"I'm an entrepreneur, and I connect people." (Photo: Eran Levy)
47-year-old Karin Lauper Dayan, AKA "Karina", lives in Ramat Chen in Ramat Gan, married to Ami Dayan, who owns an event production company, and they have three sons.
She has turned the fashion and lifestyle complex she established 9 years ago, in a space that used to be a chicken coop located in the suburbs of the big city, into an incubator for young and talented designers, which works in an empowering harmony alongside a community of women that has grown up there and is a focal point for pilgrimage.
And all in terms of content, culture and shopping experience.
ABOUT US fair in winter format 2022-23 (Photo: Eran Levy)
She grew up in Ramat Hasharon to "very bohemian" parents, as she defined it.
Her father was the chairman of the Maccabi Tel-Aviv soccer team, while her mother was responsible for the team's public relations. Her parents ran a home and a very open, limitless and enabling lifestyle, and Laufer Dayan grew up with the feeling that everything is possible, "I think that's why I came out as an entrepreneur who didn't Afraid to do anything" she declares, "and if they tell me "no" then I'll find a way to get in through the roof, and that's totally coming from the house.
My father's constant phrase was "Who can control you", and when I was a child I was angry about it.
I felt that he wasn't talking to me about what was really important to me, like friendship or my boyfriend, but only about work and success, which were his main personality at home.
My father used to tell me "when you speak everyone should be quiet. If they are not quiet you are not interesting", this is very binding and this thing was an obstacle to success there.
I also ask myself if a house that has no boundaries in the end brings out entrepreneurial people?
I believe so.
And you are truly an entrepreneur in every inch of your limbs
"I am an entrepreneur, and I connect people.
It's something that comes very easily to me and I really enjoy doing it.
I love connections, especially between women.
And when that spark happens and the connection works, it's something that is very meaningful to me."
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"I was always looking for the designers who do something significant" (NORTHERN STAR) (Photo: Asaf Eini)
You started your career as a budget manager in an advertising agency, what led you to start holding empowering women's meetings?
They all came there, from Rona Ramon, Scout Grant to Lehi Lapid, it was amazing.
As soon as we grew to 80 regular women who meet, my husband Ami said it was time to find my own place."
So it was a natural move towards opening a place, a studio, of your own
.
Until the designers started arriving, who recognized that there was a great community of quality women here, so during the lectures, or before the holidays, there were also sales of designer clothes and items.
Over time we realized, more correctly again, my husband and I were accurate and recognized that enough is enough, the place needs to be opened regularly."
"I grew up in a home with less present parents, and it was clear to me that this would be my fix" (Photo: Asaf Eini)
But have you always had a connection to fashion?
"I grew up in a house of Louis Vuitton and Moschino, with a mother who is a fashionista and style, fashion and aesthetics are very acute for her. They were constantly concerned with how you look, "Put the shirt in, take the shirt off". It didn't do me any good because I went to the fridge to get comfort, and that's something that I took care of him over the years."
It's interesting that you moved away from the worlds of luxury brands, and found your passion in an original local creation
. The motto "Don't be like everyone else" was a big engine for me - if it's in raising the children, and of course also in my work, otherwise it's terribly boring to me. Speaking of entrepreneurship, it's not because "that's how you have to" constantly reinvent yourself, but because it comes from the gut This is my fire and I want to be excited by the things I do as well."
"Today, in the era we live in, it's not the product, it's the story" (Photo: PR)
For you, the Karina studio is not only a fashion complex, but what does it bring together?
"There is a community of women here, and we create content here. In the first years, when they would say to me, "What a stunning store you have," I would get upset and say - What store?! Because there is much more here. The women who come feel a sense of belonging, they don't just come to buy the clothes or the candle, they are really a part of us. I don't use the product to bring the audience, but the content. I constantly increased the lectures and events to bring the audience. I'm interested in the experience, the conversations, not what they bought and how much they bought. Of course we built a business plan here that makes it possible, look at the location, I'm not in a mall in a prestigious location. In addition, I'm also a mentor and a brand follower, so there's always plenty of other places. Another very exciting thing that's happening is that today we already have our collections and lines at Karina, which is the most fun For example, the ceramist Miki Polak, or the jewelry designer Ofal Shani, who produce collections for us."
In the challenging local fashion market, what do you think is the secret of the continued success of Karina Studio?
"Today, in the era we live in, it's not the product, it's the story. It can be an interesting lecture that attracts women to come to us and then maybe they'll buy. The main part of my job is that I sit down and try to come up with new content, that's what brings customers back to us. Also a designer who wants to sell I have a bag or shoes, I want him to tell me the story behind the product. I truly believe that if you know how to tell the story, you sell the product."
"There is an overall experience here, and this is Israeli design as far as I'm concerned, just like you walk around a good exhibition" (Photo: Michael Topiol)
And if I understand correctly, you have no plans to reach or expand to Tel Aviv?
"I have received many offers over the years, whether it is to enter the Ramat Aviv Mall, in Ramat Hasharon, the Tel Aviv Port, and more. Erez Komarovsky once told me, "We don't grow in width, we grow in height" and it has been with me ever since. I am growing in height, so for me to be a mentor and accompanying brands and students, plus the store and the website and the fair, and if I suddenly want a project in New York, then that's what it will be, and also doing yoga on the SAP or running in the harbor in the mornings - for me, all of these are that I cracked the good life. I want both and both, to make an impact in several places Varbadis, I don't want to find myself walking into a store called "Krina" and it has four branches, that sounds really boring to me. At the same time, I can say that we are working on a new expansion project, and we will leave here, but in general I am looking for a building or a me to renovate a crazy garage. I feel that today I have more to offer, and the designers want to work with us and have a studio with us, so why not create such a space? That gathers more events, more content,And it will have both "Krina" and a studio (plural) and offices."
How and when did the production of the designer fair ABOUT US really come into play?
"In our third year, I was offered to do "Krina" only on a large scale, at 750 meters, and that's how I did the first fair in Stoa Begesch. I called it "About Us" because everything starts with us - us the customers, us the designers. There in Stoa I started to build the mix of Our events, to which high-quality designers flock, are not a market. I examined how I would know that they would want to come to us? - starting with how they would change clothes, of course with an emphasis on the mix of designers, also on the food, alcohol and music, and it always opened with some kind of content event. It was very important to me Emphasizing not only fashion, it's a real lifestyle celebration. Beyond clothes, there's home design, there's paper products, there's accessories, and there's beauty - there's a total experience here, and this is Israeli design for me, just like you walk around a good exhibition."
Fashion, lifestyle, art and contribution to the community.
ABOUT US Fair at the Design Terminal in Bat Yam (Photo: Oral Levy)
So what can we expect at the ninth ABOUT US fair in its winter program?
As every year, Lauper Dayan brings together intriguing local designers and creators in one designed complex, which offers an entertainment and shopping experience in a unique atmosphere that includes music and worthwhile snacks.
There will be veteran Israeli fashion designers and brands, including Heroic, Roni Bar, Northernstar, Mein Paz, Doron Ashkenazi, HILA HILO's jewelry and more, alongside new local creators, some of whom will even reveal new collections - such as the BISOU MAMAN brand by Sharon Retz, who will present a collection First debuts, or the new HALT brand of the young designer Tal Yosifov who designs vinyl jackets.
How do you choose who will participate in your fairs?
"They (the designers, the creators) can't be everywhere. That's the first thing that motivates me. When an importer approaches me, first of all I ask how many stores he takes the shoes to, nothing will rise or fall on that. I have to feel that there's something else about it, that we haven't seen yet In the end, we all go around in the same circles, and I'm really looking to bring something different that you don't see in many stores, at least I try. Because you can't really beat it, we're a very small industry. And I also understand the designers, they need to make a living and I'm in their favor."
"They (the designers, the creators) can't be everywhere. This is the first thing that motivates me" (Photo: PR)
In addition, this year we also made a connection to the worlds of ART.
The Bar-Gil Foundation, which is an independent art curator, will curate an exhibition called "Side by Side", and it is not without reason that this is the name chosen for the exhibition - this year the ABOUT US fair will present fashion, on the side art, on the side contribution to the community.
Part of the proceeds of the fair will be donated to the "Lezidach" department at the "Merhavim" medical center, which is an inpatient department open to women who have experienced difficult life events and suffer from post-traumatic symptoms that sometimes manifest in eating disorders.
"Food, as mentioned, has always had its own personality with me," Oper Dayan replies to the question of where the connection to the "Lezidek" department came from and adds, "I consciously look to join unfamiliar departments or associations, in order to expose the audience to them."
"I'm really looking to bring something different that you don't see in many stores" (Photo: Yehchat)
This is the ninth fair in number, where does the drive come from to raise the invested event every year anew?
"If we talked earlier about the fire that exists in me and drives me, then this fair drains all of that into it, and we do it twice a year - in the summer and in the winter. I have a very strong foundation that backs me up, which is my husband Ami's production company. Beyond that, without the drive and the passion It wouldn't have happened to me. And at the end of the day, maybe it's not sexy to say it, but I'm actually in favor of putting things on the table - we work very hard on the fairs, support a lot of people along the way, and of course we also make a living from it, otherwise we wouldn't do it ".
As a fashion entrepreneur in your soul, immediately after the end of the fair you already start planning the next in line?
Or do you manage to take a break for a moment and pamper yourself?
"In the beginning I had a hard time with it, because I really ran immediately to the next thing. I'm not the type to pat myself on the back, but I do see success, it's a satisfying feeling, and I really enjoy it and the journey. But I don't stay in it for long, be I'm sure that the next events are already planned, and until February, the contents of "Krina" and the other projects on the agenda are closed here. Maybe I really should start staying a little longer," she concludes with a broad smile.
The ABOUT US fair will be held at the Design Terminal in Bat Yam between December 8-10.
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