Today I have something special to post on fashionvisa.com. I mean special because it’s a surprise I’ve been preparing for you… AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with Tina Craig and Kelly Cook the founders of bagsnob.com. I am honoured to present you this interview and I thank very much for this opportunity to the people from Snob Global Media (especially Stephanie) and of course Tina&Kelly.

I hope you’ll find out interesting things about Tina and Kelly, about their carriers and personal life… Without further comments… the interview:

Fashionvisa: Hello Kelly and Tina. I’m very glad I’m able to talk to you and thank you for the opportunity to interview you. Before we talk about your blog, which has turned into an online publishing phenomenon, please share with me something about each of you as a person.

Tina: I am a stay at home mother and have a 4 year old son. I have many interests; including cooking, traveling, singing, painting and reading (I read several books a week!).  I am one of those people who have never met a stranger; I love meeting new people and make friends easily. Prior to getting married and having a child– I was a VJ on MTV Asia and owned an international licensing company.

Kelly: I was born in Taiwan and my family moved to the US when I was 7.  I went to the University of Southern California (where I met Tina) and graduated with a degree in Entrepreneurship.  My career went from fashion to finance to internet start up before ending up starting Snob Global Media, which is like a dream come true.  I have 2 girls, ages 3 1/2 and 1.  I am a full time mom and enjoy my balance of work and family life.  I love to travel and cook and am an avid skier and golfer.

Fashionvisa: When have you decided that it’s time to start something new and how did you thought about creating a blog?

Tina: Actually Kelly’s husband came up with the idea!  He was tired of listening to us gossip about fashion and suggested we blog about it to each other and maybe make a small income for ourselves.

Kelly: After Tina and I were happily married with newborns, we realized that we still needed something more to be a complete person.  When my husband gave us the idea of starting a blog, it just sounded like the perfect opportunity to keep our full time jobs as moms and have a creative outlet on the side.

Fashionvisa: Why bags not shoes or other accessories per example?

Tina: We are avid bag collectors and we each have been collecting bags since we were teenagers.  We met in college and discovered our mutual passion for bags– we used to buy each other bags in college under the pretense they were gifts to each other so our parents would not complain when they received the bills.   We decided to focus on bags because it is our favorite accessory (though we do love shoes, jewelry… amongst many other things!).

Kelly: There is something about bags that speaks to women on an emotional level.  It is where we keep our precious little things that we need when we leave the house.  Of course, I just loved bags and never thought why but now that I spend all my time analyzing this obsession, I see why it is every woman’s weakness.

Fashionvisa: How did bagsnob.com changed your life? Now people recognize you on the street and ask you for advices?

Tina: Funny you ask that because we have been recognized a few times and it’s surreal– we never expected any more than a fun hobby out of the blog but it’s completely changed our lives.  We discovered a business that allows us full time with our families while having fun.  What could be more fun than gossiping about fashion with your best friend and making a decent living at it?

Kelly: I went through so many career changes and it is totally true what people say, do what you love and you will be successful.  I never imagined Bag Snob to be so rewarding and this huge!  And strangely, people do ask me for advice even if they don’t recognize me as one of the Bag Snobs.  I guess when I shop for bags, I am not casual about it, I inspect every square inch in a very careful and methodical manner.  People have commented on how unusual my process is.

Fashionvisa: How an ordinary day looks like for you? How do you spent let’s say a Monday or a Thursday from the morning till the evening? You get up in the morning and then…

Tina: I check my emails on my iPhone the minute I wake up at 7:30am– I am an addict– but I don’t respond unless it’s an emergency; I just like to be kept up to date with my emails!  I then wake my son up, make breakfast and get him off to school.  I do pilates three mornings a week from 9-10am.  After working out I’ll have a quick bite at the gym and then go home to work.   I only schedule lunches once a week because lunching with girls often involves shopping and takes up a full day!  I work until 2:30pm and then pick up my son from school.  The rest of the day belongs to him; we go to the park, the aquarium, the book store, etc.  By 5pm I start preparing dinner and I allow my son to watch a DVD for 30 minutes while I cook.  Sometimes he pretends to cook and assist me with his play doh cooking set which is a fun way to get your kids involved with preparing a healthy family meal!  By 6:00pm we have dinner with my husband; sometimes we’ll take a walk after dinner if the weather permits.  Bath time for my son is at 7:30pm, we read until about 8:00pm and then it’s bedtime for him at 8:30pm.  If it’s Mon-Wed, I usually work from then until my own bedtime (11pm or 1am depending on my work load).  I sit on the sofa and work on my laptop with my husband while he watches football.  Thursday-Friday-Saturday nights we take my son out or have date nights.

Kelly: My kids are my alarm clock.  They wake up and it is quite chaotic for a couple of hours.  I change everyone, make breakfast, pack lunch for my preschooler and drop her off at school.  I can’t start work until then.  I either have shopping days or sit down computer days.  On my shopping days, I usually schedule meetings or lunches since I am out already.  I often have events to attend to, like today I was out doing a charity event for Lupus LA.  I then pick up my daughter at 3pm and it is family time for the rest of the day.  We play, have dinner, take a bath and it’s bedtime at 8:30pm.  I usually finish up some work at that point but if I’m lucky, I get to sit down with my husband and watch mindless TV before I doze off.

Fashionvisa: How about week-ends? What do you like to do most on your week-ends?

Tina: Friday night is family night, we have dinner with our son at our club.  Every Saturday we have lunch with my father-in-law so my son can spend time with his Grandfather, Saturday night is usually date night with my hubby (but sometimes we end up bringing our son because he loves going out with us!).  Sundays are lazy days, anything goes.  My son is allowed to watch more TV than usual and we’ll either go to Dim Sum with friends and then hang out at the golf course or pool.

Kelly: Weekends are 100% family days.  We like to do weekend trips but even if we stay home, we always do something even if it is as simple as going to the park.

Fashionvisa: How much time do you spent writing on the blog every day?

Tina: Actual time writing is very short, but there is a lot of research involved!  We read all the PR pitches from various firms and determine what our readers will want to read about in addition to going through countless sites on the internet to find interesting bags to blog about.  On top of that there is admin work to be done…. so on average, we each work 6-7 hours a day, 4 days a week .  It used to be half that but we have so many sites to keep up now…!

Kelly: It is a full time job, most days I work 6-8 hours.  I always get the writing done first and then do admin and marketing projects.

Fashionvisa: How much money have you earned from advertising on your website?

Tina&Kelly: No comment!

Fashionvisa: How did women who read your posts react to what you say? Do you manage to influence at some point their choices related to bags?

Tina: It depends on the entry, some love the bags we write about, some don’t. Most women come to us to ask our opinion but we encourage them to make their own final decision. Our goal is to help our readers make informed decisions when purchasing a bag, not dictate what they should buy.

Kelly: The most interesting thing we consistently hear from our readers is that they actually save money after becoming more discerning from reading the blog.  Instead of buying 5 average bags, they only buy 1 really incredible one and they are not only spending less but are happier with their one bag.

Fashionvisa: What were the best and worst bags that you wrote about on your blog? What makes a bag good or less good?

Tina: There have been over 2,000 bags written about on our site… it’s hard to decide what was best and worst!  A good bag is made of high quality materials and constructed with impeccable workmanship.  A lesser good bag would one that is made poorly.  As for the style being good or less good; well that is a matter of personal taste!

Kelly: It’s fun to do stories on bad bags because it breaks things up a bit and remind us that our opinions are just that, our opinions and nothing more.  Obviously the bags we think are terrible still sell, someone loves them!

Fashionvisa: In your opinion, how the perfect bag looks like?

Tina&Kelly: For us, the perfect bag is the crocodile Hermes birkin!

Fashionvisa: How many bags do you have in your wardrobe?

Tina: I have close to 200 bags now… but that’s after 20 years of collecting and many years of editing and giving away bags I no longer use to friends/family.

Fashionvisa: Do you prefer designer bags or no name bags?

Tina: It depends on the actual bag.  I have gorgeous bags bought in exotic locations that have no brand but then I have amazing Hermes and Bottega bags…

Fashionvisa: What is your favorite bag designer and why?

Tina&Kelly: Other than Hermes and Chanel (these brands never let me down!) my favorite is Bottega Veneta.  The bags are simple and logo-less and made of fine materials.

Fashionvisa: What is the best city for bag shopping? Where can we find the most beautiful bags?

Tina&Kelly: PARIS! Besides the obvious of Chanel, YSL, Hermes, boutiques in Paris stock wonderful little known European designers.  Actually, Paris is the best city for shopping period!

Fashionvisa: Name a bag that will never go out of fashion.

Tina&Kelly: Chanel 2.55, it is as stylish today as it was when Mademoiselle introduced it in Feb. 1955.

Fashionvisa: What do you think a bride should wear on her wedding day? What type of bag?

Tina: I think a bride should wear a dress that makes her feel confident and beautiful.  As for bags, she should choose something simple like a small silk clutch without embellishment to dangle from her wrist.  On my wedding day, my husband was my bag– I kept my lip gloss in his pocket for touch ups and didn’t carry a bag.

Fashionvisa: You have launched recently two new projects: Snob TV and CoutureSnob.com. Tell me about these two projects.

Tina: Snob TV is a video component we’ve recently added to our sites to give our readers an intimate peek into the world of high fashion.  It allows us to be more multi-dimensional as well.  Many readers have said they love having a face and voice to identify with when reading our mutual entries.  Couturesnob.com will be the final addition to the Snob family of sites.  I am a huge clotheshorse and the site allows me to share my passion for not only clothes, but shoes, jewelry…. and everything to do with fashion!

Fashionvisa: What’s next for you in your carrier and in your personal life?

Tina: I would like to have more children and keep doing what I love– which is blogging about fashion with my best friend!

Kelly: Continue to blog about fashion, hopefully becoming better with age =)  I am hoping I am raising my kids properly and want to give them every advantage in life.

Copywright: fashionvisa.com. Parts of the interview may be reproduced only with fashionvisa.com written agreement.