What happens when an entrepreneurial spirit meets a passion for teaching? For Kerri Quigley, it led to The Fashion Class—a sewing and design school that’s igniting creativity and confidence in the next generation of makers.
In this episode of Handbag Designer 101, Kerri shares her incredible journey from launching an underwear line at 17 to building a thriving educational business with studios across Manhattan—and now, nationwide franchises. From early manufacturing mishaps to teaching five-year-olds how to make their own skirts, her story is all about resilience, reinvention, and empowering young creatives through fashion.
đź’ˇ Key Takeaways
 🧵 Start Young, Stay Fearless: Why kids often make the best designers—and how Kerri built a curriculum to match their confidence.
🔥 When Things Go Wrong: Hear how a studio fire led to a pop-up class at the Bryant Park Hotel—because the lesson must go on.
🏢 From Studio to Franchise: How Kerri turned a side hustle into a scalable business with impact far beyond NYC.
Whether you’re a designer, educator, or entrepreneur, this episode is a masterclass in turning passion into purpose—and why teaching kids to sew is about so much more than fashion.
Our Guest: Kerri Quigley is the founder of The Fashion Class, a New York-based fashion school for kids and teens offering hands-on sewing, design, and entrepreneurship programs. A Parsons grad and lifelong creator, Kerri is on a mission to make fashion fun, fearless, and foundational for the next generation.
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.Â
Youtube: / Handbagdesigner101-ihda | Instagram:/ Handbagdesigner
TikTok: / Handbagdesigner | Twitter: / Handbagdesigner
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
and it was late in the day and I'm in my office
hottest day of the entire summer, it had to be 100 degrees and
all of a sudden I hear the kidsstart to yell fire, fire and the
teachers say okay, everybodycome to the front, because we
had this long studio.
They were in the back, so theysaw a fireball come up in the
back window and then somebodyimmediately started banging on
the stairwell door like get outof the building now.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
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 handbag world.
Whether you're a designer,collector or simply passionate
(00:43):
about handbags, this is yourfront row seat to it all.
Welcome, keri Quigley.
I love your last name ofthefashionclasscom to Handbag
Designer 101's podcast.
Welcome, welcome.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Thank you so much for having me, Emily.
I'm happy to be on today.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
I think I'm more excited than you.
And PS to anybody who'swatching this on YouTube my ring
light died, so pardon the lackof glitz and glam.
I have to throw that in.
I can't, I'm way too vain toyou know have bad shadows.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
You look exactly the same as the day I met you, which
was a very long time ago.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
So long ago.
I can't.
So why don't you just share alittle bit about?
Because you were such a pioneerin this, in what you've created
?
So share a little bit aboutwhat the fashion class is about,
and then we'll just dive rightin Because it's.
You are truly, I think, such anearly adopter to something
which is such a big trend now.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
It is, it is.
So I started the fashion class15 years ago when I was just 24
years old.
I went to Parsons for business,did a little minoring in
fashion, always sewed, and Igraduated during the recession
and there were no jobs to be had.
I was a gig worker.
I designed lingerie, I designedpet clothing and pet beds.
(02:09):
And then talk about yourunderwear.
Talk about the underwear story.
I mean, that's my favoritestory.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
I think.
I think it, I know, but itspeaks to you know and I hate
using the term being anentrepreneur, but I think
there's some people who and Iknow anybody listening will get
this there's some people who aremeant to day job and there are
some people who just you know bywho you are, by your DNA,
physically cannot do day jobs.
(02:37):
So it's like the risks toanybody normal would seem insane
, but to someone like you ormyself, the risks aren't even
risks, because in your head it'slike okay, well, I'm just going
to do this and I'm just goingto do that, and any sane person
would have written it downsaying this is stupid, this is
insane, what the hell's wrongwith you?
(02:58):
And you're like, yeah, sure,I'll start an underwear business
and also how old were you?
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Because it's just so amazing it's a really funny
story and I learned a lot andwe're going way back now.
So I was, I had just turned 18.
I think I was.
I was actually 17 when Istarted this brand and it was
called Carrie Renee, my name,and it was a woman's lingerie
and loungewear line gearedtowards the high school college
(03:24):
age students.
So this was Victoria's Secretpink.
Before pink existed, everythingwas cotton, soft, bright colors
.
I had these really cuteunderwear, that kind of like
peaked above your low rise jeans, which were the big trend and
are coming back to give you likea little like frilly accessory
above your jeans, and I came upwith the idea.
(03:45):
I used some savings that I hadto make and manufacture this
line in the garment district ofNew York City.
So you know, 17, 18 years old,I'm walking around to factories
trying to convince them toproduce my products that I had
sewed at home.
I sewed my samples and I founda factory to do it and they made
(04:07):
, I want to say, about 200 itemsfor me.
I packed them in a suitcase,walked around you know, soho and
wherever, going into boutiquesand being like, hi, do you want
to buy these?
And places took them onconsignment and I obviously
anything I made I reinvestedback into the business and this
is not a great success story.
(04:27):
Spoiler alert I was very young,very green and definitely not
risk averse.
I was willing to just put itall out there to speak to what
you're talking about, aboutentrepreneurs before.
So and I think that comes withbeing very young as well, just
being like you know when didyour savings come from?
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Sorry to interrupt, was this like money you had
saved?
Yes, I always worked.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
I've always had jobs since I was about 14.
So you know, waitressing helpedout at an art studio with, like
, kids' birthday parties, thatsort of thing.
So I just always had savingsand I put it all towards this
business and I grew it and Ieventually was able to do a
trade show at the Javits Centerin New York City.
So back then you know we'retalking 2004-ish I want to say
(05:17):
four or five a huge amount ofmoney for me to get the booth,
all the decorations, have myproduct displayed.
You know make sure I had orderforms and a website up and all
that good stuff and I had.
I had a pretty decent line atthat point.
I had little bralettes,underwear, tap shorts, all that
(05:41):
good stuff.
And at the show I got somepress and then I got a call from
Bloomingdale's to do a trunkshow with them.
I had moved my manufacturingfrom New York City because a
pair of underwear came to likesix dollars for me cost for me
with part, you know materialsand labor.
So I had to you know retailthat for for a bit more.
So it was pretty expensive tobuy like a I don't know twenty
dollar pair of underwear for theage that I was targeting
(06:04):
Exactly.
Back then and for the age groupthat I was targeting Back then.
Back then and for the age groupthat I was targeting.
So I moved my production fromthe garment district to Canada,
then from Canada to India.
I was not really able to justpick up and travel to India to
go, you know, oversee everything.
I did have an old collegeprofessor who went out for me
(06:24):
and you know from India and wentand visited the factory, made
sure like it was all in the upand up anyway.
So, long story short, I have mydeal with Bloomingdale's and I
have a large order from adepartment store chain in Japan
and the store in Japan onlybought sizes extra small and
small.
And you know I'm chatting withmy Indian factory.
I'm up late at night on Skypewith them for the time
(06:47):
difference yes, and they're likeyes, everything's good.
I'm seeing pictures, productionsamples, all is good.
I finally get my order and itcomes in and everything is large
and extra large, with the wronglabels sewn in.
How?
Speaker 2 (07:03):
did you know know to.
So a lot of Trey with a smallSorry, everybody complains.
I interrupt.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
I absolutely do I get excited.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
How did you know to have the production sent to you
directly as opposed to sentdirectly to Japan?
Because one would think that,with duties and so forth, to
send from India to Japan wouldhave made more sense.
But were you, young and green,saying no, I need to see it
first?
Or were you thinking, oh,because I've never had this
order, I need to see it firstand pack and ship and resend,
(07:31):
because you know, like, thinkingnow it's like two extra steps
and that's extra money, step,step.
And also, how much research didyou do for understanding your
customer?
Because I know this takes usall the way back to, takes us to
the fashion class in terms ofunderstanding your customer.
Do you think at that time youhad done enough research?
(07:55):
Or you were just thinking, okay, well, if I'm my own customer,
this is as much as I can spend,these are the colors I like,
like, where did you fall intoall of that?
Speaker 1 (08:04):
So to answer your question about the shipping, I
definitely wanted.
It was my first time workingwith this factory.
I wanted to see it, I wanted tobe hands on, I wanted to
package it up nicely and ship itto Japan myself.
Had you had samples from themyet?
Yes, okay, I production samplesand everything looked great.
So I, yeah.
And then to answer your questionabout researching my customer,
(08:26):
I was very much in the thoughtprocess of I am my customer and
I'm making everything that Ilike.
So a lot of cherry prints andcamel was big, so pink
camouflage and you know thingslike that.
And I don't want to say I was100% off on the customer.
I don't think I was at all.
I think there is a market forthat, but I had no idea about
(08:48):
market size.
How many people would really beinto this.
But I mean that departmentstore in Japan really did take a
big risk on me and, and youknow, ordered they ordered my
product.
So so they, they believed in it, they believed in the, in the
designs.
But essentially I got my boxesof you know, very large pieces
(09:08):
of underwear, bralettes and Ihad to message the buyer in
Japan and I was like you know,if you give me a couple more
weeks I can get you the correctorder, and she was like no,
we're no longer interested,which I understand.
New brands taking a chance.
And you know, I fumbled, Imessed it up and as much as I
(09:30):
can say, oh, the factory, thefactory, the factory.
At the end of the day, it's mybrand, it's my products, I, you
know.
However, I was supposed to goand check and make sure things
were being done correctly.
I didn't do that.
I also did not get any productsto show at the trunk show with
Bloomingdale's and I was unableto do that as well.
(09:51):
So I pretty much closed up shop.
It had been about at that point,I had been doing this for about
five seasons, so, you know, twoseasons of lingerie in a year.
So about what is that?
Two and a half years or so, twoseasons of lingerie in a year.
So about what is that?
Two and a half years or so?
I'm in college at this pointand I just kind of you know,
stopped doing it as seriouslyI'd still do a little bit on the
(10:11):
side sell it on Etsy anddecided to continue, you know,
finish my degree and, you know,not be an entrepreneur at the
moment.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Was that crushing to?
Because, again, this mindset isvery specific.
You know, when things, as yousaid, fumble and things fall
apart, it could either scare youstraight and being like good
market, I can't afford this,this is going to cost too much,
because some people are soblinders like I'm going to keep
doing, I'm going to keep going,I'm not going to let this go.
Or did this put you into astate of depression Like, oh my
God, I can't believe thishappened.
I've lost so much money.
And you know, to reflect onthat, I'm sure you could say, oh
(11:00):
, it was so young.
But at that time it's like, ohmy God, I look how much I've
ruined my future.
Not like, oh, I'm so young,I'll bounce back.
How did you handle all this?
Speaker 1 (11:09):
It definitely made me a bit sad and depressed, that's
for sure.
I really believed in the brand.
I really wanted it to be asuccess.
You know I always wanted to bea fashion designer and have a
brand.
At the same time I didn't puttoo much stock into, you know,
the sunk cost.
At that point I had spentprobably about $25,000 on this
brand.
Again, in the grand scheme offashion, not a great amount,
(11:34):
that's nothing.
But to someone who you know 18,19, 20, you know it's a lot and
you know this is for me,working and putting, you know,
putting little bits towards thebusiness every year.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Were you day jobjabbing.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Yes, what were you doing?
I was a secretary at anarchitecture firm while in
college and trying to do thisbusiness, so it wasn't by any
means my full-time.
Doing the business was not myfull-time thing.
It was definitely a goodportion of my time but I
couldn't solely focus on it.
So you know, obviously the lostmoney bothered me and that, but
I knew I would do somethingelse.
I wasn't too worried about itand were you able to sell the
(12:18):
underwear?
I sold them on eBay slowly.
Wow, yeah, yeah, on eBay, Iwould just sell.
I sold them in lots to a fewplaces, like a couple, I think
plus size stores bought, youknow, like 20 items at a time.
Yeah, and eventually I did sellthe whole, the whole order oh,
thank.
God, yeah, so I got.
I got something back, but itwasn't I also, you know, very,
(12:41):
very deeply discounted.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Just take it, take it , take it.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Basically, yeah, like let me get this out of my
apartment.
Yeah, so that's the underwearstory.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
So how did that, oh my God, people are going to
complain so much because I'm sotalking over you, I'm so excited
.
No, I just you know, we go backso long and I think when my
daughter started taking classes,she was five, turning six and
she is 17 now.
So and I remembered you sayingbecause I was doing some
(13:15):
research, and you know, whenkids are that little, they have
this notion like I want to dofashion, I want to design, I
want to fake.
And you know, like any othermom, you research, you look
around, your class was the onlyone that had existed, that was
existing at that time.
And I said, oh my God, it's inthe Garment Center.
That's so cool.
It's right where my dad had hisoffice.
(13:37):
It was right next door, whichis even crazier.
And I remembered thinking whowould let a five-year-old on a
sewing machine?
Because, god, people are soscared to let their kids do
things.
And I am, I don't know man, I'mold school, I'm like just throw
them and go, go, like, figureit out.
If you, you know, if you, youknow, we had shop in high school
(13:59):
, like I don't think.
And I remember thinking likewhy are you trusting me with a
jigsaw?
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
That's dangerous.
You're talking about dangerous.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
I know I could cut my whole arm off and you're,
you're going to let afive-year-old.
And I just remembered yourattitude and I spoke with you
and I was trying to negotiate,thinking oh no, you know, I bet
you're going to say she needs tobe seven, eight or nine and I
said, oh, she's turning six.
You know she's very old for herage, which sounds even funnier
to say that now.
But you are so of the mindsetyeah, it's fine, it's OK, you
(14:30):
know, come in before we'll showher how to use the machine and
then she'll jump right in.
And I was just shocked and Ijust think that that just speaks
volumes of who you are in termsof really getting that.
I don't know.
I think if kids are allowed totheir own devices, they're much
more capable than I think peoplegive them credit for.
(14:51):
Especially if you remove thehelicopter, parent, or take that
kid who's going to say do thisfor me, do that for me, and
saying I'm empowering you, youdo it.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
Absolutely.
I strongly believe in that.
Obviously, we do have a lot ofsafety things at the fashion
class, like machines that sewslowly, finger guards, scissors
with covered blades, things likethat.
But kids are extremely capableand they are also fearless.
The younger you are, the morefearless you are.
It's just a fact.
So a five-year-old on a machineis a better sewer than an adult
(15:26):
.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
I'd say, that's true, a hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
The adult will take three hours not to bash.
Like I know.
Adults want to beperfectionists and want to, you
know, make something you knowthat they can wear.
But they will spend three hourson the machine and then be
unhappy with what they'veproduced because like a seam is
like slightly crooked, whereas akid, you know, will make a
skirt in about two hours withour help.
They're not on their own,obviously, there are teachers
(15:51):
with them.
But be so proud, be wearing thatthing every single day, even if
it's crooked with the, you know, with the zigzag, even if it's
crooked, yeah even if it'scrooked with the, you know, with
the zigzag, even if it'scrooked yeah, even if it's
crooked, and I think that speaksvolumes to what they can do,
what they're capable of.
It also completely builds uptheir confidence, I mean.
I mean, think about that, I wasa very shy, creative child.
(16:12):
So theater, dance, none of thatwas for me.
I sewed, you know, in my roomand made things and I was always
super proud to wear it.
So the performance aspect, orthe showing off aspect, of
wearing something that you madeand then being able to tell your
friends quietly, because you'renot on stage, I made this, and
then I would be like, oh, wow,like that's, that's very, very
(16:32):
empowering for a child and it itreally builds up their
confidence.
It's.
It's a really great way to makethem feel good about something
that they can do, you know.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
So I good, God I'm so .
This is why, like anything I'vedone, I always go back to you
and I said, okay, well, if it'sanything kids, fashion, hands-on
sewing everything goes back toCarrie, from the fashion class,
the end.
So now you're extraordinarilyyoung, but when you did this,
you didn't consider yourselfyoung.
You're like okay, well, Ialready had one business.
(17:04):
What's another?
How did you come to the pointof saying, okay, I think this
will work, I think people willpay for it and I think I can
open up another business?
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Sure, so I, like I said I graduated during the
recession.
There weren't many jobs.
I always, always wanted toteach kids to sew.
I thought about doing it in myapartment at one point.
I always like to make thingsbig and grand, so my apartment
wasn't going to cut it.
I started teaching sewing outof school up in the Bronx.
I lived in Brooklyn, inBensonhurst if anyone knows
(17:37):
where that is, it's very faraway.
I would teach once a week inthe Bronx and it was like
probably a two and a half hourcommute each way to get there on
public transportation and Iloved it, did they have the
machines or you brought your own.
They had the machines.
I did not have to bring my own,they had the machines.
But they kind of gave me freereign to write the curriculum
plan, the program and the classjust kept growing.
(18:00):
So it was kind of my tester,it's like let me take this job,
this gig, and see if I'mactually good at this, if this
can be something.
And, oh my God, it wassomething.
It clicked immediately.
So the class kept growing.
I was coming up with new funways for them to learn fashion
and learn to sew and make things.
(18:20):
We had a big fashion show atthe end.
So that summer came and Istarted the fashion class, put
flyers in the neighborhood, Ibought some refurbished machines
from, I think, like Sears orsomething, and I opened and I
had a really good crowd thatsummer.
It was in Brooklyn in a partyshop.
I rented a party shop and had agreat crowd.
(18:40):
Kids really loved it.
And fall came and they werelike all right, how do we sign
up for fall?
Okay, let's go.
So within about a year of medoing that first summer class, I
had signed a lease for a twentyfive hundred square foot space
in Manhattan and, my God, yeah.
(19:01):
So I say the fashion classstarted in 2010.
It really started in 2009 whenI was teaching that, but the
official business is 2010, whenI signed that lease and I
believe I was 24 years old.
I don't know what that landlordwas thinking.
I remember I showed up to seethis space in like a yellow mini
dress.
Thank you, I remember I showedup to see this space in like a
(19:22):
yellow mini dress and, like soyoung, I probably had no money
in my bank account that theyrented to me.
I don't know why.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
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(20:55):
masterclass today.
Masterclass today, wait.
So the school in Brooklyn.
Were they looking for a sewingteacher?
And you found it?
Or you found a school and said,hey guys, I have a great idea.
And where did you get yourmaterials from?
Speaker 1 (21:13):
Sure.
So the school in the Bronx.
They were looking for a teacher.
I think I responded to a jobposting.
And then the materials In thegarment district.
I think they gave me a smallbudget for materials and
supplies and I would just go tothe garment district buy things
and bring them to class.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
So you were, you were being scrappy from the get go.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
Definitely.
Yeah, very, very scrappy.
What do they call it?
Bootstrapping your business?
Yeah, yeah, so I did.
I definitely did that for along time.
How did you?
Speaker 2 (21:42):
determine okay, because you know, for someone
who had an underwear businessthat went under and I'm not
saying that with any disrespecthow were you able to especially
being so young back into thenumbers and say, okay, I need x
amount of machines and for thissquare feet, I need to have X
amount of classes and X amountof bodies, and I'm going to have
(22:03):
to hire someone, then I'm goingto need insurance.
How does someone go through allthat with essentially a retail
space with children, becausechildren are not the enemy,
their parents are.
Their parents are the ones whomake things difficult.
Once you get the kids on theirown, they will listen nine times
(22:24):
out of 10.
I've dealt with this.
But how are you able to,especially in the Garmin Center,
like say, ok now, especially ina place that's not typically
kid friendly?
How are you able to put allthis together and say, ok, here
we go.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
That's a great question and I think it was just
a lot of work.
I worked constantly.
The first few years workedconstantly.
I remember I my skin broke out.
I'd never had breakouts beforeI skin broke out that first
summer because I was literallydoing it all teaching, answering
the phone, calling people back.
And then the business side ofthings like, like you said, I
(23:03):
didn't have payroll yet becauseI was still solo but insurance,
paying rent, getting the lightsturned on the water, you know
all that stuff.
Trash pickup in New York Cityis something you'd never think
about like.
You just have to figure all ofthese things out and I did and
it was hard and I loved everyminute of it.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
How long before you had your first employee?
Speaker 1 (23:24):
I let's see, I think I hired my first employee
probably about four months in.
I did the first summer prettymuch solo and my sister helped
me, and then I think that, yeah,probably like that fall or
winter I hired someone to answerthe phones.
Speaker 2 (23:42):
How did you determine Because, with a kid's business,
you know what you were doingbefore what I assume was
probably a weekend thing right,because you were getting it was
a party spot that you wererenting how were you able to say
, ok, I need to get people tocome after school and then I'm
going to obviously need to haveweekend classes to compensate.
And how did you come up with?
(24:02):
Okay, I'm teaching kids how tosew, but how did you figure what
were the baselines of theprojects?
To try and figure out what wastoo hard, what wasn't too hard,
like, how did you work your workthrough all that?
Speaker 1 (24:15):
That's a great question and I honestly don't
know, like I I just knew, Idon't know.
I definitely.
I mean there's always alearning process, for sure, in
terms of projects being toodifficult, like if I'm teaching,
I can then quickly pivot andmake it easier.
We were going to do zipper, nowwe're going to do elastic.
You know, because I'm theteacher, what was really
(24:37):
difficult was scaling and makingit so that I didn't have to be
in the business constantly,because that was always my goal.
My goal pretty much when Istarted this was to franchise
the concept, because I think Iteach sewing in a very easy way
that can be taught to otherpeople who can then teach it.
So scaling was actually adifficult part when I was
(24:57):
teaching.
It was easy because I couldmake those decisions like that.
But when I started hiring staffand having other people teach
the lessons, that was that wasdifficult, and that's when
things had to be really buttonedup and tutorials written and
patterns officially printed andall of that, all of that whole
package of stuff, which is whatI think I do really really well.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
I mean, I can say that's true.
How soon did you realize, like,okay, you know what Birthday
parties, how are you able?
And also, you have this amazingconcept which I think is the
cleverest thing that at the endof every class or quarter or
session, you have a fashion showwhere the kids wear their own
product.
And I know, at this point,celebrities come because their
kids are there.
Celebrities, that was somethingyou did from the get go.
(25:52):
That was one of your points ofdifferentiation.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
I mean, who doesn't love a fashion show?
I, the fashion show, came about, I think, from the very
beginning.
It's it's just a really fun wayfor kids to show off what
they've made.
And they don't have to speak,they don't have to perform, they
literally can walk out and walkback and everybody's like, oh,
amazing, so it's, it's reallycool.
Again, it goes back to thewhole confidence building thing
and not we don't require it.
(26:15):
So if a kid really doesn't wantto go out, we don't make them
go out.
I've certainly walked the runwaymyself with kids who don't want
to go out alone.
For me, a teacher will come outand just wave with them and
help them walk if that makes iteasier for them.
But it's always nice for theparents to have a little
presentation at the end as welland see what their kids have
been making and how proud theyare and see what the other kids
(26:38):
in the class are also doing andand you know, just kind of feed,
feed off of that.
And yes, there are celebritysightings.
We we always get quite a few,which is really fun for us when
I know who they are.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
Yeah, I'm terrible at that oh god, who isn't at this
point?
But I know, you know, withrunning a business you've been
through, I mean, and this is thecost of doing business you had
a fire, which you know.
It's like the things you'reprepared for, that you're not
prepared to happen.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
Yes, I've had so many of those.
Yes, I made a spreadsheet onceand I put my sales and then I
put what was going on in mypersonal life and it literally
was like, if something is goingon with me, like sales took a
dip.
And that's when I was like Ireally need to get this to a
point where I do not have to behere if I want to franchise,
because you know I can't.
(27:31):
I can't have this be so tied tome personally and you know the
whole thing.
You don't want to work in yourbusiness, you want to work on
your business.
So I made a very consciousdecision to do that.
But, yeah, so I my brotherpassed away very suddenly at one
point in 2015.
And it was in the middle ofsummer camp, which is, you know,
very, very busy time for me,and I had to take a few weeks
(27:52):
off.
I didn't even take enough timeoff.
I definitely came back too soon, but that was a really tough
one.
I wasn't there to lead the camp, so the people running it did
their best, but again, withoutme, it definitely took a dip and
I got some bad reviews thatsummer and I had a fire there.
We were on the fourth floor inthe garment district, in a loft
studio where the elevator opensout into this beautiful big
(28:13):
studio.
The ground floor was arestaurant and they had a grease
fire.
They weren't cleaning theirgrease traps or something.
No-transcript children.
(28:51):
I did like a last lap throughthe studio just to make sure
that nobody was left and we hadabout four adults with eight
kids, so we had a great ratioand we evacuated them to a
building down the street.
We were able to call all theirparents.
But I'll never forget I waslike the last person in a
burning building and I put onthese like big flip-flops cause
it was so hot so I couldn't evenlike run.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
Was this the same time that your brother passed?
Speaker 1 (29:15):
No, this was.
This was a quite a bit later.
This was about three yearslater, but I just remember
running out of that building andthese flip flops that I
couldn't like, run in and thisman at the door just being like
come on, you can make it, youcan do it, and nobody got hurt.
So you know now it's kind oflike a haha, this happened, but
we were, we were shut down, forthe building was.
You cannot go into the buildingfor a month.
(29:37):
Basically, I waited there allnight.
The fire department finally letme in around midnight to get my
phone, to get my teach, all mystaff phone purses, everything,
and we were shut down for awhile.
I very quickly.
I think I took two days off todo this, but I got the Bryant
Park Hotel to rent a space andwe were back in action the next
Monday.
How did you get your sewingmachines out?
(30:00):
I carried them, I got the superto let me in the building
though it wasn't supposed to andI carried 10 sewing machines
across.
We were on 39th Street.
The Bryant Park Hotel was on38th Street.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
Oh, my God 48th Street.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
Yeah, and I was just doing what I had to do because
it was either you refund allthese people or you don't, and
we had a fabulous summer at thathotel.
It was a gorgeous space.
We overlooked Bryant Park.
We did everything we were goingto do anyway.
I just had to buy new fabrics.
It was all smoke, damaged, butyeah, it was an interesting
(30:39):
experience.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
And the handbag awards.
I mean it ran for 15 years andI was just telling someone who
was talking about I don't know,it was like a wedding, I don't
even know what they were talkingabout saying things that could
go wrong, and I said, listen,I've had my alcohol arrive when
people are arriving.
I had my caterer show up whenpeople were arriving, so much so
that the security guard thoughtit was a crazy person like
running in because he was hotand sweaty holding bags.
(31:11):
He thought he was like a, youknow, literally like garbage
bags worth of food into yeah.
I've had bags fall, I've haddisplays fall, I've had the heat
turned off, I had the airturned off, like you know, and
people getting wasted sayinglike't you know why am I sitting
here?
And I'm like, oh my God, thisis an award show for handbags.
(31:34):
You're complaining about yourseating, so you know.
There's so much of what you'retrying to accomplish gets lost
in the sauce of the businessaspect of just like OK.
And it's so interesting becausesometimes the crap that goes
down actually makes you likeokay, we'll just do it over here
(31:55):
.
Thanks, Next Bye.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
That's it.
And you do have to be like that, especially if you're running a
service like an award show, alive event or a summer camp
where parents are relying on youfor childcare.
You can't just be like, well,sorry, figure it out.
Everybody Like you have tofigure it out, it's on you, it's
your name.
So that's what I've always done.
But yeah, the life challengesand ups and downs, you know, can
(32:17):
be really difficult when you'rerunning a business.
I don't have a boss to be like.
I've got to take a few weeksoff.
Bye, See, ya, you know I justdon't have that.
(32:41):
I've said that my dream is tohave an OOO email like an out of
office email.
Someone emails me and they geta bounce back.
That is a fantasy of mine.
I don't know how that wouldwork, but that's what I want.
This has to run without me.
I obviously want to be presentand part of it, but it has to
run without me.
So I then spent the nextseveral years making that happen
.
So when my son was born, I tookmaternity leave and I had an
out of office email set up.
It didn't work because I don'tknow how to set one of those up,
(33:04):
but I wrote one and I took fullmaternity leave for three
months and nothing happened.
It was all fine, wow.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
Wow.
So at this point, you know, 15years later, congratulations,
you have two locations, you arefranchising.
What does that look like forthe fashion class?
Because, as you know, with mybook coming out, savvy Susanna's
Amazing Adventures in Handbags,obviously I need to plug it
because it's my podcast so I cancoming out July 22nd.
(33:36):
Within the book, my character,savvy Susanna, has a turning
point in a fashion class modeledafter yours, where she learns
how to sew and feels empoweredand realizes that she can do
what she wants because she madeit herself in a way that wasn't
DIY.
She learns how to sew and feelsempowered and realizes that she
can do what she wants becauseshe made it herself in a way
that wasn't DIY.
This was sophisticated withinstruction because I think
there's a huge difference, evenfor adults, the difference
(33:59):
between DIY, as people tend tosay.
You know this essence of one ofa kind or bespoke or whatever
that does, because to a normalbuyer that means you just don't
know how to scale or make morethan one.
So the limited edition factordoes not work if you're in an
independent brand.
It just doesn't.
So having that instruction,having that education and having
(34:22):
someone say like I will showyou how to do it so you can do
it again and again and again isso important, especially when
you start with kids.
How are you able to?
What are you seeing for thefuture, based on what the trends
are within sewing and fashionclasses like yours?
Speaker 1 (34:38):
Sure.
So I do have the two locations,upper East and Upper West, and
that is pretty much all I canmanage.
You know, I don't.
I want to have a good qualityof life, I want to be there for
my kids.
So I am franchising and I haveVirginia Beach opening this
summer, the first franchisee.
But my hope with the franchisingis that this skill will really
(34:58):
be able to be taught everywhereand I think the way I teach it
makes it very accessible for allages.
I run a toddler class wherethey hand sew with, you know,
with blunt plastic needles, butthey are making.
They made a handbag, you sawthey made skirts like they're
actually sewing and they'rethree and four years old.
But I think what I do makes itvery, very accessible.
(35:20):
So my hope is that there aremany, many locations all across
the country teaching this veryvaluable skill, all across the
country teaching this veryvaluable skill, and I do very
much love that.
The ability to teach this skillgives people the ability to make
their own clothing.
So again, it's against thatconsumer lifestyle, it's against
that fast fashion lifestyle,it's slow fashion.
(35:42):
One could then go and maketheir own clothing or at the
very least they can mend andrepair clothing that they
already have.
So it's great for that,wonderful for upcycling and very
good for confidence buildingand developing fine motor skills
as well.
As I'm sure you saw with yourdaughter, she learned on the
machine.
She was making clothes and Istill remember that picture of
(36:03):
her with her dress with a circlecollar.
She did a great job.
There are certain images thatlike stand out in my mind after
15 years and that's definitelyone of them.
Speaker 2 (36:13):
Well, that's one of the few things of hers that I
said we're keeping forever.
And she said, oh yeah, and Iremembered that dress had a.
It was a bright colored dressbut it was a black zipper tape
and, coming from a Garmentobackground, I remember my mom
saying the zipper tapes.
You know, like that's howthey're seeing I'm like, but
(36:33):
she's so proud, exactly, exactly.
Who cares?
You know, like I get it, I seeit too.
That was the first thing thatwent to mind.
But you know what, to a childlike that is the beginning of
empowerment and independence andfeeling like if I can make this
and wear this, who knows what Ican do exactly?
Speaker 1 (36:54):
exactly.
I don't know if she chose thezipper tape or not, because we
usually probably did sheprobably let them pick their
color and then if they pick, wedon't want to be like, oh, that
doesn't work like we.
You know, they're the designerat the end of the day.
It's funny.
You said parents were the enemy.
It's actually grandmas.
Grandmas are.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
Grandmas who sew?
Speaker 1 (37:12):
Grandmas who quilt, you know, because there is a
very specific way that you quiltor that you do sewing, and at
the fashion class we make itaccessible for children mostly
so we will do things a certainway for safety, for ease of
projects and so that they comeout with something that they're
proud of and that they canactually wear.
But it might not be exactly howyou know.
(37:34):
Grandma learned to sew.
Speaker 2 (37:36):
So, my God, so, grandmas, who quilt, beware.
Yes, you should, you should putthat on the waiver no grandma's
comma, who quilt comma?
Oh God, that's amazing.
Well, carrie, and also makehandbags.
Yes, yes, okay, I'm justthrowing that out there.
Just make handbags for thefashion class.
Speaker 1 (37:59):
Yes, wait, we make handbags all the time.
Speaker 2 (38:02):
See, exactly that's an origin story have to tie it
back Carrie?
How can we find you, follow youand learn more about the
Fashion Class?
Speaker 1 (38:11):
Sure and at thefashionclasscom or on
Instagram at the Fashion Class.
Speaker 2 (38:15):
Perfect.
Thank you so much.
And for everybody, go lookCarrie up If your child needs
and wants to learn to sew, or ifyou're interested in
franchising.
I strongly recommend that whatthey've created.
I got to make this as much ofan infomercial because it was
life-changing for my child and Ican only imagine what it will
do for a budding handbagdesigner at their inception.
(38:36):
So thank you, thank you.
Thank you for joining us.
Thank you so much.
Thanks for listening.
Don't forget to rate and reviewand follow us on every single
platform at Handbag Designer.
Thanks so much.
See you next time.
and it was late in the day and I'm in my office
hottest day of the entire summer, it had to be 100 degrees and
all of a sudden I hear the kidsstart to yell fire, fire and the
teachers say okay, everybodycome to the front, because we
had this long studio.
They were in the back, so theysaw a fireball come up in the
back window and then somebodyimmediately started banging on
the stairwell door like get outof the building now.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
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 handbag world.
Whether you're a designer,collector or simply passionate
(00:43):
about handbags, this is yourfront row seat to it all.
Welcome, keri Quigley.
I love your last name ofthefashionclasscom to Handbag
Designer 101's podcast.
Welcome, welcome.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Thank you so much for having me, Emily.
I'm happy to be on today.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
I think I'm more excited than you.
And PS to anybody who'swatching this on YouTube my ring
light died, so pardon the lackof glitz and glam.
I have to throw that in.
I can't, I'm way too vain toyou know have bad shadows.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
You look exactly the same as the day I met you, which
was a very long time ago.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
So long ago.
I can't.
So why don't you just share alittle bit about?
Because you were such a pioneerin this, in what you've created
?
So share a little bit aboutwhat the fashion class is about,
and then we'll just dive rightin Because it's.
You are truly, I think, such anearly adopter to something
which is such a big trend now.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
It is, it is.
So I started the fashion class15 years ago when I was just 24
years old.
I went to Parsons for business,did a little minoring in
fashion, always sewed, and Igraduated during the recession
and there were no jobs to be had.
I was a gig worker.
I designed lingerie, I designedpet clothing and pet beds.
(02:09):
And then talk about yourunderwear.
Talk about the underwear story.
I mean, that's my favoritestory.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
I think.
I think it, I know, but itspeaks to you know and I hate
using the term being anentrepreneur, but I think
there's some people who and Iknow anybody listening will get
this there's some people who aremeant to day job and there are
some people who just you know bywho you are, by your DNA,
physically cannot do day jobs.
(02:37):
So it's like the risks toanybody normal would seem insane
, but to someone like you ormyself, the risks aren't even
risks, because in your head it'slike okay, well, I'm just going
to do this and I'm just goingto do that, and any sane person
would have written it downsaying this is stupid, this is
insane, what the hell's wrongwith you?
(02:58):
And you're like, yeah, sure,I'll start an underwear business
and also how old were you?
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Because it's just so amazing it's a really funny
story and I learned a lot andwe're going way back now.
So I was, I had just turned 18.
I think I was.
I was actually 17 when Istarted this brand and it was
called Carrie Renee, my name,and it was a woman's lingerie
and loungewear line gearedtowards the high school college
(03:24):
age students.
So this was Victoria's Secretpink.
Before pink existed, everythingwas cotton, soft, bright colors
.
I had these really cuteunderwear, that kind of like
peaked above your low rise jeans, which were the big trend and
are coming back to give you likea little like frilly accessory
above your jeans, and I came upwith the idea.
(03:45):
I used some savings that I hadto make and manufacture this
line in the garment district ofNew York City.
So you know, 17, 18 years old,I'm walking around to factories
trying to convince them toproduce my products that I had
sewed at home.
I sewed my samples and I founda factory to do it and they made
(04:07):
, I want to say, about 200 itemsfor me.
I packed them in a suitcase,walked around you know, soho and
wherever, going into boutiquesand being like, hi, do you want
to buy these?
And places took them onconsignment and I obviously
anything I made I reinvestedback into the business and this
is not a great success story.
(04:27):
Spoiler alert I was very young,very green and definitely not
risk averse.
I was willing to just put itall out there to speak to what
you're talking about, aboutentrepreneurs before.
So and I think that comes withbeing very young as well, just
being like you know when didyour savings come from?
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Sorry to interrupt, was this like money you had
saved?
Yes, I always worked.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
I've always had jobs since I was about 14.
So you know, waitressing helpedout at an art studio with, like
, kids' birthday parties, thatsort of thing.
So I just always had savingsand I put it all towards this
business and I grew it and Ieventually was able to do a
trade show at the Javits Centerin New York City.
So back then you know we'retalking 2004-ish I want to say
(05:17):
four or five a huge amount ofmoney for me to get the booth,
all the decorations, have myproduct displayed.
You know make sure I had orderforms and a website up and all
that good stuff and I had.
I had a pretty decent line atthat point.
I had little bralettes,underwear, tap shorts, all that
(05:41):
good stuff.
And at the show I got somepress and then I got a call from
Bloomingdale's to do a trunkshow with them.
I had moved my manufacturingfrom New York City because a
pair of underwear came to likesix dollars for me cost for me
with part, you know materialsand labor.
So I had to you know retailthat for for a bit more.
So it was pretty expensive tobuy like a I don't know twenty
dollar pair of underwear for theage that I was targeting
(06:04):
Exactly.
Back then and for the age groupthat I was targeting Back then.
Back then and for the age groupthat I was targeting.
So I moved my production fromthe garment district to Canada,
then from Canada to India.
I was not really able to justpick up and travel to India to
go, you know, oversee everything.
I did have an old collegeprofessor who went out for me
(06:24):
and you know from India and wentand visited the factory, made
sure like it was all in the upand up anyway.
So, long story short, I have mydeal with Bloomingdale's and I
have a large order from adepartment store chain in Japan
and the store in Japan onlybought sizes extra small and
small.
And you know I'm chatting withmy Indian factory.
I'm up late at night on Skypewith them for the time
(06:47):
difference yes, and they're likeyes, everything's good.
I'm seeing pictures, productionsamples, all is good.
I finally get my order and itcomes in and everything is large
and extra large, with the wronglabels sewn in.
How?
Speaker 2 (07:03):
did you know know to.
So a lot of Trey with a smallSorry, everybody complains.
I interrupt.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
I absolutely do I get excited.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
How did you know to have the production sent to you
directly as opposed to sentdirectly to Japan?
Because one would think that,with duties and so forth, to
send from India to Japan wouldhave made more sense.
But were you, young and green,saying no, I need to see it
first?
Or were you thinking, oh,because I've never had this
order, I need to see it firstand pack and ship and resend,
(07:31):
because you know, like, thinkingnow it's like two extra steps
and that's extra money, step,step.
And also, how much research didyou do for understanding your
customer?
Because I know this takes usall the way back to, takes us to
the fashion class in terms ofunderstanding your customer.
Do you think at that time youhad done enough research?
(07:55):
Or you were just thinking, okay, well, if I'm my own customer,
this is as much as I can spend,these are the colors I like,
like, where did you fall intoall of that?
Speaker 1 (08:04):
So to answer your question about the shipping, I
definitely wanted.
It was my first time workingwith this factory.
I wanted to see it, I wanted tobe hands on, I wanted to
package it up nicely and ship itto Japan myself.
Had you had samples from themyet?
Yes, okay, I production samplesand everything looked great.
So I, yeah.
And then to answer your questionabout researching my customer,
(08:26):
I was very much in the thoughtprocess of I am my customer and
I'm making everything that Ilike.
So a lot of cherry prints andcamel was big, so pink
camouflage and you know thingslike that.
And I don't want to say I was100% off on the customer.
I don't think I was at all.
I think there is a market forthat, but I had no idea about
(08:48):
market size.
How many people would really beinto this.
But I mean that departmentstore in Japan really did take a
big risk on me and, and youknow, ordered they ordered my
product.
So so they, they believed in it, they believed in the, in the
designs.
But essentially I got my boxesof you know, very large pieces
(09:08):
of underwear, bralettes and Ihad to message the buyer in
Japan and I was like you know,if you give me a couple more
weeks I can get you the correctorder, and she was like no,
we're no longer interested,which I understand.
New brands taking a chance.
And you know, I fumbled, Imessed it up and as much as I
(09:30):
can say, oh, the factory, thefactory, the factory.
At the end of the day, it's mybrand, it's my products, I, you
know.
However, I was supposed to goand check and make sure things
were being done correctly.
I didn't do that.
I also did not get any productsto show at the trunk show with
Bloomingdale's and I was unableto do that as well.
(09:51):
So I pretty much closed up shop.
It had been about at that point,I had been doing this for about
five seasons, so, you know, twoseasons of lingerie in a year.
So about what is that?
Two and a half years or so, twoseasons of lingerie in a year.
So about what is that?
Two and a half years or so?
I'm in college at this pointand I just kind of you know,
stopped doing it as seriouslyI'd still do a little bit on the
(10:11):
side sell it on Etsy anddecided to continue, you know,
finish my degree and, you know,not be an entrepreneur at the
moment.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Was that crushing to?
Because, again, this mindset isvery specific.
You know, when things, as yousaid, fumble and things fall
apart, it could either scare youstraight and being like good
market, I can't afford this,this is going to cost too much,
because some people are soblinders like I'm going to keep
doing, I'm going to keep going,I'm not going to let this go.
Or did this put you into astate of depression Like, oh my
God, I can't believe thishappened.
I've lost so much money.
And you know, to reflect onthat, I'm sure you could say, oh
(11:00):
, it was so young.
But at that time it's like, ohmy God, I look how much I've
ruined my future.
Not like, oh, I'm so young,I'll bounce back.
How did you handle all this?
Speaker 1 (11:09):
It definitely made me a bit sad and depressed, that's
for sure.
I really believed in the brand.
I really wanted it to be asuccess.
You know I always wanted to bea fashion designer and have a
brand.
At the same time I didn't puttoo much stock into, you know,
the sunk cost.
At that point I had spentprobably about $25,000 on this
brand.
Again, in the grand scheme offashion, not a great amount,
(11:34):
that's nothing.
But to someone who you know 18,19, 20, you know it's a lot and
you know this is for me,working and putting, you know,
putting little bits towards thebusiness every year.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Were you day jobjabbing.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Yes, what were you doing?
I was a secretary at anarchitecture firm while in
college and trying to do thisbusiness, so it wasn't by any
means my full-time.
Doing the business was not myfull-time thing.
It was definitely a goodportion of my time but I
couldn't solely focus on it.
So you know, obviously the lostmoney bothered me and that, but
I knew I would do somethingelse.
I wasn't too worried about itand were you able to sell the
(12:18):
underwear?
I sold them on eBay slowly.
Wow, yeah, yeah, on eBay, Iwould just sell.
I sold them in lots to a fewplaces, like a couple, I think
plus size stores bought, youknow, like 20 items at a time.
Yeah, and eventually I did sellthe whole, the whole order oh,
thank.
God, yeah, so I got.
I got something back, but itwasn't I also, you know, very,
(12:41):
very deeply discounted.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Just take it, take it , take it.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Basically, yeah, like let me get this out of my
apartment.
Yeah, so that's the underwearstory.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
So how did that, oh my God, people are going to
complain so much because I'm sotalking over you, I'm so excited
.
No, I just you know, we go backso long and I think when my
daughter started taking classes,she was five, turning six and
she is 17 now.
So and I remembered you sayingbecause I was doing some
(13:15):
research, and you know, whenkids are that little, they have
this notion like I want to dofashion, I want to design, I
want to fake.
And you know, like any othermom, you research, you look
around, your class was the onlyone that had existed, that was
existing at that time.
And I said, oh my God, it's inthe Garment Center.
That's so cool.
It's right where my dad had hisoffice.
(13:37):
It was right next door, whichis even crazier.
And I remembered thinking whowould let a five-year-old on a
sewing machine?
Because, god, people are soscared to let their kids do
things.
And I am, I don't know man, I'mold school, I'm like just throw
them and go, go, like, figureit out.
If you, you know, if you, youknow, we had shop in high school
(13:59):
, like I don't think.
And I remember thinking likewhy are you trusting me with a
jigsaw?
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
That's dangerous.
You're talking about dangerous.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
I know I could cut my whole arm off and you're,
you're going to let afive-year-old.
And I just remembered yourattitude and I spoke with you
and I was trying to negotiate,thinking oh no, you know, I bet
you're going to say she needs tobe seven, eight or nine and I
said, oh, she's turning six.
You know she's very old for herage, which sounds even funnier
to say that now.
But you are so of the mindsetyeah, it's fine, it's OK, you
(14:30):
know, come in before we'll showher how to use the machine and
then she'll jump right in.
And I was just shocked and Ijust think that that just speaks
volumes of who you are in termsof really getting that.
I don't know.
I think if kids are allowed totheir own devices, they're much
more capable than I think peoplegive them credit for.
(14:51):
Especially if you remove thehelicopter, parent, or take that
kid who's going to say do thisfor me, do that for me, and
saying I'm empowering you, youdo it.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
Absolutely.
I strongly believe in that.
Obviously, we do have a lot ofsafety things at the fashion
class, like machines that sewslowly, finger guards, scissors
with covered blades, things likethat.
But kids are extremely capableand they are also fearless.
The younger you are, the morefearless you are.
It's just a fact.
So a five-year-old on a machineis a better sewer than an adult
(15:26):
.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
I'd say, that's true, a hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
The adult will take three hours not to bash.
Like I know.
Adults want to beperfectionists and want to, you
know, make something you knowthat they can wear.
But they will spend three hourson the machine and then be
unhappy with what they'veproduced because like a seam is
like slightly crooked, whereas akid, you know, will make a
skirt in about two hours withour help.
They're not on their own,obviously, there are teachers
(15:51):
with them.
But be so proud, be wearing thatthing every single day, even if
it's crooked with the, you know, with the zigzag, even if it's
crooked, yeah even if it'scrooked with the, you know, with
the zigzag, even if it'scrooked yeah, even if it's
crooked, and I think that speaksvolumes to what they can do,
what they're capable of.
It also completely builds uptheir confidence, I mean.
I mean, think about that, I wasa very shy, creative child.
(16:12):
So theater, dance, none of thatwas for me.
I sewed, you know, in my roomand made things and I was always
super proud to wear it.
So the performance aspect, orthe showing off aspect, of
wearing something that you madeand then being able to tell your
friends quietly, because you'renot on stage, I made this, and
then I would be like, oh, wow,like that's, that's very, very
(16:32):
empowering for a child and it itreally builds up their
confidence.
It's.
It's a really great way to makethem feel good about something
that they can do, you know.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
So I good, God I'm so .
This is why, like anything I'vedone, I always go back to you
and I said, okay, well, if it'sanything kids, fashion, hands-on
sewing everything goes back toCarrie, from the fashion class,
the end.
So now you're extraordinarilyyoung, but when you did this,
you didn't consider yourselfyoung.
You're like okay, well, Ialready had one business.
(17:04):
What's another?
How did you come to the pointof saying, okay, I think this
will work, I think people willpay for it and I think I can
open up another business?
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Sure, so I, like I said I graduated during the
recession.
There weren't many jobs.
I always, always wanted toteach kids to sew.
I thought about doing it in myapartment at one point.
I always like to make thingsbig and grand, so my apartment
wasn't going to cut it.
I started teaching sewing outof school up in the Bronx.
I lived in Brooklyn, inBensonhurst if anyone knows
(17:37):
where that is, it's very faraway.
I would teach once a week inthe Bronx and it was like
probably a two and a half hourcommute each way to get there on
public transportation and Iloved it, did they have the
machines or you brought your own.
They had the machines.
I did not have to bring my own,they had the machines.
But they kind of gave me freereign to write the curriculum
plan, the program and the classjust kept growing.
(18:00):
So it was kind of my tester,it's like let me take this job,
this gig, and see if I'mactually good at this, if this
can be something.
And, oh my God, it wassomething.
It clicked immediately.
So the class kept growing.
I was coming up with new funways for them to learn fashion
and learn to sew and make things.
(18:20):
We had a big fashion show atthe end.
So that summer came and Istarted the fashion class, put
flyers in the neighborhood, Ibought some refurbished machines
from, I think, like Sears orsomething, and I opened and I
had a really good crowd thatsummer.
It was in Brooklyn in a partyshop.
I rented a party shop and had agreat crowd.
(18:40):
Kids really loved it.
And fall came and they werelike all right, how do we sign
up for fall?
Okay, let's go.
So within about a year of medoing that first summer class, I
had signed a lease for a twentyfive hundred square foot space
in Manhattan and, my God, yeah.
(19:01):
So I say the fashion classstarted in 2010.
It really started in 2009 whenI was teaching that, but the
official business is 2010, whenI signed that lease and I
believe I was 24 years old.
I don't know what that landlordwas thinking.
I remember I showed up to seethis space in like a yellow mini
dress.
Thank you, I remember I showedup to see this space in like a
(19:22):
yellow mini dress and, like soyoung, I probably had no money
in my bank account that theyrented to me.
I don't know why.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
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(20:55):
masterclass today.
Masterclass today, wait.
So the school in Brooklyn.
Were they looking for a sewingteacher?
And you found it?
Or you found a school and said,hey guys, I have a great idea.
And where did you get yourmaterials from?
Speaker 1 (21:13):
Sure.
So the school in the Bronx.
They were looking for a teacher.
I think I responded to a jobposting.
And then the materials In thegarment district.
I think they gave me a smallbudget for materials and
supplies and I would just go tothe garment district buy things
and bring them to class.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
So you were, you were being scrappy from the get go.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
Definitely.
Yeah, very, very scrappy.
What do they call it?
Bootstrapping your business?
Yeah, yeah, so I did.
I definitely did that for along time.
How did you?
Speaker 2 (21:42):
determine okay, because you know, for someone
who had an underwear businessthat went under and I'm not
saying that with any disrespecthow were you able to especially
being so young back into thenumbers and say, okay, I need x
amount of machines and for thissquare feet, I need to have X
amount of classes and X amountof bodies, and I'm going to have
(22:03):
to hire someone, then I'm goingto need insurance.
How does someone go through allthat with essentially a retail
space with children, becausechildren are not the enemy,
their parents are.
Their parents are the ones whomake things difficult.
Once you get the kids on theirown, they will listen nine times
(22:24):
out of 10.
I've dealt with this.
But how are you able to,especially in the Garmin Center,
like say, ok now, especially ina place that's not typically
kid friendly?
How are you able to put allthis together and say, ok, here
we go.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
That's a great question and I think it was just
a lot of work.
I worked constantly.
The first few years workedconstantly.
I remember I my skin broke out.
I'd never had breakouts beforeI skin broke out that first
summer because I was literallydoing it all teaching, answering
the phone, calling people back.
And then the business side ofthings like, like you said, I
(23:03):
didn't have payroll yet becauseI was still solo but insurance,
paying rent, getting the lightsturned on the water, you know
all that stuff.
Trash pickup in New York Cityis something you'd never think
about like.
You just have to figure all ofthese things out and I did and
it was hard and I loved everyminute of it.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
How long before you had your first employee?
Speaker 1 (23:24):
I let's see, I think I hired my first employee
probably about four months in.
I did the first summer prettymuch solo and my sister helped
me, and then I think that, yeah,probably like that fall or
winter I hired someone to answerthe phones.
Speaker 2 (23:42):
How did you determine Because, with a kid's business,
you know what you were doingbefore what I assume was
probably a weekend thing right,because you were getting it was
a party spot that you wererenting how were you able to say
, ok, I need to get people tocome after school and then I'm
going to obviously need to haveweekend classes to compensate.
And how did you come up with?
(24:02):
Okay, I'm teaching kids how tosew, but how did you figure what
were the baselines of theprojects?
To try and figure out what wastoo hard, what wasn't too hard,
like, how did you work your workthrough all that?
Speaker 1 (24:15):
That's a great question and I honestly don't
know, like I I just knew, Idon't know.
I definitely.
I mean there's always alearning process, for sure, in
terms of projects being toodifficult, like if I'm teaching,
I can then quickly pivot andmake it easier.
We were going to do zipper, nowwe're going to do elastic.
You know, because I'm theteacher, what was really
(24:37):
difficult was scaling and makingit so that I didn't have to be
in the business constantly,because that was always my goal.
My goal pretty much when Istarted this was to franchise
the concept, because I think Iteach sewing in a very easy way
that can be taught to otherpeople who can then teach it.
So scaling was actually adifficult part when I was
(24:57):
teaching.
It was easy because I couldmake those decisions like that.
But when I started hiring staffand having other people teach
the lessons, that was that wasdifficult, and that's when
things had to be really buttonedup and tutorials written and
patterns officially printed andall of that, all of that whole
package of stuff, which is whatI think I do really really well.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
I mean, I can say that's true.
How soon did you realize, like,okay, you know what Birthday
parties, how are you able?
And also, you have this amazingconcept which I think is the
cleverest thing that at the endof every class or quarter or
session, you have a fashion showwhere the kids wear their own
product.
And I know, at this point,celebrities come because their
kids are there.
Celebrities, that was somethingyou did from the get go.
(25:52):
That was one of your points ofdifferentiation.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
I mean, who doesn't love a fashion show?
I, the fashion show, came about, I think, from the very
beginning.
It's it's just a really fun wayfor kids to show off what
they've made.
And they don't have to speak,they don't have to perform, they
literally can walk out and walkback and everybody's like, oh,
amazing, so it's, it's reallycool.
Again, it goes back to thewhole confidence building thing
and not we don't require it.
(26:15):
So if a kid really doesn't wantto go out, we don't make them
go out.
I've certainly walked the runwaymyself with kids who don't want
to go out alone.
For me, a teacher will come outand just wave with them and
help them walk if that makes iteasier for them.
But it's always nice for theparents to have a little
presentation at the end as welland see what their kids have
been making and how proud theyare and see what the other kids
(26:38):
in the class are also doing andand you know, just kind of feed,
feed off of that.
And yes, there are celebritysightings.
We we always get quite a few,which is really fun for us when
I know who they are.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
Yeah, I'm terrible at that oh god, who isn't at this
point?
But I know, you know, withrunning a business you've been
through, I mean, and this is thecost of doing business you had
a fire, which you know.
It's like the things you'reprepared for, that you're not
prepared to happen.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
Yes, I've had so many of those.
Yes, I made a spreadsheet onceand I put my sales and then I
put what was going on in mypersonal life and it literally
was like, if something is goingon with me, like sales took a
dip.
And that's when I was like Ireally need to get this to a
point where I do not have to behere if I want to franchise,
because you know I can't.
(27:31):
I can't have this be so tied tome personally and you know the
whole thing.
You don't want to work in yourbusiness, you want to work on
your business.
So I made a very consciousdecision to do that.
But, yeah, so I my brotherpassed away very suddenly at one
point in 2015.
And it was in the middle ofsummer camp, which is, you know,
very, very busy time for me,and I had to take a few weeks
(27:52):
off.
I didn't even take enough timeoff.
I definitely came back too soon, but that was a really tough
one.
I wasn't there to lead the camp, so the people running it did
their best, but again, withoutme, it definitely took a dip and
I got some bad reviews thatsummer and I had a fire there.
We were on the fourth floor inthe garment district, in a loft
studio where the elevator opensout into this beautiful big
(28:13):
studio.
The ground floor was arestaurant and they had a grease
fire.
They weren't cleaning theirgrease traps or something.
No-transcript children.
(28:51):
I did like a last lap throughthe studio just to make sure
that nobody was left and we hadabout four adults with eight
kids, so we had a great ratioand we evacuated them to a
building down the street.
We were able to call all theirparents.
But I'll never forget I waslike the last person in a
burning building and I put onthese like big flip-flops cause
it was so hot so I couldn't evenlike run.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
Was this the same time that your brother passed?
Speaker 1 (29:15):
No, this was.
This was a quite a bit later.
This was about three yearslater, but I just remember
running out of that building andthese flip flops that I
couldn't like, run in and thisman at the door just being like
come on, you can make it, youcan do it, and nobody got hurt.
So you know now it's kind oflike a haha, this happened, but
we were, we were shut down, forthe building was.
You cannot go into the buildingfor a month.
(29:37):
Basically, I waited there allnight.
The fire department finally letme in around midnight to get my
phone, to get my teach, all mystaff phone purses, everything,
and we were shut down for awhile.
I very quickly.
I think I took two days off todo this, but I got the Bryant
Park Hotel to rent a space andwe were back in action the next
Monday.
How did you get your sewingmachines out?
(30:00):
I carried them, I got the superto let me in the building
though it wasn't supposed to andI carried 10 sewing machines
across.
We were on 39th Street.
The Bryant Park Hotel was on38th Street.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
Oh, my God 48th Street.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
Yeah, and I was just doing what I had to do because
it was either you refund allthese people or you don't, and
we had a fabulous summer at thathotel.
It was a gorgeous space.
We overlooked Bryant Park.
We did everything we were goingto do anyway.
I just had to buy new fabrics.
It was all smoke, damaged, butyeah, it was an interesting
(30:39):
experience.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
And the handbag awards.
I mean it ran for 15 years andI was just telling someone who
was talking about I don't know,it was like a wedding, I don't
even know what they were talkingabout saying things that could
go wrong, and I said, listen,I've had my alcohol arrive when
people are arriving.
I had my caterer show up whenpeople were arriving, so much so
that the security guard thoughtit was a crazy person like
running in because he was hotand sweaty holding bags.
(31:11):
He thought he was like a, youknow, literally like garbage
bags worth of food into yeah.
I've had bags fall, I've haddisplays fall, I've had the heat
turned off, I had the airturned off, like you know, and
people getting wasted sayinglike't you know why am I sitting
here?
And I'm like, oh my God, thisis an award show for handbags.
(31:34):
You're complaining about yourseating, so you know.
There's so much of what you'retrying to accomplish gets lost
in the sauce of the businessaspect of just like OK.
And it's so interesting becausesometimes the crap that goes
down actually makes you likeokay, we'll just do it over here
(31:55):
.
Thanks, Next Bye.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
That's it.
And you do have to be like that, especially if you're running a
service like an award show, alive event or a summer camp
where parents are relying on youfor childcare.
You can't just be like, well,sorry, figure it out.
Everybody Like you have tofigure it out, it's on you, it's
your name.
So that's what I've always done.
But yeah, the life challengesand ups and downs, you know, can
(32:17):
be really difficult when you'rerunning a business.
I don't have a boss to be like.
I've got to take a few weeksoff.
Bye, See, ya, you know I justdon't have that.
(32:41):
I've said that my dream is tohave an OOO email like an out of
office email.
Someone emails me and they geta bounce back.
That is a fantasy of mine.
I don't know how that wouldwork, but that's what I want.
This has to run without me.
I obviously want to be presentand part of it, but it has to
run without me.
So I then spent the nextseveral years making that happen
.
So when my son was born, I tookmaternity leave and I had an
out of office email set up.
It didn't work because I don'tknow how to set one of those up,
(33:04):
but I wrote one and I took fullmaternity leave for three
months and nothing happened.
It was all fine, wow.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
Wow.
So at this point, you know, 15years later, congratulations,
you have two locations, you arefranchising.
What does that look like forthe fashion class?
Because, as you know, with mybook coming out, savvy Susanna's
Amazing Adventures in Handbags,obviously I need to plug it
because it's my podcast so I cancoming out July 22nd.
(33:36):
Within the book, my character,savvy Susanna, has a turning
point in a fashion class modeledafter yours, where she learns
how to sew and feels empoweredand realizes that she can do
what she wants because she madeit herself in a way that wasn't
DIY.
She learns how to sew and feelsempowered and realizes that she
can do what she wants becauseshe made it herself in a way
that wasn't DIY.
This was sophisticated withinstruction because I think
there's a huge difference, evenfor adults, the difference
(33:59):
between DIY, as people tend tosay.
You know this essence of one ofa kind or bespoke or whatever
that does, because to a normalbuyer that means you just don't
know how to scale or make morethan one.
So the limited edition factordoes not work if you're in an
independent brand.
It just doesn't.
So having that instruction,having that education and having
(34:22):
someone say like I will showyou how to do it so you can do
it again and again and again isso important, especially when
you start with kids.
How are you able to?
What are you seeing for thefuture, based on what the trends
are within sewing and fashionclasses like yours?
Speaker 1 (34:38):
Sure.
So I do have the two locations,upper East and Upper West, and
that is pretty much all I canmanage.
You know, I don't.
I want to have a good qualityof life, I want to be there for
my kids.
So I am franchising and I haveVirginia Beach opening this
summer, the first franchisee.
But my hope with the franchisingis that this skill will really
(34:58):
be able to be taught everywhereand I think the way I teach it
makes it very accessible for allages.
I run a toddler class wherethey hand sew with, you know,
with blunt plastic needles, butthey are making.
They made a handbag, you sawthey made skirts like they're
actually sewing and they'rethree and four years old.
But I think what I do makes itvery, very accessible.
(35:20):
So my hope is that there aremany, many locations all across
the country teaching this veryvaluable skill, all across the
country teaching this veryvaluable skill, and I do very
much love that.
The ability to teach this skillgives people the ability to make
their own clothing.
So again, it's against thatconsumer lifestyle, it's against
that fast fashion lifestyle,it's slow fashion.
(35:42):
One could then go and maketheir own clothing or at the
very least they can mend andrepair clothing that they
already have.
So it's great for that,wonderful for upcycling and very
good for confidence buildingand developing fine motor skills
as well.
As I'm sure you saw with yourdaughter, she learned on the
machine.
She was making clothes and Istill remember that picture of
(36:03):
her with her dress with a circlecollar.
She did a great job.
There are certain images thatlike stand out in my mind after
15 years and that's definitelyone of them.
Speaker 2 (36:13):
Well, that's one of the few things of hers that I
said we're keeping forever.
And she said, oh yeah, and Iremembered that dress had a.
It was a bright colored dressbut it was a black zipper tape
and, coming from a Garmentobackground, I remember my mom
saying the zipper tapes.
You know, like that's howthey're seeing I'm like, but
(36:33):
she's so proud, exactly, exactly.
Who cares?
You know, like I get it, I seeit too.
That was the first thing thatwent to mind.
But you know what, to a childlike that is the beginning of
empowerment and independence andfeeling like if I can make this
and wear this, who knows what Ican do exactly?
Speaker 1 (36:54):
exactly.
I don't know if she chose thezipper tape or not, because we
usually probably did sheprobably let them pick their
color and then if they pick, wedon't want to be like, oh, that
doesn't work like we.
You know, they're the designerat the end of the day.
It's funny.
You said parents were the enemy.
It's actually grandmas.
Grandmas are.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
Grandmas who sew?
Speaker 1 (37:12):
Grandmas who quilt, you know, because there is a
very specific way that you quiltor that you do sewing, and at
the fashion class we make itaccessible for children mostly
so we will do things a certainway for safety, for ease of
projects and so that they comeout with something that they're
proud of and that they canactually wear.
But it might not be exactly howyou know.
(37:34):
Grandma learned to sew.
Speaker 2 (37:36):
So, my God, so, grandmas, who quilt, beware.
Yes, you should, you should putthat on the waiver no grandma's
comma, who quilt comma?
Oh God, that's amazing.
Well, carrie, and also makehandbags.
Yes, yes, okay, I'm justthrowing that out there.
Just make handbags for thefashion class.
Speaker 1 (37:59):
Yes, wait, we make handbags all the time.
Speaker 2 (38:02):
See, exactly that's an origin story have to tie it
back Carrie?
How can we find you, follow youand learn more about the
Fashion Class?
Speaker 1 (38:11):
Sure and at thefashionclasscom or on
Instagram at the Fashion Class.
Speaker 2 (38:15):
Perfect.
Thank you so much.
And for everybody, go lookCarrie up If your child needs
and wants to learn to sew, or ifyou're interested in
franchising.
I strongly recommend that whatthey've created.
I got to make this as much ofan infomercial because it was
life-changing for my child and Ican only imagine what it will
do for a budding handbagdesigner at their inception.
(38:36):
So thank you, thank you.
Thank you for joining us.
Thank you so much.
Thanks for listening.
Don't forget to rate and reviewand follow us on every single
platform at Handbag Designer.
Thanks so much.
See you next time.
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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.