Have you ever thought of taking sexy pictures like these of your girlfriend? First of all, be a man and buy your sweetheart a pair of panties. Not some random ones, but the Lickstarter panties.
These absolutely lovely, yet a tiny bit provocative panties are made in Latvia by Lickstarter, a brand created by Liega Zelgalve and we had a chance to talk to her about her amazing creations.
Enjoy!
Who is Liega?
I’m a crazy independent woman, who seeks to be as free as possible in many ways – mentally, physically and financially. It’s so important to me right now, maybe it’s my 30s crisis. I’m not afraid to take risks, step out of my comfort zone and stretch the frames and borders.
How did you come up with pussycat panties?
Actually, it all started as a results of an anger outburst. I was unhappy at that time and worked at a job I didn’t like, the salary was not nearly good enough and I desperately wanted to be able to buy myself a pair of designer shoes. My boyfriend refused to buy them for me and just said: “Do something and buy them yourself”.
I remember being so angry while sitting in the bathtub that evening, calculating my finances, when all the sudden I started to think about X-mas gift ideas. I’d seen these pussycat panties somewhere and I started to search for them online to buy them for myself. I couldn’t find any website selling them. Then I figured that I had the whole package – 4 years of experience in printing and 1,5 years in IT project management.
When did you think of using kittens?
Pussycat panties were the main idea from the start. That was it. As panties are super expensive, I also saw them as a perfect gift – these kitty panties are a great compromise between price and surprise.
And the provocative name?
My Estonian friend came up with the name. I was selling these panties without a name for a while. We were having a brunch with friends, discussing some names and joking around until an idea popped up thinking about Kickstarter. Kickstarter = Lickstarter. Everything else followed naturally.
Did plan to quit your shitty job or did that follow naturally?
It came naturally. At that time I hadn’t really decided that I needed to do something different. I just went with the flow.
Is this a side project or a full-time job?
It was a side project until April this year. I just called to my boss and said: “I can’t do both anymore”, because orders were rolling in and at some point it was absolutely mad. I couldn’t handle both. That was it – I was working on my own a few days later.
Where do you see yourself with Lickstarter in the next few years?
It’s a tough question. I haven’t decided whether I want to do it on a big scale or not. I could start taking steps toward clothing industry, but I don’t want to be too dependent on business. I want to do what I like and not do it for the money.
My next project is to make something for the boys, because they ask me all the time: “What do you have for us?”. They really need a similar cute surprise in their lives. Another idea is to start working with different artists to blend different ideas into one. The last one is in progress at the moment.
Where do you get your ideas from?
For me ideas are like rare animals – you never know when they come or go. The best ideas come from silly thoughts and laughing with friends. My next ideas are crazy too.
What keeps you going?
I read all these reviews and people send really long thank you letters. This keeps me really motivated. I feel that people need that kind of joy and surprise in their lives. If it’s important to them, it’s important to me as well.
If you found a perfect gift for your girl, order Lickstarters online at Etsy
In Estonia you can find kittens at TALI
Article: Anton Hmelnitski
Stylist: Kaisa Tooming / Häppening
Photographer: Siim Teder
Lokatsioon: MyCity Hotel