In a world filled with big corporations and faceless companies, KIM+ONO is a small family business, made up of real people who want to connect with our community in a real way. You’re not just our customers, you are the inspiration and fuel for every short and long kimono robe we design. You come into our store and tell us your personal stories. You write us emails and share about the important people in your life to whom you’re sending these special gifts. You allow us to know more about your everyday, so we want to share a bit about ours.
You might know you love your short silky robe because of its feels and texture, but do you know the people who have handcrafted it? You might know we offer dusters for women, but did you know we also created a Men’s Collection because so many people asked for it? Today in the journal, we want to share all the ways in which our small business operates, to help give you even more backstory about the kimono robes hanging in your closet. We want to share the stories about how they got there, from the first initial idea to the final moment you hang them up in your wardrobe. This is how we run our small (but mighty!) kimono robe business.
How We Design Our Dusters for Women and Men
Growing up, Renee and Tiffany Tam (co-founders and sisters) always watched their own parents working diligently in their Chinatown shops. They saw how their parents grew their inventory, worked with artisans, and incorporated their community into everything they did. The sisters also traveled with their parents to Asia where they saw the handcrafted timeless technique of kimono-making firsthand. Watching artisans create these beautiful designs inspired Renee and Tiffany to design their own ladies silk robes and infuse them with both traditionalism and modernism. Renee and Tiffany design each and every kimono robe — from choosing the colors, the palette, the placement, and the design itself, the sisters design these special pieces in house in San Francisco.
Then, the same family of artisans Renee and Tiffany’s parents collaborated with for decades are the artists who create our modern day dusters for women and men. It’s this family of artisans who has passed down kimono-crafting techniques from generation to generation and applied them to these modern kimono robes. The artisans in China’s Silk Village craft these artistic pieces with traditional techniques of hand sewing, hand sketching, and for our Handpainted Silk Collection, even hand painting. The hand painting technique is a process that only a few people truly know how to employ, and we are lucky enough to work with artisans in China’s Silk Village who can do it. That’s why our Handpainted Silk Collection is limited edition — it is a retiring art form and one that is no longer possible to execute. From our in-house designs to these handcrafted techniques, your short and long kimono robes are made by real people, using inspiration from childhood, and generations-old design techniques to make one of a kind pieces to make you feel like a queen.
How We Ship These Handcrafted Men’s and Ladies’ Silk Robes
As a small kimono robe business, our warehouse works super efficiently with only a small (but mighty!) team. Our warehouse team runs every long and short silky robe through multiple quality checks. Once they receive your order, they quality check it again before sending it out. They hand tie each and every one of our kimono robes and package them up in one of three ways: in a frosted bag for our Charmeuse Collection; in a cotton drawstring bag for our Silk Collections; or in our traditional Furoshiki Gift Wrap service for our Limited Edition Handpainted Silk Collection. They handle each and every delicate piece with extra care, placing the sash inside the package, and making sure your order arrives as quickly as possible. Our warehouse team, made up of only a few people, is the reason you receive your order so quickly (and so often ahead of schedule). They are the unsung heroes of the ecommerce world, and an incredible part of our team.
Photo by Augie Chang
How Our Store Serves Our Community
When we opened our kimono store in Chinatown, we knew we didn’t just want it to be a place to shop for a short silky robe. We wanted it to be a wellness hub — a place you could step into off the street for a deep breath and a friendly hello. We’ve held all sorts of wellness events in our spaces, celebrated our cultural holidays like Lunar New Year, and partnered with other local stores to give back to our community in times of need over the past few years. Our designs are pieces of self care you can wear, and we want you to feel that same self care by simply stepping into our storefront. We love chatting with customers and hearing your stories, taking your feedback, and trying our best to respond to every request you make. When you stop into the store and chat with us, it’s literally the highlight of our day!
Photo by @mariacalderon.art
The Kimono Robe Collections We’ve Made For You
We always take your feedback to heart. When you asked for pockets, we added them to our Kimono Wrap Collection! When you requested a variety of sizing, we added an inclusive Curve Collection line. When you said you wanted to shop for the men in your life, we added a Men’s Collection! You are at the heart of each design and product choice we make. Whether you’re picking up a lady’s silk robe from our Printed Silk Collection, a short silky robe from our Washable Silk Collection, or any of our dusters for women in our Charmeuse Collection, we’ve made something for everyone, and we’ll continue to each time we receive feedback.
We hope this look behind the curtain helps make your kimono robe even more special, knowing it was made by a small time who always has you in mind.
