The true value of quality

Couldn't care less

I have been thinking about the quality of products and how people think about their purchases in general lately. Wondering if quality has lost its value because people seem to care more about how much they consume than about what they actually buy. I have made the experience that people consume cheap products like crazy and don't even bother to look at the quality of that product. They care so little they don't even look at the things they buy up close. 

You made this?

What I have seen is people behaving the opposite way when they know the product was handmade. They start to look at the product in their hands as close as they can trying to find every little flaw there might be. Things they don't care about when buying a product for the same price at a big store. 

As for the leathergoods I produce I thrive to achieve the highest quality possible. I practice all of my leatherworking skills a lot and want all of my customers to be happy with what they buy from me. Even more so I want my products to become favorites and to be by your side for many years. 

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Details of the hand stitched seam

Is quality a value of the old times

In a fast moving world like ours is quality of products a value no one needs anymore? Do we only want new stuff every week rather than high quality products that last a lifetime?

I feel like yes and no is the answer to those questions. I also like to change it up and not carry around only one handbag all the time. You want to switch it up from time to time. But also people start to actually care about the products they buy more. Individuality is part of that I guess. It's part of the reasons I started this business in the first place. Wanting to buy a fancy handbag but not liking anything out there because of little details on the bag I din't like. 

So yes, people like to consume a lot but I also feel like quality is getting more and more attention and people are actually willing again to pay for another persons work.

Handcrafted Iphone sleeve in the making

Let's bring it back

The true value of quality may differ very much from one person to another. I feel like great quality products mean much more to us than the all of the other products we buy on the go. It's that emotional value of handmade, high quality products that make them so attractive. Also personalization of products makes them even more special because they fit your very own needs. 

Quality is becoming a trend again. People seem to care more about what they buy and what the quality and therefore durability of the product is.

For me the true value of buying high quality and maybe even handmade products is the emotional assets these products have to offer. Due to durability you can go on many adventures, make experiences and collect memories with your high quality purchase. You might even get emotionally attached to one or the other product because of all of the memories you made together.

“I can’t afford to buy cheap things”

— A German saying

My grandma used that saying a lot. Meaning buying a lot of cheap stuff is more expensive than buying less, high quality products. I am trying to incorporate that more into my own life and hope I can serve you well on that with the leathergoods I produce.

How do you feel about the value of quality in our daily lifes?

-LOVE-

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Jumping over the edge

The trigger

A few weeks ago, we moved from Austria back to Germany and I started my new job. It was in the same field (online marketing) as I have worked in before. But something just didn't feel right. It was not only the way things were handled in the new company which didn't meet my expectations on the quality of my own work. It was a feeling deep down, that I was meant to do something else.

I was so afraid of doing this over the past years. This was my dream right, but would I ever be able to let go of my fears? My oh so German attitude towards financial security, my pension and my income in general? Dreaming about doing something for so long is one part of the deal but then actually deciding to go all in is a whole new world.

Dobby is a free elf now

I feel great. Ever since I made the decision to quit this new job, leave all my fears about security behind and just focus on my dream I feel calm. I haven't felt so relaxed and calm in years. Just because I know it's the right time (even though I didn't think it was the right time 4 weeks earlier) to follow my dream and put all my energy into building this label. 

I get up in the morning knowing that I can use all my time and energy on making this happen ,improving my skills, developing my existing designs and just living it means the world to me.

My cheerleaders

I feel so much love and support nowadays from my close friends and family to people I haven't seen or spoken to in years. I have received orders from friends from university that are super supportive and make me feel so blessed. 

Thank you everyone for your support from day one! I couldn't feel any more believed in right now.

It's up to you

What I have learned on this journey so far is that all these inspirational quotes on Instagram lead you nowhere unless you take them and put them into action. I started with taking baby steps making leatherworking my hobby, trying to learn the skills I needed so that I can design and make products of high quality and value. It took me more than 3 years from the first time I told my girls about this dream to jumping all in today. 

- LOVE-

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The lows

When I first decided to go down this road and start this labe I was so motivated and worked every other evening after my regular 8hour shift in the office. But after a few weeks I got really tired and lost motivation. I just wanted to relax after work like everybody else does.

So the question ist, how do I deal with the lows?

First of all, everybody feels down and low from time to time. This is not just all about motivation and loving what you do, but sometimes there is just so much going on in your life, that you tend to loose track. Don't be too hard on yourself and yes I know this is one of the most challenging lessons in life and I struggle with that every single day. 

I always try to remember what I am doing all of this for. So I made a list of what my intentions are and why I started this journey. Making lists always helps to clear my mind from all of the fuzz. Also I try to talk to my closest friends and family and they are always quick in reminding me of why I started this journey in the first place.

Keep calm & don't be so hard on yourself!

So in case you are dealing with a low at the moment, I advice you to keep calm, remind yourself why you've started your journey and most importantly: don't be too hard on yourself. Take a deep breath and if you feel like taking a break from what you are doing then do that.

Looking forward to another high!

- LOVE -

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Why fighting for your dream is worth it

Haters gonna hate

In my first blog I talked about how liberating it felt when I first told my friends about my dream of starting my own label and how supportive they where! Well that's not the reaction you will get from most of the people you talk to... People like to bring others down mostly because of jealousy and that's what also happened to me.

I am sharing with you some of the worst comments I got and what I think of those:

1. If you'd really wanted you would have started earlier in your life!

Well that one was really tough because it made me think a lot but then I realized how very untrue this actually is. It took me some time to actually dare to dream about this. I am not a shy person and maybe that is because some of the people I told where very surprised about this but I had not realized I wanted to start my own label for a really long time. Also people change throughout their whole lives so actually this one does not make any sense at all. You can start to change you life whenever!

2. Handmade things are never good enough

That is actually as untrue as it gets. I myself feel it is the other way round. I someone really mastered a craft then handmade is way better than anything produced in large scale. But what is also true is that weirdly people tend to be 10 times more critical on things when they know you made it yourself. They would buy a 100€ handbag at Zara and not question the way it was crafted but when people buy something handmade the criticism is big so be prepared for that.

3. Competition is too high

Competition is high in everything you do in your life. There a more than 7 billion people on this planet so no matter what you do there is always a lot of competition. Don't let this stop you from doing what makes you happy.

4. You will never be able to live from it

Ok this one is tough because honestly this can be true. I am currently still working a full time job but I hope that one day my label will become it. But even if this doesn't work out I can still go down to working 50% on my current position and still live the dream!

Enough of the negativity. So why is fighting for your dream worth it? The answer is really simple I think. This is your life, so fighting for anything that you dream of is always worth the pain. And not all of my dreams in my life will actually come true I know that. But I don't want to look back on my life and regret not even trying. I can always fail but at least I know I tried.

- LOVE -

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Sharing my story!

I've started this journey about 1 1/2 years ago when I first dared to tell my girlfriends that I was dreaming about creating my own brand. I was so afraid to tell them because I thought they would tell me I was crazy and that it was the worst idea in the world! Well..... they didn't! (Thanks again girls! Couldn't be more thankful!)

From the day I dared to tell my closest friends and of course the boyfriend (who had no clue by the way) I actually started to work on building this brand and foremost my leatherworking skills. I will fill this blog with my story, my experiences and thoughts - basically my life. 

I can't wait to share all of my story with you guys!

- LOVE -

Aline