Case Study 08 NUCU

NUCU
Studio

How a five piece creative exercise in handmade bags became a brand with a product line, a workshop and a process, selling across Mexico and exporting to Europe and the United States.

Role : Co-owner and Creative Director
Org : NUCU, boutique studio, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas
Scope : Brand, product design, pattern making, production processes, workshop setup (2016 to 2018)
My part

I co-founded NUCU and built its structure: the brand, the production processes and the workshop. I made the patterns, set the quality standard and produced some unique pieces myself, and I produced, directed and shot every photo shoot. My partner brought the fashion know how and the link with artisan producers, and trained the seamstresses. We designed the products together.

01 / The Problem

A five piece exercise that people wanted to buy, and no structure to sell it.

NUCU started as a creative exercise: five pieces meant to bring together everything we had at hand, the traditional textiles, my partner’s fashion know how and my design. People liked them and the pieces kept selling.

But they sold one by one. There was no structure behind the work and no projection of a fixed income: every sale started from zero.

02 / The Decision

Keep every piece handmade and unique, but build each one from a defined pattern and one quality standard.

Around that rule I built a brand, the production processes and a small workshop, run as a boutique studio: two partners, two seamstresses and an assistant who did a bit of everything, working with three groups of traditional textile producers.

03 / The Brand
NUCU logo, NU stacked over CU
The mark: NU stacked over CU Fig. 01

One
Mark

I created the brand so that every piece, however unique, read as NUCU. The mark is two stacked syllables, NU over CU. Each bag carries it twice: a woven tag inside with the artenucu.com address, and an acrylic plate outside, shown here on twelve fabrics from leather and suede to embroidered textiles.

Woven interior tag with the artenucu.com address
Woven interior tag with the artenucu.com address Fig. 02
Exterior acrylic label applied on twelve different fabrics
Exterior acrylic label tested on twelve different fabrics Fig. 03
04 / Product Design
Messenger bag sheet: leather flap, Zinacantán waist loom panel and phone pocket
Messenger bag: leather flap and a Zinacantán waist loom panel Fig. 04

Drawn
First

My partner and I designed the products together, and I drew each one as a digital sheet before anything was cut. A sheet named every material and where it went, from leather and canvas to waist loom textiles from Zinacantán and brocade from San Andrés Larráinzar, and carried the dimensions I used to make the patterns.

Dopp kit sheet with 50 by 20 by 20 cm dimensions, canvas, waist loom textile, leather band and straps
Dopp kit: dimensions, canvas, waist loom textile and leather band Fig. 05
Laptop case sheet: leather, Zinacantán waist loom and San Andrés Larráinzar brocade, all hand woven
Laptop case: leather with two hand woven textiles Fig. 06
Backpack sheet: cotton straps, carabiners, Zinacantán waist loom panel, elastic and a waterproof cover
Backpack: hardware, waist loom panel and a waterproof cover Fig. 07
Wine bottle sleeves in waist loom brocade and leather
Wine bottle sleeves Fig. 08
Two bottle wine carrier in leather, waist loom brocade and cotton
Two bottle wine carrier Fig. 09
Passport cover in leather and San Andrés Larráinzar brocade
Passport cover Fig. 10
Chef apron with waist loom base and leather belt
Chef apron Fig. 11
05 / Made in the Workshop
Finished laptop case in leather with a floral lining, laptop inside
Laptop case, finished Fig. 12

Sheet to
Product

I organized the production processes and set up the workshop where the sheets became bags. The pattern fixed the shape and the build; the textile changed from piece to piece, so every bag was still unique. I also produced some unique pieces myself.

Laptop case front with the brocade handle
The brocade handle from the sheet, in leather and hand woven textile Fig. 13
Close up of the hand woven brocade handle
Brocade handle, close up Fig. 14
Backpack with an embroidered floral panel, worn
Backpack with an embroidered panel: same pattern, unique textile Fig. 15
Finished messenger bag in leather and black canvas
Messenger bag Fig. 16
Purple backpack worn outdoors
Backpack, worn Fig. 17
Finished dopp kit with leather wrist strap
Dopp kit Fig. 18
Dopp kit detail: leather tag with the mark and woven panel
Leather tag carrying the mark Fig. 19
06 / Photography

Shot
In House

I produced, directed and shot every photo shoot: several fashion shoots and a product shoot every two months, feeding the shop and social media. The illustrated set placed the bags against hand drawn walls, with concept and illustrations by Eek. The studio sets showed each bag on white from every angle, with the vertical NUCU signature and the artenucu.com address on the edge of each frame.

Illustrated photo set: shoulder bag against a hand drawn wall
Illustrated set: shoulder bag Fig. 20
Illustrated photo set: leather tote against a hand drawn wall
Illustrated set: leather tote Fig. 21
Illustrated photo set: tote in use, side view
Illustrated set: tote in use Fig. 22
Triangle bag in suede and woven textile, front view
Studio set: triangle bag, front Fig. 23
Triangle bag, reverse view
Studio set: reverse Fig. 24
Triangle bag, three quarter view
Three quarter view Fig. 25
Triangle bag, side profile
Side profile Fig. 26
Triangle bag, open side
Open side Fig. 27
07 / Packaging & Teasers

Black on
Black

Matte black envelope, gift bag and box, with the mark embossed black on black. Two short video teasers, edited in Premiere Pro and After Effects, introduced the brand.

Watch teaser one on YouTube → Watch teaser two on YouTube →
Black envelope and dust bag with the embossed mark
Black envelope and white dust bag with the woven tag Fig. 28
Black gift bag with the mark
Gift bag Fig. 29
Gift bag and box with the embossed mark
Gift bag and box, mark embossed Fig. 30
08 / What Changed
10 to 20
Pieces a month, year one

Sold locally in Chiapas. Every piece unique, built on defined patterns and the quality standard I set.

Export
Year two

Selling across Mexico and exporting to Europe and the United States, with two seamstresses, an assistant and three textile producer groups.

75%
Productivity

Gain in the workflow between designers and artisans, through better production documentation.

09 / Reflection NUCU / Chiapas

Seasons,
Not Pieces

What Went Well?

Systematic Growth From Year TwoOnce the patterns, the quality standard and the workshop were in place, growth became systematic: NUCU went from local sales in Chiapas to the whole country, and to exports in Europe and the United States.

What Could I Have Done Better?

A Seasonal Line Next to the Unique PiecesI thought of NUCU only as unique pieces. I would add seasonal lines made in series, still limited runs and never mass production, and keep the unique pieces as a separate line. That would have given the brand more weight and a wider reach.

More Case
Studies