Alexandra Epikhina

O’Koshki is a Russian porcelain art brand created by artist Alexandra “Sasha” Epikhina. Sasha creates whimsical handmade cat sculptures inspired by the Japanese maneki-neko (lucky cat), reimagined through her own playful and distinctive style.

The idea for O’Koshki came after Sasha spent years working in different fields while always wanting to create something of her own. She experimented with everything from plaster unicorn heads and stationery to candles. When she made a cat-shaped candle, however, she realised that something was missing — she wanted more creativity and a deeper connection with the work.

She had long been drawn to ceramics, so she decided to study it. As Sasha describes it, something simply “clicked” when she discovered how much she loved working with clay. She began making cats day and night, experimenting, learning and refining her technique. After many attempts, the characters that became O’Koshki were born.

For Sasha, the cats are more than decorative figurines. She wanted to create something that was not only beautiful, but also useful. Each cat has a small opening in its paw that can be used for incense or, alternatively, to hold dried flowers. Her love of Japanese culture, which began during her teenage years, became an important influence on the collection — each cat is her own interpretation of the familiar maneki-neko.

Sasha says she likes to find “little pieces of magic” everywhere and believes that each cat will bring good luck to its owner. She also hopes that receiving an O’Koshki feels special — from the anticipation of opening the package to enjoying the cat in your home every day.

The pieces are handmade, meaning no two cats are completely identical. O’Koshki describes these small differences as part of their charm: each owner gets a cat that is uniquely theirs.

Orders are generally made in advance, with the website currently stating that production can take up to around three weeks. I checked the current catalogue for pieces available to ship immediately, but I couldn't find any that are clearly marked as ready-to-ship; the individual listings I found state that the cats are made to order.