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Luxury Handbag
I send the next day sketching out designs for the three items as Jessica and Jake obsess over what colors to use for each item. We decide to use ivory white and midnight black for the handbag, beige for the wallet and a sky blue for the cell phone cover.
With work on the phone cover first, using a blue cut of cork leather to fashion a sleek phone cover, the four edges are reinforced with actual cork materials used for wine bottles. We craft special corks for the two lower corners of the phone cover. These are widened at the bottom, allowing the user to stand up the phone without any support.
“Drop the phone, Brooke.”
“Are you serious Jake?”
“Let it go Brooke.” I let the test phone slip from my hand, and it falls to the ground bouncing off the cork edges, and finally settles on its four corners.
Jake writes the tagline that hints at wine.
Keeping the spirits of conversation alive.
With just one week remaining, we focus entirely on the luxury handbag, cutting out the pieces in white and black. The idea is to show how versatile the cork leather is, and it can look as plush and as beautiful as any animal skin.
Based on my sketches we glue the pieces together, to create a rough model of what it would look like after stitching. Rejecting one after the other we arrive at one design for the black and white handbag and go to work on it. I start the stitching and when we are done, we place it under a spotlight. We call it the Portuguese Pearl. The cork leather comes from Portugal and the white ivory cork leather piece forms the base of the handbag. The upper part of the handbag is striped in midnight black and white. And on one of the black stripes, we place a white platinum buckle. The handbag exudes an old-world opulence, with modern craftsmanship. The threads are cream colored, and the stitching becomes evident as you look at the bag, almost like a treat for those who want to admire it. I use my experience to draw delicate embroidery around the Elysium symbol of ‘E’. This is done in cream color near the base and only becomes visible when the bag is moved, the white stitching on white material celebrates subtlety and a confidence that comes from self-contentment. There are pockets on both sides of the bag that can be closed and opened with black pearls that act as buttons. Jake uses his writing skills to create a tagline that is outrageously snobbish.
Yacht Friendly - Water proof yourself with the Portuguese Pearl.
It is a clever reference to cork leather which is known for its water-resistant properties.
Two weeks have gone by very quickly and we have the two prototypes ready.
Jessica seems happy with our performance. “The big man is back in town. He wants to see our prototypes this afternoon.”
ETHAN KNIGHT EXAMINES THE PROTOTYPE
BROOKE
It’s Friday afternoon.
Ethan Knight’s eyes rest on the two prototypes. He picks up the phone with our prototype cover and throws it across the room. It lands near Jake’s feet. Jake picks it up and brings it back to him.
“Not a scratch, clever use of the cork.”
“You can stand this up, if you like.” Jake’s voice is rising in confidence. He stands up the phone on the large desk. “The base of the bottom corks has been widened.”
“Well done,” says Ethan Knight, “Good thinking. Now Jake, I like the color you used for this dye. Have you done any calculations on what it would cost us to scale this up. Say 10,000 units.”
Jessica enters the conversation. “Already emailed to you in our analysis.”
He glances to look at all three of us. “Very good work team.”
Jessica and Jake stand taller exchanging smiles. I am not sure what to feel, as Ethan Knight moves the handbag prototype to the center under a spotlight.
“At first sight, the handbag is beautiful…” He says looking at us.
Jessica is quick to promote me. “Brooke sketched the design, and I also really liked it.”
“I am glad it makes a good first impression,” I say, which brings a smirk on Ethan Knight’s face. He opens the bag to find a sea green velvet material.
“It’s what’s inside that counts, right Miss Banner?”
“Yes Mr. Knight. They must complement each other.”
He looks at me. “But if they don’t. What if the first impression is entirely different from what is inside the bag?”
