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[#1]

It took me 90 minutes to get through the Lincoln Tunnel to visit Aimee Kestenberg in her NYC office...but it was worth every minute! I was excited to learn more about the handbag designer and was interested in finding out what makes her tick.

Aimee has been called the “handbag wonder from down under.”  A force to be reckoned with in the world of design, she was named in the Top 30 Under 30 list by Forbes and is a winner of two prestigious American Handbag Designer of the Year awards. Her story began in Melbourne as an RMIT graduate who was determined to come to America. She attended Parson’s School of Design in NYC and, upon graduation, began designing for renowned fashion houses. Her dream was to create affordable, fashion-forward designer bags in a competitive fashion world, so she developed her own line. It took determination, talent, and lots of hard work…

Aimee is one of five kids—one boy and four girls. She met her husband at her first job…in the elevator, to be exact…and the two of them make an amazing duo. From the minute I entered her small NYC studio I could see and feel her passion and drive for success. I honestly could have listened to Aimee talk about what inspires her all day.

If you’ve ever held Aimee’s bags, you’ll agree that there is something comforting about their feel and shape. They’re designed that way, as Aimee explains, as a reaction to the uncertainty of the world around us. Aimee travels the world developing her leather with the finest factories, and she takes care so her hardware details are amazing. Her unique closures are fashioned after locks on the back of delivery trucks in NYC…and even fire hydrants! It takes the eye of an artist and the mind of an engineer to see and interpret the world in a unique way…Aimee is gifted with both qualities, and it’s evident in every detail of her bags.

Listening to Aimee describe her designs, her struggle to succeed, and her pure joy made me a believer in her dream too...she was excited to say that she and her husband now have six employees in their NYC office. And, she is very excited to be developing shoes, boots, luggage, and more amazing handbags for the Q.

As I walked through the streets of NYC, I thought, if she can make it here she can make it anywhere. Her hard work and determination is refreshing and inspiring to me. I hope that you will spend time with this gifted, determined, and kind designer on September 21 when she shares her first TSV on the Q. You don’t want to miss it!

All the best,

Pat

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