Stand With Ukraine

Ukraine is part of our story

For Zuri House, supporting Ukraine has never been a campaign or a cause we chose to attach to our brand.

It is personal.

I’m Ola, the founder and designer behind Zuri House. I was born and raised in Ukraine, and although life eventually brought me first to Poland and later to London, Ukraine has always remained home in a way that geography cannot change.

My family, friends and people I have known for most of my life are still there. I remain closely connected with Ukraine and with people and organisations working to provide practical help wherever it is needed most.

And Ukraine is part of Zuri House in another very real way.

Several people within our small team are Ukrainian or have their families there. One of the women who sews the inner covers and packaging for our pouffes and other pieces still lives and works in Berdychiv, Ukraine.

Another member of our team comes from Kremenchuk in central Ukraine - a city that has repeatedly come under Russian attack - where her parents still live.

So when we speak about Ukraine, we are not speaking about something distant.

We are speaking about our families, our friends, our homes and the people behind the things we make.

24 February 2022

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, like millions of Ukrainians around the world, I felt an overwhelming mixture of fear, anger and helplessness.

In those first days it was difficult to think about anything else.

There was suddenly no ordinary Monday or Tuesday, no normal working week. There was simply day one, day two, day three.

And there was the constant question:

What can I possibly do?

I couldn't stop the missiles.

I couldn't protect every city.

I couldn't make the people I loved safe.

But I could make something.

The little hearts

That is how our crochet hearts began.

They weren't planned as a collection or a marketing idea. They were simply my first instinctive response to that feeling of helplessness - a tiny way of turning my hands, my work and this little business into something that could help.

I made the first hearts in the colours of the Ukrainian flag and offered them through Zuri House.

The idea was very simple.

We would contribute our time, our materials and our work to make them. And anyone who wanted to help could contribute by buying one.

The response was extraordinary.

People bought them. Shared them. Sent them to friends. Hung them in their homes.

And slowly, one little handmade heart at a time, something very small began turning into real help.

The hearts are still here today.

And every single one still means a great deal to us.

100% of the proceeds from every heart sold are donated to support Ukraine.

Every penny we receive from their sale goes towards helping Ukraine.

How we continue to help

Supporting Ukraine did not end with those first weeks of the war.

It has simply become part of our lives.

Over the years, I have contributed wherever I have seen a genuine and immediate need - sometimes through trusted organisations and grassroots initiatives, sometimes towards specific appeals and projects.

That support has taken many different forms: humanitarian and medical aid, equipment, generators during attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, evacuation and transport initiatives, help for families and children affected by the war, and support for those working to protect Ukrainian lives and communities.

There isn't one organisation or one project that receives everything we give.

Needs change.

The situation changes.

And sometimes the most useful thing we can do is simply help the people who are already doing good work on the ground.

Part of what I earn through Zuri House continues to make that possible.

And in that sense, every person who chooses to buy something from our small business helps too.

You allow us to keep making.

You allow this little business to exist.

And you allow me to continue giving something back to the country I come from.

A small thing can still matter

Sometimes a crochet heart can feel almost absurdly small against something as enormous as a war.

But thousands of small acts become something much bigger.

A medical kit.

A generator.

An evacuation vehicle.

Help reaching a family that needs it.

Support reaching someone exactly when they need it.

That is why we keep making them.

Not because we believe a little crochet heart can change everything.

But because doing something will always matter more than doing nothing.

If you would like to join us

There is absolutely no obligation to do anything beyond caring, remembering and not looking away.

But if you would like to join us, our handmade Support Ukraine hearts are still available through Zuri House.

We make them.

You make their purpose possible.

100% of the proceeds from their sale go towards supporting Ukraine.

Thank you to every person who has bought one, shared our work, sent a message, donated, supported our little business or stood beside Ukraine over these years.

Every one of those things matters.

And we remain standing with Ukraine.

Ola & the Zuri House team