To all of you who followed us before our journey together here at The Kind Folk. It all began when we (me & Grega) had to move cities and start all over again. I didn’t really know where to go or how to start over again… Whether to find a place for my work or just give up and search for a job?
Jasmina and Brina mentioned moving to Maribor and coming to their studio… After some deliberation and being faced with no other solution than going back home or moving here, we packed everything and turned our life around. Being accepted with such kindness and compassion is truly the warmest feeling. I am very grateful for my amazing friends here, welcoming us with open arms.
It was a breath of fresh air, being able to work in a creative environment and not in our living room where I was mostly alone during the day. The support and energy here are unreal, so it was pretty easy to become comfortable and start over.
In 2019 we started our first journey together as Blackbear&Whitebear and Tri Gore. We made a collaboration and created a set of enamel tableware with bear illustrations... It was a sort of test on how we all work together and I must say that it was a success. We mostly sold out our items and we finally made enough money to start something new... We didn’t quite know if it was going to be a new brand or are we just going to continue with our partnership as it is. There were many questions left unanswered, but then...
...then the pandemic hit and forced us to social-distance for quite some time. We did talk almost every day and we knew that we truly wanted to create something together, but we weren’t quite sure yet what it was going to be… all of us went through a lot at that time. It sure was a real struggle, both physically and mentally exhausting. Since the pandemic brought up some old emotions and fears, many of us faced a long road of working on ourselves… it was a tough time.
When we were finally able to see each other again (after many hugs and a whole lot of tears) we sat down and started writing a list of ideas. It then became a sort of tradition for us to sit together every Monday morning and have some coffee. Ok, I lied... we had a lot of coffee and also homemade cookies. :) We would sit and talk for hours and hours about how to save the world... or just change it a little... you know, baby steps.
We thought a lot about what the world needs to start changing. It became painfully clear that our belief in humankind has been challenged.
During the worst time of the pandemic, it became obvious that we need more kindness in this world. Kindness towards ourselves and toward others is desperately needed. But it should all start with us as individuals. Finding happiness and contentment within yourself is the best way to also spread it around. Kindness inspires kindness. Only stable, kind and happy humans can pass that same values forward.
So, we asked ourselves what is important to us personally and how can we spread our message around the world. We grabbed a big piece of paper and some markers to write down our most important values - kindness, love, mental health and caring for others.
That is the story of how The Kind Folk was born.
We care for people. Both mental and physical well being are our top priorities and also the best recipe for a kind human. So, all we needed were products that would give people just that... that one reminder in the day to take care of themselves, something that would make them feel good.
Other keywords we wrote down were: environmentally friendly, sustainable, non-toxic, low waste, comfortable, etc.
We wanted to create a product that is with you every day... something that we all need. And what better represents that than some kind of comfy clothing? We created something soft to hug your body on your daily adventures and we also added a little secret that will always remind you that you matter (can you find it? :)).
It is us adults that need fixing. We need to take better care of our mental and physical well being.
And then the research and all the testing began.
