Quanda Ong, Gnome & Bow
In 2014, Quanda Ong ran the largest fashion crowdfunding campaign in Asia, raising over $35,000 to kickstart Gnome & Bow. Today, the company is renowned for its unique takes on bags and wallets, using their products as a brand new medium to tell stories.
The Gifting Edition 2019 will mark the fifth consecutive appearance of Gnome & Bow at Boutiques. When asked about his experience with us, founder Quanda Ong couldn’t help but reminisce: “From zero to hero, the transformation the building undergoes is always a spectacle to be remembered.”
Quanda, all your products draw inspiration from classic fairy tales and folklore. Where did this idea come from?
Deep inside, I am a dreamer, often engrossed in a self-realised surrealism. After many years of obsessively studying bags, I found that most were just plain functional. For me, that didn’t cut it. I realised that I relished in uncovering the ‘secrets’ that lied within bags — the custom linings, the clever compartments, or the quirky embossed taglines which often went unnoticed.
I’ve also always had an innate fascination towards fairy tales and folklore. I felt that immersing myself in a fantasy world really helped awaken my senses. So, with those two things in mind, I came up with the concept of Gnome & Bow. It was based on the notion that bags could go beyond functionality and become a new medium for storytelling.
How do you decide on the stories which guide your collections?
We gravitate towards literary works which are well-known and relatable in a modern context. Sometimes, the designs inspire the stories, and sometimes it’s the other way round. We are relentless in connecting the two to create a seamless storytelling experience for our customers. We like to call this process ‘talesmithing’ — the art and science of weaving stories into goods. Like reading a book for the first time, exploring our products uncovers subtle and clever details that reveal a familiar story, but with a modern twist.
“We are relentless in connecting the two to create a seamless storytelling experience for our customers. We like to call this process ‘talesmithing’ — the art and science of weaving stories into goods.”
For example, the bags in Book I: The Hare & the Flying Tortoise, were borne from a functional standpoint. Having travelled to many parts of the world, I realised the need for a bag with an easily accessible laptop-slot, which would make it quicker to get through airport security checks. So, I started dabbling with a bag that had two main zippers. The parallel alignment of zippers reminded me of a racetrack. That's how The Hare & the Flying Tortoise was born. The story narrates the rat race in the modern world, with the tortoise being the underdog and its wings representing hard work and innovation.
On the contrary, Book II: Jekyll’s Hyde was borne from my fascination with Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Expounding on the idea of duality, we employed the concept of reversibility as a key element to create bags that truly allowed one to embrace both their rational and their wild side. The constant interaction between both sides of these bags is something the users can relate to on an emotional level. Our hope was for this design to inspire positive change and action.
It’s apparent that you strive to achieve a timeless quality with your products. How do you stay relevant in a fast-paced fashion industry where brands are constantly launching new collections and items?
This is a very poignant question. While consumers constantly seek fresh and exciting collections, we aim to create classics and even icons that will stand the test of time. This brings about several challenges. First, with regard to sourcing of materials — we only use full grain leathers from the United States or Italy, which makes it very difficult for us to secure a reasonable and reliable supplier. To add on to that, leather prices have been rising while our retail prices remain the same as we can’t simply change them overnight. Second, rising labour costs and high labour turnover has made manufacturing a challenge as it takes us time to train new craftsmen and get them up to standard so we can produce consistently high-quality products.
“While consumers constantly seek fresh and exciting collections, we aim to create classics and even icons that will stand the test of time. ”
Finally and most importantly, understanding our target customers’ needs and meeting them at the right price while sticking to our brand ethos is a constantly evolving challenge. We have to adapt quickly to remain relevant. Being innovative in expanding our best-selling designs across different categories through the use of various colours and materials has been key in attracting our customers so far. We look at our product assortment as a portfolio, constantly experimenting to optimise sales while maintaining good business fundamentals.
Designer Conversations is an interview series done in collaboration with Public Culture, an editorial experience studio that believes in connection over communication. This feature was photographed by Christopher Wong for Boutique Fairs Singapore and Public Culture.