Svala was established by Helga Douglas to create beautiful, stylish, versatile pieces that are animal-friendly and manufactured sustainably. Unable to find exactly the kind of accessories that she was searching for, Helga created a line of luxury, vegan, handbags as well as accessories that are handcrafted in LA from premium, European, innovative fabrics. The firm has been featured in publications such as Vogue, Forbes, Fashionista, Purist and the LA Times. In 2019, Svala was actually a nominee for the Eluxe Magazine sustainable luxury Eluxe Awards and in 2020 was awarded Best Vegan Brand of the Year. Helga is originally from Sydney but now just lives in Los Angeles. The inspiration for its name comes from Iceland, where Helga's mother is from. Helga has always loved the Icelandic girl's name that means swallow in Icelandic.