Hi, I am Teja Kodre, a fashion designer and an entrepreneur who always knew I wanted to start my own company. My love of fashion design started at an early age at my grandmother’s house Karmela where I was introduced to sewing.
After Graduation in Fashion design at faculty of Natural sciences and Engineering in 2006, I dove into her career– hustling from the bottom up by working as a merchandiser in a local shop and a graphic designer with afterwork sewing passion – small clothing line. I was determined to learn the ins and outs of the industry through lived experience and hard work. Every day 8 hours working after that another few hours sewing. For 10 years I did just that. Exhausting and completely unhappy with my life I realized I couldn’t take it anymore. So I wrote a dismissal but was too scared to give it to my boss. I carried that letter in her bag for about a year. In summer 2018 me and my husband travelled to Indonesia on our summer vacation. After returning home, I finally made a decision to quit my job. Then I found out I got pregnant. My life drastically changed after becoming a parent. A lifetime decision made my life a little more hectic, busy and complicated but most importantly, I finally went her own way.
“I’ve been feeling weighed down. Rather than trying to find ways to make it all work, I considered looking for things I could remove from my life. With a few subtle changes I simplified my life and my mind. Karmina collection represents my response and new responsible approach to fashion design. “
Karmina is a collection of basic essentials with a sustainable approach. The brand creates the foundational pieces for a chic, timeless and minimal capsule wardrobe that allows you to get dressed with confidence and ease all year long.
All Karmina pieces are made in my workshop in a small town Branik; mostly by me. Handmade with love and care for you by your order to fill your demand. My creations are made with of joy, honor, and respect. Those same values somehow find their way into the very fiber of a handmade clothes. Consider that every cm of the fabric that forms a garment once flowed through my fingers with intention and purpose and that no two handmade items are exactly alike, so that every single one is one-of-a-kind.
It’s been such a crazy and happy adventure – making the decision to focus on a new brand that I really love. It’s forced me to keep experimenting and learning about everything that goes along with fashion. Being fashion designer came true and my dreams got real!
With love
Teja Kodre, fashion designer and Karmina founder