Today we’d like to introduce you to Timur Koza.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Timur. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I graduated from college with a degree in Accounting. I thought I wanted to pursue a career as a CPA, so I worked as an IRS Auditor. After 6 years I realized I needed a change and wanted to follow my real passion in the fashion industry.
I honestly didn’t know where to begin. Up to that point, I didn’t have any fashion experience, except for watching my mom make jewelry for fun. I enjoyed watching her so I decided to help her design jewelry and start a side business. I created a website, had professional photos taken of her pieces, and created social media platforms. We were successful in landing a few stores in Orange County.
After helping her out, I decided to create my own men’s line, KOZA Jewelry here in Los Angeles. I created the collection with industrial inspiration such as screws and bolts. I took what I learned with my mom’s jewelry and applied it to my own except with my own style. My collection is inspired by industrial design and I named the collection “The Rebel,” with each piece named after American rebels, to inspire people to go after what they want at any cost.
KOZA quickly gained traction from solely online to small boutiques around the LA area. We have also had the pleasure to work with celebrities and stylists in LA to further expand the brand.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Our road has definitely not been a smooth one. I think many people today want fast results, and I realized very quickly that’s not how it works. I used to think that you make a cool design, take a few good quality photos, get some followers, get a couple of celebrities to wear it, and boom! You have a successful brand.
There is so much more to it than that! Finding the right manufacturer can take months, even years. You want to make sure the company can ensure the great quality you expect.
And then you may run into delays on deadlines that were promised and have to work with their minimum orders when you are just trying to start your business from scratch and don’t need a high volume of product. Not to mention, working with companies in LA can cost a pretty penny.
Once you find a great manufacturer you need to truly build your brand identity. People want to buy into the lifestyle and not just the product. You have to understand who your audience and customer is and cater to them. This process can take time to truly understand where your brand is in the marketplace.
Once you are ready to expand and get into retail stores you are met with more challenges. Stores nowadays aren’t as willing to take the risk of bringing on a new brand. So, they will offer you a consignment deal. This can be financially challenging when you are starting off because it already takes a lot of funds to create and market the product.
You will need a strong mindset to keep going because the journey will be a roller coaster. Surrounding yourself with people that will push you will help you keep that strong mindset. My family and my friends were critical of this. I am grateful to have had my friend, Tracey, on my team since the beginning. She has been by my side playing an instrumental part in helping me turn my vision into reality and making this business run.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Koza Jewelry story. Tell us more about the business.
KOZA Jewelry began in Los Angeles and specializes in men’s industrial jewelry. We wanted to focus on men’s jewelry because it is a growing market and we needed to have a specific niche. We plan to eventually expand into women’s jewelry as well. Not saying that women can’t wear our pieces now, because they certainly can!
The most rewarding thing about business is when people love and relate to the product. We have some customers that have said their friends would “borrow” but end up keeping the jewelry. So, that would lead to them coming back for more. We strive to build brand identity and have a meaning behind each piece.
I called my first collection, the Rebel Collection because I want to inspire people to go after what they want. Before creating KOZA, I thought the right thing to do was to go for the traditional career route and was told I would find the love and appreciation for it, but my heart knew it wasn’t what I was set out to do. If my story and collection can inspire others to follow their dreams, that would make it all worth it.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
When you live in LA, you meet a variety of people. I love the fact that you get to meet many ambitious people that always raise the bar and want to help you better yourself. If you meet the right people, you can also help each other with your vision, which I think is amazing.
However, with a lot of people, there comes to traffic. The simplest errands or traveling to meetings can take hours to do here.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1111 Wilshire Blvd, Unit 722
Los Angeles CA 90017 - Website: www.kozajewelry.com
- Email: contact@kozajewelry.com
- Instagram: @kozajewelry
- Facebook: @kozajewelry
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