About Us
Welcome to Jollylook, where photography meets craftiness!
Embark on an exciting journey into the world of analog photography with our DIY Pinhole Instant Film Camera Kit for Self Assembly. Designed for creativity enthusiasts, hobbyists, and retro-style lovers, this unique craft kit offers you the thrill of both building your camera and capturing stunning photos.
Our Camera Kit isn't just a product; it's a hands-on learning experience. Whether you're a seasoned photographer or a novice, the joy of assembling your pinhole camera will ignite your passion for photography. It's a fantastic educational toy that demystifies the magical process of creating images. It's also a great way to introduce children to the world of photography, blending science, and art in an engaging way.
Our Camera Kit makes a perfect unique gift for those who love to experiment and create. Whether it's for a birthday, a holiday, or just because, it's a present that will provide hours of fun and a lifetime of memories. From unboxing the parts to snapping your first photo, the journey is filled with discovery and accomplishment. It's not just about owning a camera—it's about understanding the science behind the snapshots.
We invite you to delve into the world of analog photography with Jollylook. Build your camera, explore the world around you, and capture it in a way that's entirely your own. Discover the nostalgic charm of film photography and join our community of creative explorers today.
The Jollylook Team
We are a young Ukrainian team that loves photography and creates modern vintage-style instant cameras from biodegradable materials.
Our team is a family united by the passion for creating magic in people’s everyday lives while using eco-friendly materials and saving our planet’s ecosystem.
Capture the moment with JollyLook!
What we create
We design and handcraft vintage looking but modern instant film cameras and DIY mechanical kits
using a combination of biodegradable materials and modern electronics.
Our Story
Our first camera was the cardboard Jollylook Instant film Camera. However, throughout its development and production, we experienced many issues.
We learned significant lessons from the development of the first Jollylook and have taken all of those lessons and incorporated them into how we designed our Jollylook Auto.
We created many designs for the Jollylook Auto camera until we achieved a final design that featured a harmonious combination of shape and function that was easy to use, reliable, and sturdy while retaining the vintage steampunk aesthetic we desired.
February 24, 2022.
The entire assembly of the Jollylook cameras was to be done in our factory, which is located in Irpin, a suburb of Kyiv in our homeland of The Ukraine. But…at 5 a.m. on February 24th, Russia attacked our country, throwing everybody’s plans and dreams into chaos. On this day, our peaceful life ended and was suddenly replaced by explosions, sirens, and bomb shelters.
Our laser cutting machines were in Bucha, and our office and assembly unit with all the components was in Irpin.
Unfortunately, the laser cutting machines and the computers in Bucha were damaged.
As soon as it became possible to visit Irpin in mid-April, we were relieved to find out that our office survived.
We had to quickly pack all the components and development units and transport them to the Lviv region in the West.
Roman, the father of our teammate Kateryna, was volunteering as a driver for humanitarian aid from Lviv to Irpen.
He made a lot of trips in his minivan, and he helped us move all the components from our office to Lviv on his way back.
This process was long and dangerous because of the many unexploded bombs scattered everywhere in Irpin.
There were many known cases of people bumping into them, so to prevent the danger, the authorities regularly imposed curfews to defuse these bombs.
The restart:
Since the beginning of the war, the situation for us, like many, was tough and unpredictable.
During March and April 2022, we studied the possibility of restarting the production in western Ukraine or the nearest European country.
The question was which country is better to do it in terms of ease of business, taxes, availability of the suppliers we need, logistics, cost of living, etc.
We decided to restart our assembly in Zvolen, a city in the central part of Slovakia.
The people we met in Zvolen were super generous and kind and helped us find everything we needed.
We have already moved everything from Lviv to Zvolen and started the restarting.
As well as have found accommodation, assembly and cutting premises, laser cutting machines, plywood suppliers, boxes, and electronics manufacturers. Rented a workplace and have already started to equip it.
In August 2022 we launched a Kickstarter campaign for a DIY Pinhole Mini Camera kit.
It was successfully funded, so we were able to purchase the laser-cutting machines and fully restart our manufacturing processes.
Then we launched the mass production, ordered all the necessary parts, packaging, equipment, and built the exhaust pipes for the laser cutting machines.
In May 2023 all the rewards were successfully delivered to our beautiful backers.
And now DIY Pinhole Mini Camera kits are available on our website!
The work was in full swing and we were happy about that. Fast forward to June 2023, we launched our next Kickstarter campaign for a Jollylook Pinhole SQUARE Instant Film Camera DIY Kit, which was also successfully funded and is now also available on our website!
This allowed our team to move forward, so in November 2023 all the rewards were successfully delivered to our beautiful backers and we launched our new product Jollylook EYE - the Digital to Analog Instant Photo Printer, that transforms digital photos from your smartphone into real-life instant prints in just a few simple steps and allows you to enjoy the modern convenience of digital photos with the physical nostalgia of real prints.
Following a successful campaign, the Jollylook EYE is now available on our website!
Our mission continues to thrive, and we are elated with our progress.
We hope and pray that the Russian soldiers will leave our land and our people alone. The best thing we can do now for our families and our country is not to give up, and we won't!