**_Apollo III Off White Tiger Pony Fur_**
What does it mean to travel with luxury? Look no further than [Tote&Carry](https://www.instagram.com/totencarry/?hl=en). The affordable, minority-owned, luxury bag brand is best known for their statement, fashion pieces and travel sets designed with the sole purpose of elevating your look in any given instance. Beyond that, the fabrics and material are of the utmost highest quality, handpicked to protect the environment.
How did such a company come into fruition? Co-founders Tony Rey and Tony Dennis are the dynamic duo behind Tote&Carry, putting their out-of-the-box creativity and designs at the forefront of the brand. Breaking into the industry in Atlanta back in 2016, they have since brought top-tier luxury to consumers of all walks of life, giving them an unforgettable feeling when it comes to using their products. By fusing unique patterns, blends, textures, and lush fabrics into one, [Tote&Carry](https://www.totencarry.com/) remains a staple in the fashion world.
To date, numerous high-profile celebrities and influencers can be seen rocking the bags, with exclusive collections dropping each year. _Flaunt_ caught up with Tony Rey, who hails from Taiwan but now calls San Gabriel, California home. Read below as we discuss how he got his start, what it means to be an entrepreneur, his favorite items, and how they’ve been able to thrive during the COVID-19 pandemic.
**_Apollo III Desert Camo Pony Fur_**
**Tony Rey, how did you get your start in all this?**
I had a web design agency I started back in 2014 . Through that, I linked up with some Chinese manufacturers who opened up doors for me. I did a lot of retailer business, a lot of manufacturing for different brands, a lot of private labels. That's how I really got started in fashion. Starbucks account, McDonald's, I was flying to New York doing a lot of licensed work.
**How did you meet your co-founder, Tony Dennis?**
He met me in Vegas, I was there for a trade show. He came up to me. He had a hat project with this brand called LIE. Moving forward, we ended up doing projects for 50 Cent and his alcohol brand, EFFEN Vodka/EMOB. We started working on that.
**How did you come up with the idea for** [**Tote&Carry**](https://www.totencarry.com/)**?**
Stitch was a custom bag designer. When I met him, I saw the custom bags he was making and thought “why don't we make units and supply the market?” It happened on accident where we came up with the name. We did a small run, just samples. We took it to the show in Vegas back in 2016, it got amazing traction. Everyone’s walking by the booth, “yo what bag is that? I wrote a gang of orders. I had a corner, not even a corner but the top rack. The homie let me get his booth for 2 bands, something small. We had the top section, everybody’s coming like “oh I need that bag. Oh I want that bag.” That's when we knew. That was the Apollo I, our top seller right now.
**What is it about the Apollo I?**
Apollo I is a home run. It’s snakeskin, It’s clean, it’s sleek. The colors are vibrant, the price point is good, and the quality is good. The design is unique. If you have the bag, it pops to be honest.
**How do you come up with your designs for the brand?**
You really want to know? \[laughs\] We go grab fabric, we’re in a hotel room. We grab some Hennessy, we get in the right zone. We line up all the fabric. We play music, some hip-hop like Future. We vibe. We look at the fabric, we work off the sketches. Me and Stitch go back to back, “what do you think about this fabric? Oh, you might want to do this.” It’s a very natural process for us because we’ve been doing it for so long. He’s done a lot of denim, I've done a lot of fabric. We know the whole process.
**Favorite collection & why?**
Wildlife, because I really like animal prints. I like tiger patterns. We have the zebra, tiger, cheetah prints. I like exotic things.
**Can you explain your journey as an entrepreneur for those who are starting out?**
My journey as an entrepreneur definitely hasn't been an easy one. I forked out my entire life savings. I was so broke in 2018, I had $500 to my name. I’ve taken a lot of risks, further than what regular people would take to be honest. You have to be able to go an extra mile. Even though things aren’t working out right, you have to push things through and not give up. It takes a lot.
**From your experience, what does it take to make your fashion brand stand out?**
First, it takes some next level thinking. To be honest, it really comes down and boils down to what you like. What I like. I don't ever put out anything I don't think is the flyest shit I've ever seen. For me, I like to be different and it’s always been like that. I like different, I don't like the same thing everybody has. That's the concept that I have. The second thing: when I see the product, it has to wow me. To the point where I’m like ooh, this is fly. Third thing: seeing opportunities in the market and room for innovation. Doing things different. We’re working on a bag right now for next year, it has LED lights in there. If you unzip the bag, it’ll light up.
**What are the challenges you face as a small business owner?**
Miscommunication and company management. Being able to run stuff efficiently, being able to manage projects and manage deadlines. Having staff meet certain expectations. Not everybody knows your vision, not everybody sees the vision you see. It’s a process where you have to train your team to go in a certain direction you want to go.
**Challenges you’ve faced during this pandemic?**
Of course logistics, importing, manufacturing. Schedules are unstable, shipping times are unstable. We had to service a lot of angry customers who didn't receive their package on time because post office was delayed, UPS was delayed. We had signatures we’re supposed to get, but the UPS drivers were signing everything themselves. We’d lost packages and bags at a certain date, so shipping was hard. Delivery dates were falling back. Not being able to go overseas, go to the factories and really get my hands on certain fabric. I’m still very thankful because my team pulled through. Everybody on the team still worked really hard this year, regardless of the pandemic.
**One person or thing that’s assisted you in your growth as an entrepreneur?**
My boy Yuji right here, one of my managers. My right-hand man, he’s put out a lot of effort. He’s done a lot of work for me, Yuji plays an important role in the company. Being able to come through on a Sunday night, fulfill orders. Really hold the responsibility and figure things out. To put in work while we’re understaffed, we have to grind certain nights and get certain things out.
**What celebrities have rocked your product?**
We had Rich Homie Quan, Waka Flocka. Omarion just showed up in his dance video, his new song with our product. That was great, it’s really amazing to see. T.I. picked up a lil thing for his video. As a small company, we didn't have a big budget for a celebrity. It ended up in the music video, it was so great. It felt great, it's motivation. It feels good, a little bit of bragging rights but we still definitely have a lot of work to do. Hopefully more and more, celebrities will start to recognize the brand.
**I saw you post Don Benjamin recently, are you guys doing interviews too?**
We’re in the process of trying new different marketing strategies. Right now we started reaching out to influencers, trying to get more influencers and get more ambassadors. We’re in the middle of building more relationships and getting the product out there.
**What’s your favorite item?**
My favorite right now is the zebra, the tiger with the pony fur. That's on designer edition, for members only. You really need a password to access all that right now, for a more loyal customer. The password allows you to get in to get all that. I definitely like the tiger and pony fur coming out. And the laptop case, I bring it to work. A little laptop briefcase.
**What can we expect from** [**Tote&Carry**](https://www.totencarry.com/) **in 2021?**
We have some luggage, some rollers. A lot of customers have been wanting stuff on wheels, so that's coming out. We have a women’s collection dropping, we have a smell-proof collection dropping. Of course we have more chess rigs, because people have been digging them. We have 2 or 3 other chest rigs dropping, the vests, new backpacks. We have a lot of smaller bags coming out.
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