Meet Ali Koehler | CA Mom & Maker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ali Koehler and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ali, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
We were able to donate 1,000 dollars to Whole Woman’s Health Alliance earlier this year. I have some rainbow stripe clips coming for Pride month and will be donating to PFLAG. One of the most special parts of starting a business has been having the power to raise money for good and fund causes I believe in, like safe abortion and supporting the LGBTQIA+ community. I will continue to use my business to support human rights. My next plan is donating to an organization that benefits children in the foster system. If anyone has suggestions – reach out! My grandpa was in the system and regularly fostered children with my grandmother. I’d love to aid to that community.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I had an idea to start a children’s brand in 2021, and using a $200 savings bond from my late grandma (Helen Eugenia), I did just that. Kind of. We started out on Etsy making sensory play kits for kids. I’ve always loved kids apparel and accessories. I still buy accessories meant for kids because they’re more fun. From there I decided to make some hair clips that I would put in my daughter’s hair, but that I would also wear. I started with Peanut, Nugget, Tater Tot, Half Pint, and Pee Wee. For the shape, I wanted something unique that also felt a little vintage, and after poring over photos of vintage hair accessories and sketching a bunch of designs inspired by pennants and ribbons, I landed on our custom shape. I love vintage-inspired design, self-expression, and hair accessories, and to be able to work in a Venn-diagram of the three is just awesome. I come from the music world, and having this new creative outlet has been really liberating.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my friends with kids came to visit I’d say the places we HAVE to eat are Bub and Grandma’s in Glassell Park, Found Oyster in East Hollywood, Town Pizza in Highland Park, Dan Sung Sa in Koreatown, and Leo’s Tacos in Glassell Park. If we could ditch our kids for a night I’d take them to Walt’s Bar. As for activities, I used to be a nanny in LA so I’ve done it all (nearly). A day in Santa Monica at the pier is always fun. Vincent Lugo Park in SGV is an awesome relic of 60s concrete art. I love Kidspace in Pasadena as well as the Heritage Square Museum in Montecito Heights. The Huntington and Descanso Gardens are both beautiful for fans of botany and lemonade. I could spend a whole day just driving around looking at craftsman homes in Pasadena. There’s so much I love about LA and the surrounding area. Hikes by JPL are fun with kids, even if all you do is sit by the creek and throw rocks in the water. Concerts at the Getty, the Greek, and Hollywood Bowl are magical, and you can’t go to LA without a trip to Daiso to stock up on cutesy stickers and home goods.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to shout out Caroline Rodrigues from Merci Milo. She was the first person to carry my hair clips in a shop. Without her support, it would have definitely been a longer road to expanding my wholesale business and business in general. Her early orders directly funded my growth.

Website: eugeniakids.com

Instagram: instagram.com/eugeniakids

Image Credits
All photos of children by Yael Nov