Wanting to keep it in the States, sisters Sloan Charney and Meagahn Moody started working with a local CT manufacturer to develop the decorative face to the core material. It took 2 years to locate the proper backing to adhere to the industrial grade protective foam and produce the decorative composite.

Finally,  the fashionable "topcoat" material was completed and shipped to MA to be processed into "Feathersuede^T" During transit, the entire truckload of urethane was in a freak trailer fire (according to our supplier, this had never happened in 30 years of doing business with this carrier).

Only after the loss, Z-Attaché discovered that their precious shipment was under insured by the manufacturer. In fact, the urethane manufacturer had insured the material for less than 10% of its value.

All of this material had been produced with cash on account. Now the manufacturer wanted four times that amount on account before running the job again.

The founders were in a predicament: Having invested $, purchased the rest of the raw materials for the job (some is such obscene quantities because they had to secure a reasonable price,) and scheduled sub contractor time to complete the manufacturing, they were forced to resource replacement material, untested and more importantly at a premium, retail price.

They did it, produced an amazing bag, but had no money left for advertising, trade shows or a connected sales force. This is truly a grass roots effort, utilizing pr and referrals to drive awareness and sales to Z-Attaché.

There's so much more to come, should this work. And some day soon, we'll tell you about the accessories woes.