FoundHer Story with Rebecca Bannon | Assortment Studio

A conversation with Rebecca Bannon about the story behind Assortment Studio, the creative vision behind her hats, the artisans who bring them to life, and the woman building the brand.

Brand: Assortment Studio
Based in: New Paltz, New York
Website: assortment-studio.com
Instagram: @assortment_studio
Fun fact: She’s obsessed with ramen and has finally nailed homemade sourdough.

HOW WE MET: A DAY AT THE POUND RIDGE FLEA

Some of the best stories begin when you're simply out exploring.

We first met Rebecca at the Pound Ridge Flea, where we spent the day wandering through the market, meeting independent designers and artisans, and spontaneously interviewing the creative people behind the tables, just for fun.

It was one of those moments that captures what LOCALS World is all about: getting out into the community, striking up conversations, and discovering the people and ideas that make a place special.

A conversation with Rebecca about thoughtful design, the artisans behind her accessories, and building a business on her own terms.

Words by LOCALS World

There is a difference between making something to sell and creating something you believe in. For Rebecca, founder of Assortment Studio, that difference is at the heart of everything she makes.

After nearly two decades designing accessories for major brands and licensing companies, Rebecca knew the industry from the inside. She understood the materials, the manufacturing process, and the countless decisions that turn an idea into a finished product. But she also saw what could get lost along the way: creative ideas softened into safer choices, overproduction, and products that didn't always feel worth their price.

So she started building something of her own.

What began as a side project during the pandemic has evolved into Assortment Studio, an accessories brand rooted in thoughtful proportions, quality materials, considered details, and accessible pricing. Working from her home in New Paltz, New York, Rebecca designs handbags and hats in collaboration with skilled production partners, drawing inspiration from sculpture, vintage objects, traditional craftsmanship, and the places that have shaped her career.

Her hats, in particular, have become a way to explore a new creative language. Classic silhouettes meet unexpected colors, natural materials, and personal finishing touches, resulting in pieces that feel both timeless and individual.

But our introduction to Rebecca began long before this conversation.

From the Corporate Machine to Her Own Vision

I first met Rebecca Bannon at Pound Ridge Flea, where we spent the day wandering around the market and spontaneously interviewing artisans and designers. It was one of those encounters that reminded me how much there is to discover when you take the time to talk to the people behind the products.

Rebecca has spent nearly 20 years designing and developing accessories collections for major brands and licensing companies. While it was an exciting career at first, she eventually grew frustrated with the corporate process: endless sampling, wasted time and energy, and creative ideas that were often reduced to whatever buyers felt comfortable ordering.

The fun, modern designs her teams worked hard to develop would frequently end up in safe shades of black and brown. Rebecca began holding on to samples that had been dropped from collections, saving the design elements she loved in the hope that she might use them someday.

At the same time, she was struggling to find accessories she actually wanted to wear herself.

“I was designing huge handbag collections for the companies I worked for, but I didn’t even want to carry the products I was making.”

She wanted something different: beautifully and simply designed, well-made, affordable handbags. Too many bags on the market had excessive hardware or relied on so-called vegan leather without delivering the quality, craftsmanship, or price point she was looking for.

What started as a side hustle while working remotely during the pandemic eventually grew into Assortment Studio.

The goal was straightforward: thoughtful design, great proportions, good materials, and the kind of details that make a product feel special without making it unnecessarily expensive.

A Name That Leaves Room to Grow

Assortment Studio was previously known as Per Lei New York. The rebrand marked a shift in how Rebecca thought about her business and where she wanted to take it.

Per Lei translates to “for her” in Italian. When she first launched the brand, designing accessories for women felt natural because that was the world she knew. But after participating in in-person markets and events, she began to realize that people beyond her original audience connected with her designs.

“I’ve always had a somewhat androgynous sensibility as a designer. I tend to think about shape and proportion almost sculpturally, rather than designing something that’s just a bag, a shoe, or a hat.”

She loved the simplicity of the word assortment. It reflected her approach to design: great construction, thoughtful details, and no unnecessary fuss. More importantly, it gave her room to explore new categories without defining who the products were for.

Her philosophy comes down to making things that solve problems while helping people look good and feel confident. The bag that holds exactly what you need. The boot with the perfect toe shape. The hat that works with your face.

And then there are the details most people might not notice until they get them wrong.

Rebecca cares about the way a seam is folded and stitched, the shape of a tab, and the length of a shoulder strap. She especially cannot stand tote bag straps that are too short to fit over your shoulder when you're wearing a jacket.

Honestly, fair.

But thoughtful design is only part of the equation. Price matters just as much.

“Everything feels so expensive right now, and most people simply can’t justify spending more than $500 on something that isn’t a necessity.”

Rebecca wants her collections to feel luxurious without requiring a major financial commitment. For her, treating yourself shouldn't mean paying something off over several months. It's about finding the balance between great design, quality, and accessible pricing.

An Artist’s Eye for Accessories

Rebecca has a BFA in sculpture, and that background continues to shape the way she designs.

Artists Constantin Brâncuși, Alberto Giacometti, and Isamu Noguchi are among her influences, particularly for the ways they explore proportion and form. Mark Rothko inspires her approach to color, while filmmaker Wes Anderson is known for the kind of carefully considered color stories she loves. She also recently visited an Agnes Martin exhibition at Dia Beacon, which sparked ideas for future silk scarves.

Her inspiration doesn't stop at art.

She gravitates toward mid-century color combinations, wood stains, well-worn vegetable-tanned leather, a good brass belt buckle, vintage steamer trunks, braided and woven details, patinated metal, welded edges, and Japanese joinery.

Basically, well-made old stuff.

These references might sound like a collection of unrelated objects, but they share a common thread: a respect for materials, form, and details that improve with time.

Travel has played a major role in developing that perspective, too. Her career began in Italy, then took her to China and India, and more recently to Mexico. Each place introduced her to different materials, techniques, and approaches to making.

Italy deepened her appreciation for fine leather and details. China taught her about precision and quick turnaround. India introduced her to intricate woven leather techniques and embroidery. In Mexico, she is exploring naturally dyed colors and palm-weaving craftsmanship, with plans to develop her next leather collection there as well.

If making a living weren't part of the equation, Rebecca says she'd be traveling in a Winnebago exploring state parks, cruising along the canals of England in a boat, or sailing toward the Bermuda Triangle.

It's a fitting picture of someone whose creativity is fueled by curiosity, discovery, and a willingness to explore what comes next.

The Art of the Hat

The Assortment Studio hat collection began with a wool fedora her husband bought her to wear on cold morning dog walks.

For months, Rebecca kept saying, “I need to find out where this hat was made. I have to make these to sell!”

Eventually, that thought turned into a sourcing obsession.

She was also ready for a new creative challenge. After years of designing handbags, she wanted something different to learn and another outlet for her ideas. Hats offered both.

“I feel like a hat can change your entire day, outfit, or vibe.”

The right brim can complement your face shape. The right color can make your eyes pop. It's a relatively simple accessory, but it can transform how someone looks and feels.

For Rebecca, hats also carry a personal history. Her grandmother had an incredible collection of hats for Sunday church, she has family in Colorado who rarely leave the house without one, and her older sister has a hat for every occasion.

“The hat finishes the outfit.”

She sees hats as a form of expression, much like footwear. They can reveal something about a person's culture, profession, age, musical preferences, or personality before a word is spoken.

Her own collection leans toward what she calls “coastal cowboy.” Think classic shapes, natural materials, good colors, and something you'd wear on a Hudson Valley leaf-peeping dog walk rather than a full-on Western rodeo.

The goal is to create hats people return to season after season, not something they wear once and leave in the trunk.

As her collection has developed, Rebecca has become more confident in communicating her ideas and writing specifications for her hatmakers. But collaboration remains central to the process. Her production partners bring their own expertise, helping her understand what is possible, what might be too expensive, and how to translate an idea into a finished product.

Shop Assortment Studio’s Fall/Winter collection at The Huntress in Pound Ridge, NY, curated by Locals Closet.

The People and Places Behind the Pieces

Mexico became part of the Assortment Studio story almost by accident.

During a girls’ trip to Isla Mujeres, Rebecca met a young man working in a shop who told her that his mother made the straw bags they sold. She took his business card, returned home, and about a week later sent him a text asking whether his mother might be interested in making bags for her.

She started with a few basic shapes, sending over mockups of the custom colors and sizes she wanted to explore.

“I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best!”

That first order led to another, followed by new shapes and sizes. A couple of years later, the minimum order quantities had grown beyond anything she imagined when she sent that initial message.

The straw bags also made sense from a business perspective. At a time when she was struggling with her leather factory in India and tariffs were becoming a challenge, Rebecca wanted to maintain accessible retail prices. The spring and summer collection offered another way forward.

Bright, unexpected colors give the bags personality without requiring a huge investment, making them fun pieces that customers often buy on impulse.

Her experience in Mexico encouraged her to keep exploring the country's craftsmanship and materials. But the relationships behind the products matter just as much as the finished pieces.

After developing her first hat collection with a wholesaler, Rebecca decided to find her own factory so she could have more control over design and quality. Having already built a relationship with her straw-bag artisans, she began asking around for recommendations and eventually connected with a hatmaker in León, Mexico.

A couple of Zoom meetings and several rounds of approval samples later, she found a production partner who now oversees the artisans making her hats.

Many of these relationships began when travel was still restricted during the pandemic. What started as a face on a Zoom screen has developed into ongoing partnerships built around communication, shared problem-solving, and a mutual understanding of what makes a good product.

Rebecca brings her design perspective to the process, but she values the experience of the people doing the making.

She knows when to push for something new, when to work through a challenge together, and when a design simply isn't feasible within the available materials, production capabilities, or price point.

That balance between creative vision and practical knowledge is part of what makes independent product development so rewarding, and occasionally so complicated.

What Goes Into Making a Hat?

Before a hat reaches a customer, there's a lot of work happening behind the scenes.

Rebecca starts with a mood board, pulling together seasonal colors, trim details, and new shapes. She looks at which hats sold well the previous season and decides which styles to carry forward and which ones to cut.

From there, she gathers reference images, color ideas, and details she wants to explore, organizing everything into a PDF to share with her production partner. They talk through the possibilities, available materials, and costs before moving into sampling.

And sampling can be a little painful.

Sometimes everything looks great. Sometimes it doesn't. There is a lot of waiting, reviewing photos, asking questions, and hoping the next sample gets closer to the vision.

Without the production trips she once had the luxury of making while working for larger companies, much of the development process now happens through WhatsApp messages and photos.

Once the samples are approved, she has another set of decisions to make: how many units to order.

Rebecca uses previous sales and the events she's committed to throughout the year to forecast quantities. It's an imperfect science, particularly for a small business, and there is always the possibility that a shipment gets delayed in customs.

At the time of our conversation, she was still waiting for a missing box.

It's a reminder that creating a collection is about more than having a good idea. It requires planning, persistence, and the ability to keep moving when things don't go exactly as expected.

As Rebecca puts it, “You have to start somewhere.”

She's continually learning and refining the process as the business grows. That willingness to adapt is part of the adventure.

The Details That Make a Difference

When Rebecca talks about what she hopes customers appreciate, she comes back to craftsmanship and the people behind the products.

“Everything I design is made by a person who has their own life, goals, and struggles.”

It's an obvious point, perhaps, but one that's easy to overlook when shopping has become so instant. Rebecca wants people to think about the time and effort that go into the things they buy.

Assortment Studio is a very small team, and the collections are thoughtfully considered. Rather than producing excess inventory, the goal is to sell through what they make.

Even when the hats arrive from production, the work isn't finished. Leather details, hatbands, and feather embellishments are made in-house, adding the final touches that give each piece its character.

For the current wool hat collection, Rebecca collaborated with a friend who recently started her own jewelry company to create natural-stone beaded hatbands available at The Huntress in Pound Ridge.

Rebecca or her husband handles the tagging, packing, and shipping, too.

“So if you email customer service, HI! It’s me.”

That personal involvement is part of the appeal of buying from a small independent brand. Behind the finished product are people who care about the details, know how the pieces came together, and are invested in what happens when they reach their customers.

Visit The Huntress in Pound Ridge, NY, to discover Assortment Studio’s Fall/Winter collection, curated by Locals Closet alongside a selection of independent designers and thoughtfully made pieces.

Beyond the Product

For Rebecca, Assortment Studio is about more than accessories. It's about creating products with intention while helping people recognize the value of the work behind them.

She believes we need greater awareness of where our purchases come from and who makes them. The convenience of Amazon-style shopping, with instant ordering and easy returns, has made it increasingly difficult for small brands to compete.

When someone buys from an independent designer, especially one working with handmade products and traditional techniques, they're supporting real people and the livelihoods connected to their work.

Rebecca loves working directly with the people who make her products. She enjoys asking questions, learning from their expertise, and sitting across a table to work through a problem together.

Her design approach combines a simple, minimal aesthetic with traditional techniques passed down through generations. Those techniques aren't just beautiful; they help sustain the knowledge and livelihoods of the people who practice them.

She hopes customers see handmade products as more than objects. Someone has invested time, hours, and sometimes days into making something that helps support their family.

For Rebecca, the goal is to create thoughtful designs, quality craftsmanship, and products made with intention that people will want to wear and use for years.

The Reality of Building Something of Your Own

Building Assortment Studio has been the most challenging thing Rebecca has ever done. It's also one of the most rewarding.

“The work never stops!”

She's always worked hard, but doing it for herself brings a level of satisfaction she didn't experience while making money for someone else. Some days feel impossible. On others, she's incredibly grateful she had the courage to leave the corporate world.

One of her biggest personal challenges has been putting herself and her work out there.

Rebecca has always been shy and more comfortable behind the scenes. Presentations were never her thing, and running a company means constantly showing up, sharing her work, and connecting with people.

“I’d much rather be drawing than posting on Instagram.”

It's a refreshingly honest admission in a world where founders are often expected to be designers, marketers, content creators, salespeople, and the face of their brand all at once.

Opening her store, talking with customers, and participating in in-person events have also helped her feel more connected to life in the Hudson Valley. Over the past four-plus years, she's met incredible people, including strong women founders who have inspired her in ways they might not even realize.

Her advice to anyone considering starting a business is simple: be prepared to wear a lot of hats, make decisions constantly, and figure things out as you go.

“Be confident in your work. Your customers are out there, even if you haven’t found them yet.”

She doesn't pretend that the decision is easy. Health insurance is expensive, and there is no company match on your 401(k). Building something independently comes with real financial and personal risks.

But having greater control over your time and your life can be priceless.

“And what do you have to lose? If you never try, that’s the real failure.”

What’s Next for Assortment Studio?

Rebecca is still searching for the perfect mid-calf flat boot.

“I don’t think I can stop until I’ve created it.”

She has sketchbooks full of ideas and hopes to bring more of them to life as the business grows.

She's also looking toward a broader lifestyle collection through her store in Beacon, Local Assortment. The vision includes well-made essentials such as sweaters, summer shorts and dresses, outerwear, and footwear.

The through line remains the same: good shapes, quality materials, accessible prices, and products that feel special without being precious.

Things that work in everyday life. Things people want to wear and use for years.

Ultimately, Rebecca wants to create products she believes in, work with people whose craftsmanship she admires, and build a business that reflects her values.

If she can continue doing that while making beautiful products at prices people feel good about, she'll consider it a win.

And that feels like a good place to start.

Shop the Fall/Winter Collection

Discover Assortment Studio’s Fall/Winter collection in person at The Huntress in Pound Ridge, New York, curated by Locals Closet.

From distinctive hats to thoughtfully finished accessories, the collection brings together independent design, considered craftsmanship, and the people behind the pieces.

Visit The Huntress to shop the collection and discover more independent designers curated by Locals Closet.

Follow @assortment_studio for a closer look at Rebecca’s designs and @locals.world for more stories celebrating the people, places, and independent brands shaping local culture.

A Little Challenge for the Founders

We all wear a lot of hats. Find one that feels like you, support an independent designer, and share how you wear it. Because building something of your own deserves to be celebrated, one hat at a time.

FoundHer Story is a Locals World series celebrating the women, makers, and independent founders shaping the places and communities around us.

Discover more at Locals World and explore independent designers through Locals Closet.