To our community,
As we end 2022 and set our eyes on 2023, we wanted to take a moment and say thank you to 2022 and YOU for all the ways you’ve inspired us to grow this year.
We know full well that gratitude is a key part of wellness. Scientifically, gratitude actually does have a positive effect on the person experiencing it. In one study conducted by Dr. Robert A. Emmons of the University of California, Davis, and Dr. Michael E. McCullough of the University of Miami, “After 10 weeks, those who wrote about gratitude were more optimistic and felt better about their lives. Surprisingly, they also exercised more and had fewer visits to physicians than those who focused on sources of aggravation.” And while studies do not necessarily prove causation, most of the studies published about the effects of gratitude show an association between gratitude and wellbeing.
Gratitude is something we highly value at KIM+ONO, because it doesn’t just make us feel good, it makes us feel connected — to you, our customers. When we say thank you to you, we’re saying thank you for how you’ve shared your stories, shared your luxury kimono style, and shared your own family heritage with us.
As we end this year and look forward to the next, we want you to also know that we have been so very grateful for your feedback. Through the year, you ask for and suggest new offerings. You give us feedback on what we already create. You have gotten into conversations with us that help us redefine our mission to make the modern (wo)man feel like a queen through each and every floral kimono robe. So thank you for your feedback and kind words, and here’s where we’ve updated our offerings with you in mind:
When we opened our brick and mortar kimono store in Chinatown, San Francisco, we knew we wanted a signature artistic element to anchor our space and create the right vibe for anyone who wandered in to visit us. We settled on developing a beautiful mural on our back wall to accentuate the deep breath we want you to feel whenever you visit our kimono store, and to call back to the designs of our floral kimono patterns. With this goal in mind, we set to work and collaborated with our brilliant artist and friend Valerie Santillo, who created our in-store mural. Valerie’s mural is a cornerstone of our San Francisco shop. Forever inspired by art, we’ve decided to bring it to life, pairing Val’s cool and contemporary design with our fan favorite Washable Silk material, turning it into a piece of wearable art. It’s a design that feels inevitable, as it’s such a piece of our story. And now, no matter where you are, you can bring a little piece of unique artistry from our kimono store home with you. Read more about the meaning behind the Washable Silk Jia.
We brought all new colors this year to our fan favorite Kimono Wrap Collection, as well as our best selling washable silk Kiku design. Bringing an extra array of colors to both collections means you’ve had an even more unique kimono style to share, gift, and discover. We heard your feedback on how much you loved our long kimono dusters and added an array of colors to the Azumi and Haruka kimono wrap designs. We also heard your feedback on pockets! While we’re still researching and developing how to bring pockets to silk, we were able to roll out pockets for our whole Kimono Wrap Collection this year. You can find side seam pockets in our long kimono duster wraps to keep your kimono style both functional and elegant.
The major cornerstone of our sustainability efforts is to “reduce, reuse, and recycle.” We are doing our part to reduce waste, which is the number one impact we can make as a company. As much as possible — and in ever-increasing ways — we offer both products and packaging that you can reuse, with the goal to completely eliminate one-use products as soon as we can. We have successfully begun reducing the use of plastic bags for packaging online orders as well as our brick and mortar store. The hope is that you aren’t throwing out reems of plastic from just one order.
We are also proud to be offering reusable materials and packaging. You can repurpose most elements of our packaging for your own personal use. Our silk kimono robes are packaged inside an unbleached biodegradable cotton bag. While it is indeed biodegradable if you decide to throw it in the trash, the best way to use this drawstring bag is for storing small items at home — perhaps kitchen utensils, kid’s crafting, or even your makeup! It can also be used as a travel bag when vacationing with your favorite kimono style. Our charmeuse kimono robes are placed inside a frosted bag, which is a great container for any wet materials (i.e. if you’re headed to the beach with your kids) or even for storing and prepping food.
With most of the materials that are left after reduction and your ability to reuse them, you can recycle them! All of our gift wrap supplies in store and online are made of paper products and offer you the option to either reuse or recycle the supplies after gifting. Our San Francisco store only uses paper bags, which can be reused and recycled as well.
With our new Furoshiki Gift Wrap Service, heritage and sustainability are combined to elevate your gifting experience. Furoshiki is the traditional art of using fabric as a wrapping cloth and in this modern version of the historical wrapping, we use both sustainable and recyclable materials to bring your gift to life. Your floral kimono robe will be thoughtfully placed in a drawstring cloth bag. Then it will be beautifully wrapped in a floral scarf, hand-tied around it. With a biodegradable cotton drawstring bag, your recipient can reuse it as storage for their silk bathrobe while traveling to their favorite destination. And the luxurious KIM+ONO scarf used to create this furoshiki can be worn in your recipient’s hair, styled with their outfits, and even added to their bags as a sophisticated accessory. Your Furoshiki Gift Wrap honors the heritage behind the brand while creating an environmentally friendly option for gifting.
We couldn’t have made these improvements and additions without your valuable feedback and support. You have been so kind to our small family business over the years, and we hope you know how much you inspire us each and every day to handcraft a little luxury for you.
We hope the end of this year finds you with the people you love, doing the things you love, in the place you love. We are thinking of you and your family, and wishing you abundance and happiness in the new year and always.
Thank you so much for being you.
XX
The KIM+ONO Team
