Clothing designer. Married. I read a lot, I run my business, make drawings and sometimes play piano. Our brand FINCH got recognized in 2021 as Best Innovator in Ukraine for our AR-animated clothing made in collaboration with AR developers.

You can find me on Instagram as @byaka_kateva and on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katherine.byakova

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

It's war in my country and our business has suffered from shelling, we also closed our beloved showroom in Kyiv city center, because people don't buy clothes that much here now, so I have no opportunity to pay for the room during my work trips as it was before, I need to optimize our expenses as tight as possible. But the good thing is that we're still designing and producing clothes in Ukraine, despite air alarms and danger, we pay taxes and pay % for charity, because we want to do what we can to support our country, and we keep looking for the new markets and people to work with, so I have to travel more than ever before now. Also I'm working on my communication skills, as I believe that a good talk is the best exersize for the brain. Meeting new interesting people is a good antistress for me, non-tourist traveling experience in another cultures gives opportunity to look at your habitual life from a new perspective, and bring something new to it. :) To learn more about our brand read the articles at Metal magazine or Kaltblut - search for "FINCH" there or open finchwear.com

Interests

Painting and design. Music. Reading.

• design
• yoga
• clothing
• reading
• painting
• music
• piano

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Arvo Part, Apparat/Moderat, Radiohead, Archive, Darkside.
Books: Solaris (Stanislav Lem).
Movies: Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell, Spirited Away.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

We work on our own clothing brand FINCH. Me and my husband, both left our office job, and started from scratch. Now we live in Kyiv, Ukraine, during the war. And keep working.

Teach, Learn, Share

I am pretty skilled in many spheres, as I worked in retail, marketing, IT and design companies before I started my business, and always ready to find out more. The most interesting subject for me is the psychology of the decision making, and the brain tricks.

What I Can Share with Hosts

We'll see... There's always something to share :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Montenegro, Poland, Spain, Sri Lanka, Turkey

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, Ukraine