designer spotlight: leatherology, innovative accessories in living color

Designer Spotlight is a regular column focused on style/design and working women.
A unique online brand led by a sister --and-
The Duo Rae and the David Liu brothers have accelerated the pace of the leather game, offering a wide range of color options in its different series, includes but is not limited to leather tote bags, wallets, cosmetic bags, tech case, desk accessories and travel bags.
A Department of top websites-leather studies
DC International, a Washington-based retailer, wisely chooses to abandon the traditional brand logo on its accessories, but instead provides customers with personalized company logos or letter combinations, or lets products speak for themselves.
The leather is vertical.
It has its own manufacturing facility in China, based in Dallas, Texas.
The luxury brand sells directly online, saving customers a lot of money.
Before taking over the family
In 2011, Rae, the accessories development manager of Alexander Wang, helped fashion designers launch his popular collection of handbags and footwear.
Last year, David teamed up with his sister to run DC International after he was Google\'s industry, business and technology vertical director in London.
Kristina Moore: Ray, how did you convince your brother to join leather?
David, did your sister twist her arm?
Liu Lei: not easy!
I have been selling David in leather and Dallas \"soft\" for several years.
I think if I could get him to move home, he would see how many chances there were.
Luckily, I was right!
To be honest, I was surprised and pleased with the results of my overall plan.
David and my skills complement each other. with him, I believe we can overcome almost any challenge.
David Liu: I still don\'t know how she convinced me to get on the ship!
To be honest, I have been against the idea of moving back to Dallas for years.
I have been living in New York and London for most of my adult life, and the idea of \"moving home\" seems to be so permanent.
However, over the past few years, whenever I visit Dallas, I feel the growing creativity and entrepreneur spirit of the city.
The same is true of leather studies.
Every time we are together, Ray and I find our ideas collide with each other and talk more and more about our long term
Long-term vision of the brand.
Rae did not give himself enough trust.
She has made amazing achievements in leather studies and we all see greater potential in the future.
As Rae said, we have a very different but complementary background in fashion and technology, which allows us to act faster and even more innovative.
Is there anything that surprises you about this job relationship?
David: I\'m surprised we\'re not tired of each other yet!
Jokingly, Rae and I argued and disagreed like other siblings.
However, we have the same vision for our company and are passionate about what we do.
While we sometimes disagree in the process of getting there, the ultimate goal of our leather studies is quite the same.
We want to create a lasting company, an eternal brand that we truly take pride in.
David and I have been very close.
However, being \"close\" and less than 50 feet away from someone every day is a completely different thing!
It\'s fun to work together, but I can\'t say there\'s a period of learning and adapting to work together.
David and I have very similar interests, values and aesthetic feelings.
However, our work style is very different.
David is very active. oriented (
I dare say impatient)
I\'m more careful and detailed, though.
We balance each other and make sure we move forward.
Make informed and thoughtful decisions for the business.
I always appreciate the logo.
Free fashion accessories
The fact that leather offers a wide range of color options gives me a further sense of style freedom.
Is this your intention? Ray: Sure.
We always hope that the product can speak by itself, not that the product has a logo to speak.
I worked in the fashion industry for many years before leather, and in the fashion industry I kept pushing for new fashion and the next big trend.
This \"freshness\" is often fleeting and rarely feels fresh after a few seasons.
I feel that the design is often pushed out of the door very quickly and there is never a chance to marinate completely.
I come out of this experience and desire something simpler but more complete, more lasting and more personalized.
This is one of the important reasons why our focus in leather studies is to create simple everyday luxury goods.
We always want our customers to define the product.
We want them to make their own products, not the other way around.
Our clients are smart and savvy and understand that they have good valuemade, well-
They can design and timeless items in their own style.
They are also very creative.
We want to encourage this creative expression by classifying, color, personalizing and even catchy themes.
How does leather learn to empower professional women?
Rae: We want our customers to know that they have purchased an item wisely and have invested in an item that has been with them for a long time.
Our design is modern, but the consciousness is eternal, almost-fashion.
Some of our best.
Items for sale are simple outlines such as handbags and pouches.
They are versatile and ideal for everyday life.
For example, in order to adapt to the busy lifestyle of women, we have developed handbags.
It is all leather, fine in detail, but light in weight and fully lined.
This makes it easy to carry all day long and extra durable.
We even designed a removable diaper bag plug-in for momthe-go (like me! ).
David: one of the most valuable parts of our work is to understand how our customers use and experience our products.
Whether it\'s a graduation gift for a daughter, a padfolio for the first day of a new job, or a passport for the upcoming honeymoon holiday, it includes a letter combination, it is encouraging to see how our customers make every item their own.
Tell us about the manufacturing process of leather.
If made in China, where is your source of leather?
David: We are completely vertical.
The integration of business means that we are-
House including product design, development, production and fulfillment.
All our products are made in our own factory, which gives us complete control and supervision of the production process.
It took us years to build the best one. in-
China\'s first-class boutique leather goods production factory.
Our amazing businesses, designers and marketing team in Dallas work togetherin-
Work hand in hand with factory peers throughout the development process.
We are fortunate to have had amazing sample manufacturers and artisans from the beginning working in the leather industry, but we have also invested a lot of money in innovative technologies, such as computer cutting machines, to minimize efficiency and improve quality.
We are a truly global business.
Our business is based in Texas, we produce products at our own factory in China, and we purchase leather from some of the best leather factories in the world.
We only use full-
Grain Leather and our premium leather are sunburned in Italy and Germany using European rawhide while our signature leather is sunburned using American rawhide.
From this point of view, leather learning costs more per square foot on our premium leather than I do when working for other premium leather
High-end luxury brands.
Thanks to our business model, we have done all of this while delivering a small fraction of the product at the same time.
How the future of America will affect your bottom lineS. -
Are there still differences in China\'s trade agreement?
Can you keep the price of leather?
Ray: I think there is a lot of uncertainty about what may happen, and I guess it is unwise.
In general, manufacturing is only part of a bigger economic problem.
I hope there will be a shift in dialogue, and there is a recognition that trade and manufacturing are not zero. sum game.
Our ability to produce beautiful, expensive accessories in our own factory in China is directly responsible for creating more than 50 ideas, sales, and operations in Dallas, in addition to a company we are proud, there is no scientific work at all.
At the end of the day, we cannot predict what will happen.
However, our entire team feels very strong about not letting anything damage the quality.
We will always strive to provide customers with the highest possible value at the most affordable price.
My understanding is that leather is self. funded.
Are you looking for outside investment?
Never say no, but this is not our purpose.
We like to develop brand freedom in our own way.
When we make decisions, it is always guided in the best way.
Our business and customers, not external investors.
Both Rae and I are from hyper-
Often obsessed with the fast-growing, fast-winning and instant-satisfying competitive industries.
Unlike many emerging laser companies
We focus on rapid growth and valuation, on stability, longevity and smart growth.
What is the most exciting thing about today\'s fashion? tech space? Everything?
I am excited that consumers have accepted the fashion of buying online and are willing to personalize something without seeing it in person.
Our job is to continue to innovate and make decisions as much as possible and as much education as possible.
I think we\'re just in the early stages of a generation shift in consumer buying behavior. E-
Business is only the most obvious source of this confusion, but it forces all retailers to be vigilant and constantly innovate to meet the best interests of consumers, otherwise there is a risk of being left behind.
Being at the forefront is both a tense moment and an exciting one, but I am eager to see what will happen next.
We like our direct camp very much. to-
The consumer model enables us to offer better products at better prices, and consumers are beginning to accept the emphasis on quality rather than quantity.
We have the ability to build direct relationships and build customer loyalty as before. Our e-
The business model provides us with a continuous feedback loop.
We constantly analyze consumer data and customer feedback to improve and even expand the range of our products.
Our range of products is one of the core advantages of leather.
We believe that even the smallest part of your daily life will improve.
As a result, we offer niche products such as leather magnets, wire shields, toothpicks, bookmarks, and eye masks.
Believe it or not, many of these projects are developed based on customer feedback and needs.
How do you keep the design of your accessories progressive and fresh?
What is the next step in leather learning?
Ray: We have four guiding principles in our studio: fresh, simple, insightful, bold.
No matter what we do, whether it\'s updating the wallet style or developing a new landing page for the site, we\'re trying to follow these 4 simple words.
Our accessories are designed for real life.
We always want to design beautiful products, but we need to design practical products.
We look at how modern women and men use their accessories every day to inform us of the design process and keep the contours fresh.
We also believe in clothing testing very much, so everyone in our team is constantly trying multiple products and is responsible for proposing ways to improve.
David: We feel like we\'re just starting to scratch the surface with the possibility of personalized leather accessories.
We plan a large number of products in the near future, including new custom options, colors, materials and expanded product categories such as handbags, work bags and wedding accessories.
We are also starting to explore new ways to engage with our customers, whether in the form of pop music --Ups or other-
Experience activities.
However, some of our most important and innovative projects are less sexy and compelling.
They include constantly looking for ways to improve our website to create a better shopping experience for our customers.
How do you replenish your creativity and energy? David: Travel!
I am a very restless and adventurous person, so the best way to \"charge\" for me is to run away.
Whether it\'s a short trip or a long trip in Texas
Long flights around the world, there are some exciting but ironic relaxation in the trip.
Experiencing different cultures is also an amazing source of inspiration.
I always come back to work with new ideas.
In fact, a recent trip to Andalucia and Morocco inspired our upcoming Fall Series.
Ray: I\'m also a tourist fan.
But I have one.
Now that I\'m one year old, whenever I have a very stressful meeting or a day, I look at her picture on my phone.
It will always relax me!
There was always a big smile on her face.
She looks at everything in the world with such surprises and excitement. her happiness is contagious and energetic.