We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Amber Fant a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Amber, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

What had started as a one-off project for my own need, turned into fun when I started making small bags for my friends. When I saw that I could make something that people wanted, and were willing to spend money on, that’s when my interest first peaked. But what kept me going in pursuit of it was how therapeutic working with my hands had become. I was in a personal time of deep depression after the passing of my Dad. When I saw that constructing bags, and working with fabrics alleviated some of the inner darkness I was facing, I wanted to keep pursuing it. My corporate job seemed to only add to the stress, anxiety and depression. Making bags was a relief for my brain, and when you are in a really dark place, you are desperate for any relief you can find.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

In the spring of 2011 I had planned a trip to Italy with my mom, and had bought an iPad to take along with me. Having spent a large amount on the iPad itself, I couldn’t afford to purchase a stylish way to carry it. At that time I tended to be sort of a minimalist, and didn’t even often carry a purse, let alone anything that would fit an iPad. So I said those magical 5 words to myself, “How hard can it be?” I’ll make one. I chose to go to a local upholstery store, and search through the remnant fabrics to make something I would enjoy carrying. And I did. I made a cute, stylish messenger bag big enough to fit my pad, wallet, and phone. When my co-workers and friends saw it, they wanted one too. I made them bags because it was fun, and it made me happy to create something different for each individual. Fun projects turned into requests for different styles, fabrics and colors. Soon I was selling to my co-workers, and their friends and family. I started a social media page, and started to garner a small following and it turned into sewing on nights and weekends. In May of 2012, I resigned my corporate job and jumped into Full-time design. I launched my website just a few months later and have quite literally never looked back at the corporate world. I’ll forever be grateful for my time there and the relationships that have lasted throughout the years. Those co-workers and friends were my first customers. The first to believe in me and show me I could produce something other people would value and would be willing to invest in.

I now focus solely on leather handbag designs. They are handcrafted and made to order. I offer customizations on my designs in the way of choice of lining, choice of pocket style, choice of hardware finish, as well as other accessories that can be added to the bag.

My customers appreciate quality and individuality. The access to buy a beautiful leather bag and have it styled and sewn in a way that fits them best. I often talk one-on-one to my customers and getting to know them is the added bonus.

I’m grateful to have fostered a brand environment that focuses on quality and kindness. I know that in the business world there is this never-ending push to become a success that can be measured in dollars. Unfortunately I see all to often that pursuit of that definition of success comes at high cost because the bottom line is all that matters. Quality suffers and customer relations suffer. I couldn’t feel more passionately different about chasing that business model. For me, quality is non-negotiable. Treating my customers with kindness is non-negotiable. And for myself personally, living with peace of mind is an absolute must. Monetary success is wonderful, I’m all for it. But I’d rather have enough that allows me a good life and if there is wealth let my priority be to benefit others.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

That you get to be totally and unapologetically yourself. If you are going to compromise on that, you might as well go work for someone else. You have the opportunity to build your business in the way that fits the unique inner working of your heart, mind, and soul. It is the hardest you’ll ever work in your life, but my toughest times working for myself were immeasurably better than my best days working for someone else.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.daylinskye.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daylinskye/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Daylin.Skye.Designs

Image Credits
Yvonne DeCarlo