Heavenly handbags boosting businesses

By Paula Rath
Advertiser Staff Writer

Tori Richard and Sunny Hawaii have created a line of Pucci-inspired print and artfully embroidered linen handbags. Andrew Shimabuku • The Honolulu Advertiser

Feldman and Schaefer have been colleagues and friends for years, and they have a level of trust and understanding critical in a licensee/licensor relationship.

Schaefer loves the look evolving in Tori Richard's contemporary women's resort clothing ("It's not your mother's Tori Richard," she chuckled), and Feldman is enthusiastic about the quality and styling of Sunny Hawaii accessories. "There's a lot of synergy here," said Feldman.

Putting their heads together, they created a line of Pucciesque print and fashion-forward embroidered linen bags that coordinate perfectly with Tori Richard's cotton pique, linen and silk capris, sundresses, flirty skirts and feminine tops.

In Hawai'i, the bags will be sold in the local Tori Richard shops and in Macy's and the Lamonts resort shops.

Schaefer is not new to licensing. Her business, which has doubled this year in Hawai'i, has a number of successful licensing agreements under its belt.

Her David & Goliath Handbags are all about the attitude of those teen shops, emblazoned with sayings such as "Hello, my name is you can't afford me" and "Fashion Police."

The Girls is a licensed hobby-inspired line that just keeps growing. Sunny Hawaii manufactures The Girls bags for mainland department stores such as Marshall Fields and Bloomingdale's. Nationally, Schaefer said the most popular bags are Shopping Girl, Golf Girl, Spa Girl, Yoga Girl and Chocolate Girl.

While The Girls were previously limited to natural canvas with embroidery, Schafer has just introduced them in pink, blue, kiwi and a host of other colors. The Girls also appear now on caps, floppy hats and T-shirts.

A new innovation for Sunny Hawaii is "Mood Swings," three-in-one fashion tote bags sold as a set of two different color solid bags, one print bag and two bamboo handles, all interchangeable. Available at Macy's and Kohala Bay for $70 per set.

Sunny Hawaii has successfully surfed the international wave of popularity in Hawaiian prints, recognizing that they "can be sold all over the country, all year long now," Schaefer said.

The company has more than 4,000 accounts, mainly in the Sunbelt, but also in Dallas, New York, Atlanta and Chicago.

Sunny Hawaii's newest venture is College Girl, a line of accessories in school colors to sell in college book stores and alumni shops across the nation.

As Tori Richard stands poised to open its Ala Moana Center shop, and Sunny Hawaii expands its offerings and sales locations daily, the two homegrown companies look forward to a long and prosperous marriage.

Reach Paula Rath at prath@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5464.