Fashion / Amschela
The high-end handbag designer who learned from YouTube
“A handbag is like your best friend, the keeper of all your secrets and where you store your character and identity,” says Keri Andriana, CEO and founder of high-end handbag brand Amschela. “I’ve always had a great interest in handbags – It was a love passed down to me from my grandmother. As a child I used to take her old bags and redesign them for myself. It was an unofficial hobby.”
Keri has recently come back from sitting in the front row at London Fashion Week, making her couture debut. It’s been a total lifestyle change for the designer who originally learnt her craft from watching YouTube tutorials, creating her first ever bag in 2016.
“I had gotten the idea to create my own handbag line but I couldn’t afford to go to design school,” Keri says. “Not to be deterred, I did some research and found out that there were loads of really good, informative videos on YouTube.
is needed now More than ever
The face of Amschela’s 2017 collection, local model Ella Riggs (left) and CEO Keri Andriana backstage with a model at London Fashion Week (right).
“What really spurred me on was a documentary on the late Kate Spade, who created a wonderfully renowned handbag brand without any formal training. I thought: ‘if she can do it, why can’t I?’”
Keri would sit at her second-hand industrial sewing machine at home in Westbury-on-Trym and follow the YouTube tutorials on her computer. It was a huge change from the career she had had in law, before being made redundant in 2016. As a mother, and a grandmother to four-year-old Amschel, who inspired the brand’s name, Keri started to re-think her future.
“I was inspired to do something completely different; to challenge myself and take myself out of my comfort zone,” she says. “There was definitely a lot of stopping and rewinding of YouTube videos! For almost a year I would watch everything about handbag design and construction, until I could completely construct a functional bag all by myself. My very first completed bag was a purple floral gym bag.”
The Naomi bag is a firm favourite of Instagram influencer Naomi Isted and designer Jayne Pierson (£180)
Since then, Keri has developed three collections and tirelessly built up the Amschela brand. “To compete effectively in the high-end market as a new emerging brand, you quickly find that there are only so many hours in the day, especially in the ready-to-wear market,” she says. She still works a full-time job in finance to sustain her brand and confesses that it has been “a huge struggle” at times.
“It’s a catch-22! Holding down a day job whilst growing your brand is just one of those things you have to be prepared to do. I have met other brand owners who work day jobs, ranging from nurses to bankers. It can be harrowing and many just give up, but it’s nice to see you’re definitely not alone.”
Major successes have come since the brand piqued the interest of industry moguls. After a second appearance in Vogue, journalist and fashion designer Jayne Pierson requested that Keri create a bag to accompany Jayne’s fashion collection at London Fashion Week in February 2019.
The Anya belt bag, as seen at London Fashion Week, launches this spring
“London Fashion Week was amazing! It was the first time we had one of our bags walk in a show. It was a surreal moment,” says Keri. “It was a huge honour and definitely a milestone for the brand to see the Anya belt bag coming down the runway. It hasn’t really sunk in yet!
“Hopefully, this will lead to other designers selecting us as their accessory brand when looking for a complementary piece at future fashion weeks.”
With construction of the latest collections split between being fully handmade in Bristol and outsourcing the manufacture of the bag components, Keri is now looking to set up her own UK-based manufacturing business to keep up with the demand for her handbags. With hopes for investment opportunities that would take the brand to the next level, Keri’s ultimate aim is to open a flagship store in Bristol.
Keri’s favourite bag is the Audriana tote (£185)
“I want to become an employer in the heart of Bristol,” she says. “It would be good for our city to actually have a luxury fashion brand that was born right here! Bristol is such a vibrant and creative place. It’s full of energy and has a real sense of individual style. You can see an array of fashion, all unique and complimenting each other beautifully.”
The current Amschela collection, Kazebe Rose, features jewel-adorned gold clutch bags, floral embroidered leather day totes, sassy bumbags and limited edition leather backpacks from the menswear range. With prices ranging from £70 for the contemporary Reyan’a bumbag to £185 for the black Audrina tote, the collection is high-end but affordable.
“The collection has a deliberate day-to-night feel,” says Keri. “My favourite piece is the Audrina tote bag. It’s my current day-to-day bag, perfect for running to meetings, work and just about storing my whole life in. I also have a soft spot for the Kate bag; it’s our best seller and was the one that made it into British Vogue. She’s my baby!”
The super cool faux fur Kate bag that got Amschela noticed in Vogue magazine
Along with the Anya bumbag that was debuted in London, Keri will be launching the Rene shoulder bag as standalone London Fashion Week pieces this spring, with a very small resort collection planned for the summer. “As a small brand we aren’t religiously putting out a collection twice a year due to resources, but I am definitely hoping by this time next year, we will be,” Keri says. “I’m currently developing a signature bag for the brand, to last for generations to come and be interchangeable with any future trends.” This is due to launch in time for spring/summer 2020.
As a black Bristolian woman, Keri is a big supporter of her community and wants to use her successes to inspire and boost the confidence of others, especially in the creative and fashion industries. “I would say to anyone running a new business: if you believe in your brand and you’re willing to do the work, go ahead, but be prepared to make sacrifices. The key is to remain focused, take small steps and not to lose sight of your goal,” says Keri.
“More importantly, once you start, don’t stop. Slow down if you have to, but never stop until you get to that beautiful creative place that made you start in the first place.”
Find out more about Amschela
Read our Fashion Editor Emma’s blog No Debutante
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