ABOUT

Maxandra was born and raised in Southeast Asia, an upbringing that inspired a love of ancient ceremonial jewelry and early exposure and appreciation of local artistic traditions.  While living in Jakarta she began her collection of traditional jewelry and clothing, and was enormously inspired by Indonesian artistic traditions, particularly the art of batik. 

Following a stint in magazine journalism at Conde Nast, specifically GQ, she joined forces with Amy Walker to co-found Kora, and spearheaded the efforts to develop a fashion forward line with an artisan heritage.  During her time at Kora she gained extensive on the ground experience, working in-country closely to grow and strengthen relationships with existing artisans as well as finding new artisans and materials to work with.  These fact-finding, research and development trips most recently brought her to Vietnam and Cambodia, where she developed a series of parameters and controls used in evaluating new artisans and workshops and standardizing existing relationships.

About KORA

KORA was launched in August 2009 by Maxandra Short and Amy Walker as a result of their shared visual style and commitment to sustainable economic development.  KORA’s first collection featured one of a kind Ankole cow horn pieces made in Rwanda and has since expanded to include a variety of beautiful, locally sourced materials from Kenya and Ghana.  Each collection is deeply influenced by the inherent properties of each unique material. KORA practices the idea of ‘trade-not-aid’ in order to directly provide the foundation for sustainable economic growth in these countries.

KORA’s handmade pieces feature recycled and sustainable materials found in and used by artisans in developing communities in Africa. KORA means ‘work’ in Kinyarwandan, Rwanda’s native language.