We recently met with Ksenija, the founder and designer for Koda Nivoli - a company that designs luxury hand bags. Ksenija approached us to chat about her line and show us some of her latest designs. We were thrilled to find out more about her inspiration, and found ourselves very impressed with her hand bags and her approach.
Ksnejia, Founder of Koda Nivoli
Koda Nivoli just launched in April of this year. Originally the owner of a boxing gym, KJD Boxing, that focused on fitness with an edge, Ksenija always founder herself interested in fashion and design. She always found herself inspired by shoes, the textures and the design features would get her thinking about her own designs. After several years of toying with the idea of getting into fashion, Ksenija's husband, a business owner himself, encouraged her to get started.
Her initial idea was to do purses for kids. She liked the idea of "small purses" and felt inspired by the childhood spirit of dressing up and playing around. She switched gears into doing a broader line of hand bags, but still takes some of her inspiration from her kids - "Nivoli" is even a blend of her daughters names, Anivia and Olivia.
Kylie showing off a Koda Nivoli clutch
The year before the launch of Koda Nivoli was an intense and exhaustive process researching everything required for the manufacturing of her designs. "It's all about diligence, sourcing, quality control, and attention to detail. I need to find the people who share my vision and can bring it into reality", says Ksenija.
She settled on select leathers from Italy and Spain, and began researching different manufacturers. Going through seven different manufacturers before finally finding the right one for her, she says "I would literally rip apart the samples they sent me to check everything. I would look for full leather designs, no short cuts, quality accessories and stitching". One year later, she now has her first collection with about 20 different designs, including a variety of wallets, clutches, totes, shoulder bags and travel bags.
It's obvious that Ksenija's attention to detail and drive for high quality designs are what make Koda Nivoli a brand with potential. In checking out some of her designs ourselves, we were really impressed with what we saw and felt. There was a very nice weight to her bags and a solidness to the designs that impressed their quality on us. Her designs blend classic silhouettes with fun accessories and flare like zippers, chains, and bright colours. Versatile and functional, her designs allow for a variety of ways to wear them, and numerous compartments for organization.
Koda Nivoli's hand bags are currently available online at kodanivoli.com. Check out her designs for yourself, and, with her drive and determination, don't be surprised if you see Ksenija's designs showing up soon on celebrities and red carpet events in the near future.