10 Things You Probably Don't Know About Us

Being a small business, Kariella loves getting to know its customers who come hang out and shop with us. Unlike big corporate fashion companies who don’t have the opportunity to meet and remember every customer who walks in and out of their store, Kariella is fortunate enough to have made some amazing relationships with our locals from Bend, Oregon and Ventura, California. Here at Kariella, we want to be as transparent as possible and to build connections with our clients. 

The owner, Amara, wanted to share some fun facts about how the store came to be and also some fun facts about herself! Read below to find out more, you know you want to...

1. I found the name Kariella in a book of over 500,000 baby names! It just stuck with me, I even still have the little post it I wrote it on. I think it suits my daughter (and the shop) well.
2. Kariella’s first location was in Bend Oregon, and originally started in my garage there. Its crazy to think back to those days, its been 8 years since then, time has gone by so fast!
3. For our first year in business we didn’t carry any merchandise over $100 retail. We really wanted the shop to be approachable for women of all ages and all classes of income.
4. I have an obsession with soft fabrics, I touch and feel everything before I order it for the shop and if it doesn’t feel yummy it doesn’t make the cut.
5. We do all our store build outs ourselves. There’s a lot of heart and soul that goes into each and every detail. Every brush stroke, every light fixture every piece of furniture is a little piece of me.
6. Our Ventura location came to fruition in the matter of a month. I saw the space and couldn’t say no, even though the original plan was not to open for a year out. Sometimes you gotta just go with the flow, even though it might be terrifying or not exactly what you planned. In the end it all worked out for the best.
7. Having grown up in Ojai, I knew absolutely no one when I moved to Bend, Oregon in 2010 and opened my first shop. It was a huge leap of faith!
8. I have over 20 years retail experience, some of my past experience includes buying for Angel in Montecito and Tiki Girl in Ventura. Store build outs for Nordstrom and Forever 21 and countless years of merchandising and visual display for numerous retailers both small and big. I have also designed jewelry for a high end label under their name. A few of my pieces were featured on tv shows and in magazines.
9. I really dislike having my picture taken, I know that seems crazy since I’m always modeling for the shop but I get nervous every time and I blink like a crazy person lol I feel most comfortable when Kariella takes the pictures.
10. The shop was founded on a Dream I’ve had since I was little. I knew what I wanted to do for a living at a really early age. I used to make my sister play store with me when I was 8, it was my favorite thing to do and she hated it lol She of course loves to shop from me now ;)

Inspiration behind the Store

Ventura, CA Location

Bend, Oregon Location

We hope you enjoyed getting to know us a little better! Share a fun fact about yourself below in the comments and make sure to follow @shopkariella on Instagram.