• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
    • About Jessika Hepburn
      • Press/Publications
  • Entrepreneurship
    • Branding
    • Ethics
    • Health
    • Legal
    • Marketing
    • Planning
  • Fellow Makers
    • Community
    • Interviews
    • Resources
  • For the Hands
    • DIY
    • Handmade Goodness
  • For the Head
  • For the Heart
    • 365 Days of Presence
Oh My! Handmade

Oh My! Handmade

Making a good life since 2010

meeting the makers: nathiya of *emera bags

Saturday, October 22, 2011 by Jessika Hepburn

*emera bags, camera bags with modern style, stylish camera bags

I don’t usually accept products for review anymore (unless I am fairly positive you will love it) but when Nathiya of *emera bags wrote to see if I would review one of her design savvy camera bags I said yes without hesitation. I am guessing you all have cameras and, like me, have been frustrated by the bags available to schlep them around. The options on the market either look like camera bags or are a major investment, Nathiya is changing this with her line of well priced camera bags that are functional, well made and oh so stylish.

I chose to review the *emera circle print messenger bag and am so glad I did! It arrived the week Chara and I filmed our short video for Heartweed magazine and has come in so handy ever since. The water-resistant canvas material is perfect for my busy life full of kids + pets + assorted messes. Big enough to fit my camera, manual, cords along with my iPhone and ever present notebook there is room left for my wallet and associated stuff (my purse is always home to many pens, books and found objects). I love it’s versatility and have been using it when the girls and I go out walking or if I am taking photos on the go or for business like filming the video. In short, I love my new bag and not just because Nathiya sent it to me!

For more info on the bags watch this short video demonstrating them in action then head on over to the *emera website to get one for yourself.

*emera bags, camera bags with modern style, stylish camera bags

Since I always want to get to know the creative mind behind the business I invited Nathiya to answer some questions. An incredibly multi-talented artist she is also the co-creator of the beautiful Pineapple Seed jewelry line and an amazing photographer too!

Hi Nathiya, thanks for visiting Oh My! and sharing the story of your business. Please tell us a bit about *emera and how you came to start designing camera bags.

In 2007 I purchased my first DSLR. At first I was taking photos for my jewelry line Pineapple Seed. But then it became more, I wanted to carry my camera with me everywhere and take pictures of my daily life. At the time I couldn’t find a camera bag that I liked which is a simple camera bag that blended in with my style. Most importantly I didn’t want to look like I was stashing a camera. So I designed a few for myself and friends. They were a hit and we launched *emera in 2009.

You started out running a jewelry business but have since switched gears-how have your creative dreams changed along the way?

It hasn’t really changed much. I’m always striving to become more consistent creatively. Whether it’s jewelry, bags or photography.

pineapple seeds, nathiya and soraj prathnadi, *emera bags

What makes the *emera camera bag different from other bags on the market?

I wanted to design a bag that women can wear daily. That can be dressed up or down, for work or an evening out. I didn’t want it to be too feminine either as I wanted to keep versatile.

What are your future plans for *emera?

We are working on new bags for next year. New colors and maybe an exciting new shape!

Stay in touch and learn more about *emera and Nathiya by checking out the beautiful Pineapple Seed blog (it is filled with stunning pictures captured by Nathiya and her husband Soraj). You can also connect by visiting *emera’s:

Website  |   Twitter   |   Facebook

 

Filed Under: Editor, For the Head, For the Heart, Interviews

Primary Sidebar

Articles

Care/Carry/Cure an essay from ‘You Care Too Much’

Mine-Mill organizers claimed that the first of four concerts, held at the Peace Arch in Blaine, WA, in 1952, attracted 40,000 admirers, mostly from the Canadian side of the border near Vancouver. Source: Pacific Tribune Archive.

On Distance: Paul Robeson and the Rolling River of Resistance

New Year's Revolution, illustration of hands breaking free from shackles

A New Year’s Revolution

Go Do Some Great Thing, Lawrence Hill

Go Do Some Great Thing

Dr. Pauli Murray, "I intend to destroy segregation by positive and embracing methods. When my brothers try to draw a circle to exclude me, I shall draw a larger circle to include them." An American Credo

Draw a Larger Circle

Fellow Makers, young Italian immigrant garment worker in Brooklyn

#FellowMakers History & the Triangle Factory Fire

Seventy Ways to Build Community, Save Your Sanity, and Change the World

70 Ways to Build Community

Stop the Hustle | Oh My! Handmade

Stop the Hustle: On Slowing Down, Stepping Up & Paying Attention

Community Is Not Clubs: How We’re Segregating the Internet & What We Can Do

Letter to Etsy Board of Directors on Behalf of #EtsyStrike

Categories

Read More

  • On Distance: Paul Robeson and the Rolling River of Resistance
  • Care/Carry/Cure an essay from ‘You Care Too Much’
  • Letter to Etsy Board of Directors on Behalf of #EtsyStrike
  • The #EtsyStrike begins today July 16, 2018. Learn Why!
  • Des préoccupations liées aux changements aux valeurs Etsy mènent à l’appel à une grève Etsy (#GreveEtsy)
  • Press Release: Concern over Changes to Etsy Values Leads to #EtsyStrike
  • Community Statements on Changes to Values at Etsy #etsystrike
  • CALL FOR COMMUNITY STATEMENTS: Do changes to values at Etsy matter to you?
  • Et Tu, Etsy? A call for fellow makers to strike.
  • A Thousand and One Reasons to Hope

Footer

Care/Carry/Cure an essay from ‘You Care Too Much’

In June of 2016 I supported my love Chris as we dealt with the death of both his parents and a co-worker over a three week period. This essay written the summer of those deaths is my attempt to make sense of grief and the struggle to carry all that I care for. Originally published […]

Archives

  • On Distance: Paul Robeson and the Rolling River of Resistance
  • Care/Carry/Cure an essay from ‘You Care Too Much’
  • Letter to Etsy Board of Directors on Behalf of #EtsyStrike
  • The #EtsyStrike begins today July 16, 2018. Learn Why!
  • Des préoccupations liées aux changements aux valeurs Etsy mènent à l’appel à une grève Etsy (#GreveEtsy)

Search

Copyright © 2025 · Log in