Interview with Tatyana Savchenko

A candid conversation about BLEST Kids

Tatiana, please tell me where you studied and what kind of education you received?

My life turned out so that I received my education abroad, in New York. I came to America when I was 14 years old. She finished school there, and then entered NYU College and studied business (NYU is one of the largest universities in New York, the most famous fields of study of which are medicine, chemistry and economics). After completing my studies, I went to work. In fact, I had to work in many places and every job was related to business and entrepreneurial activities. For example, she worked in one of the companies, mostly as an accountant, constantly dealing with numbers, with American insurance... In general, she worked in America for about six years, after which she returned to Ukraine.

And if it's not a secret, why did you decide to return to Ukraine?

Not a secret! I met Serhii Oleksiyovych and he lured me to Ukraine!

Since you yourself mentioned Serhiy Oleksiyovych, a person engaged in the furniture business, it became absolutely logical that you also actively began to help him in the development of the BLEST company. And as many know, it was you who became the inspiration behind the BLEST Kids line. Tell us, what philosophy do you invest in children's furniture from BLEST?

The idea of ​​BLEST Kids children's furniture appeared when we had a son. We were choosing a crib for him, and in our Ukrainian market we only saw chipboard cribs. And we understood that when the child learns to walk, he will fall - he can hit hard elements of furniture. Of course it is dangerous. That's why we decided to make something special for him: upholstered furniture. In fact, the BLEST Kids line was born from this. We ourselves saw the needs of our child every day and understood what and how to do in the children's collection for maximum comfort and safety of the baby. So, it would be more correct to say that the main idea behind the creation of the BLEST Kids line was not me, but our son. It was the understanding of the needs of one's own children that gave a powerful impetus to the development of this line.


Now BLEST Kids is a full-fledged separate brand of the company: with its target audience, its separate design, its own development philosophy, separate stores... It is an absolutely unique product that, in fact, has no analogues on the Ukrainian market. Share your vision for brand development. What, in your opinion, is the ideal picture? What should happen to Kids in 5-10 years?

You know, for me the most important thing is that every family has the opportunity to choose high-quality and safe furniture for their children. And it is worth working on making them available to everyone, both in terms of price policy and in terms of their distribution across the territory of Ukraine. Of course, we really want to open stores in New York and key European cities. Undoubtedly, BLEST Kids is a Ukrainian brand that should be promoted in the world. We want as many people as possible to learn about its uniqueness, quality and care for children.

In our company, the stories of how BLEST Kids conquered the main American furniture exhibition in High Point have already become legends. You, as a direct participant in these events, tell us what happened there. What was the reaction of the American public to Ukrainian children's furniture?

No matter how strange it sounds, in America, children's furniture is also made from chipboard. And when the Americans saw our soft beds and sofas at the exhibition, they had only one reaction - WOW! We sold the Kids furniture on the second day of the exhibition and then persuaded the buyers for a long time to leave the furniture on the podium so that other visitors could see it. Many people approached us and asked how they could be ordered or bought. Everyone liked our children's furniture at the exhibition, because no one else had anything like it. To be honest, we didn't even think that Kids would get so much attention. The visitors of the exhibition were pleasantly surprised that something beautiful, interesting and unusual can be done in the segment of children's furniture.

By the way, as we found out at the end of the exhibition, our BLEST Kids furniture was purchased by employees of the High Point Market exhibition organizing company. They came to our stand, saw children's furniture and immediately wanted to buy it and take it away. And we had to ask them to leave the products on the stand until the end of the exhibition.


BLEST Kids actually has great potential abroad, including in America. At the exhibition, we had contacts with the owners of furniture stores who wanted to cooperate with us, but the pandemic and quarantine made their adjustments. We are continuing these dialogues and, I believe, we are already close to fully entering the American market.

I would also like to talk about the BLEST Kids stores themselves. Everyone who goes there notes that this is the "kingdom of mi-mi-mi", everything is very "nice" and the shops simply "melt hearts" with their atmosphere. And this applies not only to our children's furniture, but to the entire environment and decoration of the store. We have many additional products that are not manufactured by us, but which you select and successfully complement the overall picture. Tell us how you came to the BLEST Kids store concept? Has everything planned already been implemented?

In developing the store concept, we wanted to implement a simple idea - to create children's rooms. When you come in, you already have all the solutions ready. Now we still want to supplement the assortment with children's tables. And with regard to additional products, everything is also simple - I choose what my children like, what they would like. We "test" all ideas on small experts: our own children and children of our friends and acquaintances. It turns out that such a "focus group" is the most competent, disengaged and objective!

If we started talking about filling stores, then we would like to know about your model of cooperation with the BLEST design service, with the team of our chief designer Domenico Larato. The new store on Darynka showed that it is both a departure from your concept of store design, and at the same time, it continues the general style. Whose initiative was it for certain changes?

You know, at the very beginning, we decided that the stores should be changed every few years. And in my opinion, Domenico and his team made a simply extraordinary design. Of course, we agreed with them on everything, we looked for solutions together. And, in my opinion, this design option is already more modern and trendy, unlike the one we started with. Domenico and his team are definitely well done!


Then tell us about the other side of cooperation with the chief designer: about the creation of new models. Who produces new product ideas? What is the process of approval of novelties that will appear in the collection?

Store consultants make the greatest ideological contribution to the development of new products. They are the ones who communicate with customers every day and listen to their needs. I convey these ideas and needs to Domenico, he creates the first sketches and we discuss them again. And on the days when I come to the stores, I also like to talk to customers and identify their needs. Further, the approved models of new products, which according to such a preliminary analysis will be of interest to our customers, are put into development at the production site and into the stores themselves. Again, I repeat, the main driving force behind the development of the BLEST Kids line is the consultants themselves.


Tatyana, in Ukraine, it seems that there is still a prejudice in wide circles that why buy children their own furniture, because they will grow up anyway, or spoil it, paint the fabric, etc. But when it grows up, then you can think about buying something permanent. What do you think about this?

Indeed, there is such a stereotype, I agree. I have repeatedly observed BLEST customers who bought "adult" furniture for small children: sofas or folding chairs so that the children could sleep on them. But these products do not have a full-fledged mattress to support the back. It is necessary to understand that children are growing, they are being formed, the foundation of their physical health is being built in childhood.

When people come to us at Kids, when choosing a bed, people definitely choose a mattress on which it will be comfortable and useful for children to sleep. In addition, children choose their own furniture, even choose the fabric. They learn to make independent decisions and, believe me, they treat this furniture in a completely different way. In addition, they can choose a large number of additional products to make their room, their own space, the way the children themselves want. This is an extraordinary event for children, when they can make their own decisions, and are not faced with the fact that mom and dad have chosen something for them. It is very interesting to observe the process of "negotiations" of children with their parents when they choose furniture for themselves. Each child has his own vision of how he wants to decorate his room, this is already a full-fledged manifestation of individuality.

What inspires you the most at work? What gives the charge to get up every day and keep going to the goal?

My children inspire me the most. And all the children of Ukraine. It inspires me every day to think and find solutions to make furniture simpler, safer and more affordable for all families. This applies to both the price policy and the geography of distribution of furniture. We want to make the childhood of as many children as possible more comfortable, happy and interesting.

And as one of the ideas, we want to create a completely organic bed. As fabrics, use linen, cotton, 100% refuse glue... In a word, a completely organic bed.

Please tell us about your interests and hobbies. What are you interested in and what do you do in your spare time?

I always try to find time for myself. I like to wake up at six in the morning and do meditation and yoga. One of the biggest hobbies is reading. I read a lot and in different topics and genres: about inventions, different religions... And I have a rule: every week I need to learn something new. I like to listen to lectures, read articles. This is very important to me.

For example, I am currently reading the book "Strong mothers - strong sons", I can recommend it. I am very interested in the topic of raising children, because they grow up very quickly, change, and form their characters. It is important for me that they learn to make decisions on their own, choose their own path in life, future profession... In my opinion, the role of parents is to support children, not to change them to their own way. It is important to help children find what they like.
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