Baikal, Inc Review

I have had the pleasure of working with Baikal over the last 5 years. They have taken my sketches and brought them to life. I work one-on-one with their team every season so create a new collection for my customers and they take all the stress out of it. Very easy to work with, responds to emails quickly and creates BEAUTIFUL handbags! My collection would look nothing like it does today without their help.

I've emailed them and tried getting in contact with them by phone as well. When I finally reached someone I was immediately turned away and told I could not be helped with getting a handbag manufactured. I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and contacted them again after a couple of months and they never even responded to my email. I have concluded they are not trying to help small businesses. Very unprofessional.

Dishonest owner, Josef. Altered an invoice from 4 years ago to cover himself for not returning my dye casts ($4000). Claimed having sent me an email yet he could not produce such email. Claimed abandoned property yet failed to file paperwork and hand over material to the state of NY as a requirement for abandoned property.

Baikal has been wonderful to work with. Our designs have been very unique and Nicole has taken time step by step to ensure our bags are exactly what we have envisioned. We have worked together on several designs now and each and everytime their expertise to guide us has been spot on! Professional and efficient and very knowledgeable!

Baikal has amazing craftsmanship. Their showroom is filled with beautifully made handbags and wallets. Great with communication which is a plus as well! Josef and Nicole were extremely helpful. Truly a handbag designer's dream!

I have been working with Baikal for several years and have had nothing but positive experiences. They are so helpful, knowledgeable and the quality of their work is amazing!

Very unprofessional treatment of smaller brands. Found out this was a shared opinion in the accessory industry after spending lot of money here.

As one of the easiest companies to find online, I went to them. They made a completely inaccurate pattern that did not capture the item (despite me having provided a first sample).
Spent more than half a grand having them make that pattern, which was completely useless.

And I am not talking about small tweaks needed, as is a common and understandable in a collaborative process. I am speaking of a huge conceptual issue failure, which was shocking that a professional MFG company would have the guts to show to their client.

But instead of redoing and fixing, they told me I'd have to pay more to get the patternmaker to do it again. SO pay them another half grand for a completely non-functional pattern?

Stay far away from Baikal, I don't ever write negative reviews but they crossed a really big line with their ethical practices. If you are up-and-coming, or not going to give them hundreds of thousands of dollars in work, they will rip you off because they know they can make an easy grand off you and litigation is not a financial option for most small designers.

Bummer.

Baikal has been an asset to my business over the past 6+ years. When I first began working with them I was very small and making all the bags myself. Transitioning production to Baikal was a turning point for my business. They worked with me to streamline my designs while keeping originality. Most recently they worked tirelessly with me on a new bag design until it was perfect. Baikal has made it possible for me to steadily scale my business by working with me on minimums, consistently delivering goods on time, and unmatched craftsmanship. I highly recommend.

I am extremely grateful to Baikal for bringing my products to life. As a new designer, I rely on their expertise to guide me through the product development and manufacturing process. They are quick to respond to any questions I have and always with the upmost professionalism. I couldn t be more pleased with their services and with the quality of their work.

I found Baikal while I was doing a research on places located in NY where I could get some handbag samples done. I looked through reviews and through their website, watched some YouTube videos about them and made the phone call. My first appointment was with Nicole. She was extremely helpful in giving me a lot of information, especially for someone like me coming new into the handbag design business. Along the next few months I met the rest of the team, Mayang, the owner Josef and the artisans. They helped me throughout the entire process, from making the patterns, choosing the leather, sourcing for materials, and the completion of my first handbag line production. Their work is incredible! Since launching my company this past December, I have been receiving uncountable compliments on how well done and luxurious the bags are. The craftsmanship is of extremely high quality and they make the process easy. They are very responsive to all your questions and very flexible in accommodating your needs. I had tears in my eyes when I saw my dream become reality on the hands of the artisans at Baikal. I also had the opportunity to spend some time at the factory while my bags were produced and could follow all the work involved and document it with a video which is available on my website and on YouTube. I thank all the team for the amazing job and Josef for the warm welcoming all the times I stoped by to check on the progress. If you are looking for high quality work and professionalism, Baikal for certainty is the place.