“The artist, dreamer, time traveler from the city of bags”.
Olena is our lead designer and founder member of the company.
Born and educated in the Ukraine, in a city called “Sumy”(meaning bag), at an early age Olena had a passion for the arts and fashion, first, by studying painting through private tuition and later at the age of 12, encouraged by her mother, who was a tailor, she made her own clothes.
Trained in mathematics, physics, and economics, Olena uses geometry as a key fundamental to be able to visualize spatial relationships of points, lines, angles, and to provide balance, symmetry, and emphasis in her designs.
Educated as a professional photographer in the UK, Olena developed her creative imagination and attention to detail.
Here in New York, Olena attended the New York Fashion Institute of Technology and worked in the fashion industry on Broadway, producing high quality custom made costumes for Broadway shows and movies, such as “Frozen”, “The greatest Showman”, “American Gods” and many others.
Widely recognized as an artisan of her craft, she is one of only a few remaining artisans in the United States that solely uses hand stitching in the manufacturer of their handbags.
“I had always worked with fabric but found that working with leather was more challenging. It’s more precise, requires more patience, and is almost unforgiving of mistakes. Simple forms require a long thinking process, to create something elegant, fashionable, and timeless, but also practical and comfortable, that will last for generations to come.” – Olena Wills
Olena’s work is unique as it is a true transformation of art, history, and science into luxury leather accessories.