About

This all began…

with one of my annual trips to my homeland, Colombia. As I roamed the capital city of Bogota I came upon my first carriel (the cowhide leather bag I sell) and knew i had to have it. As i grew more fascinated by it's unique silhouette and quality, I wanted the rest of the world to experience them first hand as well. The carriel has been worn by Colombian country men for over a century, as a means to organize and comfortably carry their belongings during long day trips on horseback. Although traditionally these bags were designed for the agrarian lifestyle of men, I find them to be exceptionally beautiful and equally feminine. There are only a handful of families in Colombia that are the authentic artisans behind the carriel, passing down the craft from generation to generation until present day. I work with one of those families to ensure the product I import is 100% original to it's history.

The Wayuu mochila is a staple Colombian heritage piece that’s well known around the world. I’ve been wearing them since I was a teen living in Cartagena, Colombia. They are worn by almost all Caribbean born Colombians as well as the inland population, as they are light, durable and versatile, not to mention beautiful. I import these bags after carefully hand picking the most unique items from hundreds of choices, focusing on finding the ones that tell the story of the Wayuu Natives who crochet them.

Traveling is one of the main inspirations for the brand and recently having spent six months living in Mexico, Mila decided to work with artisans in the state of Chiapas to bring you the assortment of hand made totes, colorful tassels, beaded jewelry and whimsical wool animals seen in the shop.

Mila is a one woman production, based out of Chicago, IL. I curate/design the colors and patterns that are used to make many of the leather bags in my shop, however the silhouette and build of the bag is not modified from the original that was created hundred of years ago.