Author's Story

Hi, my name is Iryna and the dolls you see have been sewed by my lovely mom, who doesn’t know how to sell or write strong words, but she can love and create. That is why in every work, made by her hands, you will feel much warmth and love…

I want to tell a little bit about the author of these dolls. My mom is a seamstress and she has devoted her whole life to this occupation. When she was young, she sewed wedding and prom dresses, other clothes and various large sized items. She worked in an atelier and took orders from her friends and neighbors at home.

It wasn't very profitable because she was worried about being too expensive for the customers. With time, it became difficult for her to take such orders, and the sewing machine did not work as well as before... We did not have a possibility to buy a new one.

Living in a small town, we don't have big choice of work, but we needed money. Mom started working as a cleaner at the hospital, but when she had days off, she used to work behind her sewing machine again... The same one she had since the beginning. She often told me that she dreamed of having her own little workshop in the apartment...

And then, my mother got sick and she had to leave her job as a cleaner ( she did not like it anyway). And you know what? Even the disease did not stop her from continuing doing what she loved – sewing! But this time her passion became sewing Tilda dolls. She found comfort in them and an opportunity to divert her thoughts from negativity. The work is manual, so the machine is minimally needed in this case. 

She never wanted to sell her dolls. She just sewed them for herself. When her friends told her that she should sell her works, she was shy to do it and is shy until now. She simply gave away many dolls to the people she loved. Also she donated them to the children's organizations. Some were bought by her work colleagues. I remember how I bought the first doll from her pretending it was another buyer. She still doesn't know about it. I really wanted to motivate her, to show her that her hard work was worth something! It is an incredible feeling to see your mom happy.

When the war started, I was in another city, and the first thing I thought about was "how was she?" What people had to go through in the war is a hole in the heart for the rest of their lives... I remember hearing the whistle of a rocket overhead and every time I rushed to the phone to call my mom. I was worried how she would handle the stress and if she had her medications with her. Then I moved to her. Now I knew, in case something happens, I would be there for her and will be able to help her.

We had more than one explosion in our city, but when a bombing happened not far from our house and we saw everything from our own window... life flashed before the eyes. The sound of sirens always haunted me, even when it was actually gone... It was difficult for my mom to run to the basement through several floors every time, to sit for 4 hours, but she held on...

You can talk about the terrible events in Ukraine forever, because it is a pain that does not go... It is a constant fear for the lives of the people you love, for all your countrymen... It is endless tears and the feeling that your limbs are numb from the terrible sound of an airplane ... I will never forget... The sounds are still frightening.

Meanwhile, between the sirens, mom continued to do what she loved.

Because of the war, there are currently no sales in our country, and when I learned about this project, I decided, why not?  I confess, I didn't tell my mom. I was afraid that if it didn't work out, she would be very upset. And when I got the answer, our joy knew no bounds!

We are very grateful to Svetlana for creating this wonderful project, which made it possible not only to earn money in this difficult time, but also gave us hope and faith in ourselves! After all, as long as there is hope, we have the strength to live!

And with this story, I just wanted to show that no matter what, Ukrainians have an indomitable spirit and are true to their values. My mom is this kind of a person who shows her love for Ukraine through her dolls.

We really want the dolls to bring joy to their owners and remind everyone how important it is to never give up!!!💙💛

Iryna, 29, Kyiv

Ludmyla, 52, Kyiv