Q & A with Angela & Renee

Q:  How and when did boodlebags get started?
A:  Well, it all started over coffee – don’t the best ideas usually start that way? 
R:  I wanted to show Angela these tote bags I had made and get her opinion. 
A:  They were so cute!  They had these great color combinations and funny little characters appliquéd on – I was smitten!  I think I said something like “OMG-you-should-totally-make-these-lots-and-lots-of-these-and-they’ll-sell-like-crazy-and-you-could-make-all-kinds-of-bags-and-stuff-and-you’ll-need-to-find-someone-to-help-you-make-and-sell-them-and-do-you-want-a-partner?”

Q:  Wow.  Does she always talk like that?
R:  Well, she was pretty excited…
A:  Actually, I didn’t ask to partner with her until after a series of phone calls and emails following that fateful coffee date; I kept bombarding her with ideas and questions and advice, and I finally decided that I’d better ask if she WANTED to hear any of this from me!  I can get pretty pushy when I’m excited about an idea.  And I was REALLY excited about this one!  Anyway, I felt like I didn’t have any right to be so bossy or pushy unless it was my project, too.  So, she said yes, and now I get to be bossy and pushy all the time!

Q:  And you’re okay with this?
R:  Yeah.

Q:  You don’t say much, do you?
R:  No.
A:  I do most of the talking.  I talk a lot, so I guess I’m pretty good at talking.  Heck, I could talk all day!

Q:  O-kaaay.  (Awkward pause)  Soooo…that was March of 2008, right?
R:  Yes.  We started working on designs and selecting fabrics, and had our first show in October.   We were so pleased by the response!

Q:  Where did the name come from?
A:  Well, the word “boodle” is turn-of-the-century English slang for treasure, booty, ill-gotten goods, or just stuff.   “Boodlebags” seemed fitting, it’s catchy, and it wasn’t already taken!
R:  Besides, it’s fun to say!  

Q:  Tell me about the product – what’s special about boodlebags?
R:  We’re all about fun and function.  There are so many diaper bags and totes in dark colors – too serious!  We want our bags to make their owners smile!  And most diaper bags aren’t washable – have you seen what happens to diaper bags?  What goes into them?!  They’ve got to be washable! 
A:  Because we’re moms, we know what features are important in a diaper bag or changing kit.  We really put a lot of thought into our designs!  And we test them out ourselves to be sure that what seemed good in theory works well in reality.  Lots of bags have great features, but they’re so heavy!  Diaper bags have to carry so much stuff, we don’t need all that extra weight, so we designed ours to be lightweight.  Also, our bags stand up and stay open, which many fabric bags don’t.  

Q:  What about the trend toward “green” and “eco-friendly” products?  Fair trade manufacturing?
R:  The heart of our mission statement is “to make good and do good.”  What that means to us is to create fun, functional, and affordable products and be as green as we can in that process.   We also want to help others.  This is harder than it sounds! 
A:  It is difficult to find fabrics that are truly eco-friendly.  For example, most of the manufacturers making recycled PET fabrics are in China.  The bottles and other recyclable plastics may come from the USA, but it’s all shipped to China, where they manufacture the fabric then ship it back to the USA.  That’s a huge carbon footprint!  Not very green.  Most organic fabrics are also made overseas, and are often dyed using toxic processes, which pretty much negates the benefit of going organic in the first place!.  
R:  We also want our bags to be affordable for the average mom, especially in these hard economic times!  Eco fabrics cost about three times what regular fabrics do. 
R:  Manufacturing raises some of the same issues.  We want to create jobs locally, but can’t afford domestic rates.  Overseas manufacturing may be cheaper, but we still can’t afford the large quantities required in either case. Besides, we don’t want to contribute to the “sweat shop” conditions that make it so!  And again, there’s the carbon footprint.
R:  Right now, we make the bags ourselves and with the help of local stitchers; this provides flexible work opportunities for women, many of them moms like us.  We cut our pattern pieces by hand and utilize the scrap, which reduces waste.  We use fabrics that are available to us through domestic suppliers; keeping it local makes a smaller carbon footprint.  For now that seems the best way to go.

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