Meet the maker! We chat to Jenny from Etsy shop Qmuro about her fabulous handmade bags

Our pre-Christmas showcase of some of the best fashion and accessories shops on Etsy proved to be one of our most popular posts yet, so we’ve been chatting to one of the great merchants that we featured – Jenny, from Slovenia-based Qmuro – to find out a bit more her story, and what inspired her to create her amazing handmade bags.

Hello Jenny! Tell us a bit about yourself.

I am a working-at-home mom with two boys! My full name is Kanlaya Slanic, but my nickname is Jenny – everyone, family, friends know me as Jenny.

I am originally from Thailand, and after I finished university, I used to work at a tourist agency. Then my life changed when I met my husband, so I left everything behind – my family, friends – to be with him here in Maribor, Slovenia. I have worked at home as an Internet marketer, until finally my dream came true to own something – my own brand, Qmuro – and I am so passionate about the things that I am doing right now.

We do love your Etsy shop, Qmuro! So what inspired you to create your own bags? 

I’ve loved to create things since I was young, as my mom was a tailor, my sister is a tailor and so is my cousin!

When I was young I always created necklaces for myself and my friends. I love handicraft, art, painting. I went to art class when I was in high school. So I love art and craft. I also do graphic design from time to time.

But I really do enjoy doing clothes and handbags right now. There are more designs coming. I love fantasy and sci-fi movies very much, and some of my handbags are inspired by fantasy movies, cartoons, or even from cultures around the world – from nature, and so on.

We’ve realised that Etsy is huge, with many thousands of products! What do you think makes Qmuro stand out?

I think the handbag market is very competitive, so I like to create products that look unique, but are still wearable, eyecatching and elegant, with a mix of gold and colours!

For me, customer satisfaction is important – it is a very high priority that they are happy with my creations and the quality of the products. Each bag takes time to do, like The Swirl, as I have to hand stitch some parts, and must be careful to make it look good.

Sounds good! And what have you got planned for the future?

The future of this shop and the Qmuro brand is everything for me, and there is more coming in the future with new clutch and handbag designs, and, in future, Qmuro Home Decor and Qmuro Pets. I would like to expand my market into a different niche, but not too much, and still stay in the area of faux leather and fabrics.

I forgot to mention that, in the future with Qmuro, I want to donate my income to homeless animals – this is my mission with my heart that I would love to do when I sell more from my shop, but at the moment, I do donate what I can from time to time, and Qmuro Pets will be a big part of this mission in the future.

So where can our readers find you online, Jenny?

Qmuro is on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and the Qmuro web site is still under construction at Qmuro.com. Your readers can of course visit my Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Qmuro, where they can get 20% off when they spend EUR 20 or more. Just use the coupon code QMUROHAPPY2015 – it’s valid until 31st January 2015!

And you also have a fantastic giveaway for us, don’t you, Jenny?

Yes! I’m giving away one of my new Red Mermaid clutch purse bags (worth EUR 31) to a lucky Fashion & Style Directory reader. It’s handmade, by me here in Slovenia, in beautiful red faux leather, and is perfect for every woman for daily wear, going out in the evening, for a wedding day, or for Valentine’s Day, of course!

The bags can also be personalised with an initial monogram – I use 24k gold leaf for that. I hope your readers will like it!

That’s wonderful, Jenny – thank you!

We’ll be revealing details later this week of what you need to do to enter our giveaway, so stay tuned!