Fashionably Different
PHOTOS BY JORDAN RANDALL
“The Ring Clutch” By Robert Berganza
“One of these things is not like the others” jokes Robert Berganza as he shows off his latest craftsmanship. He may be best known in Lakeland for his custom made coffee tables or the swan ornaments he designs and sells each holiday season (or perhaps as the designer and producer of the awards given to Lakelander’s Choice winners) but he is more than just a woodworker.
Berganza, who has lived in Lakeland for most of his life after his parents moved the family for their real estate careers, describes himself as an artist who loves to create beautiful things and it just so happens that wood is often the medium he uses to create those things. For him, woodworking was not a lifelong passion, but something that started as a hobby to help relieve the stress of working as a detective with the Polk County Sheriff’s Department. Berganza explained he and his wife moved into a home that already had a workshop on the property, which led him to try out woodworking and, to his surprise, it came very naturally to him.
His hobby turned into a full-time job when he joined the Catapult community after the launch of their Makerspace. This workshop includes space to display products and all the professional-grade machines and resources an entrepreneur could need to design, mock-up, create, and market new products. Over the last few months, Berganza has developed a product different from anything he has created before—a sleek women’s handbag that functions as both a conversation piece and a handy spot to store your phone and lipstick.
The bag in question, officially branded “the Ring Clutch” due to its circular shape, has an origin story unlike most of Berganza’s designs. Instead of coming from his own mind, the idea for this purse actually came from a client. This client told Berganza she was bringing a friend to the workshop to see some of his designs. When the pair arrived dressed for a fancy event, Berganza noticed that his client was holding all of her things instead of using a clutch. The client remarked that she had never found a purse that she liked, and she wished there was something she could buy that fit Berganza’s style. This simple comment stuck in his head for months until one day at a coffee shop Berganza sketched the design out, and he hasn’t stopped working on the bag since.
The Ring Clutch features a polished brass handle that wraps all the way around the wooden portion which is made of maple–the same kind of wood used to build most pianos–and covered in a dark, glossy lacquer. A matching brass clasp allows the bag to open, revealing a flocked, red velvet interior with Berganza’s signature nameplate and a unique hinge made of three moving pieces of wood rather than metal springs. As the creator of the clutch explained, “this is clearly not an everyday bag.” The excellent craftsmanship of this bag, as well as its price point (around $2,500) set it apart as something to be admired and taken out of the closet on special occasions. The elevated style fits Berganza’s personal philosophy of “creating work in the way it would want to be made.” A purse like this highlights the beauty of the materials used–the New England maple trees and the polished metals that make up the clasp and handle–as well as the hours that went into designing and crafting it.
The elevated style fits Berganza’s personal philosophy of “creating work in the way it would want to be made.”
Although these bags are not necessarily custom designed for individuals, as with some of his furniture pieces, they are still able to be customized. The client can choose the color of the velvet lining, as well as the metal hardware. Berganza’s prototype features a gold-toned clasp and handle, but he plans to offer silver and black metal options and name engraving on the underside of the clasp as well. In the future, there may be even more options, as Berganza mentioned the idea of a woodgrain bag, a miniature Ring Clutch, and even a bag made of non-wooden materials if all goes well with the initial Ring Clutch launch. As far as marketing goes, Berganza plans to utilize social media. Influencer promotion may be just the thing to allow him to reach the right markets for this clutch which he hopes includes everyone from New York City socialites to local shoppers looking for a unique piece to add to their wardrobe.
The shift from making handcrafted wooden furniture to designing handbags may seem like an extreme departure from Berganza’s brand, but this choice was not an arbitrary decision. In his own words, Robert Beganza “loves designing pretty things,” and there is no bigger demand for beautifully designed pieces than in women’s fashion. Of course, this new product is a business move as well as a creative outlet. Most clients have no need for more than one coffee table or set of chairs, but if a client falls in love with the Ring Clutch, she may choose to buy it in every color (and size) or buy one for a friend. The purses also allow Berganza to scale his business in a way he never could before by teaching someone else the steps of producing the bag using the Makerspace tools.
Although he never saw himself as a creative person before he started his hobby–and five years ago he could not have guessed he’d be making purses one day–he is now focused on discovering what he excels at as an artist. Going from coffee-table creation to marketing an evening bag seems a little less strange when looking at Robert Berganza as an artist on a journey instead of just a woodworker.
“This is clearly not an everyday bag.”
“This is clearly not an everyday bag.”