The best inventions are born out of necessity. This week’s Meet a Mom, Katya Eckert, is the Founder of A DOMANI, a revolutionary collection of sleepwear for women experiencing the discomfort of night sweats arising from hormonal fluctuations such as postpartum, perimenopause and menopause, cycle swings, fertility treatments, medications, and chemotherapy.
After experiencing her own waking nightmare of being a first time hormonal Mom, she couldn’t find a single solution, and decided to create her own brand.
Katya shares with us how she created her incredible pajamas with pioneering fabric technologies, why sleepwear is key since sleep is our most generative time, and much more.
Please tell us a bit about your family and life in Greenwich (names/ages of kids, where you live, etc)?
I live in downtown Greenwich with my husband, John, and my daughter Zoe (3). My husband and I moved from the West Village in NY 6 years ago to alleviate the reverse commute for him–his office is in town. Downtown Greenwich was a seamless transition. We love having Greenwich Avenue, Whole Foods and 4 playgrounds within walking distance!
What are some of your favorite family activities?
Greenwich has so much to offer for families. We’re always discovering something new! In the summer we spend a lot of time at Tod’s Point and the Byram Park pool. There are so many wonderful playgrounds all over town. We love going to dinner on the Ave as a family — Le Penguin and Bianca are our favorites. We love to just get outside and stroll around and discover new things. I always know about the fun events going on thanks to Greenwich Moms!
For those of us who are not familiar, what is A DOMANI?
A DOMANI (www.adomanisleep.com) is a revolutionary collection of sleepwear for women experiencing the discomfort of night sweats arising from hormonal fluctuations such as postpartum, perimenopause and menopause, cycle swings, fertility treatments, medications, and chemotherapy. On Instagram: @adomanisleep
Can you please share about your professional background and what led you to launch A DOMANI?
Up until this experience of founding A DOMANI, I had absolutely zero experience in the garment industry. I started my career in luxury hospitality then moved over to finance doing equity derivatives sales. I worked with the loveliest people and had a lot of fun. Then I had my daughter and had the craziest hormonal let down and night sweats. I was waking up to feed the baby and then waking up in between those wakeups to change my pajamas. It was like a waking nightmare and (despite being a total expert in middle of the night Googling) I couldn’t find a single solution. I would complain to my mom about it and she would very sweetly laugh and say “wait until perimenopause/menopause.” I couldn’t believe that women were just silently suffering and had no solutions.
What makes A DOMANI unique from anything on the market?
We believe that women should not be waking up in wet pajamas. Period.
We use pioneering fabric technologies from natural fibers to deliver maximum breathability, peak wicking, and lighting fast drying for cool and dry sleep, all night long. Plus, A DOMANI pajamas are totally gorgeous and have thoughtful do-anything details designed with sleep and life in mind. No digging, bunching, slipping or getting twisted in your PJs!
Why is sleepwear so important?
Sleep is our most generative time — and it’s so precious and hard to come by. We’ve gotten the message to invest in good sheets, mattresses, pillows and night cream — but what’s the point if we’re sweating and waking up in soaked pajamas throughout the night? Our Pyratex® Power 1 fabric is cooling, quick dry, anti-microbial (meaning it won’t stink and you can get many wears before it needs another laundry day) AND it is knit in a proprietary construction to be compatible with your skin cells on a molecular level. That means as your skin moves, the fabric moves with it. You have to feel it to believe it, but it is absolutely amazing for sore nipples, c-section scars, sensory issues, sensitive and sensitized skin.
Since you definitely know a lot about comfort, what is your Mom uniform and some favorite brands?
My daily uniform is very casual. I live in Lululmon leggings, Saint James Bretons, Re/Done or Citizens jeans, and La Ligne or J. Crew sweaters. And I’m addicted to my A DOMANI. The first time I slept in my samples I cried tears of joy — not only for the amount of work it took to get there but also because they actually did what I wanted them to do: kept me dry and sleeping through the night super comfortably.
What is your working mom mantra?
We’re all doing the best we can with what we have.
Anything else you’d like to share?
Only that I am in awe of women everywhere. We are the cornerstones of our families, the connectors and organizers of our communities, the nurturers, the steadfast planners and the doers of many invisible tasks. And while we’re all doing this with such grace, our endocrine systems are releasing miraculously generative hormones in ways that make our bodies less than predictable to us. That’s why we created A DOMANI, which, by the way, means “until tomorrow” in Italian. It’s how we hope you’ll sleep — comfortably and uninterrupted — until tomorrow.
We love to support local businesses. What are your fave places locally to:
Grab coffee: CFCF on Greenwich Ave
Workout: Kaia Yoga or SoulCycle
Go on a date night: Le Penguin
Go out for a girls night: martinis at East End
Go out to dinner as a family: Le Penguin, Bianca, or Terra
Get your hair done: Salon Mimoza with Mimoza
Get your nails done: Cozy Nails
Have fun as a family: Bruce Park Playground and Tod’s Point
