In our hectic lives, the one thing most of us feel we are missing is balance. We want to be successful in our careers, but also incredible parents. We want to travel the world, but also just trying to keep our households together. We are constantly giving to our family and friends, and told to make time for self care, but that can seem like a longshot when there are only so many hours in the day. At KIM+ONO, we understand that because we’ve been there.
One of the things that is so important to us when creating these kimono robes for you, is that each beautiful piece brings you a sense of serenity and calm. We know that life can spin out of control and you may not even have time to think about slowing down. But if you have one kimono robe in your closet that makes you smile and helps you breathe a little more deeply through your day, we feel like we’ve done our job.
So with that in mind, our summer collection, and some new colors of customer favorites, are bringing to life the idea of balance. Not only are the brushwork designs meant to bring that sense of calm with their light touch and delicate strokes, but we’ve worked new kimono patterns into this collection to create more breath between each botanical beauty. The idea is minimalism. And we hope that minimalism, simplicity, and handcrafted excellence bring the deep breaths back to your day. Here’s a little more about our concept of balance & beauty:
We’ve taken so much inspiration from vintage Chinese art, and a lot of that art not only includes florals, but landscapes in general. It’s said that with the conjoining of two belief systems and their principles — the Taoist love of nature and the Buddhist principle of emptiness — a variety of ancient art was born in these landscapes. The simplicity and peaceful scenes in these ancient paintings have played a huge role in how we see our modern day kimono patterns. Traditional Taoism holds the ideology that you “purify the soul by entering the isolated mountains to meditate and seek medicine herbs”, and while we don’t necessarily advocate everyone heading toward the mountains, there’s certainly something to learn from this philosophy. Our kimono patterns of this newest collection bring the ideas of emptiness and nature to life in order to give you the calming sensation that comes when connected to the natural world.
In the modern world, minimalism is having a resurgence. From tiny homes to the slow food movement, simpler seems to be better. In fashion, people are buying higher quality goods in the name of beautiful pieces that last. We’ve brought that minimalist philosophy to our own company and have handcrafted our kimono robes with the most gorgeous kimono fabric to last a lifetime. Not only are our kimono patterns meant to bring a sense of calm, but the kimono fabric itself is lightweight and flows effortlessly on your skin. Whether you’re donning the silk or charmeuse, our light and midweight kimono fabrics drape with ease and feel gorgeous as they do.
Part of finding balance isn’t just finding calm, but finding energy. That can be incredibly difficult when you’re worn out from the one million ways life is pulling your attention. That’s why we also carry wellness tools to help stimulate and energize you when you need it. Enter: Gua Sha and Facial Rollers! If you’ve never used these tools before, never fear, we have a video tutorial with Jo Encarnacion posted here to help you easily navigate these beautiful tools. They both stimulate blood circulation and help to drain the lymphatic system, two things that can help you feel like you’ve got just a little bit more energy. Pairing a gua sha session while wearing your kimono robe in the morning or at night is one easy way to infuse a bit of breath back into your busy day.
We sell all of those wellness tools online and in our kimono store in the heart of Chinatown, San Francisco. In fact our kimono store is stocked with everything from sage to palo santo to books on minimalism to beautiful candles. Don’t worry, we have kimono robes, too! And with all that goodness, it was important for us to not only create a place where you could find little treasures to bring some luxury to your every day, but to also create a space for you to slow down. With our heavy velvet couches and lots of space to wander and get lost, our minimalist take on our kimono store is the environmental equivalent of our kimono patterns: full of breath, intention, and serenity. If you haven’t stopped into our store in Chinatown, come visit us! Our customers don’t just shop, they also attend events we have every month to bring our community together in a space that supports them. We want our kimono store to feel like a breath of fresh air, and we hope you come see it for yourself.
Our design inspiration for our newest line of kimono robes all comes back to the idea of balance and beauty. We love this pink kimono robe with its space between each floral print and its pastel color to bring out the beauty of the kimono fabric. We wanted a pink kimono that felt like you could lean back and relax as soon as you slipped it on. The Fura Kimono Robe does just that, leading you into a state of ease and repose.
Bringing a bit of balance & beauty into our kimono patterns and kimono fabric was important to us this summer. With all the ways we can run ourselves ragged, we wanted to bring a collection to life that honored the slower side of things. We hope you love it as much as we do.
