She’s extremely talented and pure. She’s radiating happiness with her smile. She’s inspiring and full of love and dreams. I’ve never met a person who’s more in love with life than her. She’s @nastiezdrasti and we had an honest conversation about starting a business with no money, but lots of garbage. About creativity, music, bags and time. We stayed romantic but fearless. I’m sure that this interview will leave you emotions and desire to create and just be :
“KLOSHAR BAGS” is such an unique name. It’s a slang expression, very Bulgarian and I love it! But if you have to explain the meaning in some other language, what you’d say? I think that the word “kloshar” means much more than a homeless person for you
- Yes, that’s definitely true. The very first bag I created was made out of garbage left over pieces from my dad’s factory. That’s how it all started. I’ve always wanted to transform the so called “garbage” in art. And I think that nowadays I’m really good at it. So that’s how our memorable brand name came to life. I think that it holds in it the wisdom of the streets. Because it all became so unfriendly, the life somehow became an everyday struggle which makes you fight everyday for everything. Because if you don’t, you’re done. That’s also how I see my brand – as an achievement I have to conquer constantly. I think it’s more important the marketing than the name. I even find it selfish to name it after me, if I have to be honest. The important thing is what you see behind the brand’s name and what kind of emotions it brings you with its products.
But how it all actually started? Tell me more about the KLOSHAR story
- It all started with a birthday. My birthday. At the time my brother worked as a bartender. So he saw that one girl with a cool shaped bag that he really liked and wanted to order one as a gift for my birthday. He talked to the girl, asked for information, gave her his number so she could contact him later for the bag details and it all remained there in the bar for months. Because my birthday passed, we all forgot about it, until one day that girl called my brother asking him if he still wants the bag. And then I finally got my birthday present hahaha The bag was in the shape of a gramophone record and I fell in love with it the second I saw it. I even studied music at the time, so it was the perfect timing. Unfortunately I only had it for a month, because stepping out of the bus one day I fell on it and broke it… It didn’t have the best quality so it couldn’t be repaired. That day I cried a lot, I admit. But that’s why that day I decided to create my own version of the bag – a better one. So I talked with my grandma about destroying some of the old records she had in one of her drawers ( god, I loved searching through all the stuff she kept there, it was full of treasures ). And that’s how the first bag was made. My girlfriends loved it so much that I had to make them too. With time the orders became more and more. Now I keep creating with the same passion from that one day.
Music is a main character in your designs. How you’d describe music, what it provokes in you?
- Mystery. Immensity. Calmness. Cure. Music contains lots of power, lots of sense. Music helps me express myself, my feelings, my mood, my happiness, my pain. Music charges my soul. Music’s always been part of my life – I’ve sang in a vocal group when I was little, then became self-produced artist and songwriter. It definitely helps me go through the hard moments, it transforms my negative thoughts in something meaningful.
Music transforms my negative thoughts in something meaningful.
Can creativity be learned or you have to be born with it?
- I’ve never spent a day in my life learning how to be creative. I think you’re just born with it. I can’t even imagine to have someone by my side who tells me what to do, which colors to combine, which materials to use, what to say or post… I do things as I feel them. I trust my intuition and just do. Being creative is being brave and full of ideas. At least for me. Creativity could be exercised, but cannot be learned if you just don’t have it inside.
The difference between unique and new?
- Unique is equal as rush, emotion. It’s unrepeatable. And it could be selfish to say but my power’s in creating unique pieces. It’s not easy, because you need a lot of discipline to do it, but it’s what keeps my mind busy. Unique are those best ideas I don’t stop working on, until I see them finished. New is simply something that goes as fast as it came. New is already old, it doesn’t remain relevant in time as unique does.
New is already old, it doesn’t remain relevant in time as unique does.
Your future in three words
- excitement, lessons, family
Unusual romanticism?
- I made my boyfriend turn the house upside down, just to find a small note, where it was written how much I love him and how thankful I am for having him in my life. I made it as a game – he had to answer questions and every right answer helped him get closer. I invented all of the questions because I wanted google out of the game hahaha, otherwise he could’ve use it. I’m not sure if it’s unusual, but it’s the most recent one.
There’s nothing more personal than the past. What memories do you keep from yours?
- I love people, crowds, events, jokes… In general good vibes and smiles. I always start conversations with positivity. My family is protective, supportive and joyful. I grew up in a happy atmosphere, around humor and self-irony. My parents say I’ve been a curious kid, I still consider myself one. I’m most curious about people, they all intrigue me. From little me I “stole” also the smile and the impatience – impatience to live, to experience. Now I adore my life, I truly live in the moment. I don’t waste my time, I’m a dreamer and I believe in my dreams. Every day is the right day to do something that makes you happy. And I want to thank you of reminding me it with this question.
Every day is the right day to do something that makes you happy.
There’s a lot of fashion in KLOSHAR BAGS history – hats, accessories… Would you prefer continue doing it or stick to the bags?
- Since I’ve learned everything I know all by myself, I prefer to focus on making bags. The hats and the accessories are pulling me out of my comfort zone, I see them more as challenges. In the past I’ve had to be in the role of a stylist for example, so I’ve had to finish the outfit experimenting with the things I had. Now I trust the professionals and yes, hats are my favorite accessory.
You do all the work alone or you have someone who helps you?
- My brother Deqn was the person that saw the potential in the hobby KLOSHAR BAGS and thought of it as a business. So here we are 10 years later. During the brand creation he found his passion – photography and video making. He’s really good at it and I’m very proud of him. Deqn lives in Dubai for a year now, he helps with the marketing, the social content and all of the administrative work. Meanwhile I made and maintain the website, do all the work around the making of the bags, the material research and take the product photos. I also contact the people and run the orders. We make it all happen together, we help each other. There are a lot of things to do and the work never ends, but that’s our thing and we both find meaning in it.
You think in words or in pictures?
- Both. I like playing around with words, they’re powerful and they help me get in touch with people. Same with pictures – my pictures are the bags I make. Actually, they’re even more. Quite often it happens me to stare for hours at the bag I made, observing all the small details, feeling proud of myself and of all the work behind that apparently impossible design. In those moments I feel successful and hopeful, I feel myself.
What inspires you?
- I honestly don’t know. It’s a difficult question to respond to, maybe because it’s not only one thing. People inspire me. Words inspire me. Characters inspire me. Nature inspires me. It relaxes my mind and cleans up space for new ideas. Streets inspire me. Sometimes a random city object could become the inspiration behind my next bag detail. The creative process inspires me. I found new ideas in the making of old ones. But if I have to put my whole inspiration in one word it will definitely be LIFE. The good parts, the bad parts, all of it.
The new generations will need…
- peace
And you need…
- to give
I can’t miss the opportunity to ask you about future projects, give me some bts information
- I’m currently in the making of a mini bag collection in collaboration with a Dubai based brand. It’s my first time doing it, so it’s definitely something new going on in my usual daily schedule. I believe that this is one of those little steps that leads to success. Life’s an adventure, you never know what will happen – today Dubai, tomorrow Hollywood… When you keep going, you’ll get somewhere.
When you keep going, you’ll get somewhere.
Your art is so colorful, I love that! Tell me, how you paint the grey days?
- I’ve always been colorful, it’s part of me. The colorful clothes bring happiness and positive mood. Yellow’s sunny. Pink’s dreamy, it reminds me of flowers and breathtaking sunsets. Blue’s the sea for me. Green’s the nature… All colors bring only beautiful thoughts. People are all so grey…it’s seems like they don’t have the time to smile. They’ve became their problems, even their clothes show it. They want to hide, become invisible, blend in. My brand is the exact opposite. It screams. It shows you off. Wants to make you smile. And it normally does.
Being artist is…
- mission and dedication.