Becoming a mom is a life changing moment for every woman. We are so lucky to be surrounded by so many amazing moms in our community.
All of them are very special and today we want you to meet Olga Ischenko @osolka_berlin, who is our #heroine_of_the_week.
After the birth of her daughter 5 years ago Olga made a 180 degree change in her career and exchanged a senior level job in IT for creative and self-determined life. Olga has established a small business creating the most adorable, sweet and beautiful baby crib products. Her biggest hit and the focus in her production are amazing handmade baby crib mobiles.
We met Olga for an interview last week and she is full of amazing ideas, her eyes sparkle when she speaks about her customers and their little ones, and most importantly one can see, that she loves what she is doing.
Read Olga´s interview below.
What is the typical amount of time spent creating such a unique mobile from start to finish?
It’s a difficult question, as every mobile is handmade and unique. Depending on the complexity of design, it can take from half a day til the whole day - in case a mobile has a lot of tiny details, like eyes, eyelashes, or special decor elements.
What is your favorite aspect of the sewing business to be involved in?
I like to feel the fabrics in my hands, like to work with bright colours. I have lots of creative ideas for future models. Looking at how excited my daughter is, I realize that other kids also will be happy about their mobiles, and this keeps me going sometimes until midnight.
What did it feel like when you started to see your mobiles filling the baby rooms around the world?
Actually, I didn’t even like sewing before I became a mother. But when my daughter was born, I wanted to give her more warmth and started making handmade and educational toys for her. Although my first toys not always turned out to be pretty, she liked them a lot. That was a start of my project.
Reading comments and looking at the pictures of my clients makes me smile and motivates me for further creations. I feel so happy, that my products bring my warmth to children all over the world, from Australia to US, and of course in Germany.
When you wake up every morning, what do you most look forward to in your workday?
I think, new individual orders, as it is always exciting to combine new colours and shapes. Also at night I often dream of new characters for my mobiles, and in the morning hurry to sketch them on paper. Thus, in the morning, when everyone is fed and sent to kindergarden/work, I settle with a cup of tea, a piece of paper, and an e-mail.
How do you organize your day being a working mom?
The morning is dedicated to the breakfast with my family and seeing them off to kindergarden/work. At 9 AM my working day starts. While my daughter is in the kindergarden it is the ideal time for me to work on my mobiles. Then I pick up my daughter and bring her to various courses. It takes a lot of time, but also gives me an opportunity to answer my e-mails, while I wait for her. I try to harmoniously combine my family and work life. And I am very happy that my family supports me in this. For instance, my husband now brings the packages to the post himself, which saves a lot of my time.
You moved to Germany from Ukraine a few years ago, can you tell us about this new beginning and what it changed in your mind set?
It was a difficult but amazing time full of new impressions and emotions. Berlin met us like an old friend, like a home we returned to. But it was hard without the knowledge of German. Now it is much easier, although there are still a lot of mistakes in my texts. I’d like to apologise for that in front of my followers 😊. But Berlin inspires me and gives a lot of possibilities.
