Brooke Roberts

Kia ora koutou, welcome to this very special episode of Shared Lunch, where we are sitting down with the creator and founder of Yumei, Jessie Wong.

We're going to talk a bit about the formation of Yumei, how the business has evolved over the last 10 years, and then we're going to dive into a real special project close to Jessie's heart, which is a Wellington Biennial coming up this weekend.

So let's get into it.

Thanks so much for joining us today, Jessie.

Can you tell us a little bit about why you started UMA?

What problem you're solving and the journey you've been on since?

And every, you know, a lot of people have had ideas, but you went and executed it.

What was around you to go, yep, I'm going to make this happen.

And how'd you go about that?

And then how did it turn in from, you know, creating a bag for yourself to, you know, creating bags for people right around the world to be using now?

I've known you for a long time now, but I remember I knew you before I met you because I'd see Yume bags everywhere.

Where does Yume come from, the name, and why did you choose that, and what does that mean to you?

Every product you create in every leather goods that you have created and now that incredible recyclable nylon you're using, it all has a lot of depth to it.

Can you tell us a bit about your design process, like how you come up with your concepts, what they mean, often named after somebody you know?

Something that's maybe more behind the scenes with you, May, is just how much thought goes into how you're having a positive impact.

And, you know, we're a B Corp, which, you know, we think quite a lot about our business being a force for good.

And I know you may are too.

So tell us a bit more about what being a B Corp means to you.

Business should be a force for good, eh?

You've always really focused on luxury leather goods.