Hanner Clarke: Made in the USA

When we were exploring how best to bring our handbag vision to market, one refrain we consistently heard was that we would need to have our manufacturing done outside the U.S in order to be profitable. We disagreed. To us, having our product made in the United States was an important component of what we were about. And we believed that our customers would place value on that, too.

Admittedly, finding artisans who could provide the quality work we needed was harder than we expected. But we found them and having our handbags made domestically allows us to have better quality oversight; we easily can spot and correct a design flaw in the manufacturing process, something that would be much harder if our bags were being produced overseas. Yes, domestic production does mean our prices will not be competitive with those mass produced outside the U.S. The customer who wants a serviceable bag at the lowest possible price point will likely not buy our bag; she can find what she needs and wants at Target (a store, by the way, that we think provides good value). But the customer who wants a high quality handbag made of exquisite Italian leather will find our direct to consumer pricing much more competitive than what she would find at Neiman Marcus, Saks, Barneys or other high end department stores or boutiques. Moreover, with Hanner Clarke, she will find a handbag of the highest quality, designed and manufactured in the USA.