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'Travelher': Bags of creative juices
Monique Rhuggenaath’s life has taken an unexpected twist. In 2007, the lawyer with a self-confessed ‘fabric fetish’ gave up her job to relocate to Mumbai. There, the expat partner began to make bags and pouches out of the beautiful Indian fabrics.
“A good friend of mine organised expo’s where artisans would sell their work,” Monique continues. “She encouraged me to sell my bags at one of these events. I was quite hesitant. After all, this was just a keep-the-expat-wife-happy activity! But she put my name down and gave me a month to make a collection. I did just that and went to the expo feeling a nervous wreck. But when I came home with only three bags left, I knew I was on to something! This is how my company, Travelher, was born.”
Travelher specialises in bags and pouches to keep small items and valuables in while travelling: jewellery pouches, lingerie bags, little pouches for foreign currency, passport covers and more. I also make purses and (sling) bags. "The materials I use for my bags are all of superb quality. I use mostly silks and brocade, which I combine with batik or African wax or patchwork cotton. I will use anything as long as it is of great quality and special. I try to get my materials from all over the world and I make a very limited number of each design”, Monique explains.
“I also make to order. Whether it is personalising by adding name or initials in the bag or by designing an entire bag according to specific requirements; I do it all!” Monique says. “At first I thought that I would run out if inspiration. But every piece of fabric that I pick up gives me at least ten new ideas. That is really reassuring, but it makes me impatient at the same time. After all, I can only make one bag at a time.”
Help
Monique has discovered how willing people are to help out budding entrepreneurs: “I’ve learned how nice people can be. It is not my strongest asset to just walk up to people and sell myself. But once I did it, I realised that others will help, even when you cannot return the favour. Last week, for example, I just walked into this travel agency to ask the owner if I could put down a promotional display for my web shop. And he suggested he’d sell my passport covers for just a tiny commission!”
For anybody who is toying with the idea of starting up a business, Monique has just three words: “Just do it!” she urges. “If you can arrange it and your family is OK with it, just give it a try. What is the worst that can happen? That it does not turn out the way you hoped? Even if that is the case, something else might come out of it. And at least you tried.”
“If I had not stopped working before we left for India, I would have never considered starting anything like this,” Monique adds. “Sometimes things are just thrown in your lap. The only thing you need to do is pick it up.”
For more information on Monique’s work and for the Travelher web shop. Monique is offering free shipping worldwide on any order that is placed this month (December 2010).