“Don’t overthink it, just do it.” – Florence Tsang

Founder@ Interview

Interview with Florence Tsang

“Don’t overthink it, just do it..” – Florence Tsang

Today we feature Florence Tsang, the founder at FLORE QUO. We hear their story in their own words, their successes, their challenges and their insights.

Let’s start by getting to know you. Can you please tell us a little bit about you and what you do?
My name is Florence Tsang and I have been a lawyer throughout my working life. My passion for fashion and jewellery inspired me to reinvent the classic clutch and launch other styles of bags that will be available shortly.

Seeking out innovation in design and excellence in execution, I created the brand FLORE QUO to pioneer a new category of accessories that fuse fashion and jewellery, uniquely as one.

A great introduction and start to this interview. Can you please tell us, how did you start, from what age, and what made you decide to change direction and start?

I started FLORE QUO in my mid-40s. I wanted to encourage and enable customers to love their bags for longer by creating bags with interchangeable ornaments.

Thank you for that insight. So can you tell us…What does your business do and where is your company based?

FLORE QUO was born out of the desire to encourage more sustainable fashion choices while still giving the customer the ability to vary their look from time to time. The innovative design of the clutch frame was the subject of considerable research and development to enable the ornaments sitting on the pedestal of the clutch to be interchangeable.

The jewel-like, crystal encrusted clasps can be changed to suit the occasion, mood or cause supported by the customer, representing a marriage of fashion and jewellery. Like jewellery, FLORE QUO’s innovative bags can be treasured as heirlooms and remain relevant over time. Our business is based in Hong Kong and we sell internationally. Our bags are Made in Italy and Spain.

What’s the story behind your success? What led to your aha moment? how did you get to where you are now?

It was walking through the airports on my many trips and seeing shelves of bags upon bags in the stores that made me realise that there was a lot of wastage in the fashion industry. Bags could be treasured and renewed through the seasons by merely changing the ornament on the bag. By having jewellery-like ornaments, bags are elevated to the timelessness of jewellery and can be a perennial favourite.

I had to spend a lot of time researching and finding the right factory to make the prototype as it is a bespoke design that enables interchangeable ornaments.

Thank you for sharing that. What’s been your life’s biggest lesson so far?

It was difficult to produce a product that was a unique design and not something that the factories had been accustomed to making. Perseverance was required to overcome sceptism from some that I encountered on the way especially since I was new to the fashion industry. I had to adapt and change my vision accordingly to overcome the challenges I encountered.

I also learnt to draw in 3D CAD to faciltate explaining my designs to the factories. If I had to approach the same situation again, I would have sought advice earlier from consultants in the fashion industry to facilitate my entry into the fashion industry.

I wish I had sought the advice of fashion industry consultants earlier to facilitate the introductions to suppliers and industry professionals.

If you were to go back in time, what piece of advice would you give to your younger self?

I would tell my younger self to have started my business sooner and that not even the sky is the limit. Starting a business is an exciting journey and what feels like a setback at the time is actually an opportunity to regroup and grow. I am learning all the time, not just about the fashion industry but all related aspects of running a business, such as PR, packaging design etc.

We’re nearly halfway through our interview so it’s a great time to ask how does your business run. What three tools make your business run better?

Later app helps schedule our IG posts to run smoothly. Other services we are interested in are instalment payment services to bring our products to a wider audience.

What do you know now that you wished you had known before?

I wish I had sought the advice of fashion industry consultants earlier to facilitate the introductions to suppliers and industry professionals.

What has been your greatest or proudest achievement or moment?

Launching our innovative product and receiving press coverage and endorsement.

What future life goals do you want to achieve and why?

I would like to bring our full range of bags to as wide an audience as possible so everyone can love their bags for longer and we can each do our part to reduce some of the wastage in the fashion industry.

To finish our inspire questions…”We believe that sharing inspiring words can inspire others.” If there was one positive thing you would say to someone to inspire and empower them what would it be and why?

Don’t overthink it, just do it.

“Thank you it has been great learning more about your founder story and FLORE QUO”

To learn more about FLORE QUO Visit www.florequo.com

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