About Us

Hello! I'm Olena Jacobs, owner and operator of Ukie Style. "Ukie" is a nickname for Ukrainian, term that's grown in  immirgants' community.  I'm Ukrainian myself by origin and a strong supporter of this beautiful country with its rich history and amazing people.  Ukie Style is dedicated to supporting Ukraine in its struggle for freedom, democracy, and economic development through bringing Ukrainian products to the world.

                                                                                                        

  Ukraine has been in the forefront of international thought a lot recently, and not for particularly pleasant reasons.  The unique geopolitical location of the country has always been a blessing and a curse. There is much to be learned from its eventful history. Today we can enjoy the rich cultural heritage of that history – a part of which is the great art of clothing decoration.

There is a school of thought that the recent rise of Ukrainian style clothes around the world isn’t just a fashion statement, it’s a unifying statement with Ukraine of our common struggle for everyone to have a good life, living in freedom.

Ukie Style handpicks high quality family clothes and accessories with traditional Ukrainian embroidery, Ukrainian symbolics, and other traditional techniques like Petrykivka. All are designed by Ukrainian designers and made by small Ukrainian  manufacturers -  hard working, talented, and motivated people.  All, who have lived in Ukraine, know the struggles they have to overcome in business.  Recent events bring even more challenges. 

Join Ukie Style in our effort of supporting a strong Ukrainian nation in an honest and easy way: consume their products, providing jobs and financial security.

Thank You!      

  

Embroidery is the art of decorating fabrics by stitching designs with a needle and yarn. As civilizations flourished people started incorporating other materials like metal strips, pearl, beads and quills in their designs.

The use of embroidery to decorate clothes is as old as the sewing itself. It is probably the first form of art. Embroidery has a long history, which dates back to more than 3000 years B.C. Initially it was done by hand. What is more: you may not be aware but actually embroidery was a man's not a woman's invention! In ancient cultures from every part of the world, embroidery and needlework was regarded as a priority only for the chosen and talented boys. The embroiderers-to-be had to study the fine craft under the supervision of a master. It took them more than ten years' apprenticeship until they were approved to practice on their own. The earliest samples of handmade embroidery are available from ancient Egypt, Persia, China, India, and Europe. Each country portrayed its own distinctive style in designs based on its culture, history and traditions. The styles of embroidery, which different nations invented, were passed on generations to generations and many of them have survived till nowadays. Cross-stitch is the oldest form of embroidery and can be found all over the world.

Embroidery for Ukrainians is much more than just a way of decorating clothes or various household items. Embroidery is part of the Ukrainian world outlook, of the Ukrainian self-awareness; it is a sort of a sacred ritual of their life. Embroidered towels used to be draped around arms of brides and grooms at church weddings; embroidered towels were draped over icons in Ukrainian homes; tablecloths were decorated with embroidery — in fact, embroidery, these magic patterns on linen, accompanied Ukrainians at all the major events of their lives.

Ukrainian embroidery dates back to the Late Neolithic - Early Bronze Age (tribes of Tripoli culture). The elements of ornaments used by Trypillians, Sarmatians and Scythians are found even in the modern national embroidery. Many of the ancient traditions of embroidery have survived - some have changed a bit, others - have improved.  Various diamonds, squares, triangles, crosses and lines are inherent in the embroidery of all Slavic peoples since pagan times. Our ancestors were using them to display your own vision of the world. For example, among the so-called plant ornaments prevails "tree of life" - in the form of branches or leaves. Periwinkle on the shirt or on the lap means love, and grapes mean welfare. So, every Ukrainian family has their own "sewing room" where were sewing, weaving and embroidering wife and daughters. The women wove in any free minute - after caring for livestock, after working in the field, during get-togethers with friends. Surely you notice that Ukrainians are often portrayed with white shirts with patterns - this is very old tradition.

Two-dimensional (unshaded) cross-stitch in floral and geometric patterns, usually worked in black and red cotton floss on linen, is characteristic of folk embroidery in Eastern and Central Europe. Most embroidery was used for clothing. The primary object of clothing that was decorated with embroidery was the shirt or vyshyvanka. The shirt was mostly decorated with embroidery on the sleeves, and also on the neck, bosom, and the cuffs – the places where human body gets exposed. It served as a charm, was supposed to protect a wearer.