That out of the way, every now and then a worthwhile article shows up. This one must have slipped by the chekist censors especially when you consider that Bend, Oregon is now overrun by stinking hordes of the unwashed politically correct left, much of them having moved here from elsewhere, like California or the East coast.
Let's talk about carrying protection that is not found in feminine care aisle. Insulted, stunned or did I get your attention? Did you just shrug your shoulders and keep reading? This is about carrying, at least for some of you. REAL LIFE PROTECTION.
This is about a small start up company which makes purses and handbags for women who carry concealed weapons, or not. Link to the company website is right here:
Been & Badge
Seems like a VERY timely idea and the perfect time for such a company and these products. Ladies are not just wanting frilly and pink. Not even close. How about items that look great, are well made here is the states and extremely functional. Not for everyone and not inexpensive but quality, handcrafted items never are.
From the local rock chuck wrapper.
******************
Stylish handbags that can hide your handgun
By Kylie Gumpert /
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Faith Kohler wears skinny jeans, ankle boots, chunky
bracelets and cropped jackets. She wasn’t about to settle for a handbag
that didn’t fit her style.
And that was the problem: She couldn’t find a purse that would fit her wardrobe and also her handgun.
After years of wearing her firearm on her hip as a
federal agent, Kohler, 44, was looking for an option that would give her
more versatility: a concealed-carry handbag. So she’s created her own
handbag company, Been & Badge, with handbag designer Jodi Been, who
lives and works in Los Angeles.
“For me it’s second nature to carry a firearm,”
said Kohler, a New York native who graduated from Marquette Law School
and lives in Milwaukee. “I looked, and I couldn’t find something that
was really ‘me.’”
She and Been, who met through mutual friends, began
collaborating about a year and a half ago, communicating almost solely
by video calls — comparing swatches of fabric and sharing thoughts on
designs, then shipping materials and prototypes back and forth in the
mail.
“We wanted things that didn’t read like our
competitors,” said Been, 37. “We didn’t want to make tactical safari
bags. We wanted to make contemporary, on-trend handbags.”
They met face to face for the first time in March,
having gotten their venture off the ground with a $10,000 investment. To
save as much as possible for materials and production, they were
conservative in the number of bags produced and in their use of cosmetic
touches, such as product labels, photos, graphic design and logos.
The company is a startup in the truest sense: After
getting a start by creating interest online through social media sites
such as Instagram, it launched its website at beenandbadge.com last
week. It offers two types of handbags: a clutch and a tote that converts
to a cross-body bag. It also sells three holsters that fit small to
full-size guns.
Each handbag has a concealed pocket inside that
snaps closed and is lined with Velcro. The pockets are made to hold the
holsters, which were developed by Wilde Built Tactical, a San Diego-area
company run by law enforcement officers; the holsters can be inserted
and adjusted by users for comfort and efficiency, in case they need to
quickly access their handgun.
“The industry has realized that ‘women owning
handguns’ is growing,” said Brian Hugh, a retired federal officer and
the Been & Badge team’s gun expert. “Their response — and you have
to understand that this is pretty much all-male boardrooms — is, ‘Well,
we’ll paint it pink and then they’ll buy it.’”
Or, Hugh said, companies will go to another extreme
and make bags that he describes as either “cutesy” or something your
grandmother might use.
Been & Badge handbags are made from textured
brown, black and purple leathers, and range in price from $259 to $354.
The holsters start at $20.
Not just for gun owners
But you don’t have to be gun-savvy to buy these handbags. You don’t even have to agree with concealed-carry laws or gun rights.
Instead, the company’s target market is simply
“women who want beautiful handbags,” Kohler said. So far, it has
actually sold more bags to women who opted out of purchasing a holster.
“People buy bags because of what they look like on
the outside. How they use them on the inside is an entirely personal
decision,” said Been, who doesn’t carry a handgun. “Some people might
opt to use that pocket to stow a mini iPad there; it’s just a small,
safe and concealed pocket.”
Been worked with a Los Angeles artisan she knows to produce the handbags, which he makes in his studio.
“You think there would be more people making leather
bags, but it’s almost a dying art. There aren’t as many local
producers,” Been said.
To help with some of the details of starting and
running a business, Kohler and Been reached out to attorney Mike
Bamberger of Beck, Chaet, Bamberger & Polsky S.C. in Milwaukee and
Cloud[8]Sixteen, a search engine optimization company that put the
finishing touches on the Been & Badge website.
“We learned that we didn’t need to know everything
so long as we built our network with people who are experts in their own
fields,” Kohler said.
Minding state laws
Marilyn Lavin, a professor of marketing at the
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, said the proliferation of concealed
carry laws could definitely work in Been & Badge’s favor. As of last
July, all 50 states have some sort of concealed-carry law in effect.
Wisconsin’s was signed in November 2011.
“Women are probably just as likely as men to want
the ‘protection’ of a gun,” Lavin said in an email. “So I’d say the
market may definitely be there.”
But even with these laws in place, some stores and
public venues ban weapons, concealed or not. That was a point Lavin
brought up: Where would women who buy handbags to conceal a handgun
actually be able to carry and use it?
That’s where Been & Badge’s lengthy legal
disclaimer comes in: The disclaimer says the company is not liable for
what its customers might do with their firearms in jurisdictions where
it’s not lawful and advises customers to follow all firearms laws.
Been & Badge has started small, a strategy that
Troy Vosseller, entrepreneur and co-founder of Madison start-up
incubator gener8tor, said is wise. He has a “100 rule,” advising
startups to avoid making big investment decisions until they have sold
100 units of their product.
“The best way to finance is organically, by selling a
lot of product and having a lot of cash flow,” Vosseller said. “What I
see a lot of small-business owners do is they optimize for volume, and
they haven’t even proved they can sell.”
Made in the USA
Been & Badge isn’t thinking about opening a
brick-and-mortar store. Kohler said they want to see how they do in the
market, and if they can continue to afford manufacturing in the United
States, that’s what they prefer to do.
Been, who has worked for accessories retailer
Claire’s, is familiar with the differences between overseas and U.S.
production. She said producing in Los Angeles, while more expensive than
making handbags overseas, is important because it’s possible to oversee
the slightest of details and make quick changes. It’s also a selling
point.
Vosseller said he’s seeing more and more business
owners looking to produce in the U.S. His advice is to focus on core
competencies.
“That might be about marketing and branding, and not
making your widget,” Vosseller said. “But, if your core competency is a
specific skill, like sewing and picking patterns, then you should focus
on that.”
As they look to expand, the Been & Badge team is
looking to wholesale to retailers, such as boutiques and small retail
shops — what Vosseller calls a smart way to tap the market. Their
eventual goal is to sell in department stores.
“Someday, in a perfect world,” Kohler said, “I would love for us to create jobs and have our own facility.”
Tags: CCW women, CCW handbags, Purses, Been & Badge, 2nd Amendment, Women and guns, Female gun owners, ENTER TAGS HERE To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the Patriot's Corner. Thanks!
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