We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rochelle Davis a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Rochelle, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

KEMARO is actually my middle name and I founded the brand in 2021 out of a desire to overcome corporate inequality faced by BIPOC migrant women. As a BIPOC migrant woman, the corporate disparity I experienced was blatant, despite being adequately qualified.

I knew I deserved more, and I loved myself enough to create the more I deserved, so I created KEMARO to inspire and remind myself and other women to walk away from situations that do not add value to our lives.

I meticulously design and handcraft small batches of made to order genuine leather women sandals.

I make KEMARO sandals from genuine leather because leather is durable and can withstand the rugged terrains while we are on our journey of self love. Plus leather ages beautifully with time- just like us women.

Consumers are bombarded with fast fashion options that compete heavily with small batch production businesses, so I created KEMARO sandals as a season-less brand that works coercively with our excising wardrobes, to ultimately reduce waste through the purchase of our quality leather sandals.

I believe that quality reigns supreme and KEMARO carefully curated collections promote sustainability. Our production model is built upon the durability and longevity of KEMARO sandals, from the design phase to manufacturing. The sandal-making process is intensive and requires great attention to detail which shows in the exceptional craftsmanship of each sandal.

KEMARO embodies the concept of slow fashion, crafting sandals that are elegant, timeless, and luxurious. Each sandal exhibits its own character with varying texture and tone since they are handcrafted. This is what makes each pair unique. Using traditional shoe-making techniques, handheld tools and non-emission-causing machinery in our production process KEMARO sandals are hand lasted and made to last.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m an Attorney at Law by profession and an Artisan by heart. Not only do I design all of KEMARO sandals, I make each pair by hand in our studio located in Palm Beach.

I’ve always been intrigued with handmade products, particularly anything made with leather. I wanted to create something that was true to our culture and was a common thread among minority groups, it happens to be shoe making. In our region we relied heavily on shoemakers to make and repair our shoes. We valued those shoes because we knew shoemaking was a special art and there was a human connection in the process. The art of hand making shoes is slowing dying and I wanted to revive it.

I have an affinity to quality footwear and found it difficult to find genuine leather footwear that were backed by a sustainable and ethical brand, all while being feminine, reasonably priced and aesthetically pleasing. Since I couldn’t find that shoe I decided to create it myself.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

While working in my previous job (the one that opened my eyes to going after what I truly deserved) the idea of KEMARO came to me, I immediately began to sacrifice some of my paycheck every month to buy the equipment and materials I needed to start KEMARO. I literally purchased something for my company every time I got paid. For instance I would purchase something as simple as a shoe making pliers and stockpiled them over the years all while building the brand.

I used my entire stimulus check to hire a trademark Attorney to trademark the name KEMARO even while KEMARO was only a dream, because I’ve always had a vision that it was only a matter of time before KEMARO became a household name.

I also used my bonus that I received from my former job to help fund my business. Taking out a business loan was never an option because I wanted KEMARO to be debt free so I would be able to scale up the brand efficiently without having unnecessary financial strain.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

It has certainly not been a smooth road. I’ve faced struggles building my handmade genuine leather brand as KEMARO focuses on ethical and sustainable practices. Consumers are bombarded with fast fashion options that compete heavily with small batch production businesses.

I spend a significant amount of time and resources educating consumers on the value of purchasing quality over quantity and on the importance of supporting brands that are truly ethical and sustainable.

I try to remind consumers that since our feet take us everywhere, it’s important to invest in quality footwear, especially from brands that are environmentally and sustainably conscious.

Also marketing and obtaining followers and customers have been challenging. I’ve come up with a hands on approach strategy where I wear KEMARO sandals daily while out and I approach women and introduce myself and the brand.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kemarosandals.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/kemarosandals?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Other: Tik tok www.tiktok.com/@kemarosandals

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