06.03 | Fast Company
This handbag can call you an Uber and find your phone
Luxury leather bag startup Bee & Kin incorporates a button you can program to do anything from start a playlist to call you an Uber.
Today, a new line of bags drops from a startup called Bee & Kin. These colorful leather bags are equipped with “smart buttons” that you can program to do a range of tasks, from calling an Uber to launching a playlist to locating your phone.
The idea is for the user to personalize the functionality of the bag to suit her needs. Some early testers of the bag, for instance, have found that the button can be a clever way to get out of an awkward Bumble or Tinder date. When it’s clear that the conversation is not going anywhere, these women surreptitiously press the button inside their handbag, which they previously programmed to call their iPhone. So when their phone rings on command, they apologize, say they have an emergency, and leave in a hurry. “The use cases are almost endless,” says Tracey Hummel, Bee & Kin’s founder.