On things that stay. A coffee moment with OVO things.

When aiming for a more conscious living we start having a different approach to consumption and look for pieces that will stand the test of time. I always had a fondness for simplicity and for items that are well made and that I will wear or use with pleasure for a long time. By emphasising on slow living we also change our lifestyle choices when it comes to comfort, to the utility but also the design of the things around us.

We surround ourselves with fewer possessions but we make sure they are timeless ones. From a ceramic cup of cup that we pour our coffee into in the morning, to the cashmere scarf that we wrap around our shoulders when the air is crisp. That freshness of linen bedsheets dried in the sun and the cosiness that some candles bring to your home on a cloudy day.

These simple everyday joys being a subject that I love so much, I sat down with a part of the OVO Things team (dear Justė) to discuss about design, comfort and the essential pieces that they create. From clothes to items for the home, the products from OVO Thin gs are designed to last for a long time and are created exactly to bring joy and comfort to the everyday life. 

We are three persons behind the brand. My name is Justė and I will give you my personal outlook here mostly, but also trying to talk in the name of all three of us (so of Gouda and Vida, too). Together we represent OVO Things. 

What inspires your creative process?  

Personally, I need to have spare time - time to create something as much as time to do nothing. I don't like fuss nor stress, nor doing things in a hurry. The ideas has to grow; it takes time. And it takes time to make a thing, too - a candle, a candle holder or a cloth to wear - I mean when people, not machines (nor people as machines) do them. 

I always look to various different things for an inspiration like cities and landscapes, and just life and people, and changing seasons behind my window are all inspiration to me. Also magazines, Instagram and Pinterest, movies, books and art are those sources, obviously. Although I choose those quite selectively as I try to limit the information available before I decide to look honestly into it. I learned that too many of inspiring objects may be demotivating. My older son when he was still in the kindergarten has said after taking several lessons of ceramics: all is done already, I won't do ceramics anymore. For different reasons, but sometimes I feel the same: there are too many things already, why keep multiplying them? Then I think: I want certain things to have them less in total. It sounds illogical at first but there is some sense in that. 

Actually, this sense is the main motivation of our brand: to do things so good that they were enough. Not perfect in a sense of some ideal but simple and proper, done well, long lasting, so that they would serve you well. This does involve a certain aesthetics and style as we still want those items be relevant and attractive; this is how we have come to the concept of classics as we see it. Reinvented a bicycle, I guess, just from a new standpoint. 

Can you share more about how you started OVO Things? 

We were colleagues with Guoda before in a public relations agency. Later we worked separately for some years, then our firstborns were born (at very similar time, just couple weeks one from another) and we both found ourselves in similar situation: we were looking for a change in our working field and particularly the office-type job. So we joined Vida, famous fashion designer who was tired of non stop making ever-new garments; she felt that she had reached "I've done it all" place. As she puts it now, you can make a shirt with three sleeves but what's the point of that? We three decided that we want start making simple yet good, lasting things. We saw it as coming back to the essence of a thing, like the beginning of it. Ab ovo is Latin saying about the very beginning; so we called our things "OVO Things". 

Do you have a favorite color palette? 

As a brand we are totally into natural palette as we make things from natural materials, so are the leading colors: those of wood, clay, brass, beeswax, linen. If it's a colored fabric, we usually choose soft pastels of grey or brown and also colors that one could call classic: white, black, red, blue. You can find the whole rainbow in multicolored cotton wicks of the candles, but they are just small dashes - the natural hues of beeswax are dominant. And it is color very difficult to describe: it differs and changes depending on time and conditions. The same with wood pattern of oak candle stick holders - you hardly find the same. And that blurry color of linen melange. We love this. 

How does a perfect morning look for you? 

Simple scenario: having a nice breakfast (say, homemade granola with yogurt and fresh forest blueberries - luxury ingredient available only in summer), drinking coffee with my husband. Or reading a bit, some magazine maybe. Morning is my favorite part of the day, like breakfast is my favorite meal (and those are closely related:) I like to get up earlier to have time for it, and those mornings when I have extra time are perfect for me. 

I really like the concept of small everyday luxuries. The little objects that make a day brighter, like drinking your coffee from a favorite ceramic mug in the morning, wrapped in a linen robe. What are your favorite objects? Those that make the ordinary feel special? 

We have similar idea of understated luxury. These are ordinary things that feel special because: they it has been made by hand, because it is not plastic, because it is made in small quantities and even maybe by people you know. There can be many reasons. I am not sure if everybody would agree if it's any luxury at all:) But today natural materials and craftsmanship are becoming real luxury which obviously differs from gold & diamonds type luxury. The point here is not having things or having many. On the contrary, having less but enough is that luxury feeling you enjoy because you get more freedom and comfort with that. Besides, you take at least some responsibility in that complex chain of production and consuming. And you start looking differently to that object; ordinary becomes special. Because it has been your considered choice.

Or say pure beeswax candles. They are too expensive to burn all the time and in big quantities so it changes the whole thing: you lit one candle for yourself and watch it burn. You can smell the wax, you see how flame flickers and you are having such a time for yourself! 

The OVO Things candles are always so beautifully styled by your customers. Can you share some favorite creators that you connected with through social media?

There are lots of them, lovely people who create and share, we are so grateful to all. I like sharing photos by different authors and do it often. It amazes me each time how people find new ways, rituals they create, what gorgeous cakes they make! This is a reward and inspiration, really. So love to watch our candles travel. Giedrė @giedre_barauskiene, Erika @bu.ku.ku, @allthebeautifulthingsblog, Krissy @cottagefarm, Ana _goodoldfashionned, Michaela @toertchenherzog, Veronika @veronikagphotography, @charchax, Mattanna @matannakatz, Evi @twelve_winks, @fannyhaag, @thalieandco, @christinasoeberg, @arcticfox_mk, @n_violet, @thinkofadream_2 ... I would like to name you all and I am sorry no being able to :)) We owe a special huge thanks to Linda Lomelino @linda_lomelino, she has introduced us to the broader public of Instagram just because she loved the candles! Her generosity is outstanding as much as her talent is ♡