ABOUT

'BAGTAZO,' SAY BOG-TAZO

DESIGNER: COURTNEY CADY (COCO)
LOCATION: NYC

EVERYTHING IN BAGTAZO'S COLLECTIONS ARE LIMITED. SOME OBJECTS ARE HANDMADE OR HAND-FINISHED IN BAGTAZO'S STUDIO.

BAGTAZO IS MADE IN PART BY MANUFACTURERS IN NEW YORK CITY, CALIFORNIA, NEW ENGLAND, AND THE MID-ATLANTIC. (BUT EVERY ONCE AND A WHILE BAGTAZO MAKES SPECIAL BERETS, WHICH OF COURSE, ARE MADE IN FRANCE).

BAGTAZO IS A FAMILY SURNAME FROM THE PHILIPPINES, SELECTED IN HOMAGE TO COCO'S GRANDMOTHER, A WOMAN WHO WALKS THE LINE BETWEEN TRADITION AND MODERNITY, WHICH IS THE CORE ETHOS BEHIND BAGTAZO'S DESIGNS.

EST 2014

BAGTAZO WAS FOUNDED IN LOS ANGELES. THEN COCO MIGRATED TO SAN FRANCISCO WHERE SHE MET HER HUSBAND. NOW THEY LIVE IN NEW YORK.

US MADE
ACCESSORIES FOR EVERYONE ✌🏽

COCO'S MOTHER (FAR RIGHT) AND HER SIBLINGS STATIONED AT A US NAVAL BASE IN JAPAN BEFORE IMMIGRATING TO SAN FRANCISCO IN 1959

A MANUFACTURING PROMISE

ANYTHING MADE outside of MY STUDIO IS PRODUCED WITH people that i consider ESSENTIAL TO BAGTAZO.

I am proud to say that I manufacture in the USA, and that I work with a network of small business to make this happen. From paper printers and leather sellers, to sewing houses, hat factories, and metalsmiths, everyone I work with is independently owned and operated.

I feel strongly about working with manufacturers in the US because I believe that factory workers are the glue that holds our entire society and economy together.

I HAVE ALSO BEEN AN ENVIRONMENTALIST SINCE I WAS A CHILD. FOR THIS REASON, I WORK WITH MATERIALS OF VERIFIABLE SOURCES, AND CONTINUALLY STRIVE TOWARDS BUILDING THE MOST SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS I CAN.

WHILE BAGTAZO MAY CHANGE OVER THE YEARS, THESE ARE MY CORE VALUES. FOR LACK OF BETTER WORDS, THIS IS MY PROMISE TO MYSELF, MY WORKING PARTNERS AND ALL BAGTAZO CUSTOMERS FOREVER AND EVER.

AMEN.

✌🏽

-COCO

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THE DESIGNER

I have been making jewelry and taking photographs since I was 5 years old. I grew up in a small beach town in Southern California. My mother is from the Philippines and my father is Irish-American from Georgia. I also had a long term babysitter from El Salvador who taught me Spanish. This hyphenated identity greatly shaped me as a child.

I started working in fashion when I was 17 years old. I worked at a surf shop where the owner (a little old lady from Japan) cut and sewed bespoke surf trunks. I helped her organize patterns and learned to hand-cut fabric. From here I kept working in fashion, eventually moving to Los Angeles, where I learned product development and production. Since I was a kid, I've been against consumerism and "Made in China" products, both from a social and an environmental standpoint.

in Los Angeles, I studied philosophy and (visual) anthropology at the University of Southern California, earning two bachelors degrees in 2009. Because I found work I loved so much, I didn't go to college directly after high school. I'm happy I made this choice because I studIED subjects THAT interested me greatly, rather than studying for a career, so I really enjoyed mySELF.

While I was in college I still worked in production, and continue to do so today as a freelance consultant for small businesses who produce apparel and accessories in the United States THROUGH bagtazo's sister COMPANY, SHALLOW FASHION.

Since I established Bagtazo in 2014, I have been able to meld all my interests. Because my products are made in USA and created in limited quantities, I feel that I am helping reverse mindless consumerism while also supporting our domestic economy.

I currently LIVE AND WORK IN NEW YORK WITH MY HUSBAND, DANIEL KINE. HE CALLS ME COCO (and SO CAN YOU).

-Courtney Cady