Turning Leather Waste into Luxury Handbags | Emily Blumenthal & Cassandra Kane
episodePreviously titled “Turning Leather Waste into Luxury Handbags Emily Blumenthal & Cassandra Kane” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 3, 2026
Handbag Designer 101: The Stories Behind Handbag Designers, Brands, and Industry Icons
35 min
2 speakers
2 chapters
transcribed 1 month ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What inspired Cassandra Kane to start an upcycled luxury handbag brand?
I also have like a how to wear, you know, you scan it and it takes you to a video of exactly how to wear it. A lot of our bags are also convertible or just you can buy additional accessories for the bag. So if you want to juge it up with a woven strap instead of the strap that it comes or a braided strap instead of the strap it comes with, right? We have giant, you know, tassel keychains that you can add so you can customize all the bags the way that you want as well.
Hi and welcome to Handbag Designer 101 the podcast with your host, Emily Blumenthal, handbag industry expert and the handbag fairy godmother. Each week we uncover the stories behind the handbags we love, from the iconic brands and top designers to the creativity, craftsmanship, and culture that define the handbag world. Whether you're a designer, collector, or simply passionate about handbags, this is your front row seat to it all.
Welcome Cassandra Kane of CMA to Handbag Designer 101 the podcast. Cassandra, welcome.
Thank you. I'm so excited to be here.
So I'm excited to share that you're one of the new designers that will be with us at the It Back X New York Now at the New York Now show in August in New York City at the Javit Center, August 2nd through 4th. When this episode runs, we'll probably be before that. But and I want to make sure that you're able to use this episode because you're brand and your bags are so incredible. So having you part of this, it's it you are no spring chicken within the handbag industry. It's not like you woke up and said, let's do this. So I think your brand has so much DNA and there's so much uniqueness to what you've created. And I just think everyone listening will really benefit from hearing your story just because it's so inspirational and the bold leaps you've taken.
So So I've now monopolized I've mono stations. So Cassandra, welcome.
Yeah, but no problem at all. Thank you so much. That's very, very nice of you to say. I'm very excited to do the show and showcase our brand, especially in New York, where I lived for many, many years. Now, as you know, I'm in Florence, Italy, but coming home to New York will be a real homecoming. So I'm I'm so excited.
No pun intended. So so how like let's go way, way back. Did you always design? Was this something that you accidentally stumbled onto into? Because with the guest speakers that I have in my class, we talk a lot about that an entrepreneur is not necessarily a linear journey. So how did all this get started? What's your background?
I always knew I was wanted to be in fashion and a designer. I like to say that I definitely grew up in the schmozda business. My Bambi and my Zadie were seamstresses and tailors. And we think going back as far as Russia and Poland before they came to the United States in the late 1800s, like a lot of other Jewish Americans, ended up coming to the New York, New Jersey area. I always joke that even my mom was a buyer for a luxury boutique and actually at Bloomingdale's for many years. Used to take me to Barmies and Bergdorfs, like instead of the zoo, to go visit the Izingaki's and the Ivan Grundles. And she would teach me about good fabrics. And so there was no hope for me, I like to say. And I ended up going to fashion design school.
I actually went to Drexel. I didn't go in New York, but right afterwards I moved to New York. Drexel had a co-op program where you went and interned for full time for six months. And I did my internship at Dennis Basso. Where they make everything in the city. Yeah. Couture evening wear. And even bridal, sometimes like very custom bridal pieces, because he has the line with Kleinfelds and everything. So that was my first experience definitely with very, very high end with made in New York. and artisan made. I remember their everything was made in-house. So the furriers were in-house. We dealt a lot with exotic skins. That was all in-house. An outdoor designer. I wasn't a handbag designer at the time. And I was always really drawn to all of those materials, wool, leather.
Um for I didn't really know about the implications ethically or sustainably yet.
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Chapters
2 chaptersSpeakers
2 identifiedMore from Handbag Designer 101: The Stories Behind Handbag Designers, Brands, and Industry Icons
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