NAME: Laura Victore | Boo Raley Designs
LATIN NAME: booraleyous victorious
AGE:30

“I’m a nut for really great packaging,” says Laura Victore. During her senior year at the School of Visual Arts in New York, she researched the history of gift giving in different cultures and the packages gifts come in. She considers the fortune cookie, given to diners at the end of a Chinese meal, to be the ultimate gift: the “sublime simplicity” of its design, the “wonderful little surprise that comes inside,” the ritualistic way in which people open them and share their fortunes with everyone around.

Building on her enthusiasm for the form, Victore developed a small leather purse in the shape of a fortune cookie. Several iterations later she was satisfied she had a good quality product and began to take it to stores in New York City. Store buyers fell in love with the little cookie purse and the orders started rolling in. To Victore’s delight, one of the orders came from the MoMA store. She fulfilled the order and sent them off, each purse packaged in a cellophane bag sealed with pink tape. When they left her apartment they were “sparkling and crisp.” When she went to check on them at the store, however, Victore was dismayed to discover they were all crumpled and squashed. “It was heart-breaking,” says the designer. Learning from her initial mistake, she designed a new, more robust package. “It’s been an invaluable education,” she says.

In addition to running her personal company Boo Raley Designs, Victore is also the assistant creative director to fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi. She’s already working on new products, too. There’s a higher-end version of the coin purse in different luxury leathers, a small line of embroidered leather bags, some earrings and a couple of lighting projects. Speaking of her ability to navigate multiple disciplines, Victore says, “I think that designers are trained to solve functional problems and seek the truest form in any and every situation—whether it’s a handbag, a poster or a city park. The challenging—and fun—part is finding a way to make it happen.”

“You know that song, ‘It Hurts So Good?’” Victore responds when asked if she enjoys the entrepreneurial aspects of her business. “I love being my own boss and not having to answer to anyone, but there’s a butt-load of responsibility that goes along with it. It’s enough to put the fear of god in you most of the time. Especially for someone formerly known as ‘boo.’” Alice Twemlow

(TOP): The SMALL FORTUNE coin purse was designed by Victore in the fall of 2004. It is now part of a Luxe line of small fortune purses, which grew from the original. Victore says she “wanted to make a higher priced line of the purses with luxury leathers and accents like the wrist strap. I’ve also been working on a black patent leather version, as well as a leopard print. Stay tuned!”