Meet Odmary Hernandez (Ody) and Kirenia Diaz (Kiki) | Clothing Brand Owners & Creatives

We had the good fortune of connecting with Odmary Hernandez (Ody) and Kirenia Diaz (Kiki) and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Odmary (Ody) and Kirenia (Kiki), we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
In our case, it all started many years ago; each of us from a very young age, wanted to work in our own business, none of us imagined at that time, what the business would be, or where or how, but we were very clear that we wanted to be our own bosses, we wanted to innovate, leave footprints everywhere we go and of course motivate others, make people laugh, make them feel special and unique and spread joy as much as we can. Both of us were born in Cuba, where no dream can come true but, after arriving in this great country, we thankfully met seven years ago and have done a very good business duo ever since. Each one of us, comes from the creative world, from the marketing and graphic design / agency industry so, we decided to join forces and venture to form our own business; more than anything to keep alive the passion that motivates us every day to create, to enjoy our work, to exceed our own creative limits and with a main goal that is to always learn more and more.

We started trying several businesses to be honest, it has not been an easy road. The first one, it did not work out, then we tried others that did not work either, until now that with our precious KOKI MADE, our clothing brand, everything has been different and it has gone well for us from the beginning (thanks God and knocking on wood).

We have always been very clear that as women, we want to leave a mark, a story. We want to be women who are remembered for raising female skills, capabilities and professionalism, we want to be able to motivate women and everyone in general, let them know that when you have a dream, you fight very very hard, when you also feel passion for what you do and above all, if you are willing to never give up, then EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE. Guaranteed, trust us.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Well, from a very early age we both started to feel attracted to art, and show a lot of interest in creativity. To such an extent that today, it has become a necessity and we cannot live without creating. Kirenia, for example, liked to draw since she was a child and I, Odmary, started working since I was a teenager, in the art and design industry.

When we unite talents, we realize that we make a very good creative team, with the years of experience of each, plus our individual skills united, we could achieve very good results and, specially; pretty different / unique results made with love to spread love, good vibes and laugh, because that is what we are.

Our art and clothes look and feel different, because there is a lot of passion behind it, a lot of effort and dedication, but above all we believe that we have a very successful formula working as a team and that is shown in our creations, people like them, love them so much that they tell us, and we are more than proud of that, more than happy and motivated, we are extremely proud of the fact that each of our designs that people choose to use in one of our t-shirts, hoodies or even in one of our stickers; move their emotions, make them feel good, bring memories to them or just start a conversation. They identify themselves sometimes even with more than one of our designs, and when we ask them (our customers), for their favorite, we always get the same answer: “I like them all”, and that, my dear, that makes us feel more than proud because in the end, that is just what we want; we want them to smile, feel, feel motivated or make others laugh or feel something, when they wear our KOKI’s clothing.

The road, as we have mentioned before, has not been easy at all, many stones on our way, many difficult steps to climb, many doubts, many moments of wanting to give up. But we have always been clear that we will do whatever it takes to stay on our feet, not give up, always until the end of our days. We still have a lot to do and achieve, but we are sure that we always give our best and that we can always give more and more when the desire is greater than any difficulty, and that is precisely what we would like to leave as an example to the new generations coming after us.

We have overcome difficulties by supporting each other, always looking forward, focusing on solutions and not on problems, always looking for a way out, constantly thinking about what motivates us, which are our families, the passion for what we do, and our need to make others feel as good as we feel.

We want the world to become better when each person sees our designs, our art, when they wear our clothes and they can smile, forget about their problems and the rest of the world. We want them to talk to each other, to feel emotions inside, to remember, share, feel special, unique and motivated, to be the center of attention if that is what they want, and above all, our purpose is for them to feel free, to be who they want to be. Please, lets spread more love, we need it, humanity needs it to continue coexisting. Here at KOKI, we simply want people to associate our brand with good vibes, happiness, freedom, peace, comfort of course, (we need to mention that our clothes, the fabric we use for our clothes), feel soft, comfortable and fresh. Everyone should know that our main goal is to make them feel like themselves, to make them feel happy with who they are and what they like, no matter how rare or unusual it is, we want them to feel modern but also with a retro soul if they wish.

We do custom designs, uniforms and corporate promo clothing, so if you want to conquer the world or say something without “actually telling”, well, we will do it for you with our custom designs. That is what we are here for, to help you achieve whatever you want. Can you feel our vibes? We can definitely feel yours!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
To visit: Miami design district for sure! Brickell, Wynwood, Sunny Islands, Art exhibitions, Miami Art Basel if that week long trip happen to be in December. Coral Gables and Calle Ocho of course!

We would eat and drink at:
Sugar Cane, Bachour (Coral Gables location), Sushi Sake & El Carajo Restaurant.

To hang out:
Cerveceria La Tropical, Wynwood in general.

Exciting people: Us! Lol.

Exciting places or things to check out:
KOKI MADE! Haha.
Adrienne Arsht Center.
A yacht tour for our beaches or bays.
Art Galleries.
Lincoln Road.

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?
Of course! We want to thank our families, for their support and help, they are the reasons why we stand up and fight every day. But we must also say that Odmary thanks Kirenia and Kirenia thanks Odmary, yes, we thank each other. We have encouraged each other, we always support each other in each battle, we lift each other up in each fall, we celebrate each success together but above all, we are in all the “not so easy moments”, helping each other with a lot of patience, motivating each other, always cultivating understanding, tolerance, love, respect and feeding ourselves with good vibes and energy ALWAYS. So! A big round of applause for our families for the support they always give us but also a big “Shoutout” for us, we deserve it for sure!

We also want to thank those who closed their doors to us or have wanted to clip our wings, thanks to them, because without them knowing it, they encouraged us to continue dreaming and fighting to get to where we are today. HAPPY AND SUCCESSFUL.

Website: kokimade.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kokimade_/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kokimadeco