Meet Ruihan Li | Handbag Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ruihan Li and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ruihan, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
My journey into art and design can be traced back to my earliest memories of crafting clothes for my Barbies. Since then I realized the joy and freedom of creating your own designs rather than conforming to the limitations of what already existed. Over the years, my interests have spanned across various aspects of design – from fashion to product and graphic design, and handbag design has eventually become a unique blend of all. The thrill of imagining and ideating and seeing the product come to life always kept me going in my creative career path.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I think what sets me the most apart is that I didn’t have a linear path in my creative career, and I dabbled into multiple professions that somehow were able to connect and become helpful for me to see the creative industry as a whole. I graduated with an Industrial Design background where I focused on the process of product design and users. Transitioning into roles in Creative Direction and Graphic Design for fashion companies such as Tommy Hilfiger and J.Crew allowed me to see the power of storytelling around a product. Now that I am designing handbags at Coach, I am able to combine my product design background with what I learned about creative marketing into meaningful consumer products.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
There is so much to do in New York City! I would love to take them around downtown Manhattan, a nice stroll in the West Village. I love this tea house called Paquita where you can smell and order your own pot of tea through a whole wall of tea samples. There is also a huge selection of vintage stores around the area, where you can easily find some hidden gems in clothing, accessories, or home decor. At night we can take a stroll and visit Chinatown and small Italy, grab some small plates and Chinese liquor-inspired cocktails at Ye’s Apothecary,

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I cannot thank my professor Leslie Fontana enough during my years at RISD. She was the one who introduced me to soft goods product design and has always been the biggest support in my career, and even reached out to me after graduating to connect me with people in the industry. It was extremely helpful and heartwarming to know that there are people supporting you along the way.

Website: https://ruihanli.com

Instagram: ruihan_li

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruihan-l-455616171/

Image Credits
For cover image, and image 1,2:
Model: Mankun Guo
Photographer: Wendy Chao