A Love Affair with Color: Meet Kelly Chin of Kaoru Sanchez

From an early age, Kelly Chin saw the world as a kaleidoscope of color and pattern. Today, she channels that vision into designing vibrant, modern textiles that infuse everyday items—like greeting cards, bags, and aprons—with joy. Her signature style blends florals, gumdrops, birds, and abstract motifs in delightful harmony.

I first discovered Kelly and her work at the Kimochi Silver Bells Craft Show, where the fabric on her aprons and bags radiated pure joy.

“For as long as I can remember, I have had a love affair with color,” Kelly shares. “Growing up, my Aunt Kitty owned a fabric shop called Black Sheep Textiles at The Cannery in San Francisco. I spent hours there swooning in Marimekko heaven! The store was magical—the colors, the textures, and the customers. I’m certain that shop was the spark that lit the fire.”

Kelly’s aesthetic is shaped by her technicolor childhood in San Francisco’s Chinatown, her appreciation for Japanese culture and its artful restraint, and a sketchbook full of whimsical doodles.

While working as a Merchandiser and Buyer for the de Young and Legion of Honor museum gift shops, Kelly had a serendipitous encounter with Vogue’s legendary fashion editor, André Leon Talley. Struck by the apron she was wearing, he asked to examine it up close—so close, in fact, that he had her remove it then and there.

“Wow, this is great,” he said. “Where do I find it? Is it in the store? Where do I buy it?”

Kelly explained that it wasn’t available in the shop—she had designed both the apron and the fabric herself. André was impressed and asked her to make him a bag. He became a supporter, encouraging her to share her work more widely and helping spark the launch of her brand, Kaoru Sanchez, in 2015.

Kelly’s hope is “that my work at Kaoru Sanchez San Francisco continues to bring a smile to all the kindred spirits out there whose life is a vibrant color wheel that shines so very bright!”