May 13, 2025 • 27 mins
I had a conversation with bag designer and Founder of Practice, Kim Tran, in the previous podcast. (Please check it out!!!!) I loved takling to her so much I asked her if she could do a second show. She told me about her her journey in creating her own brand of bag and the bumps that came along the way as she got started in this very competitve field. I also asked Kim about her college major and how she finally settled in on this line of work. This may not be our lst podcast! I hope you love her as much as I do and I know you'll love her bags! Find one you'll love for yourself: https://www.practicewhatyoulove.com/
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
I loved our conversation so much that I asked Kim Tran,
founder of Practice, to come back and do another podcast.
I wanted to ask her how in the world that
she ended up a designer.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
It seems like such a tough business to get into.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
My conversation with Kim Tran, founder of Practice Practice whatchulove
dot com is coming up next on the Art of Improvement.
Thank you so much for listening to the Art of Improvement.
I love Kim Tran so much that I had to
get her back. It's a love fascinating. If you didn't
(00:41):
listen to our last podcast, you really missed out. Kim
Tran is the founder of Practice. It's a brand, as
you in your bio said that is committed. Maybe you
didn't say it, but I'm going to read it anyway.
A brand committed to prioritizing customer lifestyle. Does that make
sense when I read it back to you and who
(01:01):
gave this to me?
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Oh? I love this? No, it's it's the truth. We
want to prioritize customer because that's all what's I mean,
that's what design is about, right, So the reason that function.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Yeah, the reason I asked you on again is because
after everybody, if you haven't you know, listened to the
other one. Practice is all about bags and Kim is
the designer and the founder of Practice and the website
is practicewoulove dot com. And I absolutely fell in love
with every single bag. And so when we did the podcast,
(01:36):
I was like, Okay, wait a second. I read your
bio and I was like, this isn't possible.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
You've you if I.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Know that we had talked about this before, but come on,
you got to toot your own horn. You have worked
at some of the bigger names when it comes to
bag design, Can you just give us a few of them?
Speaker 3 (01:55):
I think, yeah, they're big. I mean, yeah, I don't
like to I could keep the focus on the brand,
but yeah, just to kind of substantiate where I've worked,
I've worked at Coach, I worked at Commudo Committito Group,
which is like an umbrella company that owns like the
Tory Birch shoes, Jessica Simpson, Lucky brand, their own house brands,
(02:18):
private labels. And then I also did the clutches for
House of Harlow and yeah, and actually it's so complicated
because then yeah, and then I worked oh yeah, and
then I worked at very Bradley, and then I worked
at Crocs and then and then now we have practice.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Okay, I'm going to start from probably further back than
you want. But whenever I've talked to entrepreneurs, I always
find that there's someone in their life that has told
them it's okay not to work nine to five. And
that's it seems like a simple thing for entrepreneurs, But
who in your life inspired this. I'm going out on
(03:00):
my own and becoming a bag designer.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
Okay, so that's interesting. When I started, Okay, it's like
this is back in college. I guess I always wanted
to be a designer. It wasn't like I discovered it.
But the thing is, like, I'm very careful.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Maybe it doesn't make sense, but it doesn't make sense.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
I'll explained, Okay, Okay. I went to UC Davis like
for design, and it was the only UC school with
a fashion design program. Uh. And I was like, well,
if I graduate from a UC school, then if this
doesn't work out, it's a It's a good degree, you know.
(03:45):
And that's why I did that. But while I was
doing my collections, I also did interior architecture, so I
actually did a comprehensive program that I created, and then
I curated my own program, and then I also have
a minor in Materials science and marketing, so I also
like so I like love industrial design, and I love
three D design as in like the actual three D
(04:06):
design I know nowadays is rendering, but sculptural design, and
then understanding the engineering behind things, and then also the
fashion aspect and what my favorite part is like art
history because you know, now a lot of people say
traditional education is this map, but I actually found it
to be extremely enriching because you're they curate these programs
(04:29):
and then you have to hit these oh my gosh,
we're going to like no, I want to hear. You
have to hit all these milestones within your program and
it's so well curated. You know, we don't give credit
to the universities for curing and we're always like criticizing,
But I think education is such a privilege and I
never regret it. Like once we got into like college
(04:52):
and core classes I was I was in I was
obsessed with learning, so I'm super curious in general, like
even but like the critique side of that, like finding
clause and like seeing how that can be better. I
enjoy all of it.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Yeah, yeah, and I think that maybe and this is
just me being you know, the devil's advocate, but I
think maybe people after they get out don't think, you know,
or parents who have paid for it, don't think that
it was worth it because the job that you're getting
is not what they you know, you got your degree
(05:26):
in or But that's for people who may not have
dreamed from when they were a little girl that they
wanted to be a bad designer or a designer. And
so if you're lost from the beginning, you never find
that energy or passion that you got from getting into
exactly what you wanted to do. Yeah, that is a
(05:47):
big problem these days especially. I mean, I don't know,
I'm not talking for like everybody, because I'm not everybody,
but I would say that there are more people, even
amongst my friends, that didn't know what they were doing
in the only reason they didn't finish in the four
years is because by year three they were like, I've
got to find something.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
I don't care what it is, you know, I've got
to get a degree and gets here.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
And yeah, there's so much fear involved. Yes, Okay, so
here's a quote. Vision is clear only when you can
look into your own heart. Ah good, And that's that's young.
So like I actually really like sometimes I forget about
all these things that we read or learned, but I
think a lot of the journey along the whole my
(06:29):
whole one consistent thing that I did, like throughout my
whole life was be extremely introspective about like what is
the goal of what I'm doing? Like why am I?
Why am I doing that? Is there feeling involved? Do
I am I interested in this? Is this something that
actually resonates? Do I want to be consistent with this? Like?
(06:51):
Is this something I'm going to practice? You know? Is
this something every day? Like? Is this something I want
in my life? And you can see that when you
do that, they can map it out and it's it's esoteric,
but it's not really. It's actually planning, you know. So
even if you have a small framework of what makes
you pick or like understanding yourself, it's a major It's
(07:13):
like that's key to everything. Kim.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
When we talked during the last podcast, and I'm not
pulling you out and saying you lied about this, but no, no,
but I remember you saying I remember you saying the
number one reason that you actually started designing your own
bags is because you had a bigger passion and that
(07:38):
passion was helping, you know, rescue animals. And so how
does rescuing animals and finding that passion even in college,
how does that even go together?
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Because I love I love you because they're so Okay,
it's very dynamic, right, I'm not lying, right, The vision
there but doesn't mean that the path doesn't like change
or shift, right. So yeah, because you create the plan,
right and you have this vision, they're all connected. So
(08:13):
it's not because one thing, like is the only path.
One thing leads to another path and then they interconnect. Yes, right,
and if you're lucky and that's what. Yeah, I'm lucky.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Actually, yeah, it's it's funny because I have a lot
of I know this is a million years ago, but
I had a lot of different ideas. When you know
you're in high school and you really don't have any
kind of direction that you're going, you say, well, what
do you like?
Speaker 2 (08:40):
You know, what are your interests?
Speaker 1 (08:41):
And when somebody finally asks you those questions, I remember
animals was one of my loves and so I was like,
maybe I should work at the zoo. But when you
really narrow it down, it really does. It does make
a difference. But do you feel like maybe some people
don't or aren't.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Given that, I don't know, given that gift.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
That Okay, you love animals, Now let's narrow it down
somebody that they can bounce their ideas off of as
a young person.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
Yeah, so okay, we all love it. I mean, if
you don't love animals, I don't want to know you.
You know, it's fine, or I'm fine, I can know you,
but we're we're not going to have anything to talk about, right, Like,
I think there's a sole thing there. We're connected there.
I mean, I think that's the thing. The biggest thing
you can advocate for is you know, like things that
(09:35):
can't like advocate for themselves and less people. It's animals.
But I think I just want to stick like, I like,
I want to stick with talking about animals mainly because
it's not political, it's not tied to anything. They're just
existing and like and in this instance where we're like
we're working with charities that help home dogs like pets
(09:57):
are so I mean integral, like they're like the best
therapy you can have it, and they're just like these
kind pure souls that are just just companions and like
living their best lives. And I sometimes look at that
and like how simple happiness can be. And so I
think it's a mirror like being around nature and animals
(10:19):
in general. And I also thought about that past, and
so I did a lie because yeah, so I knew somehow,
I know you're I know you're doing and I love it.
I I did think about, like, oh, what if you
become a vendory, I couldn't do I just like I
get props of veterinarians, Like, it's not just the fun parts.
(10:40):
There's a lot of you have to do a lot
of things that are sad too, you know, in any
industry with health and animals or you know, medical feelings.
So it's difficult. So I knew that I wasn't I was.
I think I was smart as a kid, and I
saw the whole past, and I was like, let me,
let me do my best, and I know somehow going
(11:00):
to help. I always knew, but I couldn't say it
out loud because you know, our society is built on
so much of monetizing. And that's fine. I mean that's
what you know, we the society we live in, like
we economies are built on like how we monetize and
like how it interconnects. But if we can do it
(11:22):
in a way that like has humanity in it or
you know, yeah, has a social aspect to it, so
I think it's good.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Absolutely, Hey, you know we've been talking here and I
want to mention this is Kim trand she is the
founder of Practice and Practice has the most gorgeous bags
and if you want to check them out Practice what
you Love dot Com is the website. And we're talking
about animals because you donate some of the profits that
Practice makes to charity.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
And that's why I brought that up.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
Yes, and the whole plan, And I don't verbalize this
all the time because I think we talked about this again.
In order to really create a platform, I have to
build the brand and be known specifically for what we do.
And we don't suit our horn. It's basically ingrained in
the ethos of the brand, like we want to give back.
(12:15):
The plan was always to create a forum so that
we can highlight causes. So initially, when I had brainstorm
this whole idea, I wanted to rotate charities to give
spotlight different ones throughout seasons, so we can talk about
different charities and different causes, not just focus on one
(12:37):
at all times. But you know, as we're starting out,
we really want to make sure we highlight you know,
we're working with eleven Second Chances right now, so I
want to make sure we highlight them, and then as
we grow, that's the game plan to like really make
it about that, to make a space for that.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Can you say the name of the charity again for
people that didn't hear it, It's called.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
Yeah, it's called Love and Second Chances. That's their website
as well, eleven second Chances dot com. They're just like
this really amazing, Like they work hard to like really
home dogs from all over the world. So it's not
just like it's not just like here's you know, a
space for it's just that. But they really go out
(13:21):
of their way. Yeah, they fly dogs from Asia. They
have people that they built a network with to like
all coordinate and like actually, on the day that I
launched my brand, literally on the day, they saved a
thousand dogs from a puppy mill in.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Career WHOA that is amazing.
Speaker 3 (13:39):
Yeah, they're legitimately hard working, caring and like just genuinely
doing their best. And I and it's it's nice to
highlight like more local, like they're smaller, you know, and
they're just really doing their breast to save animals. That's
really amazing.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
That is incredible.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Okay, So yeah, now that I'm about to cry because
I'm telling you, when you look into a dog's eyes
or any pet that you have and not see that
they have feelings, then you really are soul.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Listen, I'm telling you that because yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
We can to guarantee that for sure, you guarantee they just.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Don't have a voise that Yeah, I know, I got
I get it. But now I'm going to go to
the shallow side of my questions. And that shallow side
is earlier when you you said, yeah, I really don't
like to talk about some of the places I've worked,
and you mentioned like Coach and your Bradley and you know,
Jessica Simpson's brand and nine West. I was just looking
(14:37):
at all of those and I was thinking to myself,
did you get a lot of bags?
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Do you have a lot of bags in your house?
Speaker 3 (14:44):
I listen, I have an archive. It's insane. The ironic
part is I have everything and all the things I
ever like for free. Sure. I mean I have all
these things. They're like they're just there I and so
pare down. I'm like, I just wear my own bags
because they're just so lightweight. I'm not selling right now.
(15:07):
It's super genuine, like I can I don't even go back.
I can only wear my bags. It's just looks simplest, lightest,
and I really design it for myself, which is uncommon
for me, but I know there's a lot of people
like me. We're like, we travel a lot, We've seen
the world. We work all day. We you know, we
(15:30):
have multiple functions throughout it. I could be like working
remotely for like five hours and then I have to
go meet somebody. I want my bag to be lightweight
and like look cool and so yeah, yeah, it's funny
because I like all the things I designed for other
companies as well, because I think about who I really
love the customers and like they just I mean, sometimes
(15:52):
I design somebody, I'll get a review and they'll like
pick every like they're like, oh I love how they
change the pocket and it's like a little bit shorter,
so it does this, and the straps are tapered, and
I like how the drop is this is the link
to the strap, and it's funny. They'll go down the
entireless better than my counterparts can, like like my own
(16:13):
teams can wouldn't even even notice all the things I
engineered in that bag. But I'm just like I'm in
awe of Like, Okay, So there's another thing where we're
talking about. We're talking holistically about design today. Right, there
is something called cosmic knowledge, and this is a major
topic of anyone that studied design or creative or art,
that there's a collective consciousness like that nothing comes out
(16:36):
of thin air. That there has to be energetically h
information and knowledge already existing that we build upon, right,
And I think that it's such an interesting way to
connect with people through products because I'm not talking to them,
but if they can see all the detail in it.
I mean, it's not that it's not like these people
(16:57):
are studying.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
I get it, but it works, it works, and then
you've it works right, So I mean, how do you
even know? I mean, yes, it's funny when you say
you designed it for yourself, but but obviously if you
want to be a founder of a company and a
bag designer. I mean, you have to know what people
want also, because it can't just be all for you,
(17:24):
can it.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
No, I'm joking, like, yeah, it's And I'm saying that
from like a very simplistic way that sometimes when you've
worked a long time in a field or you are
kind of become expert as I mean, I'm like, that
sounds so weird too me at a level or you
understand it so from A to Z that you kind
(17:48):
of pare down and then you dissect and then you
know nothing that's going to perfect for everybody, and you
are okay with that, and then you pick and choose
what would work best. And it is a business at
the end of the day, so I do think about
like what the majority of us need, but I'm just
like everyone else. So when you do that and you
(18:11):
test your product and you notice that you haven't switched
out your bag since you created it, then you know
you got something that's a winner, and you just know,
you just know. And I did study accessories specifically when
I did FT, I did an accelerated program, so I
did after California, I did go to New York and
(18:32):
I did study engineering, like the I know how to
make patterns. I know how to draft like entire like
you know, bags, and then actually sew them edge paint
them like like literally like I wanted to do that.
I know that you can go directly to the passive
design without physically making it. But like I think we
(18:53):
talked about this again before, I can't my personality. I
cannot go into something without how a foundation so that
I can at least speak to it. That when I
do talk to a panent maker or a pantern master
and of a factory or a manufacturer, I want to
understand like what they're doing, their skill set and then
come up solutions together. Because there's on a scale of
(19:17):
like designing, there's a lot of times I will see
designs get dropped out because they're like, oh, well, the
factory so they can't do that, and I'm like, well,
I know that they can because I've actually done that before,
or you know, or just even like within time and
then experience with with different factories to see who can
(19:40):
do what and like, you know, what the solutions are.
And then on the other aspect of that spectrum of
you know, development, they go, oh, well that's no, they
should be able to do that, and this is what
we wanted. But then you're like, well, if you're reverse
engineer what you're what that I them is supposed to be.
(20:01):
There's no way that they can do all the things
that they're asking for because it's not physically possible. So
you have to understand the engineering of that. Yeah, so
you can have a conversation, come to a compromise where like,
what can we do within the confines of this concept
and like the manufacturing aspect of it, right.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
And yeah, And so if you haven't educated yourself on
the possibilities and you're asking for the impossible, you look like, right,
you don't know what you're talking about. It looks pretty,
but it doesn't work. And I think you know, we
had discussed that before. I've had several beautiful bags in
the past, but I don't use them. I don't even
know where they are because they just weren't functional. After
(20:42):
you talked about these processes or sees, whatever it is
that you go through, I just keep on thinking, how
do you work for all these giant names and then
just come up with practice. You've got to have had
a few umps along the way. No one can be
that Oh my god, yes, okay, okay, I don't want to.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
I want to be real. I want to be real. Yeah,
And I mean I don't know if I get will
get chastised for being super transparent, but like I don't
know how else to be, right, So let's be real
the biggest, Like you can go to any business school
and learn all the you know, nuts and bolts of
like how to manage, how to create a business plan,
(21:28):
how to market product, how to have proof of concepts,
all these things. Right if we can talk textbook all day,
he can do all that. But there's no program like
the program of life.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
Like I get it, I get it.
Speaker 3 (21:43):
I did have. I did do a joint project as
a brand was other people before, and it was I
was given freedom to be like super creative. Right, I
was designing amazing bags that were made in the New
York and New York and we like seem see the
(22:04):
hardware like I literally cut brass out of machinery like
my hands like I have never recovered from them. Like
when I say I work hard, I mean it, like
you know, And then I learned how not to work
that hard efficiently. Because of that and the whole time,
I was just like, how can I do things better?
(22:25):
What is the point of a business? What are the
key aspects what makes me happy? And how do I
tie things that? Really, Like going back to that quote,
like your vision is only clear when you can see
and her heart right, and so like that's when I
said that it wasn't a joke. I was like, I've
done that throughout my entire life. I come full circle
(22:47):
was super introspective every time. And so through that process,
like you have to make a clear plan that you
are you are proud of, Okay, that's number one, and
then you have to make sure that makes sense and
you have to trust the people that you're working with
to help you have that vision come to life. So
(23:09):
that was like the biggest growth I've ever had, I mean,
one of the biggest milestones of growth. And from there
I went back into freelancing to like really take a
moment to decide what I wanted to do. And that's
when I got this consulting job where I was flying
back and forth and then I finally took you know
(23:31):
it full time and it gave me time to think
about really what I wanted. And then COVID happened, and
that really shifts in my mindset as well, like life
and like things we can't control. It is really interesting.
But yeah, and then I conceived this idea that I
wanted to do something that gives back. That was the
number one thing. And because I you know what I mean,
(23:55):
I do you go back to childhood a little bit?
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Absolutely? And I'm only he's thinking to myself. It's great
because you have to have the I'm not going to
quit attitude as an entrepreneur. But you also have to
have the part of your brain that says this isn't working.
And when do I stop? Do I stop?
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Is it on the verge of making it big? Or
am I wasting my time and money?
Speaker 1 (24:21):
And I feel like you found that you found that
last breakoff point.
Speaker 3 (24:26):
Yes, so here's the thing. When you realize that the
money doesn't matter, that's what you really know?
Speaker 2 (24:31):
What do you mean to explain that.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
Even if you find success in certain levels of an
aspect of building something, if it doesn't align with your
true norse or your core character, then you need to
really pivot. So it wasn't hard for me to make
a decision. It's like, it's very simple. It's like, I
just want to do something that I'm excited boy, and
then it makes me happy. And I want to do
(24:56):
things that makes me happy. And guess what, doing things
that help like other people are just by product or
animal like doing the charity with saving the dogs with
Love and second Chances, I feel like those things make
me happy. You know, it's really important.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
And guess what, we're at the end. We're at the
end of this conversation. But I think that we said
this before, as somebody had told me. You know, that
little saying, you know, do what you want and the
money will come is not necessarily something that kind of
works out in the beginning. It's it's making the decision
that this is what you want and the money is
(25:35):
either there or it's not, and you have to find
the way to make you happy. And it's so I
hate that term, you know, like are you happy? But
I think everybody knows deep down inside whether something is
making them making their passion continue.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
Does that make sense to you?
Speaker 3 (25:53):
Yes, it makes sense, And you have to really it's
not blind. You have to, like I said, along the
entire journey, I had to be introspective at multiple milestones,
so I remember that, and I thought about the day
that today. When I knew we were going to have
this call, I was like, what's the biggest theme of
(26:16):
like my whole career right because we're talking about work?
Is that? Like I always try to remember, Like, can
I look at myself in the mirror and be happy
with what I'm doing? Do I feel proud of what
I've produced? Do I think this will impact someone's life?
You know?
Speaker 2 (26:34):
I love it. I love it.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
Okay, people, you've got to go check it out. Kim
Tren is the founder of Practice and the website is
Practice whatchu loove dot com. And I promise you're going
to find a beautiful bag that's going to fit into
whether you're a traveler, a commuter, a person that walks
a lot that has to have their stuff with them,
(26:55):
You're going to find something. And I have to thank
you for coming up with something that's so functional and beautiful.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
Kim, Yeah, no, I really appreciate you for having me again.
All good vibe?
Speaker 1 (27:05):
Okay, good okay, Kim Tran Practice, you gotta go check
it out.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
Thanks so much for talking again.
Speaker 3 (27:11):
Thank you so much.
I loved our conversation so much that I asked Kim Tran,
founder of Practice, to come back and do another podcast.
I wanted to ask her how in the world that
she ended up a designer.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
It seems like such a tough business to get into.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
My conversation with Kim Tran, founder of Practice Practice whatchulove
dot com is coming up next on the Art of Improvement.
Thank you so much for listening to the Art of Improvement.
I love Kim Tran so much that I had to
get her back. It's a love fascinating. If you didn't
(00:41):
listen to our last podcast, you really missed out. Kim
Tran is the founder of Practice. It's a brand, as
you in your bio said that is committed. Maybe you
didn't say it, but I'm going to read it anyway.
A brand committed to prioritizing customer lifestyle. Does that make
sense when I read it back to you and who
(01:01):
gave this to me?
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Oh? I love this? No, it's it's the truth. We
want to prioritize customer because that's all what's I mean,
that's what design is about, right, So the reason that function.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Yeah, the reason I asked you on again is because
after everybody, if you haven't you know, listened to the
other one. Practice is all about bags and Kim is
the designer and the founder of Practice and the website
is practicewoulove dot com. And I absolutely fell in love
with every single bag. And so when we did the podcast,
(01:36):
I was like, Okay, wait a second. I read your
bio and I was like, this isn't possible.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
You've you if I.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Know that we had talked about this before, but come on,
you got to toot your own horn. You have worked
at some of the bigger names when it comes to
bag design, Can you just give us a few of them?
Speaker 3 (01:55):
I think, yeah, they're big. I mean, yeah, I don't
like to I could keep the focus on the brand,
but yeah, just to kind of substantiate where I've worked,
I've worked at Coach, I worked at Commudo Committito Group,
which is like an umbrella company that owns like the
Tory Birch shoes, Jessica Simpson, Lucky brand, their own house brands,
(02:18):
private labels. And then I also did the clutches for
House of Harlow and yeah, and actually it's so complicated
because then yeah, and then I worked oh yeah, and
then I worked at very Bradley, and then I worked
at Crocs and then and then now we have practice.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Okay, I'm going to start from probably further back than
you want. But whenever I've talked to entrepreneurs, I always
find that there's someone in their life that has told
them it's okay not to work nine to five. And
that's it seems like a simple thing for entrepreneurs, But
who in your life inspired this. I'm going out on
(03:00):
my own and becoming a bag designer.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
Okay, so that's interesting. When I started, Okay, it's like
this is back in college. I guess I always wanted
to be a designer. It wasn't like I discovered it.
But the thing is, like, I'm very careful.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
Maybe it doesn't make sense, but it doesn't make sense.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
I'll explained, Okay, Okay. I went to UC Davis like
for design, and it was the only UC school with
a fashion design program. Uh. And I was like, well,
if I graduate from a UC school, then if this
doesn't work out, it's a It's a good degree, you know.
(03:45):
And that's why I did that. But while I was
doing my collections, I also did interior architecture, so I
actually did a comprehensive program that I created, and then
I curated my own program, and then I also have
a minor in Materials science and marketing, so I also
like so I like love industrial design, and I love
three D design as in like the actual three D
(04:06):
design I know nowadays is rendering, but sculptural design, and
then understanding the engineering behind things, and then also the
fashion aspect and what my favorite part is like art
history because you know, now a lot of people say
traditional education is this map, but I actually found it
to be extremely enriching because you're they curate these programs
(04:29):
and then you have to hit these oh my gosh,
we're going to like no, I want to hear. You
have to hit all these milestones within your program and
it's so well curated. You know, we don't give credit
to the universities for curing and we're always like criticizing,
But I think education is such a privilege and I
never regret it. Like once we got into like college
(04:52):
and core classes I was I was in I was
obsessed with learning, so I'm super curious in general, like
even but like the critique side of that, like finding
clause and like seeing how that can be better. I
enjoy all of it.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
Yeah, yeah, and I think that maybe and this is
just me being you know, the devil's advocate, but I
think maybe people after they get out don't think, you know,
or parents who have paid for it, don't think that
it was worth it because the job that you're getting
is not what they you know, you got your degree
(05:26):
in or But that's for people who may not have
dreamed from when they were a little girl that they
wanted to be a bad designer or a designer. And
so if you're lost from the beginning, you never find
that energy or passion that you got from getting into
exactly what you wanted to do. Yeah, that is a
(05:47):
big problem these days especially. I mean, I don't know,
I'm not talking for like everybody, because I'm not everybody,
but I would say that there are more people, even
amongst my friends, that didn't know what they were doing
in the only reason they didn't finish in the four
years is because by year three they were like, I've
got to find something.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
I don't care what it is, you know, I've got
to get a degree and gets here.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
And yeah, there's so much fear involved. Yes, Okay, so
here's a quote. Vision is clear only when you can
look into your own heart. Ah good, And that's that's young.
So like I actually really like sometimes I forget about
all these things that we read or learned, but I
think a lot of the journey along the whole my
(06:29):
whole one consistent thing that I did, like throughout my
whole life was be extremely introspective about like what is
the goal of what I'm doing? Like why am I?
Why am I doing that? Is there feeling involved? Do
I am I interested in this? Is this something that
actually resonates? Do I want to be consistent with this? Like?
(06:51):
Is this something I'm going to practice? You know? Is
this something every day? Like? Is this something I want
in my life? And you can see that when you
do that, they can map it out and it's it's esoteric,
but it's not really. It's actually planning, you know. So
even if you have a small framework of what makes
you pick or like understanding yourself, it's a major It's
(07:13):
like that's key to everything. Kim.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
When we talked during the last podcast, and I'm not
pulling you out and saying you lied about this, but no, no,
but I remember you saying I remember you saying the
number one reason that you actually started designing your own
bags is because you had a bigger passion and that
(07:38):
passion was helping, you know, rescue animals. And so how
does rescuing animals and finding that passion even in college,
how does that even go together?
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Because I love I love you because they're so Okay,
it's very dynamic, right, I'm not lying, right, The vision
there but doesn't mean that the path doesn't like change
or shift, right. So yeah, because you create the plan,
right and you have this vision, they're all connected. So
(08:13):
it's not because one thing, like is the only path.
One thing leads to another path and then they interconnect. Yes, right,
and if you're lucky and that's what. Yeah, I'm lucky.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Actually, yeah, it's it's funny because I have a lot
of I know this is a million years ago, but
I had a lot of different ideas. When you know
you're in high school and you really don't have any
kind of direction that you're going, you say, well, what
do you like?
Speaker 2 (08:40):
You know, what are your interests?
Speaker 1 (08:41):
And when somebody finally asks you those questions, I remember
animals was one of my loves and so I was like,
maybe I should work at the zoo. But when you
really narrow it down, it really does. It does make
a difference. But do you feel like maybe some people
don't or aren't.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Given that, I don't know, given that gift.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
That Okay, you love animals, Now let's narrow it down
somebody that they can bounce their ideas off of as
a young person.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
Yeah, so okay, we all love it. I mean, if
you don't love animals, I don't want to know you.
You know, it's fine, or I'm fine, I can know you,
but we're we're not going to have anything to talk about, right, Like,
I think there's a sole thing there. We're connected there.
I mean, I think that's the thing. The biggest thing
you can advocate for is you know, like things that
(09:35):
can't like advocate for themselves and less people. It's animals.
But I think I just want to stick like, I like,
I want to stick with talking about animals mainly because
it's not political, it's not tied to anything. They're just
existing and like and in this instance where we're like
we're working with charities that help home dogs like pets
(09:57):
are so I mean integral, like they're like the best
therapy you can have it, and they're just like these
kind pure souls that are just just companions and like
living their best lives. And I sometimes look at that
and like how simple happiness can be. And so I
think it's a mirror like being around nature and animals
(10:19):
in general. And I also thought about that past, and
so I did a lie because yeah, so I knew somehow,
I know you're I know you're doing and I love it.
I I did think about, like, oh, what if you
become a vendory, I couldn't do I just like I
get props of veterinarians, Like, it's not just the fun parts.
(10:40):
There's a lot of you have to do a lot
of things that are sad too, you know, in any
industry with health and animals or you know, medical feelings.
So it's difficult. So I knew that I wasn't I was.
I think I was smart as a kid, and I
saw the whole past, and I was like, let me,
let me do my best, and I know somehow going
(11:00):
to help. I always knew, but I couldn't say it
out loud because you know, our society is built on
so much of monetizing. And that's fine. I mean that's
what you know, we the society we live in, like
we economies are built on like how we monetize and
like how it interconnects. But if we can do it
(11:22):
in a way that like has humanity in it or
you know, yeah, has a social aspect to it, so
I think it's good.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Absolutely, Hey, you know we've been talking here and I
want to mention this is Kim trand she is the
founder of Practice and Practice has the most gorgeous bags
and if you want to check them out Practice what
you Love dot Com is the website. And we're talking
about animals because you donate some of the profits that
Practice makes to charity.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
And that's why I brought that up.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
Yes, and the whole plan, And I don't verbalize this
all the time because I think we talked about this again.
In order to really create a platform, I have to
build the brand and be known specifically for what we do.
And we don't suit our horn. It's basically ingrained in
the ethos of the brand, like we want to give back.
(12:15):
The plan was always to create a forum so that
we can highlight causes. So initially, when I had brainstorm
this whole idea, I wanted to rotate charities to give
spotlight different ones throughout seasons, so we can talk about
different charities and different causes, not just focus on one
(12:37):
at all times. But you know, as we're starting out,
we really want to make sure we highlight you know,
we're working with eleven Second Chances right now, so I
want to make sure we highlight them, and then as
we grow, that's the game plan to like really make
it about that, to make a space for that.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Can you say the name of the charity again for
people that didn't hear it, It's called.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
Yeah, it's called Love and Second Chances. That's their website
as well, eleven second Chances dot com. They're just like
this really amazing, Like they work hard to like really
home dogs from all over the world. So it's not
just like it's not just like here's you know, a
space for it's just that. But they really go out
(13:21):
of their way. Yeah, they fly dogs from Asia. They
have people that they built a network with to like
all coordinate and like actually, on the day that I
launched my brand, literally on the day, they saved a
thousand dogs from a puppy mill in.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Career WHOA that is amazing.
Speaker 3 (13:39):
Yeah, they're legitimately hard working, caring and like just genuinely
doing their best. And I and it's it's nice to
highlight like more local, like they're smaller, you know, and
they're just really doing their breast to save animals. That's
really amazing.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
That is incredible.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Okay, So yeah, now that I'm about to cry because
I'm telling you, when you look into a dog's eyes
or any pet that you have and not see that
they have feelings, then you really are soul.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
Listen, I'm telling you that because yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
We can to guarantee that for sure, you guarantee they just.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Don't have a voise that Yeah, I know, I got
I get it. But now I'm going to go to
the shallow side of my questions. And that shallow side
is earlier when you you said, yeah, I really don't
like to talk about some of the places I've worked,
and you mentioned like Coach and your Bradley and you know,
Jessica Simpson's brand and nine West. I was just looking
(14:37):
at all of those and I was thinking to myself,
did you get a lot of bags?
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Do you have a lot of bags in your house?
Speaker 3 (14:44):
I listen, I have an archive. It's insane. The ironic
part is I have everything and all the things I
ever like for free. Sure. I mean I have all
these things. They're like they're just there I and so
pare down. I'm like, I just wear my own bags
because they're just so lightweight. I'm not selling right now.
(15:07):
It's super genuine, like I can I don't even go back.
I can only wear my bags. It's just looks simplest, lightest,
and I really design it for myself, which is uncommon
for me, but I know there's a lot of people
like me. We're like, we travel a lot, We've seen
the world. We work all day. We you know, we
(15:30):
have multiple functions throughout it. I could be like working
remotely for like five hours and then I have to
go meet somebody. I want my bag to be lightweight
and like look cool and so yeah, yeah, it's funny
because I like all the things I designed for other
companies as well, because I think about who I really
love the customers and like they just I mean, sometimes
(15:52):
I design somebody, I'll get a review and they'll like
pick every like they're like, oh I love how they
change the pocket and it's like a little bit shorter,
so it does this, and the straps are tapered, and
I like how the drop is this is the link
to the strap, and it's funny. They'll go down the
entireless better than my counterparts can, like like my own
(16:13):
teams can wouldn't even even notice all the things I
engineered in that bag. But I'm just like I'm in
awe of Like, Okay, So there's another thing where we're
talking about. We're talking holistically about design today. Right, there
is something called cosmic knowledge, and this is a major
topic of anyone that studied design or creative or art,
that there's a collective consciousness like that nothing comes out
(16:36):
of thin air. That there has to be energetically h
information and knowledge already existing that we build upon, right,
And I think that it's such an interesting way to
connect with people through products because I'm not talking to them,
but if they can see all the detail in it.
I mean, it's not that it's not like these people
(16:57):
are studying.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
I get it, but it works, it works, and then
you've it works right, So I mean, how do you
even know? I mean, yes, it's funny when you say
you designed it for yourself, but but obviously if you
want to be a founder of a company and a
bag designer. I mean, you have to know what people
want also, because it can't just be all for you,
(17:24):
can it.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
No, I'm joking, like, yeah, it's And I'm saying that
from like a very simplistic way that sometimes when you've
worked a long time in a field or you are
kind of become expert as I mean, I'm like, that
sounds so weird too me at a level or you
understand it so from A to Z that you kind
(17:48):
of pare down and then you dissect and then you
know nothing that's going to perfect for everybody, and you
are okay with that, and then you pick and choose
what would work best. And it is a business at
the end of the day, so I do think about
like what the majority of us need, but I'm just
like everyone else. So when you do that and you
(18:11):
test your product and you notice that you haven't switched
out your bag since you created it, then you know
you got something that's a winner, and you just know,
you just know. And I did study accessories specifically when
I did FT, I did an accelerated program, so I
did after California, I did go to New York and
(18:32):
I did study engineering, like the I know how to
make patterns. I know how to draft like entire like
you know, bags, and then actually sew them edge paint
them like like literally like I wanted to do that.
I know that you can go directly to the passive
design without physically making it. But like I think we
(18:53):
talked about this again before, I can't my personality. I
cannot go into something without how a foundation so that
I can at least speak to it. That when I
do talk to a panent maker or a pantern master
and of a factory or a manufacturer, I want to
understand like what they're doing, their skill set and then
come up solutions together. Because there's on a scale of
(19:17):
like designing, there's a lot of times I will see
designs get dropped out because they're like, oh, well, the
factory so they can't do that, and I'm like, well,
I know that they can because I've actually done that before,
or you know, or just even like within time and
then experience with with different factories to see who can
(19:40):
do what and like, you know, what the solutions are.
And then on the other aspect of that spectrum of
you know, development, they go, oh, well that's no, they
should be able to do that, and this is what
we wanted. But then you're like, well, if you're reverse
engineer what you're what that I them is supposed to be.
(20:01):
There's no way that they can do all the things
that they're asking for because it's not physically possible. So
you have to understand the engineering of that. Yeah, so
you can have a conversation, come to a compromise where like,
what can we do within the confines of this concept
and like the manufacturing aspect of it, right.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
And yeah, And so if you haven't educated yourself on
the possibilities and you're asking for the impossible, you look like, right,
you don't know what you're talking about. It looks pretty,
but it doesn't work. And I think you know, we
had discussed that before. I've had several beautiful bags in
the past, but I don't use them. I don't even
know where they are because they just weren't functional. After
(20:42):
you talked about these processes or sees, whatever it is
that you go through, I just keep on thinking, how
do you work for all these giant names and then
just come up with practice. You've got to have had
a few umps along the way. No one can be
that Oh my god, yes, okay, okay, I don't want to.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
I want to be real. I want to be real. Yeah,
And I mean I don't know if I get will
get chastised for being super transparent, but like I don't
know how else to be, right, So let's be real
the biggest, Like you can go to any business school
and learn all the you know, nuts and bolts of
like how to manage, how to create a business plan,
(21:28):
how to market product, how to have proof of concepts,
all these things. Right if we can talk textbook all day,
he can do all that. But there's no program like
the program of life.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
Like I get it, I get it.
Speaker 3 (21:43):
I did have. I did do a joint project as
a brand was other people before, and it was I
was given freedom to be like super creative. Right, I
was designing amazing bags that were made in the New
York and New York and we like seem see the
(22:04):
hardware like I literally cut brass out of machinery like
my hands like I have never recovered from them. Like
when I say I work hard, I mean it, like
you know, And then I learned how not to work
that hard efficiently. Because of that and the whole time,
I was just like, how can I do things better?
(22:25):
What is the point of a business? What are the
key aspects what makes me happy? And how do I
tie things that? Really, Like going back to that quote,
like your vision is only clear when you can see
and her heart right, and so like that's when I
said that it wasn't a joke. I was like, I've
done that throughout my entire life. I come full circle
(22:47):
was super introspective every time. And so through that process,
like you have to make a clear plan that you
are you are proud of, Okay, that's number one, and
then you have to make sure that makes sense and
you have to trust the people that you're working with
to help you have that vision come to life. So
(23:09):
that was like the biggest growth I've ever had, I mean,
one of the biggest milestones of growth. And from there
I went back into freelancing to like really take a
moment to decide what I wanted to do. And that's
when I got this consulting job where I was flying
back and forth and then I finally took you know
(23:31):
it full time and it gave me time to think
about really what I wanted. And then COVID happened, and
that really shifts in my mindset as well, like life
and like things we can't control. It is really interesting.
But yeah, and then I conceived this idea that I
wanted to do something that gives back. That was the
number one thing. And because I you know what I mean,
(23:55):
I do you go back to childhood a little bit?
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Absolutely? And I'm only he's thinking to myself. It's great
because you have to have the I'm not going to
quit attitude as an entrepreneur. But you also have to
have the part of your brain that says this isn't working.
And when do I stop? Do I stop?
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Is it on the verge of making it big? Or
am I wasting my time and money?
Speaker 1 (24:21):
And I feel like you found that you found that
last breakoff point.
Speaker 3 (24:26):
Yes, so here's the thing. When you realize that the
money doesn't matter, that's what you really know?
Speaker 2 (24:31):
What do you mean to explain that.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
Even if you find success in certain levels of an
aspect of building something, if it doesn't align with your
true norse or your core character, then you need to
really pivot. So it wasn't hard for me to make
a decision. It's like, it's very simple. It's like, I
just want to do something that I'm excited boy, and
then it makes me happy. And I want to do
(24:56):
things that makes me happy. And guess what, doing things
that help like other people are just by product or
animal like doing the charity with saving the dogs with
Love and second Chances, I feel like those things make
me happy. You know, it's really important.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
I love it.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
And guess what, we're at the end. We're at the
end of this conversation. But I think that we said
this before, as somebody had told me. You know, that
little saying, you know, do what you want and the
money will come is not necessarily something that kind of
works out in the beginning. It's it's making the decision
that this is what you want and the money is
(25:35):
either there or it's not, and you have to find
the way to make you happy. And it's so I
hate that term, you know, like are you happy? But
I think everybody knows deep down inside whether something is
making them making their passion continue.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
Does that make sense to you?
Speaker 3 (25:53):
Yes, it makes sense, And you have to really it's
not blind. You have to, like I said, along the
entire journey, I had to be introspective at multiple milestones,
so I remember that, and I thought about the day
that today. When I knew we were going to have
this call, I was like, what's the biggest theme of
(26:16):
like my whole career right because we're talking about work?
Is that? Like I always try to remember, Like, can
I look at myself in the mirror and be happy
with what I'm doing? Do I feel proud of what
I've produced? Do I think this will impact someone's life?
You know?
Speaker 2 (26:34):
I love it. I love it.
Speaker 1 (26:35):
Okay, people, you've got to go check it out. Kim
Tren is the founder of Practice and the website is
Practice whatchu loove dot com. And I promise you're going
to find a beautiful bag that's going to fit into
whether you're a traveler, a commuter, a person that walks
a lot that has to have their stuff with them,
(26:55):
You're going to find something. And I have to thank
you for coming up with something that's so functional and beautiful.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
Kim, Yeah, no, I really appreciate you for having me again.
All good vibe?
Speaker 1 (27:05):
Okay, good okay, Kim Tran Practice, you gotta go check
it out.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
Thanks so much for talking again.
Speaker 3 (27:11):
Thank you so much.
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