Her bags have found their way into the hands of celebrities and royalty such as Kim Basinger, Princess Stephanie, Elizabeth Taylor, Queen Sylvia of Sweden, and the princess of Thailand, but former criminal lawyer Cora Jacob, head of a multimillion-dollar bag empire now on a comeback after a decade’s hiatus, is as grounded as ever.

“I never meant to go into business,” she says. “Cojac Leather Products (from the combination of the first syllables of her name) was a cottage industry that grew and grew until it became global.”

Some three decades ago, she was approached by a couple of UP professors at the Maristel theater that her family ran. They loved her moviehouse, they said. It was clean and new and unlike those in Manila, and they didn’t mind having to drive all the way to Bulacan. There was a problem, however: they were missing their hubcaps.

Cora assured them that she would look into this, and the next day, she called the leader of the “watch your car” boys that frequented the parking lot outside the theater. “I asked him, ‘Are we friends?’ and he said yes. I told him, ‘No questions asked: Ibalik niyo within 24 hours ang nawawalang hubcaps.’”

The next day, Cora found 16 pairs of hubcaps in her office.

Cora realized that she had to give the boys something to do. Spotting a vendor of leather belts, wallets, and other accessories outside her office window, she called the man and offered 100 pesos to teach the street boys how to make them. “Eventually, I noticed that they were making the same designs, kaya pinakialaman ko na,” she remembers.

She experimented with handbags made of indigenous materials and leather. At first she sold them door-to-door, later establishing relationships with owners. Later, upon the encouragement of a friend, an official at the Board of Investments, Cora decided to go global, first landing Christian Dior in 1982, later Nina Ricci and YSL, among other designer brands. Her unique bags were such a hit abroad that she was awarded the first Golden Shell Award in 1982.

But the long hours, the travels, and the stress was too much for Cora, who was diabetic. She fell ill in 1997 and started to lose her vision. The factory had to be closed and more than a thousand workers had to be laid off.

But Cora, ever restless, kept herself busy during the decade that she was recovering. She got involved with the grassroots communities, teaching them how to make bags, photo albums, and home accessories using natural materials. She became so popular that even presidents and leaders of other countries would write the Department of Foreign Affairs asking how to contact her. Cora has held workshops in poor and struggling communities, especially those affected by calamities, such as in Banda Aceh, Thailand, Indonesia, and India. In the Philippines, Cora works with five flooded towns in Bicol as well as in Sapang Palay, Cebu, and Pampanga.

Last year, Cora, with her daughters and some new blood, revived Cojac, renaming it as La Cora Creatives. With this new face come four new lines of designer bags: the classic Heritage bag; the Evening Empress, made mainly of MOP and shells; Indigenuity, which brings natural materials into the fore; and New Age line, which focuses on younger consumers.

In this Q&A with PinoyCentric, the amiable Cora Jacob (note that the brand is Cora Jacobs, with an s) talks about what inspires her, the lessons of her decade-long absence, and how she’s so happy to be back.

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You were a criminal lawyer when you started. What made you decide to focus full-time on bag designing?
I was 34 then. I was enjoying being a lawyer, but I thought I found fulfillment in designing. Kasi importante sa akin masaya ka eh, so it’s always in pursuit of happiness.

What were your struggles in building Cojac?
When I was younger, all the time it was just expansion. But you miss some details in your life. I traveled 27 times a year. My business was so big for a one-woman show. And then I trusted people easily because I couldn’t say no. But now I realize that it’s all right to say no, otherwise people will take advantage. They think my kindness is a sign of weakness.

I realized as I grew old that happiness is being contented, being able to sleep at night. Now I have my children who handle the design, manufacturing, and marketing. I want to be released in three years time. I should be doing NGO work. You see, when I started the company, it was never really for business. I’m not a business person, I realized. But I’m an entrepreneur. I know how money can be made just by looking at things.

What was your biggest break and how did you get it?
When I got a deal with Christian Dior in 1982. I joined the trade fairs in Paris, and there was someone who went to my stall three times. She left a business card. It said art director, Christian Dior. Sabi ko sa agent ko, puntahan natin. Ang nag-entertain sa akin, si Stephanie. Ang galing niyang mag-English. Sabi ko, “For a French girl, you speak very fluent English.” She said, “Oh, my mother is an American!” Di naman siya nag-elaborate. Yun pala si Princess Stephanie [of Monaco].

Almost two decades into your business, you went into semiretirement because you were losing your vision on both eyes.

Yes, this was in 1997. It was very stressful for me because I was on top of the business. I was overseeing the distribution, retail, and manufacturing. It was bad for me, especially, because I was diabetic, and anyone who has that condition shouldn’t be stressed.

How big was your company when you finally closed down?
I had 1,000 workers in Meycauayan, Bulacan. I also had a workshop in Tondo with the Mothers of Tondo. I paid everybody and told them I could not support them anymore.

What were the lessons of those “dark” hours?
I was very sick for two years and very slow ang recovery ko. Pumayat ako. I had kidney and heart problems. Yung neuropathy, napakasakit nun. Di ako makalakad. Nakahiga lang ako at parang apektado ang buong system. Akala ko mamamatay na ako. Ayoko nang makipag-usap sa ibang tao, and I felt sad.

I realized later that if you’re focused on the material things—success, money—in the end, you’ll feel empty. I thought I was doing good giving jobs to people, doing business, but something was still lacking. To be at peace, nadiskubre ko na what’s important is your personal relationship with the Lord, that everything you do is guided by the light.

What kept you occupied during that decade away from business?
During the first two years, I was trying to recover. And then later when I felt better, I started working with socio-civic organizations, like the Soroptomists and Tahanang Walang Hagdan. Nag-volunteer din akong magtrabaho ng isang taon sa loob ng bilangguan sa Vigan. Marami akong natrain sa kanila na gumawa ng waste baskets and other home accessories.

So what made you decide to revive the business?
Nagtayo kasi ako ng NGO. Nagti-training ako sa kung saan-saang parte ng Pilipinas. Na-realize ko, turo ako nang turo, napakabagal ng pag-asenso ng mga tinutulungan ko kasi wala silang contact sa market. So sabi ko pagbubutihin ko na lang ang turo ko sa kanila, para ma-market ko.

So you sell your trainees’ output?
Binebenta ko locally. Pero hindi pa rin yung quality that I wanted. Bumabalik yung mentality nilang “okay na yan.” Yung ibang may pera, tatayo sila ng sarili nilang kumpanya at yung mga empleyado nila, yung mga naging kaklase nila.

What were you fears when you were starting over?
Akala ko, for me to stop [it meant] laos na ako. But I proved na kahit madaming bago from the younger generation, bumebenta pa rin ako. Kilala pa rin ako. In fact, during our first day at Manila FAME (in April 2007, the company’s first trade show exhibit since its comeback), may pumasok na Amerikana, galit na galit. Sabi niya, “Are you selling fake Cora Jacobs?” And we explained that we just changed company name but that it was still Cora Jacob’s designs. Kasi yung Amerikana na yun, kilala niya ang style ko. Distinctive ang look ng bags ko eh.

It’s good that people still remember you even after you were away for a decade.

You know, I went to this store in Singapore, may dala akong dalawang bag. Pinakita ko sa kanila ang mga designs ko, at nagustuhan nila agad. Sabi sa kin, “Are you the Cora Jacobs?” Tumawa ako. “Yes,” sabi ko.

“I’ve been buying your bags! How can we do business?” Ayun, inalok na ako. Nag-test market lang ako, and I found out there was still name recall.

What inspires your designs?
I’m inspired by the people I meet. I have a friend who inspired me during my younger days as an international bag designer. Pumunta siya dito, suot-suot niya ang MOP na necklace. She said, “We Italians like to mix natural materials,” and it gave me an idea. So I came up with a bag by mixing buntal with shell. When I showed her the bag at sinabi ko ang price, sabi niya, “Cora, this is a very expensive basura!” Secret joke naming tinatawag na basura ang mga designs ko.

What keeps you going?
I feel if you love what you do, it’s not work. Even at my age, I’m so busy, I feel like I’m just starting with my life, only I have the wisdom from my past experiences that makes everything that I do now according to God’s will.

How is La Cora different from Cojac?
Cojac was a one-woman show. Now it’s become professionalized with La Cora. It’s not that I wasn’t professional then—I was very professional, but most of the decisions in the past were made by myself. Now, may mga professionals na involved. Eventually I want to be released from overseeing operations so I could be of help to the poor.

Your kids are actively involved in the business (Cora’s youngest daughter Pinky does the marketing and designs the New Age series of Cora Jacobs bags, while another designed an ostrich model for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo). Was there a conscious effort to get them to take over your business?
No, I wanted them to grow on their own. But since yun ang pinapakain ko sa kanila, nakikita nila. Masisipag lahat ng anak ko. They’re all entrepreneurs.

I let my kids work hard. I want them not to forget that everything comes from the Lord and never to forget to make a connection with him. Kasi what developed with me during my two years of blindness is a relationship with the Lord. After that, I had no more fears. Kasi as a young person, when you fail, you become afraid. I don’t have that fear anymore. Kasi pag nag- fail ka, you should learn your lesson and get up again and not do it anymore.

In your opinion, what must the Filipino entrepreneur do to make it big in the international market?
Whether you like it or not, marketing yun eh. It just so happened that I was able to market myself. [I am different from the young designers in that] I started in the grass roots, kaya matibay ako. Some of them only design and have other people manufacture for them, while I know the technology. I know whether a design is doable or not.