Hi, my name is Nikoleta and I am the founder, but mainly designer of Babuka.
Even while studying interior design at St. John’s College in Ireland, I knew that product design, and especially designing children’s accessories, was what I found most fulfilling from my studies. Combining playfulness with elegant design, in a way that appeals to both children and grown-ups, was an irresistible challenge for me.
After school, my life started to take a different direction. The birth of my first daughter and the purchase of our house caused that my first real design project became designing our own home.
Over time, our family grew by two more members. And with three kids in the house, that’s a lot of options for choosing and designing children accessories. My experience with care for children has given me the ability to look at design with slightly different eyes.
Children are eager to be involved in family events, in everything that happens around them. They want to help us, they want to imitate us, they want to feel that they are full members of the family. When we were finishing the interior of our house, I often sat at the sewing machine, adjusting curtains or sewing pillowcases. Then my children came with the suggestion that I should sew something for them too. Of course, some toy. There was plenty of material at home, remnants of shortened curtains, bits of fabric from various projects. So I decided to give it a try. The first toy was made without much planning, spontaneously, in a hurry, so that we could still cook dinner. The result didn’t look very appealing, at least from my point of view. However, the children immediately fell in love with the new toy. The fact that it was sewn by their mommy and specifically for them, surpassed any flaws. This gave me the idea and a long journey began, tries an mistakes, to the pre-printed patterns that you can order today in our shop and make your children, grandchildren, godchildren, nieces, or nephews happy with a hand-sewn toy.
Gradually, backpacks for our almost daily walks around the neighborhood and cushions for those who do not dare to the sewing machine were created.
Illustration was just a hobby of mine until then. I have been drawing a lot and often since I was a little girl. Over time, the hobby became just a kind of doodling with children. But when the patterns and other products started to come out, I wanted to give them something original, something that would describe me, and create cushions, backpacks and toys that you can’t buy anywhere else. I got in to it again, creating many illustrations and themes, from which we eventually selected four friends, the animals that made up our collections.
Each friend in the collection represents who we are as a family and what we are trying to teach our children and what we want give them for life.
We teach children to appreciate the little things. Because happiness is made up of a large number of tiny little joys. Of the warmth of home, of the good people who surround us, of the ability to forgive their weaknesses, but also of the blossoming flower which seed you planted with your own hands, of the peas harvest in your garden, of a nice song, of a pleasant walk in the spring sunshine or of jumping in the puddles after the summer rain. Our sheep Lujza also enjoys all the little things, the friendship, the running around the meadow, the tasty fresh grass.
You can also read the whole story about Lujza the sheep on our blog –HERE.
We teach children that they can become whoever and whatever they want to be. But also that it takes effort and patience, and that it is not always an easy way. And, of course, that they will never be alone on that journey. Our cat Filip aspired to be an astronaut, and today he flies through space in the company of his best friend.
You can also read the story of Filip the cat on our blog –HERE.
We teach children to dream big and to do whatever it takes to make their dreams come true, no matter what people around them think about it. We lead them to love books and art, where they will find a bottomless supply of inspiration. So is Oliver the piggy, about which many people might think he should be lounging in the pigsty. But he wants to follow his dream, to travel the world.
You can read the whole story about Oliver on our blog – HERE.
We teach children to love nature. At home, in the garden, where they lovingly care for the animal members of the family, Belle the cat and the chickens, help grow vegetables, watch the bees pollinate the flowers, and watch the little birds that have made a nest in our backyard. But also outside on our frequent expeditions to the surrounding forests and meadows. Our forest lover bear Brundo also loves nature, especially his forest, which is his home and where he collects a lot of great experiences.
If you want to read the full story about Brundo, you can find it on our blog –HERE.
