CBS SATURDAY MORNING

I came all the way from India. For this bag? Yes. I'm so happy. I just need one more. Each colorful handbag is handcrafted and one of a kind. We met the designer in his Harlem apartment... This is going to be the front of the bag. where he spends all day, every day... This will be a part of the top. This will be a part of the top. carefully constructing each purse. This is going to be the back. For me, all my customers, they know whenever they buy something for me, it's a part of me. I cut it. I, you know, it's made here. Born and raised in Haiti, Francis Pierre Laborde emigrated to New York after high school to pursue a career in fashion. He was accepted to the Fashion Institute of Technology, but could only afford to pay for one class at a time. It could be, like, discouraging, but this is what I wanted to do. He began working odd jobs in New York's Garment District, but soon realized the world of clothing design was not for him. I was like, "OK, I'm not going to do this anymore." But I still love fashion, though. And I took classes on making bags, and I felt like, "Wow, making bags, accessories, like, different from making a garment, because you're more free." You know, you're more free to design. Inspired by the kaleidoscope-like buses back in Haiti — known as camionnettes — Laborde began mixing vibrant fabrics with dyed leathers, selling them to friends and family. Red green yellow — so many colors. You know, it's like, you never expected, you know, like all these things will stay in your mind. And it's like when you start designing, you know, it's just like, this is all the Caribbean things in me. Friends, you know, support me. People will come and buy. But I was always afraid to go out there. Why? Because I didn't think I was good. Finally, a friend convinced him to open a stand at the Grand Bazaar, one of New York's oldest and largest artisan flea markets. How many bags would you sell in a day? When I first started, like, some days I would sell zero bags. Yeah. And when things started getting better, I would sell, like, three bags, five bags. For years, he trudged along like this, making a few sales each weekend. It was never easy. And then you know, I felt like I had to keep going. I mean, I feel like if I were doing anything else, I wouldn't be happy. I only had, like, probably around 100 bags. And then so, everything was sold out, I think in, like, ten minutes. What was that feeling like? It was very stressful. I was very scared. I saw the girly pop his bags went viral once again late last year. To keep up with the demand, Laborde took a necessary break from selling at the Bazaar — enlisted his nieces and nephews to help with sales, and created an online ticketing system for customers to reserve a spot in line. Even those tickets book up in minutes. This summer, he has returned fully stocked with a new system in place. It's really easy to kind of just walk into like a designer store and pick something that everybody has. And knowing that these are so different and unique and no bag is really the same. It's something that I'm really excited about. His whimsical style is a rarity against the growing popularity of neutral palettes. Pantone's Color of 2026 was Cloud Dancer. And in our world of fast fashion, Laborde steadfastly sticks to his process in the same Harlem apartment. Why is that important for you to still cut every bag by hand? You could probably be making a lot more money if you did mass produce it, hire more people to work on it. The way it started, I wanted everything to be custom made. I just wanted things to be different. The money won't make you happy. I want to keep my passion going, so I just want to keep going the way I'm going. To me, it makes me happier.