How to be a mother of many children, run a successful business, and stay in great shape — Viktoria Chekurda-Martyniuk tells us all about it in an exclusive interview with the 2KOLYORY team.
She is beautiful and smiling, gently hugging her little daughter while handling work matters over the phone with a cup of coffee. Viktoria Martyniuk-Chekurda is a wife, a mother of many, and the founder of the social project "Family Weekends," the art space Mind Shaker, the event agency "Kids Space Partys," and the creative gift shop SLON. Looking at her, we realize that it is possible to be both happy and successful. We talk about feminine matters, reveal secrets, and get inspired.
Viktoria, you have created several successful projects based on children's creative development and family values. What is their specialty, and what inspired you to create such a space?
A few years ago, I faced the problem of not having a place to spend time with my family in a high-quality and beneficial way. This inspired me to create the social project "Family Weekends," through which we organize various events and festivals, including charity ones; we even have summer camps for children now. The most important value in our society is family, and we bring different generations together; our projects are always interesting to everyone — from grandparents to children.
But as a creative person, you didn't stop there and opened a few more projects. Can you tell us about them? (Viktoria smiles)
I have always wanted to create an atmosphere in my family where everyone feels comfortable. In our crazy world, there is a catastrophic lack of time for simple communication, even within a single family. Parents are often more concerned with the problems of building material well-being, while losing the most valuable thing — their own children. Only shared interests, daily communication, and creating your own traditions can unite families. From my own experience, I know how difficult it is to find creative solutions to the everyday problems that arise in every family. Perhaps that is exactly what prompted the creation of the Mind Shaker art space. Mind Shaker is a place where we hold family workshops and masterclasses on cookie decorating, 3D pen drawing, DJing, and many other interesting activities. Besides that, we help children prepare for school and do our homework together in a playful way.
I embodied my desire to create unforgettable and bright celebrations in the "Kids Space Partys" event organization, and in parallel, I opened the SLON gift shop for original presents. Everyone has faced the problem of "what should I gift?" or "they already have everything, how can I surprise them?" We always know how to create a WOW effect because I understand from personal experience that it must be something interesting and original every time. That is why I work on several projects while simultaneously thinking about new ideas.
You are young, successful, raising 4 children, developing your own business, and organizing festivals and charity events. How do you manage to balance work with family?
The most important thing is that my family comes first. Sometimes there are situations where you have to choose what takes priority, but family moments have always been and will always be my priority. Work inspires me and gives me an opportunity to switch from everyday routine issues, so it only complements and harmonizes our internal family relationships. To be honest, there were cases when I got completely immersed in some projects, losing touch with my children and husband; however, I rethought that behavior in time and put everything back in its place. I will be sincere and say that you cannot do without help in such cases. Since my daughter Emilia is still very young, I have a nanny to back me up while I work. My older boys are quite independent, and at work, I have an assistant who is, as I call her, "my eyes, hands, and sometimes my brain." There was a period when I spent a year without a nanny, focusing only on the child and household chores. It is the hardest work that exists and, at the same time, the most invisible to loved ones. I take my hat off to such women because it truly requires great effort and patience.
Perhaps you could share a personal secret on how to combine several things at once?
The way to "manage more than others" has been developed in me since childhood. I attended many after-school clubs, was an honors student, and still felt like I wasn't getting everything done. I save a lot of time by combining several tasks. For example, right now I listen to certain webinars, and it goes like this (forgive the details): I cover myself in mud wraps, wrap myself in a thermal blanket (for skin tightening), apply a face mask (hoping to look younger), use coconut oil on my hair (trying to save my heat-damaged hair), and listen to a lecture. It’s 4-in-1. At the gym, I watch scientific programs while on the treadmill, and in the pool, I swim with headphones and listen to audiobooks. There was a period of English lessons while driving; I often didn't have the chance to sleep, so it was exhausting and made me sleepy. Even when I am embroidering — which is my hobby, and I only have time for it when the whole house is asleep, which is at most an hour after midnight — I combine it by listening to a psychologist.
You look beautiful despite such a hectic pace of life; how do you take care of yourself?
To give myself proper attention, I only manage to hit the gym 3 times a week and get a manicure twice a month at 7 a.m. At my age, I would like to see a cosmetologist once a week, but for now, it's not realistic.
How do you usually spend time with your family? What kind of leisure do you prefer?
For me, it is important to spend quality time together, to be interested in the lives of my husband and children, and to have shared interests rather than just sitting under the same roof. We play board games together; Monopoly is the favorite right now. We have our own family traditions: Saturday is always the morning of Mom's pancakes, after which we go for a walk. Once a month, we all do something we have never done before. For example, I "kidnapped" everyone for a hot air balloon flight, woke them up at 5 a.m., and took them out of the city. While we were driving through the city, my husband thought we were heading to church for a service, but when we left the city limits, he started to worry. I often sign the whole family up for various lessons: painting, sculpting, cookie decorating, and my art space, Mind Shaker, where we always organize various interesting activities, helps me with this.
What place does a vyshyvanka hold in your life?
In our family, the love for vyshyvanky comes from childhood. I adore the ornaments, I am interested in their meaning — this is our history, our traditions. I love to embroider myself; I have embroidered shirts for myself, my mother, and my children. I am sure that everyone should have a vyshyvanka in their wardrobe because today it is also a fashionable and relevant trend. As for the photo shoot with my daughter for the new collection: when I saw the sketches, I fell in love with them at first sight. An incredible combination of tradition and style, pleasant natural fabrics, and beautiful patterns. Afterward, I couldn't change my daughter for half an hour, as Mia flatly refused to take the dress off.
