How This Father-Daughter Duo Celebrates Culture One Stitch at A Time

They say you can tell a lot about a person by the contents of their bag. But what about the actual bag itself? What stories can 100% Ethiopian leather and beautifully woven patterns say about a single person or an entire community? Inspired by their travels and Ethiopian roots, the father-daughter duo, Dagne Tedla and Xiomara Rosa-Tedla, are telling their story one stitch at a time with UnoEth.

“It honestly all started by accident,'' says Xiomara. “After returning home from a trip, my dad, brought home a custom, leather messenger bag as a gift for me. I instantly loved it and wore it everywhere.”

After receiving glowing compliments on her bag along with order inquiries from strangers and friends, Xiomara’s father proposed an idea — they should start a business. Despite her background in corporate retail, Xiomara was hesitant about the proposal. “I declined on the spot. After a month of persistence and inquiries, I caved in and began sketching bag styles.”

Sketches turned into a product and that product has a fan base of over fourteen thousand followers on Instagram and quite the nod of approval from actress and producer Issa Rae on HBO’s Insecure. “Insecure is one of our favorite TV shows and the opportunity was a dream come true! Pure sense of joy. We didn’t believe it was real at first, but when we saw our Hanna Tote on Issa Rae we knew our dream had become a reality.”

However those 15 minutes of fame didn’t steer the UnoEth team from their core focus — delivering quality and timeless pieces that could be worn for years on end combined with their dedication to their Ethiopian community. “UnoEth means ‘one Ethiopia’, which symbolizes my dad and I reaching back to our roots in Addis Ababa. [We also] love to travel and are each other’s best traveling partners. Both easy going and adventurous, which is the core of what we wanted UnoEth to embody. A classic and casual styles that can be worn for years globally and in your hometown. When my dad first had a custom messenger bag made for me, he kept in contact with the artisan, Muzeyen Siraj. After we decided to launch our brand, he reached out to Muzeyen to continue our relationship on a larger scale.”

Fostering a relationship with international artists and fellow small brands is a humble business proposition, but a mighty one. “It’s important for us to keep duplicating our business model by helping artisans launch their own businesses or partner with other small businesses around the globe because that’s what small businesses do, support one another. We love products that tell a story and want to help others make their dreams a reality,” says Xiomara. They also plan on expanding their product lines outside of leather bags and accessories and continuing to foster relations across the global both personally and professionally.

As a brand that relies heavily on its international suppliers and connections, Xiomara and Dagne had to adjust and be flexible for the sake of their business in the wake of COVID.

According to the Wall Street Journal, The COVID pandemic resulted in the permanent closure of roughly 200,000 U.S. establishments above historical levels during the first year of the viral outbreak. Black owned businesses were disproportionately impacted. An H&R Block survey of almost 3,000 small businesses found that 53 percent of Black business owners saw their revenue drop by half, compared to 37 percent of White owners, since the pandemic started. Black business owners also had more trouble establishing an online presence for their company and were more likely to have customers submit late payments.
“The pandemic put a hold on life in every country of the world. It impacted production, shipping and local and international economies. It took longer to manufacture the product and even longer to get it shipped from Addis to Oakland, California due to airlines shutting down air cargo routes. Half of our business was in-person at pop-up markets and shows and with COVID, all of that went away instantly, which caused us to pivot our business model and advertising drastically.”

“My dad was my first best friend. We enjoy spending time with one another and share similar points of view about the world, which makes things easier to work together. ”

— XIOMARA ROSA-TEDLA

Fortunately, there are perks to working with your dad and having a support system and a guiding light even in the darkest of times. “My dad was my first best friend. We enjoy spending time with one another and share similar points of view about the world, which makes it easier to work together. Being that I come from a corporate background and he from an academic background, our working styles are super different. I’m a little more Type A and Pops is a bit more Type B. In the beginning, we had to learn how to communicate with one another on a business level and set boundaries on what is expected from one another.”

As someone who is gearing up to go back to the office, I asked Xiomara what bag she recommended for the commuter on the go. “Our Telak Messenger is hands down the best, because you can easily slide your laptop inside while commuting to and from work or running errands on the weekends.”

And for the frequent flyer?

“I’d recommend our Enku Backpack. Compact yet still fits a lot of essential styles and pieces.”