Interview with a Star, Kimuka shop on Etsy

 

If you are looking for a cute unique gift for a friend, family member or yourself take a look at Kimuka shop. You will find very special handmade toys, jewelry, passport covers and so much more. All the items are made by two sisters who own a shop and all the items are made with a lot of love.

Please tell us a little bit about yourself
We are two sisters, Ira and Lena, and we are originally from Ukraine, Lviv.

Ira: I came to Israel first, in 1998. At first I took a totally different direction in life and went to study Mechanical Engineering. I graduated in 2005 with first degree (B.Sc.). I tried my luck in the field but very soon I understood that it wasn’t the right path for me. I re-qualified to QA, as something that provides food on the table. It also cleared some more time for my hobbies, photography and making handcrafted items. I’m happily married to Stas and we have two cute dogs.

Lena:  I graduated with MA in Graphic Design in Ukraine and moved to Israel in 2008. Here I work as a graphic designer at a photography business. I’m happily married to Evgene and we also have two great dogs.

How long have you been creating? How did your journey in art and creativity begin?
Ira: My mom taught me to knit as a child so I knitted when I lived in Ukraine. I started making toys and all the other things after graduating the University.

Lena: While living in Ukraine I took a great interest in photography and when I came to Israel, I joined Ira’s hobby of handcraft. After a period of time we both created many toys, accessories and handbags just for ourselves and for our close friends. Soon we realized that our hobbies required a lot of money and space so if we want to continue with it we had to do something that would return the investment and free up space for the new creations.

We started our joint business "Simsisters" in Israel and  "Kimuka" shop on Etsy.

What items do you carry in your shop?
We have many different styles and sizes of toys, handbags, passport covers, jewelry and fashion accessories.

What would you say makes your shop unique?
All our creations are invented from our own imaginations and with our own graphic design. Of course we get a lot of inspiration from other artists but we always insists on doing everything with our touch and twist.

Do you take custom orders?
We love custom orders! We always like to get new ideas and challenges, even if they come from somebody else.

We even encourage people to send us something special to them, like a painting made by their children to get a new idea for the toy. The painting should be an image of something, not a scene. We'll work with that image and create a new toy, tailor-made!