The First WOOLBORNE Collection, and I am so proud of this work. It took me a year to arrive at something I'd put my name on—and along the way, plenty of people told me to just put it out there, that it was good enough. They don't know me. I wasn't ready to release it. It had to have my seal of approval. All six of them do.

I've thought a lot about that year. We live in a culture that rewards speed — ship it, post it, see what sticks, fix it later if you have to. There's a kind of courage in that approach, and I don't discount it. But there's a different kind of courage in refusing to release something before it's ready, even when everyone around you says it's good enough. Not because the work has to be perfect — it never will be — but because it has to be mine before it can belong to anyone else. That year wasn't delay. It was the work. Looking back, I think the first collection was about discovering what WOOLBORNE wanted to become.

Now it's time to begin something new.

My best friend, Cindy, has been telling me for quite a while that I should make a smaller bag. So — I might as well listen. She isn't going to stop insisting until I do. Actually, I promised her I would.

The hand-dyed lining will stay. So will the solid brass hardware. Those details feel like WOOLBORNE to me now. Everything else is still open. Gusset or no gusset. A flap closure, or none at all.

Right now, I have two directions in front of me.

Cindy is hoping for something simple — an elegant bag with a removable chain strap, one that could be carried as an evening bag or worn as a shoulder bag.

I'm leaning toward something a little larger. Still simple. Still unmistakably WOOLBORNE. Just a little more practical for everyday life. This one would carry the WOOLBORNE cork strap.

I don't know which direction I'll choose first, and for once I'm letting that be all right. I've learned that not-knowing yet isn't a gap in the process — it is the process. I think every bag has something to say. Sometimes it just takes a little while before I can hear it.

I love the start of a new project.

We'll find out together.