Nostalgic, caring accessories made of natural materials: in addition to being soft and comfortable, BOO Studio’s products can be classic pieces used by the entire family. Even though the Hungarian brand was launched right in the middle of the epidemic, it has already found a vast supportive community. We asked founders Eszter Lebó and Ildikó Kele about their brand.
Eszter Lebó and Ildikó Kele first met a few years ago, at one of the fashion shows of the Textile Department of Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design. Since then, they have collaborated in several projects and found that they complement each other well also in a professional sense.
“Eszter is smoothing the course of various brands with utmost professionalism, but it was an old dream of hers to create something on her own. We have a mutual respect for each other’s work: we inspire and motivate each other and we trust each other’s knowledge—this is how we came up with the idea of starting BOO Studio together,” Ildikó shared with us.
The minds behind the project found a gap in the knitted accessories selection of children’s brands: there were only a very few products available made of a material other than polyester or other plastic derivatives. “The moms we know also complained a lot about the fact that there are no truly good quality hats and scarves on the market because they are either uncomfortable, they make the kids itch or cause rashes,” Eszter told us. The philosophy of the brand, however, does not only revolve around natural and high quality raw materials, but also gives room to the founder’s own passion.
“Eszter has told me a lot about how her mother used to manufacture kids’ clothes and accessories back in the early nineties. It soon turned out that both of us share the same nostalgic sentiments for our childhood and we love to recall these cherished memories from time to time. And a children’s accessories brand gives enough room to both reminiscing about the past and our passion towards wool knitwear,” Ildikó added.
As Eszter puts it, BOO Studio’s products are made for children “that are little rascals, always peeping in where they are not supposed to, making faces on the family portraits, talking a lot and smelling and touching everything all the time,”—as also suggested by the name of the brand.
What makes the brand peculiar is that all accessories are made of premium quality merino yarn, which, in addition to being extremely soft, flexible, odor resistant and providing a high degree of comfort, does not itch and irritate the skin at all compared to the well known wool— thus making them the perfect choice for babies with sensitive skin or kids suffering from eczema.
The various hats, shawls and blankets are not only characteristic in terms of raw materials but also in terms of colors. “We wanted to choose colors that remind us of our childhood, are joyful and characteristic by all means. These shades are custom-dyed for us in Italy, but soon we’d like to expand our palette and add some more colors,” Eszter told us.
In addition to kids, the brand’s concept includes offering appealing pieces to the adult members of the family, too. Some of their products are multifunctional: for example, the baby blanket makes a perfect scarf for adults, and the shawls can also be used for multiple purposes. “There’s nothing wrong with borrowing the treasures of kids sometimes,” Eszter added.
“One of the core values of the brand is to offer products for the long term, so that they can be passed on from parents to children, from the older sibling to the younger. This is why we chose a durable, high quality material. We wanted to make childhood a timeless experience,” Ildikó added.
The founders will soon roll out new, exciting and multifunctional items, amongst which both children and adults will find pieces to their liking. Until then, check out BOO Studio’s website and browse through their timeless products!
Photos: Tímea Árgyelán, Anita Bakai, Bernadette Horváth, Nata Horinkova
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