With another year in the books, it’s time to reflect on what 2018 meant for Korchmar. Join us as we interview the President, Mike Korchmar.
What are some of Korchmar’s 2018 highlights?
We’re grateful to have had another year of growth at Korchmar in 2018. As Korchmar’s president, it’s very rewarding to see that our commitment to developing products with the highest quality standards is recognized and appreciated by customers – new and old – around the world. The resurgence of pride in US and western hemisphere manufacturing has also been great for our business. Our growth this year has led us to do quite a lot of hiring in the US, which is exciting – we’re actually out of parking spots at our workshop in Florida!
In 2018, we were also fortunate to enjoy considerable PR coverage. I think that more media outlets have come to appreciate our unique position as a brand that owns and operates its own manufacturing facilities, which is a very rare thing these days. Michael, my father, is heavily involved in trade issues and serves as an Industry Trade advisor to the US government. His proximity to the hot topic of trade over the past couple of years have led to some good PR opportunities for Korchmar; we were featured on NPR, CNN, and in the Wall Street Journal, to name a few.
What new developments are you excited about for 2019?
We’re really excited about what’s in store for 2019. We’ve received a lot of positive feedback from our customers on the leather that we used in our Centennial Collection, so we’re exploring how to integrate this leather into more styles for next year. We’ve also heard that customers really like our natural vegetable tanned leather, particularly as it looks in very simple, clean silhouettes. We are currently sampling some of these leathers and reviewing our archive of historical favorites to possibly reintroduce some of Korchmar’s classic styles in vegetable tanned leather.
Is there one especially memorable moment that stands out for Korchmar in 2018?
This one is easy! My most memorable moment at Korchmar took place at our fall/winter photography shoot in New York City. I’d coordinated with my sister’s boyfriend to work in a wedding proposal during the shoot. We convinced my sister, Amy, that we desperately needed a female model for some lifestyle photography of one of our bags. Shortly after striking a pose for the photographer, she found her now fiancé on bended knee with a diamond ring in hand. All were thrilled when she responded, “Yes”! We are excited to welcome Jake Whelan to the Korchmar family!
