When we opened our kimono store in Chinatown, San Francisco, we knew we wanted it to feel like home for everyone who walked through its doors. Chinatown has always been like a second home to our co-founders, sisters Renee and Tiffany Tam. The Tam sisters grew up playing at and working for their parents’ own storefronts on Grant Avenue. They grew up to learn the business, and more than that, to understand the community and neighborhood of Chinatown. So when the sisters got the chance to expand their online kimono robe brand to a storefront in Chinatown, they knew that making it feel like home was an essential part of their brick and mortar’s mission.
While their kimono store is a minimalist’s dream, with airy open space, beautiful light, and an intentional stock of wellness goodies, tools, books, and kimono robes, they knew it needed one large centerpiece. Like you might have at a table when you and your family are sharing dinner together. Something to bring the whole feel of the space together as one. Enter: artist Valerie Santillo, who created an in-store mural to be the cornerstone of our San Francisco kimono store. The design made our store feel connected to heritage and to the future, just like our modern kimono robes. The colors are cool and the design minimal but evocative, bringing to life the elements that make a space feel like home to us.
So as we were expanding our current kimono wrap and kimono robe collections, we decided to bring the mural of our Chinatown kimono store to life. We paired Val’s cool and contemporary design with our fan favorite Washable Silk material, our durable Charmeuse Wrap, and even created our very first silk face mask.
Read on for the best ways to gift the Jia, which is so rich in meaning, and will be a beautiful way to let someone know that when you’re with them, you are home.
When artist Valerie Santillo set out to bring the in-store mural to life, she hand drew the artwork and built the layers of colors stroke by stroke. That’s how she turned our back wall mural into a gorgeous masterpiece that embodies the soul of KIM+ONO. In Chinese, Jia stands for home, family, and our sisterhood. Our store, our business, our collaborations, and our inspiration are all woven into the Jia. It’s about the connections we make and how we’re always stronger when we’re together. We hope our story inspires you to share this piece with the sister (biological or chosen) in your life, to help you create your own sense of home, and remind you that inspiration is all around.
The Jia Washable Silk Kimono Robe is the perfect gift for the woman who has been your friend and confidante since childhood — your sister. Because Jia means sister in Chinese, it can evoke all the feelings that come with that relationship. Feelings of safety, connection, a sense of belonging, and a feeling of being known by someone else. This is truly the feeling of home to us. And so the Jia in our washable silk material is a beautiful way to tell your sister just how much she means to you, while giving her an easy to care for beauty that brings a little extra luxury and comfort to her every day.
We also acknowledge and celebrate that family comes in all different ways, and sometimes your family is chosen. For your best friend who feels like your sister, the Jia design is a beautiful way to say — life wouldn’t be the same without you. We love the velvet cuffs of this kimono wrap and how they accentuate the beautiful floral kimono wrap’s fluid charmeuse drape. This floral kimono style is a gorgeous and striking modern aesthetic with our fan favorite kimono wrap design. It’s a unique gift and something that you can give to someone who is a cornerstone of your life. Someone who’s strong, beautiful, and a work of art in their own right.
We love the Jia floral kimono design so much that we decided to do something a little bit extra fun with it! We brought it to a brand new sleeping eye mask design in washable silk. This washable silk eye mask is a delightful way to slowly slip into rest each night. It’s a beautiful way to get a good night’s rest and feel like you’re sleeping on a cloud. It’s a naturally moisturizing 100% washable silk sleeping eye mask. It can also double as a headband during an evening beauty routine to wind down each day with a little luxury. We love this gift as a way to say “thank you” to your community. Whether your neighbor, or a parent from your kid’s school, or someone you met at the local coffee shop, community is all around you. These people also make your world feel like home. If you’re not sure what to get them, the good thing is — everybody sleeps! Make their night of rest a little more luxurious with this beautiful washable silk sleeping eye mask that reminds them to make their own home a sanctuary.
And for the people in your life who really feel like home, be it your parent, your partner, or someone uniquely special to you, give the gift of a Jia gift set. You can purchase our Furoshiki Gift Wrap service and choose either our silk floral kimono robe or kimono wrap to pair with the washable silk sleeping eye mask. Give the gift of luxury, paired with the special meaning behind Jia. Tell someone special that they represent home to you, and gift them a sense of home each and every time they slip into this floral kimono design.
No matter where you are, now you can bring a little piece of unique artistry home with you and gift someone the meaningful Jia design to let them know they’re home to you.
