Jess Lively

(DESIGN YOUR LOOK winner will be announced later today.)

On a long walk yesterday with my good friend Cathy we talked about what was coming up in our lives. As you can imagine, my bag launch was definitely one of the discussion topics.

And though she has watched the whole process unfold from inception to completion, she asked me a simple question which I’ve gotten from a few other people recently as well:

“Why bags?”

And to that, for some reason, I have an impulse to say,

“Why the hell not?”

I’ve made it very clear in the past that Jess LC has always been a way for me to stay self-employed and independent in order to eventually help people design lives with intention full-time. The fact that I sell jewelry is simply because I sold an (ugly) ankle bracelet at a pool as a fifteen-year-old. Had I sold a puppy near the deep end, I could just as easily be a breeder right now.

Don’t get me wrong, I am incredibly grateful for the jewelry experience, it has taught me about design, marketing, business, entrepreneurship, selling, intention, thrift, you name it. And though 12 years of jewelry design has certainly made me a good jewelry designer, I have never personally had a passion for jewelry as a customer. In fact, I only wear about eight pieces of my own jewelry on a regular basis.

But what I do spend my money and attention on is bags. I love them. I got my first Coach bag in college and ever since I was hooked. I love the feel of high quality leather, the shapes and stitching that are possible. I love that I can have something beautiful that is functional as well.

And in all of the 12 years I have been designing I never once allowed myself to think outside the jewelry box. I simply did not allow myself to think that I could do more than what I had done in the past.

Until January.

As I sat (ironically) in a jewelry conference I spoke at this winter, I allowed myself to think beyond where I was on that day. I allowed myself to imagine the company that I wanted to have. And that company vision took me directly to bags and home goods. It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with interior design and bags have always been a personal obsession. So the idea that I might be able to create goods that reflected what I wanted to see and buy in the market was overwhelmingly awesome.

I simply needed to allow myself to think it was possible and that I could do it.

And so if I wrap all of what I’ve just shared into one simple sentence, it still boils down to the same question and answer:

Q “Why bags?”

A “Why the hell not?”

And it turns out that the 330 people on the preview list agree.

So the next time someone questions you about your new venture, don’t be afraid to boil it down to one simple answer,

“Why the hell not?”