Dear Reader,
If you didn’t know that November 15th each year is National Entrepreneur’s Day, it probably means you’re not an entrepreneur of any note. In 2010 entrepreneur Siamak Taghaddos started a petition to create a National Entrepreneur’s Day. He didn’t understand how America, one of the most entrepreneurial countries in the world, didn’t already have a day dedicated to recognizing entrepreneurs; Thousands of signatures later, President Obama proclaimed 15 November as National Entrepreneur’s Day.
National Entrepreneur’s Day celebrates the willingness of the entrepreneur to take on the risk and deal with uncertainty — thus distinguishing the difference between the entrepreneur and the investor. An entrepreneur is defined as someone willing and able to convert a new idea or invention into a successful innovation. Entrepreneurship is the process of designing, launching, and running a new business, while an entrepreneur is the specific person operating the business.
ABARA founder and creative director Yuki Yang is one such entrepreneur in her chosen field of luxury. Far from fretting over the damage the pandemic dealt to her business of reselling luxury handbags, she put that “downtime” towards the development of her long-cherished dreams of having her own luxury handbag brand – a brand that would help more women get classy, luxurious, long wearing bags that could be used for years.
So, while other business owners prayed for the pandemic to soon be over Yuki adopted a different tack, and concentrated on making that long-held dream come true. ABARA’s creation is the story of Ms. Yang’s own extraordinary journey. Every ABARA handbag in your hand is a symbol of that first bag that Ms. Yang ever had. When she began her journey in Hunan aged 6, her grandmother had given her an ordinary green canvas bag which contained all the tools with which she learnt the ropes of life; More importantly, the bag, which she daily kept to hand, was the amazing receptacle that contained her dreams and aspirations for a better life.
Yuki Yang created ABARA because, as a child who started off with just one cloth bag, she wished to one day endow all girls with just this bag of dreams that has brought her so far – and ABARA is her gift to all women.
Having overcome the many challenges in the male-dominated world of bespoke luxury has made her aware of the issues that women face in work and in business. She also firmly believes that her femininity and understanding of women allow her to be a designer more attuned to women’s needs. Starting ABARA from scratch has made her a strong advocate for female empowerment and gender equality, and it is her mission to inspire women to become their true authentic self, one ABARA handbag at a time.
