Two steep ladders leading up to a closet-sized attic near Lvivska Square can easily scare off shoppers, particularly the short-skirt, high heel-wearing kind.
But those
who climb in will find unique clothing, affordable jewelry and possibly a
chance to make a difference.
The
destruction of the flea market on Lvivska Square seven years ago marked the end
of a popular source of second-hand clothing for Kyiv residents. Now they have a
nice substitute in the form of the new Laska non-profit store, set up this
September by four alternatively minded women.
Opened up
in a box-shaped, closet-like structure on the rooftop of a nearby building, Laska
(kindness) is Kyiv’s “first charity shop,” said co-founder Lena
Klimenicheva.
Not yet
registered legally as a business or charity operation, there is a hippie feel to
the store and its founders.
The
inspiration, Klimenicheva says, came from seeing how popular similar charity-based
stores were in Europe.
Located
right one street block away from the central offices of Ukraine’s tax
administration, the store operates on a simple mechanism. People donate clothes
or jewelry they no longer need. It is then bought by others. Most of the
revenue goes to charities.
In
September, its first month of operation, Laska sold a couple dozen items,
raising some Hr 2,000 ($240), Klimenicheva estimated. Most of it will go to
charity, Klimenicheva said. Operating costs are minimal, she added. Her
colleague, Anya Uvarova, said a first floor bar which owns the building where
the store is located allows them to operate there rent-free.
Strolling
through the tiny premises of the store, Klimenicheva said she and four other employees
operate the place on a volunteer basis. They have other jobs that bring in
income, she explained, pointing to several dozen shirts, trousers, coats and
dresses that hang along the walls of the tiny but bright room. Men’s and women’s
shoes are piled up by a huge round window. Unusual rings, bracelets, clutches
and ties complete the offer, whose average prices usually fall into the Hr
50-60 range.
Not all the
garments in the store are second-hand, though. Some are absolutely new and donated
purely for charity reasons.
Anya
Hryshchenko, another partner in the project, showed several nice felt jackets,
dresses and a pair of overalls made by young Kyiv designer Maryna Rybalko
exclusively for Laska. Each was priced at around Hr 300-400. “I’m a friend of
the shop’s founders and really appreciate their idea,” Rybalko explained.
Laska’s staff
carefully examines the donated clothes before hanging them on the racks. “Only
15-20 percent of the things we get go for sale,” Klimenicheva said. “Most goes
to the Salvation Army, which works with homeless people,” she added. A final
five percent, which are in the worst condition, is sent for recycling.
Klimenicheva
said people who donate their garments are of all ages and styles, while buyers
are typically youthful hipsters. Most of them learn about the store online via
the store’s website laskastore.com or through promotion by various Ukrainian
public initiatives.
At first
the shop only existed online and was called Shchastia (happiness). Klimenicheva
said she remembers those as hard times, when they collected clothes through the
web and sold them at various music festivals.
“The
clothes were usually of very low quality. We sold them for an average price of
Hr 30. Can you imagine what it was like to collect money this way?” she sighs.
But the girls still managed to collect about Hr 2,500 which they spent on
medication for children suffering from cancer.
The idea of
a brick and mortar store appeared thanks to a Hr 14,000 grant from the Big Idea
project, a Ukrainian grant donor organization, and the convenient location in
the city center. The girls spent all summer clearing and preparing the
abandoned tram depo, finishing just in time to open in early September. The
money surfaced to buy new racks and lighting but not for the construction of
proper stairs.
That
inconvenience is made up for by a terrace, where the store’s founders stage
night screenings of movies and yoga classes. Nonetheless, the lack of heating
may force the girls to look for refuge in the winter season, or a new location.
Klimenicheva
said profits will be donated to various initiatives, such as treating children
with cancer and for building parking spaces for bikes, which they claim Kyiv
badly lacks. Uvarova said the grouping is currently in talks with several
respected charities on establishing formal ties.
“It will be
cool if my clothes help to save someone’s life,” added Rybalko, the designer.
Laska Charity
Store
Address: 2B
Vorovskogo St.
Working Hours:
from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Website: laskastore.com
Phone:
093-767-5794.
