OUR STORY

"HANDMADE TREASURES WITH A LOT OF LOVE"

OUR STORY

Hello there – thank you for popping by!

My name is Maxine and I am the founder of Kafi Folk. I was born and raised in a small town in England called Cheltenham and came to live in Budapest, Hungary (to explore my Hungarian side) where I currently reside, and where Kafi Folk was founded.

Kafi Folk is a dream come true and a love project – a love project that reflects my own personal journey through womanhood and after three years running, I can say, it has only just begun! I continue to learn something new every day and am inspired by each challenge and adventure it takes me on.

Before Kafi Folk began, I ran my own event production company for 8 years planning destination weddings and events for international visitors to Hungary. This is where the need of a comfortable go-to
dress came to mind for my hundreds of meetings during my busiest season – summer!

It’s not easy finding that one dress which makes you feel beautiful, is unique, tells a story, and can be worn in variety of styles because it’s design is so versatile. I needed that kind of outfit as I myself find it hard to shop being of a more shapely figure (!) therefore, I decided it was time to make that piece myself – and that is when, in May 2020, Kafi Folk was born.

Me with our seamstress Reni who understood my vision.
Our first Kafi piece made of viscose/linen blend, lace border and handmade tassels.
Me on a trip in Domme, France wearing one of the first Kafi Folk designs.

STEP BY STEP

THE KAFI FOLK JOURNEY

It all started with 4 meters of fabric, a local seamstress who understood my vision and our first sample (our signature maxi dress) was created! With the help of a model friend and a generous photographer who offered to do a free shoot, The Kafi Folk Journey began.

I had very little experience in the textile and fashion industry - it was all very new to me yet I had a strong feeling that other women would also need a similar outfit for all the same reasons. So on
launching the first collection, inquiries came and I began by booking appointments from my home.

Those appointments turned out to be the most precious moments and the foundation of Kafi Folk’s success. In those meetings, we not only looked at dresses but shared stories over coffee and tea and I learnt so much about women – how they feel and think about themselves – and I am lucky to write, that many of these relationships are still with me today.

After selling 25 of these pieces and gaining feedback at each appointment, I started to develop the first design and one of the first changes I wanted to make was with the fabric. I was using a viscose and linen blend sourced locally and I needed something lighter with a pattern to make it more exciting. I researched a lot about textiles, and this is when I came across the beautiful handcraft technique of block printing in Jaipur, India.

MAGIC ON FABRIC

INDIA

What a world I had jumped in to! Thousands of gorgeous and unique designs and colours – my mind was overwhelmed and not long after discovering, I ordered my first batch of fabric samples for a new collection.

Our first block print collection ‘INTO THE BLUE’ launched March 2021 and it was very well received shipping to 15 different countries worldwide and orders arriving daily!

Fast forward to 2023, the year that changed everything. Kafi Folk’s success could not be continued at the pace it was at without changing direction and I needed to move the business fully online. In order to make things more efficient, I decided to source a bigger team who could not only print the fabric but could also produce the clothing.

I had a few ups and downs finding the right team but life led me through the challenges and I found the most incredible, all-female artisan foundation The Saheli Women led by the incredible Madhu in Jodhpur, India. You can read about them more on our artisan page here.

FINDING THE RIGHT PATH

WOMEN SUPPORTING WOMEN

Women. What beautiful beings we are. Through Kafi Folk’s first part of the journey, I have met so many incredible women. Women with stories, living challenges and fighting through them. Women with children, just getting married, finding new jobs and all of them supported me and believed in what I was doing. Women supporting women. It is a real and true blessing and encouraged me on to the next step.

On finding The Saheli Women, I knew it was a step towards a bigger purpose. It was becoming clear that Kafi Folk was not just a clothing brand but a platform to showcase the beautiful and unbreakable spirit of women and people through their crafts and culture.

Kafi Folk creates organically, meaning we do not work towards the seasons and do not care about the fleeting trends; instead we create each collection based on what I love and what I know you’ll adore too. The vision
of Kafi Folk is to journey through the world to learn about different groups of people and their crafts and create together whilst supporting their work.

EXCITING JOURNEY AHEAD

FUTURE ADVENTURES

As the journey progresses, Kafi Folk is establishing new collaborations with other incredible artisan communities across the globe.

We currently also partner with ASIGE in ghana creating our handwoven bags, Kullvi Whims in Himachal Pradesh for our knitwear and Studio Bagru for Bagru blockprints in Jaipur.

I have plans for new styles made with different fabrics and different techniques - the adventure is endless and I am excited for the upcoming years to come.

I hope that through this journey we will learn together, that you will also enjoy the stories of artisans, fall in love with thousand year old crafts and fill your wardrobe with the treasures that we Kafi Folk create for you. Every purchase supports this journey to grow and I am forever grateful to each and every one of you that chooses to support it.

Thank you so much for joining the journey – I cannot wait to
see where it takes us next!

Love & Care Always, Maxine.