Business West supports Bristol based luxury handbag company to grow post-COVID

A luxury handbag company based in Bristol has reported a growth in sales post-COVID with the help of Business West and the Workforce for the Future programme led by the West of England Combined Authority. 

Amschela is an affordable, luxury handbag design brand founded by Keri Andriana who set up the company after leaving her legal career to pursue her passion for creating handbags. 

Learning how to properly manufacture bags fit for the consumer by watching YouTube videos and attending free design courses, her first collection of bags was created in 2017. The company has now launched in LA and in store with Wolf and Badger. 

Keri said:

“One of the things I really enjoy about running the company is the fact that we connect ordinary women to luxury items and ensure that not one demographic group is excluded.”

Keri reached a hurdle as a young brand when the pandemic hit, and she worried that the company was not established enough to survive. But she now acknowledges that was just her viewpoint. She said:

“When you’re new and you’ve got huge competitors and you’re a small little brand, it can be easy to think, am I doing this right? You realise that you don’t have the resources and budget that massive brands like Gucci or Fendi have for example. 

“I reached a point where I thought, I can’t afford for my business to fail, but reaching out to Workforce for the Future via Business West showed me that no, you do have a viable and good business and there is help to support you to stay afloat.” 

Keri received support through Workforce for The Future and her Business Skills Adviser Claire Bedding to help with recruitment and developing her business strategy. She has also attended mentoring sessions and meetings to help consolidate her ideas and develop her business plan. 

“It’s been really helpful to have someone look objectively at my brand and be really critical for the best.

“Just knowing that Workforce for the Future are behind me eases a lot of the pressure that I was feeling as a business. 

“At the time it removed the panic that I was about to enter into which might have just led to me saying, “I’m just going to give up”.”

Keri has also taken on seven new Kickstarters and has found the advice from Workforce for the Future to be invaluable as it has given her an avenue to discuss how to manage a young team effectively. 

“I have an amazing team who are a joy to work with and teach. I’m so blessed that I’m able to open my brand up and give them the opportunity.

“The Kickstarters have helped me departmentalise the brand and strategize effectively. What’s good about the Kickstart roles is that because the roles are new everyone feels really engaged and that they are actively developing something from the ground up.

“I’m really lucky that I’m able to have them in the brand and go through this process together.

“I would recommend the programme to any business who needs support in upskilling their workforce and advise them to get in touch with Business West.”

Nicky Williams, Head of Skills at Business West said:

“We want to encourage companies to apply for Workforce for the Future to give their businesses the best chance of succeeding through upskilling their current workforce.

“Due to the pandemic, less people are moving readily to new jobs so there’s a need to make sure businesses are keeping their company attractive to ensure a healthy recruitment pipeline.

“Our programme can help businesses retrain staff through upskilling and training which is really important when many businesses have to think about restructuring their business offering.”

Keri says that in the future she aims to open a flagship store in Bristol with her ultimate dream being to open a training academy for young people who could come in and do work experience and internships. 

“We had over 300 applicants for our Kickstart placements because it’s a fashion brand and the fashion industry is really competitive. I think its so important to provide these opportunities for young people who otherwise would not be able to get their foot in the door.”

Business West is delivering Workforce for the Future in collaboration with other partners and the West of England Combined Authority.

For more information on Workforce for the Future, please visit the West of England Growth Hub. The Growth Hub is the West of England Combined Authority’s dedicated business support service which offers free, one-to-one advice and guidance for SMEs.

The West of England Workforce for the Future programme has received £4m of funding from the European Social Fund as part of the 2014-2020 European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme in England. The Department for Work and Pensions (and in London the intermediate body Greater London Authority) is the Managing Authority for the England European Social Fund programme. Established by the European Union, the European Social Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support skills development, employment and job creation, social inclusion and local community regenerations. For more information visit: https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding.