The Dots: Inspiring With A Bag

Our main motto here at Hashslush is “Total Inspiration“. We try to provide only awesome and inspirational content to our readers, so what’s better than talking about a bag born to inspire?

We all know that customization is invading every market, from technology to clothes. People can nowadays purchase personalized bicycles, pens, smartphones and even shoes. But also if companies are trying to give customers the feeling of making the product as their own product, there is still a limitation. Obviously related to the product. You can personalize some certain parts of the products, choose your combination of colors, maybe of materials and fabrics, but the product is still the same. So what if you can give your product a voice and change every day what is communicating to others?

Ralitsa and Matteo, a young couple from Milan, came up with this idea about a year ago. Ralitsa Dimitrova, originally from Bulgaria, works for an international consultancy company and has a Fashion background thanks to her Master Degree got at the London University of the Arts. Matteo Cherchi, Italian from Milan, got a Bachelor’s Degree at Bocconi University of Milan, same of Ralitsa, and he is currently a consultant for an American company working on production, logistic and purchasing projects. The Dots founders are creatives, but both know business’ rules and how to introduce a product to the market.

They decided to create an innovative concept of handmade leather bags inspired by people and their individuality. The Dots bags allow you to communicate your status, your mood, your stories every single day. “The Dots brings personalization to a new level by transforming bags in objects of expression” – that’s what Ralitsa and Matteo say. The Dots bags are all made of high quality, naturally dyed genuine Italian leather, which has been handcrafted using traditional techniques by some of the last remaining Milanese artisans into a bag aimed at staying with its owner for the long run. Vintage typewriter letters laser-engraved on white leather, which can be used to write on the bag, and the take on the British satchel shape, add to the classic bag design while making it unique to each and every person wearing it. Each bag from the Scrabble collection comes with a set of 80 attachable letters from the Latin alphabet to allow individuals to “fill in the dots” if they wish to. Both the bag and the letters come beautifully wrapped in a packaging, especially developed for the brand.

We met them for an interview, let’s drive you through the discovery of The Dots!

 

Creating The Dots

How did you come up with the big idea?

Ralitsa: “It happened when I was studying in London at London University of the Arts and I was doing a research project around the concepts of personalization and co-creation in fashion. I had this sort of  “Eureka” moment when I realized that there were people out there looking for products which carry a certain personal meaning for them. I thought it would be great to create objects which people establish a sort of “friendly” connection with and do not just throw away next season because they found something new or better. At the same time people like change so I thought it would be amazing to have an accessory which could have a long lasting quality but at the same time allow you to change every day. That’s exactly what became the guiding principle behind The Dots actually- we created the bag in leather and revisited classical forms exactly because we wanted  to emphasize this season-less aspect of it which goes beyond trends but at the same time the personalization element expressed through the attachable tiles makes it possible for each person to create kind of their own “trends” or stories every day. That’s how it all started- I was in my dorm room in London and I had this extreme sense of excitement when I acknowledged the idea, that it gave me no choice but to pursue it- I had to see it become real!”

Where did you get your inspiration from?

Ralitsa: “In terms of design I was very much influenced by the classical British satchels. I love the satchel bags shape- it’s smart, practical and carries a certain nostalgia for old times which I like. I think the  vintage or nostalgic element of the bags design works very well with The Dots concept because it refers to times when consumerism in fashion was not as present and quality objects were produced with the idea to last in time, I think also people valued more their purchases and selected them with care as they knew they won’t be able to buy another one 50 meters down the street in the next fast fashion store. I believe we are now going back to this type of more conscious consumption and I really like seeing that in people. At the same time we didn’t want to make The Dots a luxury object restricted to only a certain group of privileged people. It is important for us to provide good value for money bags with a fun twist. So that was the main idea and then we worked around these concepts of nostalgia and quality to find inspiration in classical board games such as Scrabble or vintage typewriting machines- all things referring to activities which in the past were associated with spending good quality time.”

How did everything started?

Ralitsa: “Well…it was a long process. After I came up with the initial idea in London, I came back to Milan and started working on it immediately. It took me  some time to actually visualize the final product and come up with a design which is first of all doable and secondly- beautiful enough to avoid that The Dots bags become “only about the attachables”. I wanted to create a bag which is aesthetically pleasing also without the letter tiles on because, of course, I imagine not every day I’d feel like writing something on it. After a few unsuccessful attempts,  Matteo joined the project and helped me define everything better .”

Matteo: “We then started with a long phase of prototyping since the attachable system we use for the bags was not available on the market , so we had to develop it from scratch. For the attachable studs we had to find a material which was good enough and lasting, which was working well with leather and also develop a shape which allows for the letter tiles to fit in easily in the little holes but at the same time do not fall off it. So we did a lot of testing before finalizing that aspect. Then we had to find the right production partners which could ensure the quality of the bags we had imagined. Since we are new to the industry we spent a lot of time till we found the right suppliers. In the process we developed around 9 different versions of the bags before ending up with the one we liked. Then costs had to be taken into account, packaging,  labelling, branding  and so on until we now have a product we are extremely satisfied with.”

How many times did you change the initial idea? Or did you find the right idea from the beginning?

Ralitsa: “We went through a lot of prototyping till we arrive at the final current version of The Dots. But it was mostly about figuring out the details and how to make the product better. During this process the initial idea has been always the same from the beginning and I think this helped us to remain focused and concentrate our efforts on transforming a vision to an object in the best possible way. At the end of the day The Dots is a very simple idea but executing it the way we wanted was the most challenging part.”

What made you decide to start up The Dots project together?

Ralitsa: “For me it was something like a no turning point-  since I came up with the idea it was like a given that I had to realize it, I had no choice but to act on it and start the project because, you know,  inspiration is like this feeling which doesn’t let you sleep at night. But then I knew I lacked some competences and also some personality traits which were important. So I knew I needed a partner from the beginning, I just needed some time to realize this partner can be Matteo and when he started getting naturally more and more involved in the project it was clear that we had to do this together.”

Matteo: “We very much complete each other because Ral can generate a lot of cool  ideas but then often lacks the methodological approach needed for delivering on those ideas, which is something I can add to the table. We are also a couple and we work very naturally together. Other than that, for me the decision came after the realization that if executed well,  The Dots is an idea with a great growth potential, because it’s actually a unique product and nothing similar currently exists on the accessories market.”

Who do you think is the right target for your bags?

Ralitsa: “I believe The Dots appeals first of all to people who have this sort of conscious attitude towards their consumption and buying decisions- in the sense that they are looking for and prefer purchasing less things but things which  are special and make a certain sense- whether it’s because they express some sort of a cool idea, or make usage of alternative materials or just because they tell the story of the creator…doesn’t matter, those people prefer products which are different and interesting. They don’t buy because of branding and they certainly don’t buy because of status. They like to discover and sustain small shops, young designers or artists, local businesses and crafts.  Other than that The Dots people have a free attitude, they are self-secure and self-aware and they  like to be noticed in the crowd. We imagine them as having fun and slightly ironic personalities, they don’t take themselves too seriously, they might be both introverts or extroverts but for sure they are self-confident and have established opinions which they have no problem to stand up for. If I have to sum it up in just three words they would be Free, Confident and Conscious.”

Do you think The Dots can become a trigger for a whole new way of communicating, similarly to what happened with Facebook?

Ralitsa: “Well actually, from the beginning when I was developing the idea I was contemplating about how digital changed so much how people are communicating and how much time they spend now on social media, their smart phones and all other sorts of technology…so I thought what if physical products could be used in the same way and how cool would it be if physical products could communicate and exchange messages as well. So in a certain sense The Dots wants to be also a fun ironic take on the concept of digitalization and social media but as viewed in the world of physical products. If we take this idea to the extreme, one might imagine The Dots as a “revenge” of physical products on digitalization – as if we are sort of saying “why would you need Facebook or Twitter when you have The Dots”…but it’s of course a funny extreme idea and we don’t believe it would ever happen like that. So, no, I don’t think The Dots can be as disruptive as Facebook or Twitter but it certainly provokes thinking about other means of communication and about what could be next.”

Do you have plans about evolving the interaction with The Dots bags in the future?

Matteo: “Yes, we want to create a mobile app for The Dots which allows people to transmit online or on social media their messages written on the bag front. So basically you can imagine that as a way of “posting” your status from The Dots bag. We are now looking for developers who can work with us on that.”

What are you working on right now? Future plans?

Ralitsa: “We are working on extending our product offer and apart from bags we will soon add iPad covers and a few other small leather accessories. We are also developing another bag model.”

Matteo: “We are now focusing mainly on building our retail network and finding the right type of stores to position The Dots.”

You said that you are working on new products as the iPad covers..here at Hashslush the first thing we thought about when we saw your bags is the iPhone 5c. The Dots bags recall us other products of the past..for example the game “Connect 4“. Do you think that The Dots’ concept will give you the opportunity to have collaborations with other Designers/Brands?

Ralitsa: “For sure The Dots gives a lot of possibilities for collaborations with other designers and brands. In fact we are planning to involve artists and creatives in the development of new lines of attachable elements in the future. The idea is to have special editions of attachables and create something as a collectibles vibe around The Dots. As far as the design of the bag itself is concerned we are really happy that top design teams such as the one of Apple is going in the same direction in their accessories development. We cannot but take it as a compliment. The fact that Apple is multiplying their colour variations of both devices and covers, which allows for multiple combinations, is a sign that personalisation is getting more important. So, yes, definately, we are now working on expanding the range of products and  prototyping an iPad cover so why not make an iPhone case next?!”

Share with us your favorite inspirational phrase.

Ralitsa: “Only as much as I dream can I be” (Karen Ravn)

Matteo: “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” (Albert Einstein)

And now if you cannot wait to have a Dots Bag, visit their website and buy one!