Taiwanese couple designs and hand makes beautiful phone and camera accesories
Taiwanese couple designs and hand makes beautiful phone and camera accesories
2022-12-07
Today we meet a Taiwanese couple who make colorful straps that can be attached to cameras and smart phones. The couple loves travel and photography, but several years ago they noticed that there weren’t many straps in the market to choose from. In 2008, they decided to design their own. Since then, they have branched out to make phone straps, pet collars, and more. FTV reporter Stephany Yang met the couple to find out more.
This is Sofia Huang and Maxie Lee, a couple who love travel and photography. In 2008, they searched for straps to attach to their cameras, but couldn’t find many on the market that caught their eye. So, they started to make their own. These camera straps come in different designs and colors. All the materials are from Taiwan and are suited for use in Taiwan’s climate.
Maxie Lee
Co-founder
In the beginning, it was because we really liked taking pictures, but we felt there were no appealing accessories. So we used concepts related to clothing design to make camera-related accessories. Speaking of Taiwanese characteristics, our aim when we design is not just to be only a graphics application. We all know that Taiwan is a manufacturing country. When our next generation of crafters is designing products, they have to think about how to make suitable items. We spent a lot of time studying combinations of materials and working out how to improve the straps’ usability.
Sofia Huang
Co-founder
In the process of designing, we hope to convey the warmth put into making a handmade product. When we choose the fabric, we will choose something more distinctive and suitable to the climate of Taiwan. For example, we choose vegan leather, which is suitable for Taiwan’s climate. That is, it won’t cause mold or cleaning problems. It is also relatively comfortable to use.
Before making camera straps, Sofia was a project planner, and Maxie, was a product designer. They said creating these straps was very laborious and required lots of hard work, but due to their passion for travel, they persevered, and continued with their innovative ideas and the creation of new products. In 2013, they decided to branch out and make straps that can be attached to phones. All of their products are handmade.
Maxie Lee
Co-founder
After customers came, we found that over the past few years, demand for cameras changed to demand for mobile phones, so we gradually extended our designs to different product lines. Now we have some mobile phone accessories. We know people are highly dependent on mobile phones in Taiwan. Compared to mass-produced items made by machines, we have to spend a lot more time making our products. We want each piece or leather item to be in different colors, so the time invested is longer than ordinary mass-produced products.
Sofia Huang
Co-founder
We really do it all by hand. We need to be clear about our goals and direction. When we adhere to the branding route, the quality, production, and even style and demands we place on ourselves have to be at an even higher level.
The two are also cat lovers. In 2022, they began designing collars for cats in hopes of creating comfortable and eye-catching collars for their furry friends.
Sofia Huang
Co-founder
We have cats in our family, and we couldn’t find good-looking collars that we liked for them. That’s why we created them ourselves. We used mountain climbing ropes to make it cooler for a cat to wear. Then, they’re more cat-friendly and easier to use. It is different from the traditional cat leads with the buckles.
Maxie Lee
Co-founder
Consumers in Taiwan are very friendly, and they are also very willing to try new things. They just want products with different styles or qualities. So we have started to shape a brand with a different personality in the past two to three years
The designers say they get their inspiration from their daily lives and travel. They hope to continue to make colorful and beautiful designs to help people travel both safely and fashionably.
人物專訪系列：台灣夫婦手工製作商品
2022-12-07
今天在我們的人物專訪系列報導中，我們來認識一對台灣夫婦，他們製作可以掛在相機和手機上的背帶。 這對夫婦熱愛旅行和攝影，但幾年前他們發現市場上可供選擇的背帶不多。因此2008年，他們決定自己設計。從那時起，他們也製作手機背帶、寵物項圈等產品。
黃佳羚和李政旻，他們是一對熱愛旅行和攝影的情侶。2008年，他們尋找可以掛在相機上的背帶，但他們在市場上找不到吸引他們的背帶。因此，他們決定開始自己製作。這些相機背帶有不同的設計和顏色，所有材料都來自台灣，也適合在台灣的氣候來使用這些產品。
[[共同創辦人 李政旻]]
"當初是因為其實我們滿喜歡拍照的，但是覺得拍照當中沒有好看的配件，所以我們就是用比較服裝的概念，製作攝影類的商品。針對所謂的台灣特色，我們希望在設計上不單純是一個graphic的應用。我們都知道台灣是一個製造國，新一代的工藝者在設計商品的時候，如何製作出一個合適的產品。我們花了很多時間研究材料的組合，還有使用習慣的改善。"
[[共同創辦人 黃佳羚]]
"我們在設計的過程中，希望是傳達手感的溫度。我們在選擇布料時候，會選比較有特色，然後，針對台灣氣候來使用。像我們的皮料，選擇的是植物性皮革，它對於台灣的氣候來講，沒有發霉或是清潔的困擾，使用起來也相對比較舒服。"
製作相機的背帶之前，黃佳羚從事的是專案企劃的工作，而李政旻則是一名產品設計師。他們說，製作這些背帶非常費力，需要很努力。但因為他們熱愛旅行，他們想保留這樣的熱情，並堅持守護他們的創新理念，繼續設計新產品。一直到2013年，他們決定拓展業務，開始生產手機背帶，而且所有的產品，都一定是手工製作。
[[共同創辦人 李政旻]]
"客人慢慢接受我們後，我們這幾年發現，拍照的需求有點轉變到手機的需求，所以我們慢慢延伸到不同的商品線，到現在有一些手機類的配件。我們知道在台灣對手機的依賴度非常的高，我們畢竟跟很大的量產產品，可能用機器的做來講，我們的產品必須花非常多的時間。因為等於每一個piece或是小皮料，我們有不同顏色的想法，背後的投入跟普通的量產品來講，心思程度差別滿大的。"
[[共同創辦人 黃佳羚]]
"因為我們真的是手做，要自己很清楚自己的目標跟方向。堅持在品牌的這條路上，就變成要對於品質、製作，甚至對風格、跟自我要求度就要相對地變成更高。"
這對夫妻也非常愛貓。於是在2022年，他們開始幫貓咪設計舒服又漂亮的項圈。
[[共同創辦人 黃佳羚]]
"因為我們家自己有貓咪，所以我們其實是因為我們家的貓咪找不到比較好看、我們喜歡的項圈，所以我們才自己創作。我們利用山繩，做出一個對貓咪來說比較清涼，然後比較好使用的。有別於傳統貓鍊的快釦的形式，我們設計的比較好扣。"
[[共同創辦人 李政旻]]
台灣消費者非常友善，他們也非常願意嘗試。只是需要不同風格，或是不同質感的商品。所以我們這兩、三年， 開始在做一個新的品牌。"
他們都從日常生活和旅行中獲得靈感。希望繼續創造色彩繽紛、漂亮的設計，讓更多人可以安全又時尚的出門旅行。
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