AURORA, Colo. — Coloradans are known for their unique style, and BuxieJo Bags is giving women a chance to wear their personality.
Kerrin Pogozelski is the creative genius behind the fun fashionable pieces. She weaves different fabrics, textures, and colors together to make one-of-a-kind backpacks, totes, and purses.
"They're bright, fun, lovely additions to any ensemble," said Pogozelski. "They have a really nice personality wink to yourself."
She says her customers bond with the bags they choose, and the bags never go home with the wrong person.
"This accessory could be the wildest thing that a lady incorporates into her style," said Pogozelski.
She operates out of her home's basement with other family members, cutting and sewing a fleeting wave of eclectic looks and collecting things that bring her joy. She even saves scraps leftover from other designs to rework into new ones.
"I have been Kerrin's number one fan since the beginning," said Ron Brauch, Kerrin's husband who joined the business to help with manufacturing and marketing. He interacts with customers at trade shows and sees first-hand why women adore the line.
"A lot of times the first bag someone will pick up, sometimes they don't put it back down," said Brauch. "They'll look at hundreds of other bags, but they'll most the time choose that first one they fell in love with."
"We have stories come through to us all the time," said Pogozelski. "For instance, a woman met somebody in Hawaii and went running up to them because they also had a BuxieJo purse."
And, when they meet some who is wearing one of their bags?
"We definitely go running right up to them," said Pogozelski. "And I say, 'I made your bag!'"
But, never did she dream she would hear how the whimsical expression could connect an entire community.
"One woman said, 'I wear this bag even more than I ever thought I would because it makes other people happy around me,'" said Pogozelski. "I think that story was a great metaphor for everything that we do."
And, all of their materials are from U.S.-owned businesses.
