Thompson Street Studio

Having her father as a painter and her mother as a dancer, Kiva was raised in a creative environment, and it was natural for her to pursue art. At Rhode Island School of Design, she was fascinated by the beauty of textile and decided to pursue textile design. After graduating, she worked for Susan Cianciolo who is a worldwide multimedia artist and then worked as a creative director for a couple of designer brands such as Isaac Mizrahi. In 2014, she founded Thompson Street Studio in the studio run by her parents and is releasing a new collection every season.

She takes in all kinds of materials new and old in a work-piece. The variety comes from such as a piece of cloth from donated clothes, thread bought at a local craft shop, and construction rope that is not usually used for an interior product. She turns these mixed media into a modern artwork using traditional techniques from all over the world. All the artwork is handmade at her studio, and not one of them is the same. Kiva says that she wants her products to be used in everyday life and long enough to be handed down from one generation to another. You can see the idea of inheriting in the process of her work, the choices of materials and replication of traditional techniques.

Another thing that should be mentioned is her multifaceted collaborators. In Run Home Collection, she is creating housewares with Susan Cianciolo and Jessica Ogden, who have been leading designers. The collaboration style varies depending on with whom she collaborates and what they create. There is no set rules on making; they discuss over and over every time. She seems to be enjoying the experimental processes of selecting materials and putting them together as if she were a textile researcher.

With the designers' network in NYC, craftwork using the local community, Kiva's natural artistic taste, and traditions, everything is organically merged into these beautiful housewares. The newly started brand is full of new ideas and high spirits.