This week, we got to chat with handbag designer and entrepreneur Parisa Wang. She’s the mastermind behind The Love Affair Collection. They’re not just beautiful, they capture the phases of love perfectly…from the initial swoon to the painful ‘heart ripped out of your chest’ phase. It’s design + emotion in one beautiful bag! We got chatting about all things love, breakups and entrepreneurship. Here’s what she had so say.
What do you do and why do you do it?
Disappointed in a past relationship, I found consolation and encouragement among my friends. Overwhelmed by their gracious and emotional support from these strong women, I was compelled to spread an equally encouraging and supportive message to others. That’s why I created a handbag collection called the Love Affair. It is 5 handbags capturing 5 stages of a relationship to inspire courage and confidence.
I built the brand ParisaNYC to further inspire you to seek relentless inner courage in the face of adversity and to encourage you to truly love your independence and to never shirk in when the going gets tough.
What’s the best gift you ever got?
The best gift I ever received is my ability to see and create thanks to my mom. When I was nine years ago, I was told that my left eye was underdeveloped. Because I missed the best and ideal treatment window, the doctor told my mom that it would be hard for me to draw, paint or do anything that relies heavily on my visual. However, my mom still persisted in taking me to laser appointments, treatment sessions, and doctor appointments to simulate the visual development of the eye. Thanks to her enduring effort, the vision of my left eye had slightly improved. My left eye started to be able to see things in a close distance and it was also at that moment, I started to grow a profound interest in drawing, painting and designing.
What’s the worst gift you ever got?
The worst gift is a bad excuse I got from an ex that forgot about my birthday and said he would pick the gift up with me in the mall. Then he requested to only buy the thing that was the same price as the gift I gave him for his birthday.
What’s your advice for all things love, sex and dating?
Never settle for anything less than you deserve. Entering my mid-twenties, I have seen so many of my friends or friends’ friends who are pressured to get married by their parents, society or simply their own needs to settle down regardless whether they find the right person or not. However, shortsighted and compromised decisions rarely lead to happy, balanced and harmonious marriages.
Take making handbags for an example, I don’t compromise to use faux leather to meet the need of a lower cost. I pick nature and genuine leather with rich texture to enhance the beauty and its long lasting value. If you are like me and don’t compromise on your fearless, bold and daring style of fashion, why would you do it for love and relationship?
A better way to attract better men? Improve the heck out of yourself, both mentally and physically! When you have more chips in your hand, you can then put your poker face on and meet the real “players” in life.
What’s your go to pick me up?
Zumba dancing! I go to Zumba dance every Sunday and my instructor always start our class with “It’s Not Right But It’s Okay” by Whitney Houston. “It’s not right but it is okay, I am gonna make it anyway. Pack your bags up and leave. Don’t you dare come running back to me.” It never fails to reenergize me and lift me up. I always leave the class feeling positive and ready to start the week off fresh.
Tell us about your first heartbreak…
It was with my college boyfriend who I had 4 years long distance relationship with. We ended the relationship in a phone call and he never contacted me afterwards. Two months later, I saw his updates on Facebook with another girl and my mind went blank. I felt my vision gradually turned black and the image of him with his new girl on the screen became a blur. I was dizzy, short of breath and beyond shocked. Then I entered a prolonged phrase of self-questioning, self-doubting and self-blaming. What did I do wrong? What should have I done? “I should have moved to San Francisco to stay with him.” “I could have been a better girlfriend and compromised more.” “I could have…” The list went on and on. Truthfully, the process of letting go of the past felt like dissecting a bad tumor in my heart. It was painful and heartbreaking. Eventually I scraped the tumor completely off my body, healed and grew a new and stronger layer of skin. During the recovery phrase, I chose to stay deeply connected with my passion and found peace and comfort in the process of creating. Enlightened by the process of recovery and empowered by stories of other strong women, I created the Love Affair handbag collection.
Tell us about a time you Bounced Back better than ever…
It would be last November when I broke up with my ex, left my previous designer job, and started to work on my own handbag collection. I indulged myself in the process of creating, build heartfelt connections with friends who also had similar experiences, and inspired by the empowering story behind each breakup. Now I have a beautiful handbag line that was unlike anything in the market. I proudly take it everywhere to showcase a tangible object of strength and beauty, bravely tell the story behind each Love Affair and restlessly work to spread its empowering message.
