Abury: experiencing change through fashion

INTERVIEW_ Searching for young companies and labels that make a difference, FashionUnited stumbled upon fashion label Abury. Its handmade bags and accessoires are eye-catching, not only because of their quality and unusual designs but also because the young enterprise does more than

others. For example, 50 percent of all profits go to the Abury Foundation, which supports education projects and clean drinking water in producing countries. In addition, Abury furthers traditional craftwork, combines it with modern design and thus creates products whose processes customers can trace back to source and artisans easily. FashionUnited spoke with Abury founder Andrea Kolb about the label's history and vision for the future.
 

F

ashionUnited: Please tell us about the idea behind Abury and how the label came into being.
Andrea Kolb: "My background is actually not in fashion. I used to have a small consultancy for non-traditional advertising. In 2007, I went to Marrakesh to renovate an oId riad, a traditional Marroccan house, to create a place of inspiration. Our motto “transformation through experience” means that one can only change when one has the opportunity to go through different experiences. And Marrakesh is the perfect place for that.

For two years, I stayed in Marrakesh permanently, working on the construction site. This is where I met many traditional artisans and that's where my fascination with people and their craft began. I have been looking at the 'social business' concept since 2006 and see much hidden potential in it. Earlier, artisans produced cheap stuff for the souks, the traditional Arabic markets and commercial centers of a city. Like anywhere in the world, that then becomes a fast process. The main problems were thus guaranteeing and maintaining a certain quality, combining old craftsmanship with modern design and setting up good logistics.

An old Berber bag that was gifted to me became Abury's cornerstone. I started to collect Berber bags and with them the stories behind each bag: who the previous owner was, who it was made for initially, if a particular embroiderer had worked on it and if a special kind of pattern had been used.

Once I was back home in Germany, my fashionista friends loved the Berber bag and wanted one too. This got me thinking about producing Berber bags commercially, which would be a big job with a big target group, which can quickly lead to the exploitation of nature and the environment; on the other hand, awareness increases too. By weighing the pros and cons, slowly the idea for Abury came about, taking years, literally: In 2009, I got the first bag, then I started collecting them and soon had various models until in 2011, I founded Abury. Our goal was to preserve traditional craftsmanship but to infuse it with avantgarde design. To create a new generation of luxury style by giving back to the artisans because just paying them fair wages is not enough."

That's the keyword. How does it actually work to exchange production hours for education hours for every product sold?
"We own a school in Marrakesh, which is funded through the Abury Foundation and donations. Because of this school, we know quite precisely how much one lesson costs. Before, we had to estimate based on our operating costs, i.e. how much rent we were paying, what books and notebooks cost and how much salary we were paying the teachers. Fifty percent of all profits goes to the Foundation, which may sound a bit abstract but thanks to the school, it becomes quite tangible."

Who studies at the Abury school?
"Not only the children of the workers but also people who are not involved in the project. That is a conscious decision we took because we know everyone personally. We are talking about village structures after all, with maybe 500-600 people per village where everyone knows each other. Currently, 17 women study at the school and 27 children, boys and girls. The women really wanted a preschool for their children and we really wanted a school for the women because most men in Marocco know how to read and write, so we decided to focus on women for our adult education programs."

I am curious how exactly your experience with the craftsmen when rebuilding the riad benefited your interactions with the artisans for Abury?
"I learned a lot during those days from work at the construction site. We worked a lot with wood, metal and fabrics and commissioned lamps and handrails. I got in touch with women artisans through the Berber bag. We started in Marocco and then realized that there is traditional handicraft with specialized skills all over the world. The next step was then to internationalize the different cultures."

Which cultures are you planning to immerse yourself in next?
"We're eyeing Asia and Eastern Europe next."

Tell us a bit more about the designer exchange, that sounds interesting.
"Through avantgarde designers who are ready to get involved in an intercultural exchange, we want to create fashion and accessoires that are not only exciting for consumers but also for the fashion industry. The designers embed themselves in a new craft culture for three months and develop their collections together with local artisans."

How do you find new designers?
"We made our first pitch in 2012 and are planning our first international call for applicants at the end of the year. The application will have to include a motivational video as well as the immersion in a new culture for three months also presents a psychological challenge.

I have to say that I really enjoy the young generation; the 25-30 year-olds who show much passion and commitment. Instead of focusing on quickly climbing the career ladder and making a lot of money, they want to use their knowledge in an area where they can make a difference."

After the Berber collection and other bags, Abury is now also offering pullovers, ponchos and accessoires. Are you planning to offer more garments?
"Our main focus will remain on bags and accessories while there will be some garments as well. We don't want to exclude fashion but it is just easier to work with unisex products. Garments would require different sizes, etc. This is hard to implement in the communities as they do not use automated processes.

We developed patterns for our new collection from Ecuador, which are now on hand. The seamstresses and embroiderers are often visually very good so that they see at a glance what they have to do when they have a sample. But this sample has to be created; only describing the work is not sufficient. That's why with the bags, we created paper or cardboard models."

Some of your products are already sold out. What is currently selling well?
"The new collection has just been launched but currently, the shopper bags made of goatskin are a big hit. They can be used as laptop bags as well and are very versatile. We have gotten much positive feedback, especially about the colors caramel and saffron, they are really popular."

Because of their elaborate manufacturing, Abury products demand a certain price. How do you manage to stay competitive?
"Our target group is looking for something they can feel good about. In addition, the articles that we manufacture are not products that one buys every week. And in this respect, we are quite competitive and offer high value for money. Many even say that we could charge even more.

One of the challenges is to find the right people. There is a fan community that knows that Abury has a special mission. Word of mouth certainly works. It is always exciting when two customers meet who carry the same bag; it is a kind of identification. We have exciting and unusual products and very transparent structures in terms of the workers. In our “designer diaries”, the participating designers can share their experiences. We also have blogs to update our customers and gain their trust. I still fly every eight weeks to Marrakesh to check on things. That's why people feel they are getting what Abury promises."

Apart from the website and the showroom, where can customers buy Abury products and how do you advertise?
"We'll be at Premium in Berlin and then at Who's Next in Paris. By now, we also have ten stores in Germany and one each in Switzerland, the UK and the US. We are also part of online marketplaces like Fashion Compassion and will start with ShopLatitude and Avasha in Asia. Of course we're also on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest but because we don't spend any money on advertising, growing our fan base is a slow process."

Do you see Abury as an answer to the fast fashion trend?
"Maybe partly with our commitment to high quality standards. On the other hand, we don't want to point fingers but pass on the joie de vivre from the different cultures we work with. And learn from them not to take everything so seriously but to maybe have some tea first and enjoy life."

Photos: Andrea Kolb; Berber collektion, Shopper Bag, Kuya collektion (Abury)