September 2019, William contacted us for an internship. During his final year of product design at Howest Kortrijk, he was studying a leatherworking evening course as well. Lies followed the same classes a few years ago, so she knew he would be skilled. One week later, we met William for the first time - at the airport - ready to fly to Milan with us.

This rapid takeoff set the tone for the rest of his internship, which focussed on the development of our first men’s collection. Together they did market research, sampling and leather sourcing. In March '20, Lies en William would go to Portugal for the first samples of the men’s collection. Unfortunately, Covid-19 decided differently.

What were your fondest memories of your internship?

The first and fondest memory was when Lies called me, asking if I wanted to join her in Milan. Through Instagram, I contacted Lies for an internship, and one week later we met at the airport.

When we got back I assisted Lies in the final stages of developing the wallets Hannelore and Corsa. When we received the first samples it felt so crazy that a product I assisted on would be available in store. Little did I know what would follow next.

During the development of the men’s collection, Covid-19 threw a spanner into the works. But this didn’t stop the project. The internship was part of my graduation project, so I wanted to finish it. In the first weeks of lockdown, we slightly panicked but picked up the pace quickly again. Because I have an atelier at home, we decided that I could make the first samples at home instead of going to Portugal.

Hours after the border was open again, Lies booked us tickets to visit the production atelier in Portugal, to try to save all delays we had due to covid. At our Atelier, we worked on the final details until the collection was ready. Two days before my graduation, I hopped back on the plane, carrying both sample bags under my arms.

What do you like so much about the William bag?

“The fact that it carries my name is already incredible!” He mentions while laughing enthusiastically.

“The combination of functional versatility and architectural design are the highlights of this bag for me. There are so many functional bags that aren’t aesthetically pleasing and vice versa.” With William, we pushed both aspects to its limit making it a versatile bag, for a wide range of people.

I’m convinced that I will still be using this bag ten years from now, and it will always remind me of this incredible period and internship together with Lies, Mauranne en Anne.