Kasia Dietz: New Yorker Turned Parisian Handbag Designer
You can’t live in one place your entire life and expect to gain anything valuable enough to incorporate it into what you’re passionate about. Travelling broadens your perspective on the world around you. The culture, the tastes, smells, the diverse groups of people, landscapes and the beauty of the adventurous unknown - for a designer, travelling is essential. It was what led me away from my hometown into the arms of Paris.
The daughter of an interior designer, I grew up around textiles. Since I was a child I would spend hours playing with my mom’s fabrics, creating patterns and making clothes for my dolls as well as for myself. I remember so well the feeling of creating something of my own and wearing it with pride! It was many years later, when I dusted off my mom’s wooden prints that she had used for T-shirts, that I created the idea of wearable art in the form of bags.
My creative and business background led me to pursue an advertising career as a Print Producer in New York. In over a decade, I worked with many talented photographers and illustrators, learning much about the world of commercial art, as well as developing an eye for composition. So I moved to Paris with my love of fashion, art and design and began my handbag business.
Aside from making me stronger and more flexible, Paris has taught me a lot about doing business in France, where quality outranks quantity. The French are much less prone to buy from a lesser known designer than Americans are, posing a challenge when trying to build a brand in a country dominated by big names.
One of my greatest initial challenges was finding a manufacturer. I barely had any contacts in Paris and spoke little French. Determined, I bought a sewing machine, got to work on my samples and asked anyone I could for local production leads. One of my fabric suppliers provided the name of a manufacturer, et voila! I’ve been working with him, producing locally in Paris, ever since.
I’m continuing to expand the selection and distribution of my eco-chic bag collections, as they make their way around the world.
Kasia left her hometown because it was a chance for her
