Inspiring Conversations with Irina Khichenko of Picnic The World

Today we’d like to introduce you to Irina Khichenko.

Hi Irina, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in Russia, Siberia, which is just the opposite of where I am living today – sunny LA 🙂 Since I was a teenager, I knew my life would be no ordinary.

While I was trying to make some money during a summer break in the university, I went to US for Work&Travel student exchange program. That’s where I realized that I belonged here. I came back to Russia, met my husband and we moved to California together. We were young, ambitious and believed in a bright future. No family, not a lot of money, just the two of us. We had so many ups and downs that I couldn’t even count, but eventually we started our travel company helping Russian speaking guests to see different parts of USA. The business was great until the pandemic hit… when we lost what we’ve been building for the last ten years in a matter of days.

A few months later, I realized that the most I missed about my business was giving people the joy and excitement about new places and experiences, seeing them connect to each other while learning about different cultures, creating these unforgettable memories that they would share for the rest of their lives. I thought about ways that people can still get that during these tough times and that’s how I came up with Picnic The World idea!

Now I make beautiful pop-up picnics inspired by different countries. They are really perfect for any occasion like a birthday, anniversary, proposal, baby shower, family reunion, girls gatherings and even brand or corporate events. You don’t need to do anything, we will do the setup, provide catering or a private chef, live music, photographer and other services that you might want. Miss Paris or have never been to Italy? No problem, we will bring these amazing destinations to you here in SoCal. Cause when you can’t travel the world, you can picnic the world!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think as a business owner, you don’t ever have a smooth road to success. You start small, you learn and you grow. It takes time, sweat and tears to build something from scratch.

At Picnic The World, I created each of my picnic styles myself, many items were even handmade (some designed by my talented mom), I spent hours searching for the exact pieces I wanted online, found some things at Antique stores, built and painted the furniture. This business requires a lot of labor and creativity, but when you see the happy faces of your clients – it’s so worth it!

As you know, we’re big fans of Picnic The World. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
As a former travel designer, I brought my passion for crafting the experiences to a new business that I own. I called it Picnic The World and we specialize in making luxury pop-up picnics in the most beautiful locations in LA (parks and beaches). It is a very new trend and a very unique way to celebrate just about anything! It looks amazing, it is absolutely picture perfect and fun to do. I think everybody should definitely experience it at least once!

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
I am a workaholic 🙂 I am very passionate about what I do and can’t live without making an impact. I truly believe that my mission is to create as many great memories for my guests as I can.

Contact Info:

• Email: info@picnictheworld.com
• Website: www.picnictheworld.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/picnic_the_world?utm_medium=copy_link