Cat Bunnag, a waitress who works at several Norwalk restaurants, is a new resident to Norwalk and has brought with her an international flare that could well find its way into fashion boutiques.
Bunnag, 33, grew up in Bangkok, Thailand, the daughter of a hotel administrator. Through her father”™s work, Bunnag was able to travel at a young age throughout Europe and Asia.
“I came to America for the first time when I was in junior year at university,” said Bunnag. “I lived for a few months in San Francisco.”
After graduating from college, Bunnag came to America for good, first to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and most recently to Norwalk.
“At that time I was trying to find what I liked and where and how I really wanted to live,” said Bunnag. “I liked living in Thailand, but I”™ve made my home here.”
Bunnag began working as a waitress as well as pursuing side jobs to earn a living.
In a trip back to Bangkok, she spied a type of fashionable bag that she had not seen in her time in America.
“I thought: How come I didn”™t see anything like this in America?” said Bunnag. “I always liked fashion, but just in the way I dressed and nothing much else.”
Bunnag contacted the manufactures of the bags in Thailand.
“In the process of ordering I found things what I did and didn”™t like,” said Bunnag. “I started to change things about the bags. I ended up changing so much that it became something its own.”
Bunnag, a communications major in college, had never had formal design training and was learning through trial and error.
“Design was so far from my mind,” said Bunnag. “But that”™s the way I started designing, it was not deliberate.”
One of Bunnag”™s first lessons in the design of handbags was that of quality and the intricacies of craftsmanship.
“I was embarrassed at first, when bringing my ideas to people in the industry,” said Bunnag.
Bunnag spent hours with a notebook at Bloomingdales taking down her observations on each bag and their construction.
“I put everything down,” said Bunnag. “I looked at hardware in the hardware store for the clasps and zippers.” Bunnag began developing her own method, learning the business and bringing her wears around in Florida as well as New York boutiques.
Bunnag has recently launched Bekatti.com, a Web site where bags can be ordered.
Bunnag said her inspiration come many times from her ability to keep an open mind to the cultures she visits on her travels.
“My current collection was inspired by my recent travels, and each bag is the distinctive interpretation of the different trends that I encountered in the various cities and countries I visited,” said Bunnag. “Each bag makes its own distinct statement, from our versatile Dylan bag with the pewter colored perforated Italian lamb leather and beautiful custom hardware, to our sophisticated Sonoma bag that mixes delicate, modern hardware with the organic patterns of fine calf fur.”
Bunnag currently has four bags and is working on a new shoulder bag and clutch to add to the growing Bekatti collection.
