Bangladesh is home to beautiful and meticulous handicrafts, handicrafts that are often exported abroad and sold under high quality brand names.
Tasnia Era believes our craft needs to be known through local brands. She explained, “I wanted to create quality products that are affordable and can be associated with the name of our country.”
Era studied Leather Products Engineering at Dhaka University. She was excited to launch something new, something that would suit the taste of Bangladesh. This is how her brand The Hawkers was born in 2018.
The Hawkers is a lifestyle brand that sells affordable, durable bags for students and office goers. The bags are vibrant, fun and unique in design, especially how they incorporate motifs into their design.
She also feels that there is a shortage of female professionals in the leather industry. “I felt like there weren’t many women working in the leather industry, which inspired me to work with leather,” she explained. Era wanted to bring a female voice to the male-dominated industry.
Today, a small team of 12 people, including seven women, work in their factory. Era also focuses on employing older women.
“Older women are not usually employed in the leather industry. They are fired because their work is not as fast as it used to be. I hired them in my factory because their experience is valuable. That was one of the reasons I started my own brand.”
Era wanted to create designs that represent the trends of Bangladesh. Their bags are known in the market for their colorful and minimalistic designs. They are decorated with motifs and patterns. Although the brand is an expert in leather manufacturing, the brand uses different materials such as jute, denim, canvas fabrics and nylon. The brand uses these different materials to offer its products at different price points.
Here are some of our favorite deals from The Hawkers.
novella
Novellus is one of their bestsellers. This shoulder bag is a combination of minimalism and the brand’s signature motif designs. It is made of canvas and faux leather. The small motif pattern beautifully complements its minimalist approach.
Photo: Courtesy
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Photo: Courtesy
The bag is nine inches in height and 11.5 inches in length. It is perfect for casual trips and can easily become a handbag for girls in the office.
Mithai is one of the newer offerings from the brand. Mini backpacks are back in fashion, and it’s definitely worth carrying. It can be used as a backpack or shoulder bag.
The bag is made of canvas fabric and faux leather and is available in different colors like white, yellow and blue. The white variant is particularly beautiful with cotton candy pink tropical flowers.
