“There is no passion to be found playing small—in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”
Nelson Mandela
A fairytale world in the mind of a little girl
There was once a little child – let’s call her The Nature Girl. It did not matter that as a child she lived in the city, the forest was close and it was always calling out for her. Her favourite pastimes were picking berries, mushrooms and going out for long walks in the woods.
Perhaps, as she also points out on her blog, it was in her blood… in her genes… Her grandfather Leon was a forester and she heard from her mother stories, fairytales since she was a wee lass. Nature and adventure were aways there, inside of her, waiting to be freed out.
The Love for the Mountains
Writing one’s dreams down always is a step towards admitting them, visualizing them, and taking further steps to make them true. The Nature Girl started fulfilling her dreams by noting them down on her Winnie The Pooh notebook (number 1 on the list was the magical Kilimanjaro) and as fearless as Christopher Robin, she took a leap of faith and started building on that…
She started trips to the Polish mountains, to Tatra, and the surrounding areas – the National Parks of Poland. She became associated with the mountains so much, that friends and family no longer asked when she would go to the mountains next, rather they asked when she would actually be in town 🙂
A Born Entrepreneur
The Nature Girl had to settle in for some time, like many of us, and join the road of the Corporate World. She worked for several clothing companies (from Cropp to Smyk, to 5.10.15, to 4F – in Poland; and Noriel – in Romania). She learned a lot of things that would prepare her for building her own brand and opening up a shop with beautiful merchandise Made In Poland: she learned what she did/did not like, she met people with diverse mindsets and experiences, she dealt with everything product-related from A to Z (be it negotiations, materials, orders, the quality of the products, the choices that the worldwide market has to offer, the possibility behind the colors/pantones and even people management – by building a 20+ team from scratch!).
The decision came with a little push from the outside, with a little help from a friend… The Nature Girl did plenty of tests that showed her that she was a born entrepreneur, with high empathy and a lot of energy! (something that you can obviously see when you meet her in person). She took her time, made the order in her thoughts and feelings and at the beginning of the last year – 2019 – the wheels had been placed in motion: she would open up a place of her own, a creative environment where she could thrive and make in change the world a better place (by “giving jobs to cool people and supporting institutions that I think are underrated in Poland” – as she also mentions on her blog)!
PEAKAPRE – Unique Designs & Safe Materials – all Made in Poland
The Nature Girl, Justyna Kawa from Peakapre, does not wish to bring to the market yet another clothes shop where you just buy things and that is it – end of story! She has plenty of dreams related to this #MadeInPoland brand. Despite the costs being higher or the trouble that it entails, even by making the companies that provide her the sewing for the products, or the material for the clothes getting used to the regular way of doing business and asking for the example of work before starting the production; Justyna wants to create everything Peakapre related in Poland. She wants this done here, not in Asia; she wishes to draw, invent, create the models, be able to select the colors and the materials, sew everything in Poland (sewing is done in Lodz). This way she knows she supports the local economy.
PEAKAPRE – The Name
Justyna’s dream started small but she has a vision that will last for a lifetime. Peakapre‘s name went through a long thought process, connected to her history of traveling and falling in love with the beauties that it can offer.
There is an animal, like a goat, that lives in the mountains – it is called chamois (in Romanian: black goat – “Capra neagra” – and it is even protected by law). It is a species of goat-antelope native to mountains in Europe – can be found in the Tatra Mountains but also in the Carpathian Mountains.
Justyna lived in Romania and traveled along the Carpathian mountains, so she fell in love with this animal and the wording in the Romanian language: “Capra neagra” – so she decided she would some way integrate that with her new project.
The brand was supposed to be Pick/Peak Me but after further brainstorming and checking with the EU on the rights/patent that could e given, a mash-up of the 2 was done and Peakapre (Peak – kapre (Capra with a K)) was born!
PEAKAPRE Video – “In the rhythm of the breaths of the mountains, we enjoy the common path, we live slower, we love harder…”
The PEAKAPRE Mentality
Peakapre wants to be close and personal with each customer. Justyna envisions a community where people give back to the world, to Mother Earth. She wants Peakapre to be a way of escaping the routine, the daily struggles. An adventure that awaits you within your reach. The challenge for yourself to be the best that you can be, to get in touch with nature, with what Mother Earth has to offer and what (more important!) you have to offer to her, in return!
Peakapre does not want to be yet another “big brand name” and it does not wish to join the trends on the market (like focusing on creating and selling masks for the Coronavirus pandemic). The Nature Girl wants you to have something beautiful, comfortable, eco-friendly (premium knitwear, beautifully finished, with OEKO-Tex safety certificates and Human Friendly), something that you would love wearing on your hiking trips and you would tell others about it. She wants you to go with her, on a journey, and rediscover yourself and the places surrounding you.
Peakapre is here not only for the mountain lovers, but it is also here for the travelers, for the adventurers, for the fearless ones that believe that Mother Earth is not an unlimited resource. She is here to stay with us only if we take care of her. And a good step into that direction is by supporting the local economy, buying things locally, investing in top quality products, and making sure you buy only the things you need.
DISCLAIMER!
That being said, I need you to know that I will always support the #MadeInPoland products. I bumped into Peakapre while I was browsing the internet (and Instagram – they are very active there!) for clothes made in Poland, produced 100% locally. I love traveling and I love both the mountains and the seaside. I believe that we need to give back to Earth and not consume as much as we do now. I believe minimalism should not be just a trend and eco-friendly should be a way of living, so when I met Justyna from Peakapre it was love at first sight. A lot of the things she said rang true in me and even if we come from such different environments, we recognized we can both connect through the energy that we share.
I was given a set of 2 jumpers and 2 t-shirts to also try out, but I will do a review on them later on after I test them thoroughly! For today I just wanted to share with you The Nature Girl’s story. I do hope you jump by their site and check out their products as well.
Yours truly and very sincerly,
The Twisted Red LadyBug That Loves PEAKAPRE Mentality & Loves Showing You Amazing People/Stories/Brands #MadeInPoland
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