Behind the Brand
Meet the Maker: My Journey Back to Creating
It has been such a hot minute that introductions are in order. Huge shouts to my old friends and followers who are still here and warmest of welcomes to all the new friends I’ve picked up.
My name is ‘Olena and I am the owner and operator of this small business. As depicted in this slightly awkward, selfie picture, I am a one-man band doing 99.99% of… mmm the everything. I’ve always had a creative itch no matter what phase in life I was at. My mom has an artistic eye, where her mom too had a creative touch, particularly at sewing. Although food has always interested me and probably always will, especially the pastry arts, the family sewing gene has definitely made its presence in me. I might not be the best seamstress around, knowing all the fancy terminology, but just like food, I find sewing very fun and interesting. Lately I’ve started to appreciate and embrace creating my items with Hawai’i as my inspiration, since it is home after all, and here our culture is very rooted.
I recently (finally) graduated college, so I now carry my bachelor’s degree! This is an example of a milestone in which I kind of skipped past. I guess I was just so exhausted from being in school for so long that I didn’t even put in the extra work to have my full name printed on my diploma. I thought I would have been okay with just my first and last name because it was easier during the application process, but after receiving my final diploma, I didn’t get the full feeling of satisfaction that I thought I would feel. I also did very little to celebrate it. I didn’t walk at the graduation ceremony and have basically no pictures to remember it by. But nonetheless, I graduated, and I am done!
As I mentioned earlier, food is another passion of mine. Besides the occasional baking of something fun and fancy, I still continue to cook for my meal preps. To me, it saves time, money, my mental capacity to have to think so much, and it’s a bit healthier than succumbing to the eating out option. I also happen to be in my bread making era. It’s a bit confusing to understand the science of how it all works, but here I am just diving in. I think to date I have made at least 12 or so loaves of white sandwich bread and have two starter children, which yes, they both have names. Surely, I will be posting and writing more about that and will probably have to start a whole separate “bread series” for those shenanigans.
Anywhoo, that’s enough about me for now, back to work I go! Thanks for sticking around and reading my blog. Your time, love, and support mean a lot to me.
Cover Photo Credit: Shopify AI