The Story of Cherubino
An interview with Renata Doralieva, owner and CEO of Cherubino.
What does Cherubino mean?
Cherubino translated from Italian, means Cherub, an angelic creature, a child with wings. It is also used to refer to beautiful and innocent children, little angels, and this is what we got as our base. We believe all children are born sweet, innocent, and curious, which we want to protect and develop in children.
By coincidence, my father’s name (one of the founders) is also Angel, so we adopted everything that Cherubino stands for, but also it is our inside joke that it is named after the founder.
According to the Cambridge dictionary, “an angel with wings and the plump face and body of a child.”
How Cherubino Started?
The main business of the founding partners for the longest time has been textile manufacturing. Over 30 years ago, they started with yarn manufacturing machines, then switched to manufacturing the yarn itself, then fabrics, and it was their business for a long time. However, at a certain point, more and more of their clients started asking if the company was ready to start manufacturing their products, as the quality of their materials was exceptional, and there was a need in the market for an affordable but quality brand of cotton wear for children.
This is how Cherubino was born. From a limited line of baby onesies, we now carry a full line of cotton kids' wear that is fully designed, developed, and manufactured within our company. This gives us control over the cost of the product and its quality, as it has always been laid in the very foundation of the company.
Why comfortable clothes instead of fancy dresses?
We believe that Children should be Children. As cheesy and old school as it sounds, children are our future. As adults, it is our mission and responsibility to guide them and nurture the right traits and values in them, to support and encourage their curiosity, need for discovery, passion for the world around them, strive to climb a tree and run with the wind, fall from that bicycle and get dirty when it starts raining. This is their school of life, and especially when kids are young, it is more important than ever to provide that comfort and freedom for them to go out there and do anything and everything that they feel like doing while they learn about the surrounding world.
They will have more than enough opportunities to be uncomfortable but fancy when they grow up. Now is their time to be and move freely. And Cherubino’s mission is to support them at every step along the way!
Why is it important to work with cotton fabric?
Nowadays, more and more companies, specifically in the kidswear market, turn to artificial fabrics like polyester, nylon, and acrylic; very few parents, especially young ones, realize that all those fabrics are entirely petroleum-based. While they have great functionality, especially in sports and recreational apparel, they have undergone extensive treatments. They contain a long list of chemicals, some of which are extremely dangerous even for adults, leave alone the gentle skin of babies and kids.
With the rising amount of skin allergies and sensitivities, it is even more important nowadays to keep the clothing of children for as long as possible as natural as possible.
Alongside linen, hemp, and silk, cotton is a safe, natural material that absorbs moisture, is gentle for the skin of even a newborn baby, is extremely long-lasting (if the right quality of cotton is used), is biodegradable as well as recyclable and last but not least, is more affordable and comfortable than the rest.
In very few occasions and only for the age groups of 2T and older, we do use a cotton/polyester or cotton/elastane blend fabrics to achieve certain functionality for our products; however, it is our goal and mission to keep any artificial materials at the bare minimum and only if the blend usage is paramount to the quality of the product.
How do you select the designs for the outfits?
Cherubino stands for these nine qualities.
Curious
Humorous
Ethical
Responsible
United
Brave
Innovative
Natural
Optimistic, Open-minded and
Out-of-the-Box
They are our guiding principles and what we strive to bring to the world and help our little Cherubini become. So every design needs to incorporate, stand for, and promote at least one of these qualities. Every collection we bring to the world starts with one of these pillars.
Our Spring collection is inspired by Curiosity and the Exploration of two different but equally exciting worlds.
We invite our boys to explore the Savannah & Jungle here on Earth, and the Outer space, with a selection of natural patterns, fun, inspiring, motivating graphics, and various styles. On the other hand, the girls are taking a journey into the world of Art and Self-expression, where we show Cherubino’s interpretation of the world’s famous art pieces and a soft and gentle watercolor garden’s pattern channeling the peaceful and harmonious ambiance of the provence.
Why the US market?
Unity. The United States, the country and market, brings the world together and represents it all! We believe in Unity. As second-generation owners, we are children of the world, having lived, studied, and worked in all continents - one has studied in China, one in Europe, and one in the United States.
As technology is progressing, the world is becoming smaller and larger at the same time; it is more important than ever to understand that we are all the same, we stand for the same values, and, more importantly, we want the same future for our children, one full of peace, happiness, and prosperity. And that is why the United States, for Cherubino means the world. What better place to find to represent everything and everyone, to represent hope for a brighter future and the opportunity to have it?
