We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ksenia Khelman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Ksenia, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
To be honest, I didn’t plan to start a business. My artistic journey began by accident when my favorite bag fell apart. I had bought it a few years ago, and it was out of stock everywhere, so I figured I wouldn’t lose anything by giving it a try. While crafting, I found myself thinking about what I didn’t like about the original bag and decided to remake all the little things. Of course, the finished bag looked quite amateurish since it was my first attempt, but it opened up a whole new world to me. Since then, I have loved designing and making bags with the gentle feeling of first love.
It started as a hobby and then became my side job. In 2017, I finally decided to quit my 9-to-5 job and pursue it full-time.
The idea behind my bags is simple: there’s no need to mass-produce a lot of pieces and hope to sell them all. Instead, we can create a few designs and offer customizations. This way, waste is reduced to an absolute minimum because each bag is thoughtfully made from scratch based on custom requests. It can be another type or color of leather, a different hardware color, additional pockets, or maybe a longer or shorter strap for a tall or petite client. I consider all those little things that turn a “nice” bag into an “it’s-Me” bag. I’m truly proud that each Khelman bag is made this way. To me, it’s true sustainability.
Ksenia, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Sure, here’s the revised version:
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Hello, I’m Ksenia Khelman of Khelman Bag Studio. My brand makes customized bags, each crafted from scratch in my studio in San Francisco, CA. I work only with natural materials and believe in personal style over fast trends.
I started my brand in 2017 when I found my artistic voice and understood what I wanted to contribute. The bags I saw at that time were either beautiful or functional, but never both. We had to choose between a stylish purse that somewhat reflected our style or a boring but functional laptop bag. I decided to combine beauty and functionality so the bag would be a true, faithful companion—fully organized and wrapped in a beautiful shell. My goal was to make beautiful, reliable bags that would be comfortable and pleasurable to use in real life.
Before I started making bags, I always had to choose in stores between the shape I liked, the size I needed, and the available colors or details. We all know how many retail pieces remain unclaimed because they aren’t a perfect fit. So I always knew if I ever started my brand, it would be fully customizable.
I make everything locally in my studio in San Francisco, using only natural materials: leather, suede, nubuck, waxed canvas, and Pendleton wool. We don’t use exotic leather, only cowhide and lamb, as they are byproducts of livestock farming.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
When I started my small business, I was a good crafter but an awful businessperson. The first two years were a total struggle for me. I didn’t understand how to run social media or attract clients instead of chasing them. I knew I had a great product to offer but couldn’t stand out among other businesses online because I was too afraid to show my authenticity and just repeated trends. My clients couldn’t see me behind that curtain. I was about to give up so many times, but it was my dream, and I felt I would lose so much more if I gave up trying to make it through.
In February 2019, I realized it could be my last month as a business owner and decided to just be myself. I stopped playing roles in the online space and pretending to be someone I was not. I decided to show what was really going on and who the person behind the business was. And it worked out. People loved the story behind the brand, loved seeing something sincere and genuine, and my small business started to grow.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
I believe in quality over quantity. Yes, it can feel nice to have more than 100k followers, but being a public person is not for everyone. And that’s okay. I’m quite an introvert, to be honest, and it was a challenge for me to build any social presence. So instead of going wide, I went deep, and concentrated on attracting not everyone, but people I would enjoy working with. I shared my values, my goals, and what’s important to me. People with the same vibe stayed, some of them became my clients, and we’ve been working together for years.
It took guts to show my personality because I was very afraid of being judged, but people actually supported and encouraged me. I feel comfortable running my blog now, and I know that I can share my thoughts and be vulnerable with my audience without fear.
A piece of advice I would love to share is to remember that people buy from people. There’s no need to push your personal boundaries, but let your audience know you. Share what you love besides your business, why you do what you do, and what your plans and dreams are.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://khelmanbags.studio
- Instagram: Khelmanbags
- Facebook: khelmanbags
- Youtube: khelmanbags
