By Victoria Campbell
Cardinal Creatives is a biweekly column that celebrates creators in Plattsburgh, present and past. Spotlighting diverse talents throughout our community in all forms, the column is a window into Plattsburgh’s art scene.
Kaliyah Green, a junior at SUNY Plattsburgh, found her passion and success in 2020 by making and selling handbags. Since elementary school, Green has been captivated by fashion.
According to Green, she wanted to create a brand that represented her love for art, fashion and design.
She knew that she had a skill for sewing, so when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and she had more free time, she got her first sewing machine.
Designing a line of handbags that appealed to professional women was essential to Green. She aimed to make something functional and practical for women.
She immediately began sharing her work on Instagram, quickly amassing more than 1,200 followers and various local and national buyers.
“The bags are all made with high-quality fabric, leather, and hardware,” said Green. “No matter your age, you can wear my bags with anything.”
After the success of her account, Green’s business, K.Minitotes, started to expand and she opened a second service, tailoring.
“I started this year, 2024. I did a little bit last year, helping my mother if she needed her clothing tighter or just needed to fix something,” said Green. “I recently tailored a dress for someone’s birthday.”
Green tailored a black sequin birthday dress that was a tad big on the client, making it a tighter fit. One of Green’s goals is to start offering tailoring as a service on her website. Most of her clientele is her friends and classmates.
Green is excited to expand her services and looks forward to experimenting with more designs. She enjoys using different textures, patterns and shapes to create her one-of-a-kind purse and handbag pieces and tailoring.
Visit K.Minitotes online at https://www.kminitotes.com/ and on Instagram at @K.minitotes.
