Table Stories with Guoda, Vida, and Justė from Ovo Things
Navigating modern life isn’t easy. We rush to do more than we can, always in need to put more things on our to-do lists. Being always connected, proactive, and great masters of multitasking have been a goal many of us are striving for.
The last three months have changed our perspective of life in the strangest way. The world pandemic forced us to go back to the basics, stay home, and re-evaluate our thoughts and values.
The forced quarantine made us see our home differently. Spending time at home has made me grateful for our choice to move to the countryside and the house where we live. For the open space and beautiful scenery nature offers in spring.
Since I’ve started working from home, I realized even more how important the balance of your home space is for overall well being. When you work from home, your house becomes an office, studio, and a place you live in. As it is a place where you spend most of your time, it is crucial that it feels comfortable and soothing. At the end of the day, it should be your favorite place.
With everything that is offered on the market, so many choices and information, we all tend to be part of mass consumption.
Over the years, I've started re-evaluating how I purchase. Every time I would see an object that I liked, I asked myself if I truly needed it. If I buy it, would this object have a purpose and its place in my home? What is the story behind it?
Cultivating your style and appreciation for home decor is not an overnight thing. I look at it more like a life story, something that evolves with time, space, and our own beliefs. It should be a collection of things that bring memories, evoke good thoughts, and give a feeling of a warm, cozy home. A luxurious space where everyone feels welcomed and at ease.
When purchasing objects, we should feel a deeper connection with each of them, and every one of them should be inter-connected. Prioritizing less but more curated things that are giving us comfort and making the space more enjoyable is essential when creating a living area for your family.
I love combining classic, simple design with vintage pieces (vintage markets lover here!) that have a story and bring out my personality and style.
Simplicity and comfort above everything.
Instagram has been a source of inspiration for me, not only work-wise but also when it comes to home decor. Being able to explore new crafters and makers is always inspiring and allows me to know the story behind every brand.
A few months back, I was happy to get to know a beautiful brand from Lithuania, which today I have as guests here on Table Stories. I am a big fan of candles and the whole atmosphere they bring. Natural OVO beeswax candles combined with simple, yet sophisticated candleholders make every table elegant and beautiful.
Things that stay. Simple, elegant, and unique.
Everyday luxury products, made from the finest natural fibers and materials such as cotton, linen, beeswax, and cashmere.
Today we are talking about the beautiful brand OVO Things.
OVO Things is a Lithuanian brand born from the idea of three creative friends, Guoda, Vida, and Justė, which today we have as special guests. They will share their experience behind building a brand and what motivated them to open Ovo Things in the first place.
Things that stay. Simple, elegant, and unique.
Everyday luxury products, made from the finest natural fibers and materials such as cotton, linen, beeswax, and cashmere.
Today we are talking about the beautiful brand OVO Things.
OVO Things is a Lithuanian brand born from the idea of three creative friends, Guoda, Vida, and Justė, which today we have as special guests. They will share their experience behind building a brand and what motivated them to open Ovo Things in the first place.
Hi Justė! Can you tell us more about you, Guoda and Vida?
Vida was the one who pushed us to start, as she already had the experience of working on her own as a fashion designer for years. At that time she was tired of non-stop making ever-new garments for the collections; 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?
Guoda and I were colleagues in the public relations field for quite many years and later - after having our first newborns at a very similar time - we both appeared looking for an alternative pace and model of career. More personal fulfillment than a career, I would personally say.
How is OVO Things born?
Along with Vida, we three shared similar understandings about clothing and home things. We decided to create different items that all could be characterized as well-made, from natural materials and timeless in the sense of being long-lasting and fashion-less. Philosophy of having less but better is also essential to us; this is the way we see a possibility to be sustainable, even though this term has been largely overused as a marketing slogan these days.
We call it understated luxury, as the concept of luxury has changed, and natural materials & craftsmanship is becoming a real luxury today. Like time and conscious living, call it mindfulness or slow living are also luxuries to have, but we all can seek those. So we three decided to start making simple yet good, lasting things and promoting a particular lifestyle, considered authentic as much as possible. We saw it as coming back to the essence of an idea, like the beginning of it.
Ab ovo is a Latin saying about the very beginning, so we called our things OVO Things, and we take an egg - both as an object and a symbol - as a source of inspiration.
What has been inspiring you in creating objects behind your brand?
Personally (and professionally as my field of work is texts and communication, also photos and styling), I need to have spare time - time to create something as much as time to do nothing. I don't like fuss or stress, nor doing things in a hurry. And that is not an easy thing to have, a luxury really :), so you have to seek it intentionally. Because it takes time for ideas to grow, and it also 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.
"OVO Things candles are created by the hands of people who are doing it for many years. Just pure beeswax and simple tools, that's the romance of the birth of a thing. Packed by us at OVO Things, the candles travel their journey until they reach people's homes."
I always look at various things for inspiration like cities and landscapes, everyday life, and people. 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 inspiring objects might be demotivating. When you say less is better, you have to know why you still keep making anything.
Our aim is this: to do things so good that they are 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 to be relevant and attractive; this is how we have come to the concept of classics as we see it.
These are the perfected simple items, the classics of apparel and home: the white shirt, the cashmere scarf, linen bedding, or beeswax candles. We add new things slowly and focus on quality rather than an assortment.
Big thanks to Guoda, Vida, and Justė for sending me their beautiful products and for sharing their story. Follow their journey at https://ovothings.com/ and on Instagram Ovothings and Ovothings_clothier.
