the story

My name is Romika, and I created Copeland— which is also the name of my nonchalant Golden Retriever.

The idea behind the name is to keep going until you reach a place in life where you do more than just cope.

When I turned 30, I hit a wall. What followed was something most people would probably call a midlife crisis. I started questioning everything—my health, being single, the trajectory of my insurance career, even the fact I've never been great at small talk...

But I do my best thinking when I walk. So I made an offhand commitment to myself: just walk 2 miles every single day until my objectivity came back.

I can’t say the crisis has fully passed—but I’m still walking. And along the way, things began to shift. I’ve lost over 40 pounds, my resting heart rate has dropped, and while I’m still pretty average at small talk, I’ve gained something more important: momentum.

But I also walked myself right into a problem.

It turns out it’s hard to move freely when you’re carrying everything—physically and metaphorically. Between walking my dog and managing my daily life, I found myself juggling my pepper spray, keys, a water bottle, wallet, chapstick, phone, earbuds… along with my dog's leash and his poop bags. As someone who’s often doing life solo—traveling, running errands—it became clear just how much I was carrying on my own.

So I went looking for a solution: a high-quality, sporty crossbody that could free up my hands and move with me throughout the day.

I didn’t want anything with a paw print on it.

And I didn’t want to switch bags between walking, errands, the gym, or travel. I wanted one piece that could do it all.

I couldn’t find it.

So I designed it.

What started as a daily walk turned into something much bigger than I ever expected. But maybe that’s what happens when you decide to do more than cope—things begin to shift, little by little, until one day you realize you’ve built something meaningful out of the mess.

Copeland is that for me.

This brand is deeply personal. It’s an extension of a vulnerable part of my story—and I’m all in. I found a quality manufacturer, spent over a year designing and testing it alongside their engineers, and invested my own savings to bring this to life.

No loans.

Just belief, persistence, and a lot of walking.

I’m really glad you’re here.

Welcome to Copeland.