“We are ABCDEF,” says
designer Bari Erber:
Daniel; EJ, 10; Cailey, 13;
Bari; Finn, 4; Ava, 7; and
baby number five is on
its way.

CLOCKWISE: Emoji duffel,
CLO
studded bracelet, fox fur pom-
pom and emoji key chain,
backpack pins and crossbody
back
clutches.

details

Bari Lynn Accessories can
be found in Metro Detroit at
Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus
and boutiques Guys N Gals,
Perfect Trading and Lil Rascals.
Barilynn.com.

store to store — all over the country,”
she says. And the stores ate it up.
Today, Bari Lynn Accessories has
showrooms in New York, Los Angeles,
Atlanta and Dallas, and the brand
is sold in 6,000 boutiques across the
country plus a number of high-end
department stores, including Saks Fifth
Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Harrod’s,
Bergdorf Goodman and more.
“Every single buyer has my personal
cell phone number,” Erber says. “We
have very good relationships with our
buyers, thank God. We offer a lot of flex-
ibility — if they want an item in a differ-
ent color or a different shape, we listen
and together we come up with a collec-
tion curated for each individual store.”
What Erber offers is a luscious assort-

ment of furry, blingy confections that
girls go wild over: the most fashion-
forward back-to-school backpacks the
hallways have ever seen, headbands
with rhinestone-studded emojis, fox-fur
pom-poms, Swarovski-covered clutches
in metallics and shockingly delicious
neons — and, of course, the blinged-out
barrettes that started it all.
“When we started out, we were trend-
ing in the ages 6-and-under crowd,”
Erber says. “Now, we go up to 18 — and
beyond.
“A lot of our market is mini-moms,”
she says. “And lots of moms buy our
bags, too. Right now, whatever mom is
wearing, kids wear, too. We try to diver-
sify so both mom and kid can wear our
pieces and neither looks silly. I have a

13-year-old
ld daughter, and half the
th stuff
she wears, I want t to wear. ”
Erber has a pristine eye for what’s up-
and-coming, for materials and what’s
going to excite her clients. But she says
that she never thought of herself as
creative.
“The success that we’ve had was
purely from God,” Erber says. “I’m not
an artistic person. I’m very regimented
— I had no idea it would be this suc-
cessful.
“But now I’ll wake up in the middle of
the night with an idea. I’ll scour high-
end women’s fashion, look for trends
in colors, and try to incorporate what I
find and what clients tell me they want.
We keep trying to come up with innova-
tive ideas and concepts while staying

true to who we are as designers.
“Bags, for example, are really popular
with kids now — tri-color glitter back-
packs and clutches with chain shoulder
straps. But we try to make a good price
point for parents so that kids can have a
lot of fun with the options.”
Besides customer service, Erber says
her most important rule is constant
development and continually taking
risks.
“I really like bringing different ele-
ments together — crystals, fox fur,
sequins, satin peau de soie, suede, glit-
ter. Anything with fur, I love,” Erber says.
“You could be wearing anything in your
closet, but with good accessories, you
feel great. •

jn

August 24 • 2017

45