Basader Handcrafts And Leather Goods Stores Win Both Hands And Prices.

In the industrial and commercial area of Eas tWilliamsburg in New York, Elin Johansson and Philip Antonelli (and their college student assistant Claire) squeeze into a 400 square foot studio (about 37 square meters) - another child dress designer uses the other half space.

The couple just founded a basader brand a year ago, and achieved a theoretically impossible achievement: Johansson made use of the high quality leather from the country to manufacture hand-made original leather handbags, all of which came from their studio in Broolyn, and the price was surprisingly between $240 and $330.

Each bag provides lifetime quality assurance, and basader almost always allows customers to request specific details and sizes.

An old industrial Singer sewing machine (one of the few sewing machines that can sew thick leather) is placed in the corner of the studio, and a knitting machine is on the other corner.

Leather tools and all kinds of inspirational pictures decorate most of the walls. The studio is simple, with only the necessary tools to create a leather bag from scratch.

This streamlined production space is a mixture of traditional and modern elements, and their design of simple leather bags reflects this concept.

Tired of the never-ending cycle of loss and overpriced goods in fashion, basader's mission is to create durable goods that most people can get.

The name basader is a tribute to Bas Jan Ader, a minimalist artist in Holland who has brought them the greatest impact.

"We do not want to use a specific name, so that people will immediately associate with other things," explains Johansson. "This name sounds Swedish enough," added Phillp, laughing.

When describing their ideas, Antonelli said, "it belongs to a very romantic Minimalism". The last work of Ader is to sail across the the Atlantic by sailing a small sailboat.

He knew that he would lose his life in doing so - that was indeed his last work, "insisting on this minimalist aesthetic, basader's logo could not be seen from outside, but hid.

I have recently ventured to pursue my passion.

At the age of 19, she left the Swedish town, stansj o, and studied at the Fashion Technology Institute in New York. During the University, she met Rhodes, who grew up on the island of Antonelli., through a common friend. They successfully pferred to the fashion industry. Antonelli went online marketing for a large jewellery manufacturer. After Johansson spent a while in HelmutLang, she became a full-time designer of RalphLauren.

Every day, from Broolyn's Greenpoint to commuter road in downtown Manhattan, they have plenty of time to discuss their ideals.

"One day on the train, Philip said," why don't we make bags? I can't find what I want.

"You can make beautiful bags," Johansson recalls. "I have never made a bag.

My major is knitwear, but I have a background of sewing for a long time.

When I was young, I began to make tailors, all by myself. That's what I love to do. "

After giving Antonelli the idea, Johanssan immediately began to learn how to make bags -- buying tools, doing research, conducting market research, and learning the knowledge of leather as much as possible.

Her investment paid off: only two bags opened the shop on Etsy, and the popularity was enough to let Johanssan quit her job to expand her basader series.

Johanssan's experience in Ralph Lauren made her lucky to find her love for men's clothes.

"I have never been inspired from men's clothing until one day I have to design for men.

Now everything is inspired by men's clothing, even when I make ladies' handbags and decorations.

The idea starts with basader's inspirational images, mostly male models, fake kid style ladies, classic leather bag designs, and even specially designed products for both sexes.

"You can't tell whether this is for men or for women," she said. "I have always found it difficult to find a bag for myself. They are usually not concise enough, or they seem to have too many feminine elements."

From the forefront of fashion design, the couple are not affected by time due to Maison MartinMargiela and JilSander.

And they are regarded as the inspiration of their own design concepts.

These inspirational pictures also include a familiar CoolHunting favorite item: Shinola watch and leather items.

"We really admire Shinola.

Now we are not involved in the watchmaking, so the watch on the picture is to create the atmosphere and style of the customer.

Johansson explains.

Antonelli added, "their leather comes from Horween, just like what we want to use.

All our leather, including vegetable tanned leather, come from farms and tanneries all over the United States, but now we are trying to stabilize the tannery in Chicago, Horween. "

The couple admire Shinola, AllenEdmonds and other brands because they start from family studios and start a company based on this.

"For Shinola, we appreciate it investing in the local (Detroit) community and getting raw materials locally.

As a larger company, Allen Edmond still finds ways to relate to the local market, which makes us wonder.

Even their shoe repair services are first-rate.

Johansson tells a story, exposing a more brutal reality: "my first job was in a designer in this building, which happened very well.

She is a small designer who practices independently, just like us - but she produces in China.

Because that's what you take for granted. You're educated at school - that's why I have this mindset: 'you have to start your business: you build your own network of connections, and then find your sources and factories in China.'

Through their basader

These two designers tell people that outsourcing is not the only way. They also follow the trend to prove that high quality, American manufacturing and durability can coexist with economic affordability.

Antonelli explained, "at the end of the day, from the personal experience (and I am not predicting anything new), for high-end goods, a 300% increase in prices through major retailers is no longer the only selling option.

We believe that being directly involved in a variety of high-end markets in the manufacturing culture is our inevitable way to achieve sales.

With the increasing number of names on the list of online sales channels, such as Etsy, theCools, Boticca, and Pinterest, Svpply and Spootnik e-commerce social directory tools, small designers can bring better products to the market, sell directly, and promote products that can be paid and used for life in this process, rather than the cheaper ones.

Johansson it takes one or two weeks to make a leather bag.

One of the main tasks is to painstakingly dye the leather manually so that the outside is smooth and hard and the bottom remains rough.

Explaining why their bags are so durable, Johansson said, "we are using full grain leather, which is the best quality leather you can find.

The leather has not been processed, so there are scars, scratched prints, spots and so on.

Imagine the way you peel off the first layer of skin - so the quality will drop, so you want to leave all of this on it.

When Johansson sews, waxes, processes and polishes, Antonelli communicates with customers throughout the process.

"Sometimes it takes 40 to 50 e-mails.

They want specific sizes and sometimes even require edges to have a specific color - which I fully understand, because I am the same way! If I do an investment, I will hope that some specific details can be worked out.

Basader will look for another durable leather that is sustainable.

They have tested cork and vegetable leather, but found that they are less durable.

The two men continued to study and placed their hopes on wood and latex.

Their latest inspirational picture - covered with different knitted patterns - also gives us the possibility of peeping into the future.

"We are also interested in making our ties and our beautiful necktie and nice scarves," Johansson said. "We want to start slowly, but we don't want basader to be a company that makes bags."