?
I learned.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Okay, so it all kind of ties together.
When I was in high school, myolder sister, megan she had come
home one day from her home ecclass and she had had this like
messenger bag, just like a basic, like cotton messenger bag.
And it clicked in my mind oflike that's really awesome that
you made your own bag.
And I was like, will you teachme how to sew?
(03:36):
Because my mom had a sewingmachine.
You know we'd sew littleactivities here and there and
you know, in a snarky way of aloving older sister was like,
figure it out yourself.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Like all tracks.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
And at the time, even in high school, I just couldn't
find what it is that I wanted.
I was saying something verysimple, but I just couldn't find
that piece, and so I convincedmy mom to take me to the fabric
store.
I found an awful denim andcotton.
I thought it was very cool atthe time and I figured it out.
I didn't have a pattern, I justhad to take whatever was in my
head and come up with a way toconstruct this thing.
(04:09):
But I did it and maybe it wasbecause I had a little chip on
my shoulder I'm not sure, but Ilike to think it's more so just
wanting to get that finishedpiece I couldn't find and really
just made it for myself andkind of started to go and wear
it around school and peoplebegan to ask like, oh, where'd
you get that?
(04:31):
And as conversations continued,I found it to not only be a
place of creating items forpeople but for somebody who is
socially awkward and, you know,not very popular.
It gave me a point ofconnection with people Because
it wasn't just my friend group.
It started to expand to eventeachers, the principal, some of
the cool girls you know.
It started to create avenues ofconnecting with people that I
wouldn't have had any other way,and so it was not only making
(04:52):
beautiful things because I'm anaturally creative person.
I love to process life throughmy hands but it was also this
avenue of like okay, now I canactually talk to different
people in different ways and Ihave a point of sharing
something of myself with them,and so I got very passionate
about it.
I was like, I need to go toschool for this.
I want to make this into awhole brand.
Went to college and went downthe like fashion marketing realm
(05:16):
and built it along the side.
I was just always doing it onthe side, went into fashion
retail management, leaned intovisual management, but still was
doing it on the side.
Went into fashion retailmanagement, leaned into visual
management, but still was doingit on the side.
And then, at one point, mypartner, david, and I were just
discussing of like, why not justtry this?
Because it was becoming so likea heavy workload to be working
(05:36):
full time but also doing this onthe side, where it was like,
why not just take the leap?
So in 2013, I quit my full-timejob and just went for it, and
all of the blissful ignorancethat I had as an artist went for
it and I had the company forabout go back and do it so
differently now.
(05:57):
But it was an excruciating butbeautiful, complex experience
which I'm sure you've heard manytimes, and you yourself it's a,
it's a 24-7, like.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
There's a huge disparity of doing something on
the side versus being all in,and you don't realize it until
you are all in.
And then you the side versusbeing all in, and you don't
realize it until you are all in.
And then you realize, oh my God, all in constitutes like your
home, your free space anyweekend and every bit of life,
yeah.
Anytime you go anywhere you'relike, oh, here's a boutique, I
(06:40):
should go in and introducemyself.
How should I wear it?
Ok, what bag of mine should Ibring?
It is I wanted to.
Where did you go to school?
Speaker 1 (06:49):
So I went to Columbia College here in Chicago.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Okay, so you never left Chicago.
That was never on the docket.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Never left Chicago.
No, oh, my God.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
I know you referenced David.
Look, ie, you know the, thepartner.
Ie where the name.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Look comes from.
Yeah, what were you when youmet him?
I was like you were young.
I was 19 years old when I methim.
I was very young, yes, and wegot married right after I
graduated college.
I was 22 years old.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Oh my god, yes, that's like that's a throwback
it's trust me.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
we just celebrated 17 years of marriage and we're
like, it's trust me.
We just celebrated 17 years ofmarriage and we're like we're
there now.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Wow, you met him in college.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
So technically we actually went to the same high
school, but I didn't know him inhigh school.
I knew who he was from adistance but I didn't think
twice about him.
But my closest friend in highschool, renee, he actually grew
up with.
They were like siblings.
They lived down the street fromone another and she was
actually the one that her and Iwere scheming to like do the
(07:50):
college things check off theparental approval?
And then we were both headed toNew York together to build this
handbag ring.
She was all in with me and soshe went to a separate school
than I did, a couple hours away.
So on the weekends, if we had afree weekend, we would visit
one another just to obviouslyhave time as friends.
But we're also like dreamingand building and how are we
going to do this and when are wegoing to do this, and et cetera
(08:10):
.
And in December of 2005, shewas headed up here for one of
those weekends and she got in avery bad car accident and she,
she passed away that weekend andI went home for obvious reasons
.
But her parents had asked me tohelp come and help them make
(08:33):
decisions because I was theclosest person to her other than
her fiancé, but at that timethis was 2005,.
At that time her fiancé wasstationed in Iraq because he was
part of the army, and so theywere like would you?
come back and facilitateeverything and make decisions of
what she would want.
And that week was like Iobviously wanted to help them.
(08:53):
But I was obviously in my ownblur of grief that I technically
met him for the first time thatweek because he was so
integrated with their family.
He was there to like help, puttogether photos and support them
and so he was just reallypresent throughout the week
helping the family as well.
But there was no like thoughtof anything.
But after that week obviously Ihad to come back to school and
(09:15):
just process everything here.
But it wasn't until a couple ofmonths later, through a group
text, that him and I kind ofreconnected.
And super long story short,after several months of just
connecting over friendship itgrew into something much more.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Did he know about?
Oh God, I am such aninterrupter.
That's always the commentpeople give and I'm so sorry.
Well, I get excited and it's oneof those and I hate putting a
label on it, but one of theseADD things where I'm like I'm
glad I asked the question beforeit goes away.
Number one I'm so sorry, thisloss that has clouded over you.
(09:50):
No person should have to dealwith this, let alone at such a
young age, let alone having ithappen again and again.
I'm sure all of that kept adrive of what you were doing,
saying OK, now I have to keepdoing this purely out of
principle, because she's nothere.
And how can I stop this?
(10:11):
Because that stops the memoryof her and what we've tried to
create.
And had he heard about yourbrand bags in high school, did
he know you existed?
I?
Speaker 1 (10:22):
mean I think he would have because actually his one
of his girlfriends.
This is wild.
I had made a bag for one of hishigh school girlfriends, so I'm
sure, in the flow of things, ohmy god, I actually haven't
asked him that.
If he knew of it in high schoolnow I give you something, a
talking point.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
17 years later, and my the roi of this just keeps
going and going.
Oh my goodness, I can't believeyou had to go and deal with all
this.
How old were you?
19?
Speaker 1 (10:54):
god yeah god.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
So you were the one who went in and while you were
doing this, were you clearingout all of her handbag stuff and
everything and and taking itall, it was anything that her
parents needed help with,whatever they were ready to have
somebody be present in thehouse for.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
Like you know, what would she want to wear?
Like what?
What kind of photo slideshowwould she want?
Because this is 2005.
This is like pre all thedigital age.
So like you actually had tobring physical pictures to put
together a slideshow, and youknow what.
What would that to look like?
Just like little aspects of herthat they just wanted some
feedback on from like what thecasket would look like and just
(11:31):
all these things that you do.
But to me it was a matter ofhonoring her life and helping
her with something.
You know.
Processing it as a friend isone thing.
I can't imagine processingsomething like that as a parent,
nor do I want to.
No I wasn't present to help inany way I could.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
But yeah, a lot of that week is very blurry for me,
because I think I was just Wasthat a reason why you were able
to continue with the handbagbrand at that point, were you
like?
Ok, continue with the handbagbrand at that point, were you
like?
Okay, I'm dealing with grief.
I think I need to keep going,purely out of principle.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
I don't know that.
It was like principle, becauseher and I were wanting to build
something beyond the handbags,like the handbags just kind of
spoke into one angle.
She had more of a lean towardsclothing and so it was like
let's bring this whole picturetogether.
So for me, clothing, and so itwas like let's bring this whole
picture together.
So for me, after her loss, itwas like one operating through a
new lens of like now I'mapproaching this business alone,
which I had just never imagineddoing, so I had to take on a
(12:36):
new mindset with it.
But it was all so like the wayin which I process things and
this comes out in thedocumentary too, it's one of the
underlying threads is the oneof the ways that I process
emotions is through either lightor movement, and so creating
things is very helpful for me,it's very meditative for me.
(12:57):
Yeah, so it really played thatrole of being able to make
things, just to be able to havethat time to like focus on a new
project, allowing me to justmeditate into whatever it is
that I need to process throughthat grief, of course.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
And even there's like moments of joy, because after
you lose me to have something tofocus on doing and creating and
building was asked her like howwere you able to go back to the
office the next day?
Because their desks were facingeach other.
You know, one day she's there,the next day she's not.
How are you able to continue abrand and a business, let alone
(13:57):
with your partner, your bestfriend, who is just not there?
And you know, grief is aninteresting beast because it
never leaves you, but then, inthe same token, it fuels you, in
a way to say I can't not dothis because and it sounds
cliche, but this is what shewould have wanted.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Sure sure.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
In its own way.
Yeah, so now you're doinghandbags.
How were you able, in thisspace alone, figuring out
pricing and figuring outmaterials and it sounds like you
were making them yourself, sothey were stupid expensive
because you didn't know anybetter.
How were you able to workthrough that, amongst everything
(14:39):
else?
Speaker 1 (14:40):
Oh man.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
If David Luck had told you because that's who he
is, david Luck and said like,let's go all in, he must have
seen you getting a lot oftraction and momentum to realize
that it was worth the jump.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
If you ever wanted to start a handbag brand and
didn't know where to start, thisis for you.
If you had dreams of becoming ahandbag designer but aren't
trained in design, this is foryou.
If you have a handbag brand andneed strategy and direction,
this is for you.
I'm Emily Blumenthal, handbagdesigner expert and handbag
fairy godmother, and this is theHandbag Designer 101
(15:16):
Masterclass.
Over the next 10 classes, Iwill break down everything you
need to know to make,manufacture and market a handbag
brand, broken down to ensurethat you will not only skip
steps in the handbag buildingprocess, but also to save money
to avoid the learning curve ofcostly mistakes.
For the past 20 years, I've beenteaching at the top fashion
(15:36):
universities in New York City,wrote the Handbag Designer Bible
, founded the Handbag Awards andcreated the only Handbag
Designer podcast.
I'm going to show you like Ihave countless brands to create
in this in-depth course, fromsketch to sample to sale.
Whether you're just startingout and don't even know where to
start or begin, or if you had abrand and need some strategic
(15:57):
direction, the Handbag Designer101 Masterclass is just for you.
So let's get started and you'llbe the creator of the next it
bag.
Join me, emily Blumenthal, inthe Handbag Designer 101
Masterclass.
So be sure to sign up atemilyblumenthalcom slash
masterclass and type in the codePINECAST to get 10% off.
(16:19):
Your masterclass today to get10% off your masterclass today.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Yeah, yeah, I mean honestly the backend, and he was
also super helpful in thebackend business, minded of it,
because it's one of thechallenges I think for people
who are creative is do you havemore right brain or left brain,
or is there a balance or or no?
Speaker 2 (16:40):
brain Do you have?
Speaker 1 (16:41):
a team, because it can be very difficult for people
who are more right brain bentto know how to price, know how
to do all of that businessnecessity because it's cash
fuels everything.
And so mine was a lot of trialand error, a lot of dry spells,
a lot of push through, a lot ofwhat have I already saved up to
(17:04):
this point to just personallyinvest in and just let it do a
slow grow, and just a wholebunch of things.
And it culminated to a pointwhere it was in about the sixth
year that I was part of like anexecutive coaching team and
received some really good advicefrom one of the women there,
one of the female executives,where she was like you're at the
(17:25):
sixth year, you're at aninteresting crux, you are burnt
out and you need to be able tohave the space.
You can't see the forestthrough the trees, you are just
grinding and grinding.
It's like you need to take afew months away to just revisit
why you started this.
And he's like have you evergone to handbag school?
(17:46):
And I was like no, and she'slike why don't you look into
that?
I don't even know this woman.
I'm like you are out of yourmind.
Why would I go back?
And I Googled it, and the onlyone that I found was one in
Florence, and so I posed thequestion oh, you did that one,
the leather program.
I did the one in 2018 and it waslike now they're like built up
(18:10):
and established.
Yeah, back then they likebarely had a website.
I was like d people onInstagram going is this real?
Is this not real?
Like this seems like reallycharming, but is it like is it
just like one guy in his studio,or is it I?
Speaker 2 (18:25):
I knew it when they just had an email address
because I had people coming outof that and applying to the
handbag awards and the websitewas like four lines.
It was really like low budge.
But you know it's, it's stillItaly.
You still came out withhandbags and, lo and behold, it
was like is this real?
Speaker 1 (18:43):
That was exactly it.
I got enough information frompeople bless them all through
Instagram that I legitimized itand so I actually went there.
I went there for three monthsto just revisit the craft, learn
from the best, but also give mea chance to just step away from
the business and reallyreevaluate how to approach it,
because I hit a plateau and Ididn't know how to get past that
(19:05):
plateau.
And I had tried everything.
I tried like made to order, Itried just custom, I had tried
direct to consumer, I had donewholesale and it was just like I
just kept hitting the ceiling.
So I went to school and theschooling was obviously
incredible for the sake oflearning the craft, and it took
my experience and my know-how upto a tier it hadn't been at
(19:28):
even though I had been at thecraft for so long.
But what it also allowed me todo was sit and actually evaluate
the business and myself as abusiness owner in a whole new
way, because it was finallyquiet, like you and I were
talking about a moment ago.
When you're owning your ownbusiness, it is 24, seven, all
the time, and here I had thisthree month bubble of mental
(19:49):
breathing room.
Yeah, that at first I didn'tknow what to do with.
I was like this is chaos.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Like, right but having nothing is sometimes more
dangerous.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
Yes, yes.
And then, once I got past thedanger, it became peaceful and I
was able to actually be honestwith myself of where I was at
and feeling like I had boxedmyself in, that this brand had
become too much part of myidentity.
So when the business was up, Iwas up.
When the business was down, Iwas down.
(20:19):
So I'm like no wonder I'mchaotic because I'm going off a
startup, not a place to be.
So after I came back, Iimplemented a couple of changes
that I thought would help.
They did not, and so I was likein August I was like I feel
like I've put myself into asmall little hole that I need to
expand out of.
I have more in me that I need toexpand.
(20:41):
I have more in me for handbagsand beyond.
I personally expand in order toexpand.
I need to close this chapterand I closed it and switched to
doing some consulting because Ihad already had a few asks for
that and really leaned into thatuntil 2020.
And we all know 2020 just kindof like wiped everything out and
(21:01):
we all know 2020 just kind oflike wiped everything out.
But how did the documentary cometo be throughout all of this.
Yeah, yeah.
So in 2016, I released what wascalled the Dawn Dust Collection
and for part of that release,we the small team that I had had
we were like let's do an openstudio, let them get in the
space, experience it all handson, have everything on display
(21:22):
and just kind of like make alittle bit of noise.
Did this open studio andsemi-distant acquaintance
friends of mine?
They're called Jason and BlueGerber.
They're both directors, theywork together.
They had come to the open studioand them among several other
people but it was about a weekafter that that they reached out
and they were like hey,directors, we work in film,
(21:43):
mostly commercials, but we wouldlove to do like a little five
minute segment on you as a maker.
We think we want to do like amaker series, but we want to
expand our portfolio a littlebit, would you mind?
He like came to your studio anddid the whole thing.
I was like, of course.
So we met and I shared more ofmy story and as I expanded on
the story of where I was atbased on that specific
collection, they were reallymoved and they were like we
(22:05):
think we might want to dosomething longer here.
So they just started filming,and what started as a five
minute promo turned into we wantto do a 20 minute segment
turned into a.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
We actually want to do a documentary film.
Did they release the fiveminute?
Speaker 1 (22:23):
segment?
Was it released?
I still give them a hard time.
I'm like I never got that promovideo guys.
Oh my god, I got somethingexponentially better.
But you know, they came to meand they wanted to expand their
work, and so they're like can wejust follow you?
So they followed me from 2016to 2019, when everything
concluded, so so they filmed mefor three years.
(22:44):
They even actually came over toItaly for one week of that time
.
I was there and wrapped upfilming in 2019.
And then the world shut down.
So I hadn't heard from them fora little while.
I thought everything was.
I just figured they releasedthe.
Like they let go of the projectfor whatever reason.
Like I can't imagine doing adocumentary film and then 2020
hitting project for whateverreason.
Like I can't imagine doing adocumentary film and then 2020
(23:06):
hitting.
But then they reached back outin 2022 and they were like hey,
we are just waiting on the finalcoloring, we have the trailer,
we're going to start moving thisalong.
And I was like oh, like you, oh, this is great, ok, great.
And yeah, what they puttogether was beyond what I could
have imagined, because I didn'treally know what kind of story
they were going to tell.
Yeah, of course, of course,because I it wasn't like I
(23:26):
reached out to them and I waslike, hey, do a documentary on
me for the sake of X, y and Z.
It was them seeing a story anddeveloping it, and so it was
very unique to be able to watchit and realize their perspective
and the story that they wereable to follow versus something.
Yeah, yeah, their perspectiveand the story that they were
able to follow versus something.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, I I can't even imagine so, did
you like?
Were they the ones following upwith you?
Yeah and like how did it cometo be?
When you're like guys, I can'tdo this bag line anymore, like
I'm tapped out like, did youthink you killed their story.
I can only imagine, because Iknow quite a few documentarians
(24:07):
and they're going with theirstory in the flow and then they
hit this monkey wrench like waitwhat?
Her whole culmination is likewhat?
Speaker 1 (24:17):
I was just living my life and I was like you guys
might want to know that this is,and they would always tell me
if there's a big photo shootyou're doing or if there's like
a large thing like let us knowso we can set up and get the
right cameras and whatnot.
So obviously this was a largemilestone to let them in on, but
I don't know if it ruined theirstory or I don't know, but I
regardless.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
I have to live my life, so you're gonna take this
direction.
You need to take it, but andthey did they did a beautiful
job with what they, what theyconcluded with.
How did it come to be, though,like, okay, the movie's done,
you're no longer in handbags?
How are you able to process theroi of being part of this?
Because in its own way, thatcould be an opportunity, a
really great opportunity to goback to handbags, you know, and
because the old you would havebeen like, oh my God, I'm going
to run with this.
I, this is perfect.
(25:09):
This is just the marketing Ialways needed and wanted to to
take my brand to that level.
I like it.
How are you able to process it?
I mean, I know you have a, youhave a little boy.
Obviously, thank goodness, ourneeds and wants and values have
to evolve and grow and change,but when you contextualize how
(25:30):
much time and effort you putinto that, I'm sure, like
watching that back, it's goingto be.
Like to close that kind ofchapter is hard, and that in
itself it is.
I don't want to compare it todeath, because it's not a death,
but it's it.
That chapter closing of how youidentify yourself is very, very
(25:51):
, very difficult, like that's a,that's like multiple therapy
sessions in itself, like howwere you able?
Especially, have you seen thefull documentary?
Have you seen?
Speaker 1 (26:03):
it yeah, several times, because they had it in a
few film festivals I was able toattend.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
Yeah oh my god, I have to totally see this.
When it comes to New York, Ican't wait.
But how were you able toprocess watching it and saying,
like Jesus Christ, I can'tbelieve I did all of that and
the the dedication, because,especially now in hindsight,
you're able to see like, okay, Iwould never do that again.
That was a waste of time.
That was a waste of money andlike watching it in horror, like
(26:31):
God.
I can't but like who is like?
I want to scream at her sayinglike do not buy that Italian
leather, leather.
No one will care that it'sitalian leather, don't you're
gonna regret that yeah, no, likethat's an extra ten thousand
dollars that you will not getback.
No that must be hard to process.
I couldn't imagine.
(26:52):
I can barely do a firm facingtiktok video, so let alone see
myself in a documentary.
That would kill me.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Oh my god no trust me , it was a bizarre experience
because I'm a very introvertedperson, I am not a forward
facing.
Put me in front of a camera andeven that was a process for me
to go through with them.
I'm sure.
They were incredible, honestly,with how they would approach it.
They were able to make thespace and the process feel very
(27:18):
safe, which was helpful, andyou'll understand that once you
see some of the content of it.
But no, being able to watch itback was a little bit of an ick
at first, because you have tojust get over the fact that
you're just watching somethingabout yourself, which just feels
weird.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
Yeah, of course it's out of body.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
But once I got past that, at the conclude of it,
david looked at me and he saidhe was like, how do you feel?
And I was like I feel like Ijust opened up a gift, because
it's one thing.
I'll describe it this way theseason I had of having my
(27:53):
handbag business was a veryspecific season in my life.
The way that that season endedoutside of the handbag business
was very crushing.
Personally, it was not a goodway that I would have wanted the
season to end, for reasonsoutside of anything with the
handbag business, and sowhenever I would reflect on that
(28:14):
season, I was rememberingsomething very painful.
But getting to watch the filmput me back in the richness of
that season that I had just beenglossing over because of this
other thing that I was grieving.
And so it felt like a gift,because when we sit and we
reflect on a past season, all wehave is our memory, which is
(28:35):
very limited.
But it's different when you canlook back and see footage of
beautiful, enriching, incrediblemoments.
On top of the fact that theyhad had interviews with some of
my team, they had caught thingson camera that I didn't realize.
They caught on camera that wereso moving to me that I was like
it just enriched that seasonand helped heal my heart a
(29:00):
little bit of how I viewed thattime in my life, and so it's
truly felt like a gift to beable to while, yes, there's all
those moments you've talkedabout where you're like, don't
do that, why would you?
You know all of those likecringe worthy things I actually
feel like it's this thing that Iget, this special gift in life
that I get that is so rare, thatI get to go back and watch a
(29:21):
season of my life and enjoy someof the richest moments that
were truly in it.
Speaker 2 (29:26):
That is just so gratifying to hear that you were
able to go through and toprocess and to push forward.
I actually think this is kindof a poetic way of wrapping this
whole conversation up.
When is Dawn Dusk coming out?
Speaker 1 (29:46):
Yeah, so it'll be available.
It'll be available on Tubi aswell as Amazon Prime on August
15th.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
Oh my God.
Well, when this comes outbefore, during or after, this is
August 15th 2025.
So whenever you actually hearthis, it will be available.
Shelley, Look, thank you sovery much for sharing your time,
your story, your heart, yourjourney with us.
How can we find you and followyou in the meantime, Sure.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
I'm mainly active on Instagram.
Right now, it's just at ShelleyLook C-H-E-L-L-I-L-O-O-K.
The film is also on there.
It's just at Shelly LookC-H-E-L-L-I-L-O-O-K.
The film is also on there.
It's Dawn Dusk Film that youcan follow a little bit more and
see some of the trailer andsome of the behind the scenes as
well.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Oh my God, I'm totally going to be promoting
this right after.
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (30:32):
Thank you so much Thank you.
Speaker 3 (30:36):
Thanks for listening.
Don't forget to rate and review, and follow us on every single
platform at Handbag Designer.
Thanks so much.
See you next time.
So for me after her loss, it was like one operating
through a new lens of like.
Now I'm approaching thisbusiness alone, which I had just
never imagined doing, so I hadto take on a new mindset with it
.
But it was like the way inwhich I process things and this
comes out in the documentary too.
(00:20):
It's one of the underlyingthreads is the one of the ways
that I process emotions isthrough either light or movement
, and so creating things is veryhelpful for me, it's very
meditative for me.
Yeah, so it really played thatrole of being able to make
things, just to be able to havethat time to like focus on a new
(00:42):
project, allowing me to justmeditate into whatever it is
that I need to process throughthat grief, of course.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Hi and welcome to Handbag Designer 101, the
podcast with your host, emilyBlumenthal, handbag industry
expert and the handbag fairygodmother.
Each week, we uncover thestories behind the handbags we
love from the iconic brands andtop designers to the creativity,
craftsmanship and culture thatdefine the handbags we love.
From the iconic brands and topdesigners to the creativity,
craftsmanship and culture thatdefine the handbag world.
Whether you're a designer,collector or simply passionate
(01:11):
about handbags, this is yourfront row seat to it all.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Welcome, shelly.
Look to Handbag Designer 101,the podcast.
Shelly, we have realized we'vegone way back than we thought to
vintage times, because itwasn't until you told me your
actual handbag brand name that Irealized that we have been in
communication probably since2012 at the earliest and the
(01:45):
dots connected.
Yes, yeah, we look exactly thesame, so it's perfect Totally.
But I am so honored to have youto talk about your documentary
that you've shared so much aboutwith me, dawn Dusk, which
follows the evolution of you asa designer while you were
grieving the loss of your sister.
(02:05):
And I can only imagine becauseso many people, when they become
handbag designers, it's usuallynot on purpose.
Nine times out of 10, they haveeither day job, corporated,
something like that, and thenthey have this aha moment and
something inspired them to dosomething creative.
(02:27):
Something was missing on themarket, something triggered it
and they started said handbagbrand with absolute blinders,
where somebody who is typicallyvery strategic and well thought
out dives right into somethingthey know nothing about and
throw themselves into a businessand it's totally off brand.
(02:47):
If someone were to say, why areyou doing this, you probably
couldn't have even answered.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Is this right.
Well, in my journey yes, myjourney starts out even in my
high school years, and so theprogression and the nuance of
life that took on in thosephases, yeah, it's quite the
leap to actually go full time tobuilding your own brand in that
way.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Yeah, were you a sewer, were you one of those
crafting people?
I learned.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Okay, so it all kind of ties together.
When I was in high school, myolder sister, megan she had come
home one day from her home ecclass and she had had this like
messenger bag, just like a basic, like cotton messenger bag.
And it clicked in my mind oflike that's really awesome that
you made your own bag.
And I was like, will you teachme how to sew?
(03:36):
Because my mom had a sewingmachine.
You know we'd sew littleactivities here and there and
you know, in a snarky way of aloving older sister was like,
figure it out yourself.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Like all tracks.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
And at the time, even in high school, I just couldn't
find what it is that I wanted.
I was saying something verysimple, but I just couldn't find
that piece, and so I convincedmy mom to take me to the fabric
store.
I found an awful denim andcotton.
I thought it was very cool atthe time and I figured it out.
I didn't have a pattern, I justhad to take whatever was in my
head and come up with a way toconstruct this thing.
(04:09):
But I did it and maybe it wasbecause I had a little chip on
my shoulder I'm not sure, but Ilike to think it's more so just
wanting to get that finishedpiece I couldn't find and really
just made it for myself andkind of started to go and wear
it around school and peoplebegan to ask like, oh, where'd
you get that?
(04:31):
And as conversations continued,I found it to not only be a
place of creating items forpeople but for somebody who is
socially awkward and, you know,not very popular.
It gave me a point ofconnection with people Because
it wasn't just my friend group.
It started to expand to eventeachers, the principal, some of
the cool girls you know.
It started to create avenues ofconnecting with people that I
wouldn't have had any other way,and so it was not only making
(04:52):
beautiful things because I'm anaturally creative person.
I love to process life throughmy hands but it was also this
avenue of like okay, now I canactually talk to different
people in different ways and Ihave a point of sharing
something of myself with them,and so I got very passionate
about it.
I was like, I need to go toschool for this.
I want to make this into awhole brand.
Went to college and went downthe like fashion marketing realm
(05:16):
and built it along the side.
I was just always doing it onthe side, went into fashion
retail management, leaned intovisual management, but still was
doing it on the side.
Went into fashion retailmanagement, leaned into visual
management, but still was doingit on the side.
And then, at one point, mypartner, david, and I were just
discussing of like, why not justtry this?
Because it was becoming so likea heavy workload to be working
(05:36):
full time but also doing this onthe side, where it was like,
why not just take the leap?
So in 2013, I quit my full-timejob and just went for it, and
all of the blissful ignorancethat I had as an artist went for
it and I had the company forabout go back and do it so
differently now.
(05:57):
But it was an excruciating butbeautiful, complex experience
which I'm sure you've heard manytimes, and you yourself it's a,
it's a 24-7, like.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
There's a huge disparity of doing something on
the side versus being all in,and you don't realize it until
you are all in.
And then you the side versusbeing all in, and you don't
realize it until you are all in.
And then you realize, oh my God, all in constitutes like your
home, your free space anyweekend and every bit of life,
yeah.
Anytime you go anywhere you'relike, oh, here's a boutique, I
(06:40):
should go in and introducemyself.
How should I wear it?
Ok, what bag of mine should Ibring?
It is I wanted to.
Where did you go to school?
Speaker 1 (06:49):
So I went to Columbia College here in Chicago.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Okay, so you never left Chicago.
That was never on the docket.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Never left Chicago.
No, oh, my God.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
I know you referenced David.
Look, ie, you know the, thepartner.
Ie where the name.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Look comes from.
Yeah, what were you when youmet him?
I was like you were young.
I was 19 years old when I methim.
I was very young, yes, and wegot married right after I
graduated college.
I was 22 years old.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Oh my god, yes, that's like that's a throwback
it's trust me.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
we just celebrated 17 years of marriage and we're
like, it's trust me.
We just celebrated 17 years ofmarriage and we're like we're
there now.
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Wow, you met him in college.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
So technically we actually went to the same high
school, but I didn't know him inhigh school.
I knew who he was from adistance but I didn't think
twice about him.
But my closest friend in highschool, renee, he actually grew
up with.
They were like siblings.
They lived down the street fromone another and she was
actually the one that her and Iwere scheming to like do the
(07:50):
college things check off theparental approval?
And then we were both headed toNew York together to build this
handbag ring.
She was all in with me and soshe went to a separate school
than I did, a couple hours away.
So on the weekends, if we had afree weekend, we would visit
one another just to obviouslyhave time as friends.
But we're also like dreamingand building and how are we
going to do this and when are wegoing to do this, and et cetera
(08:10):
.
And in December of 2005, shewas headed up here for one of
those weekends and she got in avery bad car accident and she,
she passed away that weekend andI went home for obvious reasons
.
But her parents had asked me tohelp come and help them make
(08:33):
decisions because I was theclosest person to her other than
her fiancé, but at that timethis was 2005,.
At that time her fiancé wasstationed in Iraq because he was
part of the army, and so theywere like would you?
come back and facilitateeverything and make decisions of
what she would want.
And that week was like Iobviously wanted to help them.
(08:53):
But I was obviously in my ownblur of grief that I technically
met him for the first time thatweek because he was so
integrated with their family.
He was there to like help, puttogether photos and support them
and so he was just reallypresent throughout the week
helping the family as well.
But there was no like thoughtof anything.
But after that week obviously Ihad to come back to school and
(09:15):
just process everything here.
But it wasn't until a couple ofmonths later, through a group
text, that him and I kind ofreconnected.
And super long story short,after several months of just
connecting over friendship itgrew into something much more.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Did he know about?
Oh God, I am such aninterrupter.
That's always the commentpeople give and I'm so sorry.
Well, I get excited and it's oneof those and I hate putting a
label on it, but one of theseADD things where I'm like I'm
glad I asked the question beforeit goes away.
Number one I'm so sorry, thisloss that has clouded over you.
(09:50):
No person should have to dealwith this, let alone at such a
young age, let alone having ithappen again and again.
I'm sure all of that kept adrive of what you were doing,
saying OK, now I have to keepdoing this purely out of
principle, because she's nothere.
And how can I stop this?
(10:11):
Because that stops the memoryof her and what we've tried to
create.
And had he heard about yourbrand bags in high school, did
he know you existed?
I?
Speaker 1 (10:22):
mean I think he would have because actually his one
of his girlfriends.
This is wild.
I had made a bag for one of hishigh school girlfriends, so I'm
sure, in the flow of things, ohmy god, I actually haven't
asked him that.
If he knew of it in high schoolnow I give you something, a
talking point.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
17 years later, and my the roi of this just keeps
going and going.
Oh my goodness, I can't believeyou had to go and deal with all
this.
How old were you?
19?
Speaker 1 (10:54):
god yeah god.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
So you were the one who went in and while you were
doing this, were you clearingout all of her handbag stuff and
everything and and taking itall, it was anything that her
parents needed help with,whatever they were ready to have
somebody be present in thehouse for.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
Like you know, what would she want to wear?
Like what?
What kind of photo slideshowwould she want?
Because this is 2005.
This is like pre all thedigital age.
So like you actually had tobring physical pictures to put
together a slideshow, and youknow what.
What would that to look like?
Just like little aspects of herthat they just wanted some
feedback on from like what thecasket would look like and just
(11:31):
all these things that you do.
But to me it was a matter ofhonoring her life and helping
her with something.
You know.
Processing it as a friend isone thing.
I can't imagine processingsomething like that as a parent,
nor do I want to.
No I wasn't present to help inany way I could.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
But yeah, a lot of that week is very blurry for me,
because I think I was just Wasthat a reason why you were able
to continue with the handbagbrand at that point, were you
like?
Ok, continue with the handbagbrand at that point, were you
like?
Okay, I'm dealing with grief.
I think I need to keep going,purely out of principle.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
I don't know that.
It was like principle, becauseher and I were wanting to build
something beyond the handbags,like the handbags just kind of
spoke into one angle.
She had more of a lean towardsclothing and so it was like
let's bring this whole picturetogether.
So for me, clothing, and so itwas like let's bring this whole
picture together.
So for me, after her loss, itwas like one operating through a
new lens of like now I'mapproaching this business alone,
which I had just never imagineddoing, so I had to take on a
(12:36):
new mindset with it.
But it was all so like the wayin which I process things and
this comes out in thedocumentary too, it's one of the
underlying threads is the oneof the ways that I process
emotions is through either lightor movement, and so creating
things is very helpful for me,it's very meditative for me.
(12:57):
Yeah, so it really played thatrole of being able to make
things, just to be able to havethat time to like focus on a new
project, allowing me to justmeditate into whatever it is
that I need to process throughthat grief, of course.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
And even there's like moments of joy, because after
you lose me to have something tofocus on doing and creating and
building was asked her like howwere you able to go back to the
office the next day?
Because their desks were facingeach other.
You know, one day she's there,the next day she's not.
How are you able to continue abrand and a business, let alone
(13:57):
with your partner, your bestfriend, who is just not there?
And you know, grief is aninteresting beast because it
never leaves you, but then, inthe same token, it fuels you, in
a way to say I can't not dothis because and it sounds
cliche, but this is what shewould have wanted.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Sure sure.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
In its own way.
Yeah, so now you're doinghandbags.
How were you able, in thisspace alone, figuring out
pricing and figuring outmaterials and it sounds like you
were making them yourself, sothey were stupid expensive
because you didn't know anybetter.
How were you able to workthrough that, amongst everything
(14:39):
else?
Speaker 1 (14:40):
Oh man.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
If David Luck had told you because that's who he
is, david Luck and said like,let's go all in, he must have
seen you getting a lot oftraction and momentum to realize
that it was worth the jump.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
If you ever wanted to start a handbag brand and
didn't know where to start, thisis for you.
If you had dreams of becoming ahandbag designer but aren't
trained in design, this is foryou.
If you have a handbag brand andneed strategy and direction,
this is for you.
I'm Emily Blumenthal, handbagdesigner expert and handbag
fairy godmother, and this is theHandbag Designer 101
(15:16):
Masterclass.
Over the next 10 classes, Iwill break down everything you
need to know to make,manufacture and market a handbag
brand, broken down to ensurethat you will not only skip
steps in the handbag buildingprocess, but also to save money
to avoid the learning curve ofcostly mistakes.
For the past 20 years, I've beenteaching at the top fashion
(15:36):
universities in New York City,wrote the Handbag Designer Bible
, founded the Handbag Awards andcreated the only Handbag
Designer podcast.
I'm going to show you like Ihave countless brands to create
in this in-depth course, fromsketch to sample to sale.
Whether you're just startingout and don't even know where to
start or begin, or if you had abrand and need some strategic
(15:57):
direction, the Handbag Designer101 Masterclass is just for you.
So let's get started and you'llbe the creator of the next it
bag.
Join me, emily Blumenthal, inthe Handbag Designer 101
Masterclass.
So be sure to sign up atemilyblumenthalcom slash
masterclass and type in the codePINECAST to get 10% off.
(16:19):
Your masterclass today to get10% off your masterclass today.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Yeah, yeah, I mean honestly the backend, and he was
also super helpful in thebackend business, minded of it,
because it's one of thechallenges I think for people
who are creative is do you havemore right brain or left brain,
or is there a balance or or no?
Speaker 2 (16:40):
brain Do you have?
Speaker 1 (16:41):
a team, because it can be very difficult for people
who are more right brain bentto know how to price, know how
to do all of that businessnecessity because it's cash
fuels everything.
And so mine was a lot of trialand error, a lot of dry spells,
a lot of push through, a lot ofwhat have I already saved up to
(17:04):
this point to just personallyinvest in and just let it do a
slow grow, and just a wholebunch of things.
And it culminated to a pointwhere it was in about the sixth
year that I was part of like anexecutive coaching team and
received some really good advicefrom one of the women there,
one of the female executives,where she was like you're at the
(17:25):
sixth year, you're at aninteresting crux, you are burnt
out and you need to be able tohave the space.
You can't see the forestthrough the trees, you are just
grinding and grinding.
It's like you need to take afew months away to just revisit
why you started this.
And he's like have you evergone to handbag school?
(17:46):
And I was like no, and she'slike why don't you look into
that?
I don't even know this woman.
I'm like you are out of yourmind.
Why would I go back?
And I Googled it, and the onlyone that I found was one in
Florence, and so I posed thequestion oh, you did that one,
the leather program.
I did the one in 2018 and it waslike now they're like built up
(18:10):
and established.
Yeah, back then they likebarely had a website.
I was like d people onInstagram going is this real?
Is this not real?
Like this seems like reallycharming, but is it like is it
just like one guy in his studio,or is it I?
Speaker 2 (18:25):
I knew it when they just had an email address
because I had people coming outof that and applying to the
handbag awards and the websitewas like four lines.
It was really like low budge.
But you know it's, it's stillItaly.
You still came out withhandbags and, lo and behold, it
was like is this real?
Speaker 1 (18:43):
That was exactly it.
I got enough information frompeople bless them all through
Instagram that I legitimized itand so I actually went there.
I went there for three monthsto just revisit the craft, learn
from the best, but also give mea chance to just step away from
the business and reallyreevaluate how to approach it,
because I hit a plateau and Ididn't know how to get past that
(19:05):
plateau.
And I had tried everything.
I tried like made to order, Itried just custom, I had tried
direct to consumer, I had donewholesale and it was just like I
just kept hitting the ceiling.
So I went to school and theschooling was obviously
incredible for the sake oflearning the craft, and it took
my experience and my know-how upto a tier it hadn't been at
(19:28):
even though I had been at thecraft for so long.
But what it also allowed me todo was sit and actually evaluate
the business and myself as abusiness owner in a whole new
way, because it was finallyquiet, like you and I were
talking about a moment ago.
When you're owning your ownbusiness, it is 24, seven, all
the time, and here I had thisthree month bubble of mental
(19:49):
breathing room.
Yeah, that at first I didn'tknow what to do with.
I was like this is chaos.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Like, right but having nothing is sometimes more
dangerous.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
Yes, yes.
And then, once I got past thedanger, it became peaceful and I
was able to actually be honestwith myself of where I was at
and feeling like I had boxedmyself in, that this brand had
become too much part of myidentity.
So when the business was up, Iwas up.
When the business was down, Iwas down.
(20:19):
So I'm like no wonder I'mchaotic because I'm going off a
startup, not a place to be.
So after I came back, Iimplemented a couple of changes
that I thought would help.
They did not, and so I was likein August I was like I feel
like I've put myself into asmall little hole that I need to
expand out of.
I have more in me that I need toexpand.
(20:41):
I have more in me for handbagsand beyond.
I personally expand in order toexpand.
I need to close this chapterand I closed it and switched to
doing some consulting because Ihad already had a few asks for
that and really leaned into thatuntil 2020.
And we all know 2020 just kindof like wiped everything out and
(21:01):
we all know 2020 just kind oflike wiped everything out.
But how did the documentary cometo be throughout all of this.
Yeah, yeah.
So in 2016, I released what wascalled the Dawn Dust Collection
and for part of that release,we the small team that I had had
we were like let's do an openstudio, let them get in the
space, experience it all handson, have everything on display
(21:22):
and just kind of like make alittle bit of noise.
Did this open studio andsemi-distant acquaintance
friends of mine?
They're called Jason and BlueGerber.
They're both directors, theywork together.
They had come to the open studioand them among several other
people but it was about a weekafter that that they reached out
and they were like hey,directors, we work in film,
(21:43):
mostly commercials, but we wouldlove to do like a little five
minute segment on you as a maker.
We think we want to do like amaker series, but we want to
expand our portfolio a littlebit, would you mind?
He like came to your studio anddid the whole thing.
I was like, of course.
So we met and I shared more ofmy story and as I expanded on
the story of where I was atbased on that specific
collection, they were reallymoved and they were like we
(22:05):
think we might want to dosomething longer here.
So they just started filming,and what started as a five
minute promo turned into we wantto do a 20 minute segment
turned into a.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
We actually want to do a documentary film.
Did they release the fiveminute?
Speaker 1 (22:23):
segment?
Was it released?
I still give them a hard time.
I'm like I never got that promovideo guys.
Oh my god, I got somethingexponentially better.
But you know, they came to meand they wanted to expand their
work, and so they're like can wejust follow you?
So they followed me from 2016to 2019, when everything
concluded, so so they filmed mefor three years.
(22:44):
They even actually came over toItaly for one week of that time
.
I was there and wrapped upfilming in 2019.
And then the world shut down.
So I hadn't heard from them fora little while.
I thought everything was.
I just figured they releasedthe.
Like they let go of the projectfor whatever reason.
Like I can't imagine doing adocumentary film and then 2020
hitting project for whateverreason.
Like I can't imagine doing adocumentary film and then 2020
(23:06):
hitting.
But then they reached back outin 2022 and they were like hey,
we are just waiting on the finalcoloring, we have the trailer,
we're going to start moving thisalong.
And I was like oh, like you, oh, this is great, ok, great.
And yeah, what they puttogether was beyond what I could
have imagined, because I didn'treally know what kind of story
they were going to tell.
Yeah, of course, of course,because I it wasn't like I
(23:26):
reached out to them and I waslike, hey, do a documentary on
me for the sake of X, y and Z.
It was them seeing a story anddeveloping it, and so it was
very unique to be able to watchit and realize their perspective
and the story that they wereable to follow versus something.
Yeah, yeah, their perspectiveand the story that they were
able to follow versus something.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, I I can't even imagine so, did
you like?
Were they the ones following upwith you?
Yeah and like how did it cometo be?
When you're like guys, I can'tdo this bag line anymore, like
I'm tapped out like, did youthink you killed their story.
I can only imagine, because Iknow quite a few documentarians
(24:07):
and they're going with theirstory in the flow and then they
hit this monkey wrench like waitwhat?
Her whole culmination is likewhat?
Speaker 1 (24:17):
I was just living my life and I was like you guys
might want to know that this is,and they would always tell me
if there's a big photo shootyou're doing or if there's like
a large thing like let us knowso we can set up and get the
right cameras and whatnot.
So obviously this was a largemilestone to let them in on, but
I don't know if it ruined theirstory or I don't know, but I
regardless.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
I have to live my life, so you're gonna take this
direction.
You need to take it, but andthey did they did a beautiful
job with what they, what theyconcluded with.
How did it come to be, though,like, okay, the movie's done,
you're no longer in handbags?
How are you able to process theroi of being part of this?
Because in its own way, thatcould be an opportunity, a
really great opportunity to goback to handbags, you know, and
because the old you would havebeen like, oh my God, I'm going
to run with this.
I, this is perfect.
(25:09):
This is just the marketing Ialways needed and wanted to to
take my brand to that level.
I like it.
How are you able to process it?
I mean, I know you have a, youhave a little boy.
Obviously, thank goodness, ourneeds and wants and values have
to evolve and grow and change,but when you contextualize how
(25:30):
much time and effort you putinto that, I'm sure, like
watching that back, it's goingto be.
Like to close that kind ofchapter is hard, and that in
itself it is.
I don't want to compare it todeath, because it's not a death,
but it's it.
That chapter closing of how youidentify yourself is very, very
(25:51):
, very difficult, like that's a,that's like multiple therapy
sessions in itself, like howwere you able?
Especially, have you seen thefull documentary?
Have you seen?
Speaker 1 (26:03):
it yeah, several times, because they had it in a
few film festivals I was able toattend.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
Yeah oh my god, I have to totally see this.
When it comes to New York, Ican't wait.
But how were you able toprocess watching it and saying,
like Jesus Christ, I can'tbelieve I did all of that and
the the dedication, because,especially now in hindsight,
you're able to see like, okay, Iwould never do that again.
That was a waste of time.
That was a waste of money andlike watching it in horror, like
(26:31):
God.
I can't but like who is like?
I want to scream at her sayinglike do not buy that Italian
leather, leather.
No one will care that it'sitalian leather, don't you're
gonna regret that yeah, no, likethat's an extra ten thousand
dollars that you will not getback.
No that must be hard to process.
I couldn't imagine.
(26:52):
I can barely do a firm facingtiktok video, so let alone see
myself in a documentary.
That would kill me.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Oh my god no trust me , it was a bizarre experience
because I'm a very introvertedperson, I am not a forward
facing.
Put me in front of a camera andeven that was a process for me
to go through with them.
I'm sure.
They were incredible, honestly,with how they would approach it.
They were able to make thespace and the process feel very
(27:18):
safe, which was helpful, andyou'll understand that once you
see some of the content of it.
But no, being able to watch itback was a little bit of an ick
at first, because you have tojust get over the fact that
you're just watching somethingabout yourself, which just feels
weird.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
Yeah, of course it's out of body.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
But once I got past that, at the conclude of it,
david looked at me and he saidhe was like, how do you feel?
And I was like I feel like Ijust opened up a gift, because
it's one thing.
I'll describe it this way theseason I had of having my
(27:53):
handbag business was a veryspecific season in my life.
The way that that season endedoutside of the handbag business
was very crushing.
Personally, it was not a goodway that I would have wanted the
season to end, for reasonsoutside of anything with the
handbag business, and sowhenever I would reflect on that
(28:14):
season, I was rememberingsomething very painful.
But getting to watch the filmput me back in the richness of
that season that I had just beenglossing over because of this
other thing that I was grieving.
And so it felt like a gift,because when we sit and we
reflect on a past season, all wehave is our memory, which is
(28:35):
very limited.
But it's different when you canlook back and see footage of
beautiful, enriching, incrediblemoments.
On top of the fact that theyhad had interviews with some of
my team, they had caught thingson camera that I didn't realize.
They caught on camera that wereso moving to me that I was like
it just enriched that seasonand helped heal my heart a
(29:00):
little bit of how I viewed thattime in my life, and so it's
truly felt like a gift to beable to while, yes, there's all
those moments you've talkedabout where you're like, don't
do that, why would you?
You know all of those likecringe worthy things I actually
feel like it's this thing that Iget, this special gift in life
that I get that is so rare, thatI get to go back and watch a
(29:21):
season of my life and enjoy someof the richest moments that
were truly in it.
Speaker 2 (29:26):
That is just so gratifying to hear that you were
able to go through and toprocess and to push forward.
I actually think this is kindof a poetic way of wrapping this
whole conversation up.
When is Dawn Dusk coming out?
Speaker 1 (29:46):
Yeah, so it'll be available.
It'll be available on Tubi aswell as Amazon Prime on August
15th.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
Oh my God.
Well, when this comes outbefore, during or after, this is
August 15th 2025.
So whenever you actually hearthis, it will be available.
Shelley, Look, thank you sovery much for sharing your time,
your story, your heart, yourjourney with us.
How can we find you and followyou in the meantime, Sure.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
I'm mainly active on Instagram.
Right now, it's just at ShelleyLook C-H-E-L-L-I-L-O-O-K.
The film is also on there.
It's just at Shelly LookC-H-E-L-L-I-L-O-O-K.
The film is also on there.
It's Dawn Dusk Film that youcan follow a little bit more and
see some of the trailer andsome of the behind the scenes as
well.
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Oh my God, I'm totally going to be promoting
this right after.
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (30:32):
Thank you so much Thank you.
Speaker 3 (30:36):
Thanks for listening.
Don't forget to rate and review, and follow us on every single
platform at Handbag Designer.
Thanks so much.
See you next time.
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.