Lviv is my home for me now. My soul feels good here.
Nika Huk is a Ukrainian stylist, founder of the HUKH clothing brand, influencer and volunteer. More than eight years ago, she moved from her hometown of Khmelnytskyi to Lviv to continue doing her favourite business here.
The lviv.travel team, together with Nika, walked the streets of Lviv and talked a lot about volunteering during the war.
Watch the video and read the article.
About Lviv
My acquaintance with Lviv began during school excursions. Since 2011, I have often travelled to Europe; my route passed through Lviv.
Lviv, for me, is very European and aesthetic. At some point, I realized that this is exactly the city in which I would like to live.
In 2015, I decided to move to Lviv.
First of all, I moved here because of the aesthetics that surround me from all sides. It is not only about facades and the old city but also about how people dress, how they live leisurely and how to enjoy life. And I liked it.
If you look at my photos on my Instagram page from the moment I moved to Lviv, you will see photos of the facades of various buildings and restaurants.
I was very enthusiastic about the city: I walked a lot on different routes, photographed everything and was inspired.
Now I rarely raise my head, but Lviv aesthetics continue to appeal to me. I try to notice the beauty around me.
When friends who have never been here before come to visit me, and I show them Lviv, I also discover the city in a new way for myself.
Nyzhankivskoho Street
When I moved to Lviv, I started renting an apartment in the central part of the city, on Nyzhankivskoho street. I had flowers and vases on the balcony. At that time, I remember there was a lot of graffiti on the walls of houses.
I immediately repaired the apartment. My friends, photographers and models, and I started using it as a photo studio.
A few years ago, I photographed for various well-known clothing brands and ran my fashion blog. I often travelled to Europe, as there were no good locations for photography in my native Khmelnytskyi.
Once I tried to conduct such a photo shoot in Lviv, I liked it. It became an important reason for moving here.
It was most convenient to work here: I left my apartment, walked 20 m, and that's all - an ideal location for photo shoots. And there are many such locations near Shevchenko Avenue.
Shevchenko Avenue
It is super my place. I remember how I woke up at 5 am when the city was still sleeping and went to take pictures.
On the avenue, memories immediately come to me, although now I walk here less often.
Many different people have moved here now.
But it seems to me that sooner or later, Lviv will turn anyone into a Lviv resident.
About style and clothing brand HUKH
When I was a child, I dreamed of being a fashion designer. I remember how every time I waited for the "Fashionable Time" program, and after watching it, I arranged home shows and drew sketches that I came up with on my own.
After some time, I returned to my childhood dream. At first, I studied stylistics and took part in photo shoots for various brands. Then I started to teach it to everyone and created my school SELFISH School of Style.
Later, my sister Vita and I created our clothing brand HUKH.
It is the embodiment of our principle of intellectual femininity, expressed in a classic design of things that will remain relevant for a long time, in a minimalistic colour scheme and a laconic cut that adorns the female figure.
Now we inspire and help women of all ages to realize their beauty and uniqueness and love themselves even more.
About Volunteering
"When you are useful and help someone, you help yourself"
From the first days of the full-scale war, my team and I started organizing the Lviv Shelter. It all started with the stories on my Instagram page about the fact that I was looking for a place to bring humanitarian aid.
The director of a chain of private kindergartens wrote to me, and we started organizing a shelter on the premises of one of them. As of February 26, Lviv Shelter was ready to welcome the first guests.
Over the entire time, we have accepted more than 6,000 women and children. We helped them to adapt to the local environment and find work and new housing. The shelter existed until July 1, and then the kindergarten resumed its work in this building.
Volunteering during the war helped me switch my thoughts, get rid of panic, and feel useful and engaged.
