Scoring a fresh bag today doesn’t have to involve a semi-late-afternoon drum circle on Hippie Hill. Instead, we’re lit up over the cute-as-can-be pebble print Kaori bag, new out this month from Flowie.
Redwood City-based designer Yaling Hou landed upon the cotton twill bag’s shape after seeing a photograph of her niece, who lives in Japan, wearing a traditional kimono with an obi belt.
“I named it after her. She’s a really girlie girl. It’s inspired by the kimono she wore and also her personality,” Hou says.
The delicate prints that grace Hou’s popular collection of bags, tea towels, scarves and pillows begin with pen-on-paper sketches she draws, then scans and manipulates on her computer. Finished patterns inspire new designs, which she releases about twice a year.
For her next collection, Hou plans to revisit floral prints that have been fan favorites since she launched her company in 2007. Just don’t expect her to stop experimenting anytime soon.
“If I keep doing the same thing, I get bored,” she says.
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