Making bags with interior light since 2009
Who, when, and why light-up bags?
It all began around the year 2009 with Dani and Lluís. Already deep into the economic crisis, our job prospects were at risk and we felt like making a change.
Friends for many years and sound technicians, we often talked about building something in a professional field different from our own.
One of the few things we were sure about was that we wanted to create something tangible, some kind of product designed, made, and sold by ourselves. We wanted to carry out a project in which we had control over every step and thus be able to reflect our personality in it.
We had no idea what kind of product it would be, but we wanted its value to go beyond the economic cost; we wanted it to be a sum of reasons that would give weight to the brand, which we also did not have a name for. We thought very utopianly about everything surrounding our ideas.
We wanted the entire process—from design to final sale, including the many steps in between—to take into account the essence of our romantic ideas about the value things should have. That everyone involved would value the product beyond what it ended up being, and that they would come to value the brand for its core nature.
We have always been very curious about new technologies, and in 2009, after some time thinking about possible uses for different smart fabrics, the idea arose to light up the inside of bags. The first thing we did was look for similar products on the market, and seeing that nothing like it existed, and since we wanted to create something our own, different from what could be found everywhere, we decided this would be our goal.
We were very naive and we won’t deny that we thought the idea was so good that everything would be very simple.
Very, very naive!
The evolution
We soon realized that an idea is not everything, no matter how good it seems; execution is always the key. In this case, we must be thankful for the naivety that allowed us to keep moving forward, as starting something like this with absolutely no knowledge at all is truly madness.
"Very well! Light inside the bags, but which bags? Our own or others'? Large or small? What shape of bags? For men or women? What materials?..." The truth is, thinking about the endless questions that arose is truly overwhelming.
We started by buying a sewing machine, not even knowing how to thread the needle, recycled our personal computers, and found a place to begin practicing. We showed up at technology centers or potential suppliers empty-handed, saying, "hello, we want to make bags with light!" (they must have thought we were crazy).
We were helped by family, friends, acquaintances, and even strangers who either liked us or perhaps felt sorry for us (we still remember some of the faces they made when we explained our ideas).
We believe that a very important part of the beginnings of this journey was the lack of knowledge and the complete absence of fear of the unknown. Our way of thinking was as follows: "if people close their businesses, we will have more opportunities," "if companies move production abroad, we will do it at home and keep quality under control," "if there is no innovation in the handbag world, we will apply it in full force." We had positive answers to all logical reasoning.
With very few resources but a great deal of drive and a full "do-it-yourself" spirit, we began a very long path of learning in many different fields. We went from editing audio tracks and connecting cables to sewing and cutting fabrics. Making mistakes and correcting them, adapting and continuously training ourselves, we shaped what Babau is today.