If it feels like the accounts on your Twitter feed increasingly feature profile pics of monkeys and other animals, you’re probably not alone. Profile picture (‘PFP’ in Web3 speak) NFTs are proliferating, and it seems like everyone is trying to get their hands on a Bored Ape or Secret Whale. Well, everyone except Angel Pui.

When the Vancouver-based founder got into Web3 last year, the ubiquitous animal-forward NFT projects weren’t resonating with her. So she started looking for an NFT community that reflected her love of luxury and style. When she couldn’t find one,  the entrepreneur inside of her set out to change things.

Enter her latest endeavour, the DiamondHandbag Club, which Pui is calling the first-ever customizable luxury handbag NFT collection built on the Ethereum blockchain. The project’s genesis began when Pui met Pinterest chief of staff Tiffany Black. The pair bonded, not just over their Chanel bags, but through a mutual vision for creating NFTs that women—or anyone into fashion—would love.

“When Tiffany got me into NFTs last year, I did not like any of the apes, frogs or cats that were available,” Pui explains. “I also didn’t like how I would just get a randomized NFT after grinding it out in Discord with tons of stress. As a problem solver and lifelong innovator, I wanted to change all of that, offer something different and better in the NFT space for those of us who want art and aesthetics that resonate with us, along with a smooth and joyful shopping experience. That’s our mission for the collection.”

A new take on how NFTs are dropped

For the DiamondHandBag collection drop, buyers will first purchase what Pui describes as a “Mint pass,” which secures their ability to get the bag—so in the case of NFTs selling out in minutes, buyers can redeem and design later without feeling rushed. At their leisure, buyers can redeem their Mint pass and either choose a pre-designed bag, special edition ones or enter the private showroom to custom make their own. “We’re creating a decadent stress-free minting experience and first of its kind private showroom where you can build your completely unique NFT by choosing every trait,” Pui explains. “Rather than hoping to get a nice-looking or rare NFT at the end, you get to choose every trait and determine whether you want a bag that's exactly yours, a popular or an unpopular (rare) one.”

In the private showroom, you can choose your favourite background, bag handle, charm, hardware or diamond hand, among other elements. “The traits will sell out and there are no duplicates, so there is some scarcity and game mechanics built-in; but at the end, the rarity ratio will be determined by what everyone ends up choosing, so it's going to be exciting,” Pui notes.

Once buyers finish their design, they can mint and redeem their mint pass which adds the bag onto the blockchain and into their crypto wallet. VIP list is currently available and VIP members will receive priority access and a discount.

Pui says the mission is to empower fashion enthusiasts to create a 100% unique NFT that’s entirely their style and be able to show it off on other platforms like Instagram or TikTok and in the Metaverse. Not only that, Pui wants owners to control the intellectual property of the designs they’ve made. To that end, DiamondHandbag will empower its owners to have commercial rights to their creations. “They can actually start selling the design—we allow owners to commercialize up to a certain amount,” Pui explains.

Frens with benefits

The project is supported by an impressive slate of advisors, including Web3 OG and Big Head Club co-founder Mack Flavelle (“a mentor from day one”), Lucky Lady Games CEO Sandra Wong, Tiny Rex Games CEO Kenny Huang, Snack App CEO Kim Kaplan, Lenny Rachitsky (Ex-AirBnB), Arthur Camera, Andrew Batey and Biao Boey.

With a distributed team of eight people so far, DiamondHandbag Club is the latest in a long line of Vancouver-connected NFT projects. Others include Doodles, The Littles, DeadHeads, Fame Lady Squad, and, of course, all the projects developed by Dapper Labs, including NBA Top Shot and NFL ALL DAY.

Go shopping

How can you get your hands on a bag? A private showroom will launch later this month on the project’s website. In the meantime, follow @DiamondHandBag and join its discord for more details.