“I’m so glad you’re a she-geek!” Marty just said to me.


I’d mentioned that although we don’t say it on any of our marketing literature, our bags are actually vegan - they’re made without using any animal bits or animal testing. This means they’re eco-, human-, AND animal-friendly.


Truth is, though, we Rebagz types try not to resort to pre-existing labels and definitions, because it hampers our thinking. Case in point was our recent decision to send me to listen to a presentation by John Eagan, a vice president and general merchandise manager for Costco Wholesale. I mean, using reductionist thinking we don’t have much in common as organizations because they’re a massive, mainstream corporation and we’re a little winky eco-chic handbag company. Yet Costco is one company we actually DO want to learn from, because there’s something about their culture that enables them to consistently receive great praise from their members and their employees while making millions of dollars. Like I said, we don’t just accept pre-existing definitions for big ideas like financial success, so, for us, the manner in which we succeed is just as important to us as the fact that we succeed.


I took so many notes at this presentation that my hand was sore, and most of it had to do with little examples that inspired me. For instance, wrapping pallets differently and choosing a different model of truck allowed them to increase their trucking efficiency by about 30%, which is not only a massive financial improvement, but an environmental one. And at some locations they’re sending food waste to a worm farm, and the waste later comes back to Costco in the form of compost. I think that is the coolest thing! See? Marty’s right - I’m a geek.

As I was leaving the talk, I saw a woman carrying a really cute bright yellow tote, and I was like, HANG ON! That’s a yellow Large Tie Tote! I had to introduce myself, because, given the context, chances were it was somebody Marty knows. Sure enough, it was Cindy Baker Gilbert, who is, in Marty’s words, “a wonderful writer and a dear, dear friend. I love her spirit and her Texas twang, and she’s one of those people you can talk your heart out to.” In honor of Cindy and her cute bag, this week we’re featuring the Large Tie Tote in yellow. Regularly $95, it’s $71.25 through next Tuesday.


All the Best to You,


Bonny

As a kid in Sacramento I developed a very full inner life that was fueled by the images I saw on the massive pages of Interview magazine. It was about 1977 or ’78, and something big was happening in New York and London. I stared again and again at the photographs of people with bizarre haircuts, and elaborate makeup, and shredded club clothing that was seemingly safety pinned together from whatever castoff bits were available. It was unbelievably gritty and fabulous to a young person who’d always had a safe and clean suburban life.


Eventually, what became known as Punk rock and New Wave hit the radar in Sacramento, and there was a store called Evangeline’s  that grabbed the glittering darkness of the 1980s and ran with it. At Evangeline’s you could buy buttons and t-shirts that said outrageous things, accessories in lurid day-glo colors, and cheeky graphic postcards from, among others, the late Philip-Dmitri Galas (brother of Diamanda). It was at Evangeline’s that I bought the perfect belt for the day. It was shiny, black, and springy. I could wrap it around my body about 10 times. And it fastened just like the plug on an electrical cord. It wasn’t until I was in college that I realized it actually WAS an electrical cord. I probably wouldn’t have ever thought of it, but I came home one day and saw that my roommate had used it to plug in our lamp.


Another thing I remember about this transformative time was the mysterious name Fiorucci. It kept popping up in Interview in conjunction with random silly pictures, and there were little cupids in sunglasses that seemed to have something to do with it. I didn’t know then that Fiorucci was both a store and a brand - they came out with an early, possibly the first, pair of stretch jeans in 1982. Sounds like it was a scene as much as it was commerce, for the Warhol set were regulars, and singer/performance artist Klaus Nomi even played their opening in 1977. Legend has it that Madonna bought her iconic black rubber bracelets there, too.

 
Fiorucci the store closed in the mid 80s, and the brand disappeared a little while later amidst financial troubles. It’s since been acquired by Edwin Co. Ltd. of Japan, who make jeans. I can’t read Japanese to know if they mention Fiorucci licensing, though there’s also a site at http://www.fiorucci.it that may or may not be official. In terms of evidence that someone is trying to do something with the brand, I would think I had hallucinated it, but there actually was a Fiorucci collection at Target in late 2005 or early 2006 – I have a t-shirt with a big pink sparkly lip print to prove it. 

I was recently reminded of the Fiorucci in my young mind by this week’s featured bag, our silver Chained to Me Clutch. It has a certain Warhol factory-Fiorucci -Debbie Harry circa-1978 quality not only because it’s silver, but because what’s more 1978 new wave than a darling clutch with a chain that’s made out of woven trash?  For that matter, what’s more 2009 than a darling clutch with a chain that’s made out of woven trash? New wave or eco-chic, it’s a classic either way, and it’s 25% off, or $45, through September 22nd.


All the Best to You,


Bonny