Rebecca
Smith, like most fashionable moms-to-be, had trouble finding a stylish and
affordable diaper bag. Frustrated and out
of options, she made her own fabulous bag and proudly posted the images on social media. What she didn't know when she hit the "post" button is that the second the image was uploaded, Better Life Bags was born. The requests started coming in, and after about three years she started looking for people to employ. Since 2009, Rebecca has not
only been able to produce customizable bags to people all over the world, she is also making an impact on the local economy by employing women who may not
have been able to find a job otherwise. Read more about what Better Life Bags is doing
DG3:
What's your background and how did you get into creating customizable bags?
Rebecca Smith: I floundered in college in deciding
what I wanted to be my major. I started as a fashion merchandising major,
switched 180 degrees into
As far as how I ended up here, that's a divine
accident. Six years ago, I made myself a diaper bag when I was pregnant with
our first son. After posting pictures on Facebook, friends and family
started ordering and encouraged me to open an Etsy shop. It continued on
as a part-time hobby of mine for the next three years. At the three-year
mark, I couldn't keep up with orders by myself, thanks to some well-known
bloggers catching word of our company and sharing with their readers or pinning
our bags. Living in Hamtramck, I could see the need for a safe place for
women to work and when I needed to decide how to outsource production, I
decided to keep it local to our community.
DG3:
So, someone wants to create their own bag, can they do it online and in
person?
RS: Yes! Most of our orders come through our
interactive website, and it's super fun to play around with. We have 30 different bag styles that start out on the site as a plain white
bag. You can then pop different color leathers and over 40 fabric prints
onto different areas of the bag and "build your own" - all while
seeing it come to life on your screen.
We have just started our workshop for retail
on every second Saturday of the month. We are located at 2750 Yemans St.,
in Hamtramck and during those second Saturdays, you can come in, sit on our
couch, look through our lookbook , play with our fabric and design your own
bag! Or walk away with a pre-made one on the spot!
DG3:
How many women do you have working for you and where did you find them?
RS:
We have 13 women working for BLB. It
started with one woman whom I knew personally. Her family was from Yemen and
for cultural reasons she was unable to work outside her home. Her husband
worked tirelessly at a gas station barely able to make ends meet. Her
kids slept on mattresses on the floor, and they didn't own a dining room
table. Within six months of working for BLB, she was able to afford both
for her home - bringing respect and honor from her husband, and a sense of pride
to her heart as she is able to contribute to her family's needs. Another employee approached me on the streets of
Hamtramck asking for money. I invited her to come work a few hours in the
office for pay instead. A year later, she is still here and thriving.
The employees are paid a living wage, and given a safe place
to work. They make every one of our bags from start to finish. Many
of them have the opportunity to sew and work in their homes, which meets a
cultural need for them, and others come into our workshop to cut fabric
and do other office assistant projects. Each employee is met with needs where they
are. We have helped establish budgets, open bank accounts, and have taught
work and life skills. We are a family here; celebrating milestones
together and being there for each other during hard times.
DG3:
Are the orders usually local or do you sell nationally and internationally?
RS:
We sell all over the world! Our
first international order came in 2011 to Malta and was a huge deal. Now,
our bags are being carried on every livable continent.
DG3:
Where is your studio and what does it look like?
RS: Our studio is right in Hamtramck. It's a
bright, industrial space with concrete floors and two skylights for natural
light. We have one large room that houses our retail wall , cutting tables,
shipping area, and industrial sewing machines. And we have a smaller
conference room that houses our tabletop sewing machines. My desk and our
operations manager's desk is right in the midst of everything.
DG3:
What do you want for your business in the next five years?
RS: I want to see it change lives. I want it to
become an example to corporate America that businesses can be structured to
think about more than just the financial bottom line, create a high quality
product, and still remain profitable. I want to show that investing in
people has the highest and longest lasting return. And I want to make a
dent in the unemployment numbers in our area.
DG3:
Describe your style.
RS: My personal style is neutrals with pops of
colors. I wear a lot of gray and black - usually with jeans and then a fun
pop of color in a scarf or jewelry. Our bags also bring that pop of color
to my neutral wardrobe. We have lots of really fun color -saturated prints
- florals ,geometrics and solid colors that can all mix and match on
the bag. I love seeing customers who mix patterns on their bags and who pairs a
bold stripe with a vintage floral print on the same bag. My current bag
has a distressed leather with an Aztec woven fabric for the body and bold black
and white stripes on the two side pockets.
DG3: If
you could have any celebrity's wardrobe, whose would it be and why?
RS: Reese Witherspoon. Hands down. I tried
cutting my hair like hers from Sweet Home Alabama one time. It was a
disaster. I have naturally curly hair and expected the beautician to work
a miracle.
DG3:
How do you take your coffee?
RS:
Black and bold.
DG3:
Celine or Mulberry?
RS: Better Life Bags all the way!
DG3:
Crossbody or Satchel?
RS:
Personally, satchel. Our customers
tend to love crossbody and we recently released three bags that have both as an
option.
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