Meet Olja and her international family, her husband Mauricio, and her son Leo (2) in their beautiful home on Zeeburgereiland, a charming island on the east side of Amsterdam. Olja and Mauricio are fashion and photography lovers and have been our ambassadors since Leo was born. We are thrilled to feature this cool family in this edition of Home Stories.
Please tell us a bit about yourself and your family members? Where did the two of you meet? When did you move to Amsterdam?
I’m Olja Ryzevski and I live together with my husband Mauricio and my little son Leo in Amsterdam. Mauricio and myself met 12 years ago in Switzerland, where we both did an internship for the same company. Over the years we have lived together in Berlin, Seoul, Tenerife and we are now currently based in Amsterdam. Before we moved to Amsterdam we had been living in Berlin for almost 8 years and we made the spontaneous decision to move to Amsterdam for a year or so to have a little break from Berlin and we never moved back - 5 years later we are still in Amsterdam. Our son Leo was also born here :) We love this city!
How is it to raise a child with such an international background? Which languages do you speak at home? Cultural clashes?
I guess we are still figuring things out and trying to do everything step by step. Cultural clashes - that’s a really interesting question. I have German and Russian roots, grew up and spent the first half of my life in Crimea and the second part in Germany. Mauricio is Spanish-Irish and was influenced by both cultures growing up, so we both already feel pretty international. With Leo, we decided to speak one language each; my mother tongue is Russian, and Mauricio speaks Spanish to him. But at home, myself and Mauricio communicate in German and in English. Leo watches cartoons currently only in English and in German. We honestly don’t know how it will be later on when he starts to talk properly, but for now, he understands us both and is already saying words in all 4 languages - we’ve definitely got an interesting thing going on at home :)
Where do you live and how would you describe your neighbourhood?
We live in Zeeburgereiland, a little island on the east side of Amsterdam. The area is amazing for families: lots of playgrounds, parks, and we’re surrounded by the sea, which makes it so nice to go for walks around the area.
Favourite neighbourhood place(s)?
We love the coffee place around the corner, Espressofabriek - a very unique small space with great specialty coffee and very friendly baristas. You could pretty much say it’s our second home. The building was once a sludge return pumping station, which was part of the Amsterdam East water purification plant that covered the island.
Favourite place at home and why?
We spend a lot of time in the living room/kitchen area together since both are in one big room with lots of space. We love our industrial kitchen and our cozy living room.
What’s Omocado studio?
We both studied photography years ago in Berlin, and since then, we have been working as photographers and content creators. Omocado Studio is basically our work and portfolio online.
How would you describe your day-to-day life?
Pretty hectic; every day looks different. One week, we are in Amsterdam, have a nanny, and work from here and there. Some weeks, we travel for one or two or more days to different cities if we have work or events. Combining our creative work with parenting is definitely a challenge, but it’s never boring. We're still trying our best to find the balance in our day-to-day life.
What’s your favourite Gray Label item and why?
We love the track pants; I think Leo has them in every color - so basic and so good for everyday life. Also, the dropped shoulder sweater. This set is just perfect for all of us - super comfy!
Favourite family weekend activity?
Since we don’t have a proper schedule, we have our weekend days as a family sometimes during the week. We love to go to the city center to our favorite coffee places, buy fresh sourdough bread, and enjoy walks beside the canals together.
