→ Family Owned Business

Built by Hand, Held Together by Family: The Story of Stephen Kenn

In a sprawling city known for ambition and reinvention, the story of Stephen Kenn is quietly revolutionary. While others expand fast, chase investors, and scale at all costs, Stephen Kenn — the studio founded by designer Stephen Kenn and his partner Beks Opperman — has taken a different path: slow, intentional, rooted. It is a path shaped not by profit margins, but by purpose. At its heart is a family. And not just the family that runs the business, but the extended family of local fabricators, craftspeople, and collaborators who help build every piece that leaves their Los Angeles workshop.

This is the story of a family-owned business — not in the buzzword sense, but in the truest, most lived-in way. It is the story of Stephen, Beks, their two-year-old son Ellis, and their sheepadoodle, Obi. It’s a story about staying small on purpose. About resisting shortcuts. And about choosing to build something meaningful, brick by brick, from the inside out.

A Partnership Forged in Los Angeles

Stephen and Beks met in 2006 in Los Angeles. They were young, idealistic, and drawn to each other’s sense of creativity, curiosity, and care. Over time, they began to imagine what their life could look like if they worked together — not just in relationship, but in business. In 2011, after years of conversation, exploration, and tinkering, they founded the studio that would become Stephen Kenn.

From the beginning, the brand was less about furniture or bags or objects, and more about how things are made — and why. The couple shared a belief that the products we surround ourselves with should tell a story: of where they came from, how they were made, and who made them. They believed objects could carry memory, reveal process, and become part of a family’s history. And they believed that in order to make those kinds of objects, the business itself had to be built with the same integrity.

So they did it themselves. They still do.

No Investors, No Safety Net

From the start, Stephen and Beks made a decision that would shape the soul of their business: no outside investors. No funding rounds. No equity partners. That choice was both philosophical and practical. Philosophical, because they wanted to preserve creative control and stay closely connected to the day-to-day decisions that shape quality and values. Practical, because they understood that growing too quickly — or for the wrong reasons — would come at a cost.

“We didn’t want to build something we couldn’t hold,” says Stephen. “We wanted to build something we could stay in and enjoy together for many years to come.”

That decision hasn’t always been easy. Running a small business without a financial cushion means every decision carries weight. It means doing more yourself. It means late nights shipping orders, early mornings balancing spreadsheets, and weekends spent catching up on emails while your toddler naps on your chest. It means learning to live with uncertainty — and finding strength in clarity of purpose.

But it also means freedom. Creative freedom. The freedom to take risks without asking permission. To choose who you work with. To make fewer things, but make them better. And the freedom to shape a life that prioritizes family over scale.

Wearing All the Hats — Together

At Stephen Kenn, there are no corner offices or executive titles. There is no marketing team or operations department. There is Stephen, and there is Beks. And between them, they carry nearly every aspect of the business.

Stephen is the designer. His mind is always moving — sketching, prototyping, refining. Whether he’s developing a new leather bag, shaping a new custom piece for a client, or working on a new addition to one of the studio’s furniture collections, his focus is on form, function, and feeling. He oversees all of production, working closely with the local fabricators who bring his ideas to life.

Beks handles logistics — a role that, in a small studio, encompasses everything from shipping to scheduling to sourcing. She’s also the voice behind customer care, the architect of the website, and a keen creative mind in her own right. Marketing is a shared effort, with both Stephen and Beks weighing in on strategy, storytelling, and visuals. Together, they make every decision — from leather selection to packaging tape — with a shared commitment to thoughtfulness.

There is no hierarchy, no job too small. On any given day, one of them might be sweeping the shop floor, troubleshooting a production hiccup, or writing copy for a newsletter. It's not always efficient. But it's honest. It’s theirs.

Made in Los Angeles, with Love and Intention

Los Angeles is more than just a backdrop for the studio — it is a fundamental part of the business. Every Stephen Kenn piece is made here, in collaboration with a network of local fabricators, welders, woodworkers, leatherworkers, and artisans. Most of them are small, immigrant-owned businesses that share the same commitment to craft, quality, and detail.

It would be cheaper to outsource. Faster to scale with a supply chain overseas. But that was never the goal. For Stephen and Beks, making locally isn’t just about supporting the economy — it’s about building real relationships. It’s about being able to walk into a shop and talk through a design in person. It’s about trust and transparency. About celebrating the human hands behind every seam, weld, and stitch.

Over the years, those relationships have become more than just partnerships. They are friendships, collaborations, and conversations that continue to evolve. This ecosystem — creative, skilled, passionate — is one of the reasons Stephen Kenn has been able to stay true to its values while continuing to innovate.

A Design Ethos Rooted in Legacy

Stephen’s approach to design is deeply personal. He is not interested in trends or mass appeal. He’s interested in objects that endure — both physically and emotionally. Much of the studio’s work is inspired by vintage military materials, utilitarian objects, and minimalist structures. There’s a quiet strength to every piece, an honesty that comes from a deep respect for the materials and the story they carry.

One of the studio’s earliest pieces — and still one of its most iconic — was a sofa made from repurposed WWII-era military canvas with a hand finished steel frame. That project set the tone for everything that followed: materials with history, built into something new. The studio’s leather goods are guided by the same philosophy. The leather is intentionally left natural, allowing it to age and patina over time. Each mark becomes a memory. Each scratch a reminder of use and life.

This ethos is not accidental. It comes from the way Stephen and Beks live — with an appreciation for the imperfect, the timeworn, the honest. They don’t believe in fast. They believe in legacy.

Balancing Business and Parenthood

In 2023, Stephen and Beks welcomed their son Ellis into the world. With him came joy, change, and a new kind of juggling act. Running a business is hard. Raising a toddler is harder. Doing both at once — often in the same room, with deadlines looming and Legos underfoot — requires grace, patience, and flexibility.

But it’s also a gift. Having Ellis grow up around the studio means he sees firsthand what it means to make something with your hands, to solve problems together, to care about the little things. He sees his parents work hard, but also play hard — sneaking moments of silliness between shipments and meetings.

Their sheepadoodle, Obi, is a constant presence too — part mascot, part emotional support, part unintentional comedic relief. The studio is a space of movement and mess, of structure and spontaneity. It is a family business not just in ownership, but in daily reality. The whole family is in it.

Escaping to the Desert

To stay grounded, Stephen and Beks retreat — as often as they can — to the desert or the forest. Several long weekends each year are reserved for camping trips, where cell signals drop and the stars come out. These getaways are not luxury. They’re necessity.

Nature, for them, is where clarity returns. It’s where they reconnect — with each other, with Ellis, with themselves. Out there, far from emails and order forms, the ideas come more freely. The tension softens. They remember why they chose this life in the first place.

Those trips aren’t just a recharge — they’re part of the rhythm. A reminder that creativity doesn’t happen in a vacuum. That running a business isn’t just about productivity. It’s about living a life that feels full, even if it’s messy.

Staying Small on Purpose

In an industry that often rewards growth for growth’s sake, Stephen Kenn remains stubbornly independent. They’ve been offered partnerships. Investment opportunities. Faster lanes. They’ve said no, every time.

Why? Because they know what they want — and what they don’t.

They don’t want to build an empire. They want to build something lasting. Something true. Something they can still feel proud of, ten or twenty years from now. That might mean slower growth. It might mean fewer products, smaller runs, longer lead times. But it also means integrity. It means knowing every name on the workshop floor. It means keeping quality high, values intact, and hearts in it.

That’s the quiet power of a family-owned business. It’s not loud. It doesn’t chase headlines. But it endures.

In the End, It’s All About Connection

The work of Stephen Kenn is not just to make beautiful things — though it does. It is to build a world where beauty is rooted in purpose. Where process matters. Where people are treated with care. Where the lines between life and work are blurry in the best way. Where a toddler’s laughter echoes through the workshop. Where a dog naps beside a cutting table. Where objects are made not to impress, but to last.

This is a business built by a couple — Stephen and Beks — who believe in doing things the hard way, because it’s the right way. Who believe that a small business can still have a big impact. Who believe that family — real, messy, ordinary family — can be the most powerful engine for creativity.

And in every stitch of leather, every welded joint, every wrapped package, that belief shows.