What goes into creating a new design?

I am not a designer by trade. My background is in finance. But what I like to say is instead of analyzing financial trends, I watch fashion trends. Once I see a popular trend, I begin looking at all the different ministries we partner with and their talents to see who can create this product. We then take this idea and design it with a special twist to make it uniquely The Marketplace!

Last year we wanted to create a pom pom bag tassel for our best seller, the Large Basket Tote by Sueno Canastas in Guatemala. This tote sells out every year and is our #1 selling product on Pinterest. Sueno Canastas has tried making the pom pom tassel and has not been successful. They haven’t had the right materials or the know-how, so we went to production on just the Basket Tote.

Last December as I was getting ready to place another large order of these totes, I started thinking about this bag tassel again. I began going through the different ministries and immediately thought of Teze Handcrafts in the Republic of Georgia. They specialize in woolen balls. I quickly realized that this was going to be our special twist. Instead of using pom poms, which everyone uses, we were going to design it around the handcrafted woolen balls. I reached out to Rachel with Teze and pitched the idea. She said they would love to create a prototype. We sent them a drawing along with the latest Pantone colors for 2023 and they quickly sent us a sample picture. We made 1 minor adjustment. We had them braid the threads between the tassel and the woolen balls so our product would be durable and could be used for multiple seasons.

I then decided to create a special all pink one for our little girl’s basket tote. I thought of those who had purchased a Large Basket Tote or Pack Mule in the past, I knew they would  one! Plus, it’s a great bag accessory and would look amazing on our leather totes. We will be offering the bag tassel as a fun add on to products you already own.

The true heart behind our new designs is never about the product, it’s always about the people. It’s simple math. The more sales we have, the more jobs we create, and the more lives are changed. I would like to introduce you to the new and improved Large Basket Tote with Bag Tassel by Sueno Canasta and Teze Handcrafts. It’s a beautiful collaboration of Guatemala and the Republic of Georgia!