We talked about the sources of inspiration and the brand story with Serra Hegewald, the founder of Muni Bum Bag, which we know with its bold colors and sporty style.

How did the story of the Muni Bum Bag brand begin?

Like many brands, it started as a necessity. I am someone who does not like carrying bags very much. With the re-emergence of the waist bag fashion, I actually discovered how comfortable waist bags are. Since I love colors, I wanted to combine this comfort with my world of colors.

What inspires you when designing Muni Bum Bags, which are among the most popular bag models of recent times?

My source of inspiration is my own life, my experiences. I get inspired by a colorful wall I see while walking on the street, the color arrangement of flowers in a florist, colorful streets in Eminönü, stationery stores, fruits in the market, my friends' clothing style, their psychology, everything. These types of things mostly determine my expectations from a bag.

What kind of style do your bags appeal to?

Comfortable - quality - sporty.

Can you tell us about the production process?

Production is not as easy as everyone thinks. I find the materials one by one, determine how to use them, adjust the dimensions and follow the entire process with the manufacturer. I manage every process from the birth of the ideas to the drawing of the models and quality control. From the very beginning, there is not a single stage that I do not touch. I learn from the mistakes I make throughout the process and try to reach a higher quality each time. When choosing the fabric colors of the bag, do you pay attention to seasonal trends or do you use your own dream color palette? I do not follow color trends. My aim is not to follow what is fashionable. My main aim is for everyone to reach the color they love. Since I cannot yet produce my own dream colors within Muni, I choose the colors I find missing in my own color chart from among the imported colors. Because my ultimate aim is to complete all the existing colors.

Your bags are both stylish and very practical for street style and travel use. What is important for you in a bag, practicality or elegance? Which do you focus on the most in your bags?

For me, every priority is simultaneously comfort, practicality and quality – elegance is something that comes with quality in parallel. When quality materials are used and quality workmanship is used, even a bag that is comfortable and practical has an elegance in itself, I think. Therefore, for me, these two are the same thing.

How do you see the audience of the brand? Which age group prefers you the most?

My brand audience is happy, colorful and people of all ages. There is definitely no categorization or distinction, and I don’t want there to be. I have customers who buy Muni for themselves and then want to buy it again because their mothers took it from them and didn’t return it. I have customers who order for their fathers or who use Muni together as mothers, daughters and grandmothers. People of all ages prefer Muni :)

What are your goals for the future of the brand?

To expand the product range and go beyond bags. To use fabrics with sustainable and environmentally friendly certificates and to become a global brand. Although the fabrics I currently use are produced from waste, I cannot use them on my labels because they do not have certificates yet. I would like to produce my own colors with these certified fabrics one day and put these phrases on my labels.