A BESPOKE soft toy business from Ukraine has been relaunched in Northumberland.
Alyona, whose Ukrainian name is Olena Holdovych, moved to the UK as part of the Homes for Ukraine scheme with her teenage daughter Angelina in 2022.
Alyona left her business along with her family and home. She had built up a successful bespoke soft toy business, designing and hand-crafting soft toys for personal and corporate customers in Ukraine.
The business owner travelled to Northumberland and began rebuilding her life. With hope and determination to achieve the same success with her business in the UK, Alyona has rebuilt and relaunched her business with a fresh identity, My Oh My, and is based in Corbridge.
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Alyona said: “I’m so proud and thankful that My Oh My has launched in the UK. I have lived in the UK for less than a year, so to have rebuilt my business in this time is such an achievement.
“My creations are hand-made, and most of them are bespoke. I look forward to welcoming new customers and making meaningful, sustainable gifts for every occasion.”
My Oh My launched in the UK in February 2023 and has already received its first order. The business provides a bespoke, soft toy creation service – where a sketch, doodle, idea, or photograph is turned into reality – creating meaningful and unique gifts for individuals of all ages and occasions.
Each toy is hand-designed and crafted to bring the most imaginative creations to life – think glitter bears, novelty frogs, superhero mascots and more.
My Oh My has also launched its latest product PenPals; a plain white teddy bear which allows children to design their own toy.
Once a design is complete, the bear can be steamed to ensure the design lasts.
Alyona’s creations are designed to last a lifetime, in support of her mission to tackle throw-away culture by creating gifts that are meaningful, sustainable and beautiful.
My Oh My is also home to The Plush Clinic – a hospital for toys in need of a bit of extra TLC. The Plush Clinic cleans, restores, and repairs soft toys to make them as good as new.
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