Annabelle
“Being a woman to me means being part of an empathic and compassionate global community. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world or the situation you find yourself in. I can guarantee there will always be a woman close by that is willing to lend you a hand, prop you back up, lend you a tampon, or give you a hug. We’re a pretty unique bunch.”
Annabelle, or Belle, is passionate about supporting other women, which she does through her leadership, entrepreneurship and through her handbags. Belle founded May before April, an handbag line which offers a range of bags for the modern-day woman. But May before April is more than just handbags. Annabelle prioritises female collaboration, she works with women-led businesses from across the globe. She is also taking on the fast fashion industry, by prioritising ethical and sustainable production and practice. Despite her success, she’s no stranger to adversity. Just when it seemed her business was taking off, the pandemic hit, and challenge after challenge followed. But through her creativity and honesty, she managed to come out the other side, and now her business is stronger than ever. Meet Annabelle. This is her story.
P: Please introduce yourself!
A: Hi, My name is Annabelle, and I am the founder/designer of an ethical women-led handbag line called May before April which designs handbags for the modern multitasking women and supports 10 small women-led businesses around the world in the process.
P: Describe or define yourself in your own words.
A: Resilient, value-driven, creative and compassionate.
P: What is your favourite thing about yourself?
A: My ability to think differently. Growing up dyslexic I always thought this was a disadvantage but I have grown to realise the ability to think differently and problem-solve creatively is something that stems from my dyslexia and now I love it!
P: Tell us a story. Have you had an experience that’s defined you or made you stronger?
A: Developing an ethical and sustainable women-led business during a global pandemic…
May before April manifested from an endless desire to find the perfect bag. The ones that looked good weren’t functional, the ones that were functional didn’t look good - so that’s where I started.
I asked every lady I knew, what they really wanted in a bag? What did they love? What did they hate? Did they always lose their keys or couldn’t clean the interior? Could they not compartmentalise those ohh so discrete items? The answers came in thick and fast and I knew I wasn’t alone.
In 2018 with a recent change in job and making the most of a bizarre opportunity, I found myself spending 18 months living and working in Bali. With a 5 hour lapse in time zone I would work as a graphic designer during the day until my clients in New Zealand had stopped working and would then spend my afternoon prototyping handbag patterns and hooning around industrial Denpasar on a beaten up moped looking for anything that looked remotely like a place that sold fabric, zips or hardware.
With my limited Bahasa Indonesia (the local language) and a smile from ear to ear I would slowly build relationships with stockists who soon became my friends and eventually family. It was during this time that my eyes were opened to the reality of fast fashion and overconsumption. It was here that I made two crucial decisions that would become the core values of May before April:
1. Create a product driven purely by demand (small batch production)
2. The entire supply chain supports an ethical, fair trade working process.
Fast forward to 2020 I had moved back to New Zealand - after an initial successful launch earlier in the year - I had my second batch of handbags due to arrive in New Zealand in November 2020. December came and went, so did, January, February, March, June, and July with a 5-month shipping delay due to COVID and after 3 rejections from Auckland port, my bags finally arrived. I eagerly rushed to the distribution warehouse in Christchurch to get my 8 well-traveled containers.
The excitement very soon wore off after discovering that someone in the shipping line had placed the “this way up” label up the wrong way around. 50% of my stock had been squashed. After many tears and glasses of red, I sat there and realised I needed to be honest and transparent with my community about what had happened and if there was any way I could rectify the situation.
After a creative brainstorming session with my partner we decided to try make light of a devastating situation and personify the damaged handbags into three categories/personalities, those that traveled first class and arrived unscathed, those that traveled in economy with little leg room and had a bit of jet-lag and those that completely missed the boat that would be donated to dress for success.
After composing an email to send to my customers (Some who had been waiting for 8 months for the arrival of this batch) I took a deep breath and nervously pressed send.
Wow, the influx of support and compassion from a community of like-minded women couldn’t have been more overwhelming. I learned no matter what happens it’s so important to be honest with your community they usually have your best interest at heart. We sold out of batch 02 in 3 weeks and my May before April community has grown stronger for it.
P: What is one piece of advice you’d give to your younger self?
A: Worry less! Worry less about what people might think. Worry less about what might go wrong.
Chances are things will work out ok and if they don’t, there is usually a lesson to be learned somewhere :)
P: What does being a woman mean to you?
A: Being a woman to me means being part of an empathic and compassionate global community. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world or the situation you find yourself in. I can guarantee there will always be a woman close by that is willing to lend you a hand, prop you back up, lend you a tampon, or give you a hug. We’re a pretty unique bunch.
P: Who is one woman that inspires you? What would you say if they were here now?
A: One woman that inspires me is Jane Mayell (The founder of Original Foods Baking Co). She was one of the most driven, compassionate, hardworking, and resilient women I have ever met. Starting with a modest setup making doughnuts in a tiny commercial kitchen she grew her business to be one of the largest producers of baked goods in the country over three decades. A pioneer and advocate for inclusion and opportunity for people with any background or skill level or disability, Jane was a woman ahead of her time. Jane lost her long battle with cancer in 2020 and even in her last few months of life, she was still providing her wealth of knowledge and compassion to those she loved and worked with. In one of the last exchanges I had with Jane, she said some profound words that had been passed onto her in her early career. “Make excellence a habit”.
One of the most inspiring women I have ever met. If you were here now I would say, thank you so much for believing in MBA from the beginning, thanks for instilling the importance of creating a compassionate and ethical working culture, and thank you for reminding me to take a step back every now and then and realise how far I’ve come. Thanks for reminding me that things go wrong and it’s how you deal with them in the moment that makes the difference. A true inspiration. You will be forever missed. xx
To connect with Annabelle and check out her business:
Website | maybeforeapril.com
Instagram | @maybeforeapril