SUMMER FEELING
I’m updating my wardrobe for a summer holiday in the North. Did you know that a bigger sized silk scarf can be worn as a top? I will top my scarf off with a high waist skirt this summer. How do you wear your scarf?
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BACK TO BASICS
Last week I promised some tips on how to style your silk scarf. While I don’t think that anyone should be afraid of mixing patterns and colors - this style takes us right back to the basics.
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ULTIMATE LUXURY
Silk is the ultimate fabric, and a silk scarf can be paired with almost any outfit. What do you think of this styling, hit or miss?
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KISSING STRANGERS
Petra, our CEO, is trying to restrain herself from kissing strangers, while Hanna, our CD, is rooted on by the local fire department. The last couple of months have been something out of the ordinary.
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OUR WEBSHOP IS FINALLY OPEN!
It’s the day we’ve all been waiting for - launch day! We have worked hard to bring you Wyilda - the first Scandinavian Sustainable Luxury Accessories brand - and we hope that you will appreciate our very first collection.
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28 NOVEMBER 2016
lifestyle
BEDSIDE STORIES BY WYILDA
One of the perks of running your own business is that you get to decide when and where to work. Today, I didn't feel like getting out of bed until 10 am. I haven't felt this relaxed in a while, and I wanted to share the moment with you.
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22 NOVEMBER 2016
bloggers
INTERVIEW: PETRA SALENVALL, CEO OF WYILDA
In my previous post I introduced you all to Wyilda, a sustainable luxury-accessories brand from Sweden. I got in touch with Petra Salenvall, CEO of Wyilda, for an interview to get a deeper understanding of the functioning of a sustainable label, the challenges and their future goals.
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3 NOVEMBER 2016
collaborations
WYILDA LIVE ON KICKSTARTER
Brought to you by Wyilda af Norden - Scandinavia's first Sustainable Luxury Accessories Brand A scarf is the ultimate statement piece, so why settle for anything but the best? A Wyilda-scarf is crafted from premium silk, with hand sewn hems and each with its own certificate of authenticity. Each design celebrates the Far North - the land of the Wild.
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27 SEPTEMBER 2016
lifestyle
A NORTHERNER IS A NORTHERNER!
Not long ago I traveled to a place I've never been before. As soon as we touched ground, I instantly felt like home. I recognized the friendly faces on the streets, the mild manners and sturdiness. Although, the spoken language was a bit different, people were the same. Northerners! I thought to myself. We might be divided by borders, but a Northerner remains a Northerner.
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26 SEPTEMBER 2016
lifestyle
SALUT TO OLGA - A WILD ONE!
A few weeks back I paid a visit to the North of Norway. Wyilda is a project participant in Nordic Business Support, organized by the chambers of commerce in Northern Norway, Sweden and Finland. I went to Norway to meet with potential byers.
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31 AUGUST 2016
exhibitions
BONJOUR PARIS
Tomorrow morning I'm off to Paris for Premiere Classe - a fashion fair dedicated to fashion accessories. While CIFF was planned months in advance, our participation at Premiere Classe was decided a week ago. Needless to say, we haven't had much time to prepare. Who knows, perhaps that's a good thing. We'll just swing it this time around!
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20 SEPTEMBER 2016
behind the scenes
A (CRAZY?) DREAM COME TRUE
About a year ago I was on the phone with Petra. We were talking about our visions for the future. When I blurted out "Wouldn't it be awesome to do a fashion movie about Wyilda?!" Petra was quick to reply "Yes! Of course we will!". Now, anyone who thought that this was a crazy idea was completely right to do so. None of us knew the first thing about filmmaking and we certainly didn't have the funds to pull it off. Honestly, I kind of felt that this was a crazy idea. All we had was a vision and a story to tell.
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30 AUGUST 2016
exhibitions
POST - EXHIBITION SYNDROME
It's been a while! I can't promise you that it will get any better before the exhibition period is over, but I will do my very best to keep you updated.
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28 JULY 2016
behind the scenes
BEHIND THE SCENES
I dropped off Raisa, our modeling actress, at the airport last night. Now I'm back at the office, with the computer on my lap and a big smile on my face. We made it! The last couple of weeks have been intense. A rollercoaster. Last week, everything that could go wrong went wrong, and at some point I questioned whether or not we would make it to the photo shoot.
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A STYLISH BATTLE
During the last few weeks Hanna, our Creative Director, has been illustrating for our website and look book. She is trying to find the right feel for Wyilda, and her trashcan is filling up. When we started working together I got nervous every time she discarded weeks of work and started fresh. I was afraid that she would never finish anything. By now I know this is a natural part of her creative process and at the last minute she always comes out on top. It's a bit strange, but after months of discarding half finished design, she suddenly send me something smashing. And she literarily made it over night.
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DECISION MAKING TIME!
This week got off to a great start. We have received fabric swatches from a sustainable Nepalese cashmere producer, and the swatches look great. Still, we're debating if we are going for handspun cashmere or machine made. There are advantages and disadvantages to both.
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KILLING YOUR DARLINGS
Today, I started my day with a long walk with the dogs around the neighborhood. We passed the Gefion fountain, and I stopped for a while to reminisce. According to the mythology Gylfi, the king of Sweden, made a promise to Gefjon: he hold her that he would give her as much land as she could plow during one day and one nigh. Gefjon turned her four sons into oxen and the result was Zealand (the island on which Copenhagen is located). The missing piece of land was filled with water and the lake was later on named Malaren.
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28 JUNE 2016
collaborations
WYILDA <3 ARCTIC TREND
Yesterday was a very good day. No, let me rephrase that: yesterday was a standout day.Hanna and I had a business consultation with AnnKathrin Lundqvist from Arctic Trend - one of our all time favorite Scandinavian designers. This is not the first time that we have crossed paths with AnnKathrin. In fact, our relationship with AnnKathrin started more than a decade ago. Although, at the time being, she did not know about my very existence. Hanna and AnnKathrin on the other hand had a real relationship. Hanna was interning at Akenberg Design-AnnKathrin's previous label.
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8 JUNE 2016
sustainability
THE FEAR OF FAILURE.
It's time to talk sustainability and social responsibility. To be frank, I deeply dislike the wording "Corporate Social Responsibilit"or "CSR" as it is commonly referred to as. To me, the idea of adding an additional layer to an already existing business model seems out of place. If things are done right from the get go, there isn't a need to implement CSR strategies. A year ago, when I was mapping our Gantt chart, Hanna (Creative Director and Co-founder) asked me why I hadn't reserved time for a CSR-strategy. She accurately pointed out that all companies nowadays have one. I told her then, and I'm telling you now, that a company that acts responsible does not need an additional strategy. CSR is in our DNA. And from now on, I refuse to use that word ever again.
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WHO IS WYILDA?
As I write, I have a 9 month old baby-boy crawling under my desk. His mother Raisa is my cousin and she is also one of the many women that inspire my work. Raisa never stops challenging herself. That doesn't mean that she is fearless, but she never lets her fears get the best of her. Having a child is her most recent endeavor, and she is rocking motherhood.
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CREATIVE-CHRISTIN!
Today I want to share with some thoughts on creativity in general, and creative people in particular. A few days ago I went to Malmo to meet Christin, our guest designer, to show her the strike offs. For this upcoming collection Hanna and Christin each designed two scarves. Christin had been bugging me for weeks about the strike offs, eager to see how they turned out. She also warned me that she can get very emotional if a design does not come out the way she was expecting. I was surprised hearing this, because Christin is, in my opinion, quite calm and does not get overly emotional about stuff.
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COLOR THE WORLD WILD ONE!
The strike offs for SS17 are in. The quality of the fabrics is perfect and the colors are stunning. This one is my personal favorite. I simply love the color combinations. What do you think?
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THE "DREAM-FACTOR-THING"
Six years ago (it feels like a life time!) I lived and studied in France for a year. During that year I took a course in creative entrepreneurship, and our final assignment was to come up with a viable business idea. Looking back, my idea wasn't perhaps very innovative, which was the point of the exercise, neither was it a big money maker. In fact, there were no financial gains in my proposal. I wanted to create "dream factories" for underprivileged children in developing countries.
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A NIGHT TO REMEMBER!
The last couple of days have been a lot of fun. Hanna, our Creative Director, paid us a visit in Copenhagen. And Christin, our secret guest designer (not so secret anymore!) came over from Malmo to have dinner with us. This was the first time that Hanna and Christin met, and also the first time the three of us had the possibility to spend some time together.
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DESIGN FIRST COLLECTION: CHECK!
Last week we tested the final designs on a focus group consisting of approximately 70 people. At this stage, we have surveyed close to 200 people. I felt a little anxious about what the results would be, as this was our last chance to get feedback on our designs and we had cut ten that featured in our last survey. This meant that some people had lost their initial favorites. On the other hand, we introduced three new designs, out of which two are Hanna's art projects that she has been working on for many months.
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THANK YOU WILD ONE!
A few weeks ago we announced a new design collaboration, and things have been moving fast since then. We were promised a few sketches in the end of last week, and honestly, I was expecting two or three sketches on paper. Imagine my surprise when we receive 12 carefully thought out computerized designs. Most of these were ready scarves rather than first sketches. We are very pleased and quite impressed with our guest designer!
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4 MARCH 2016
sustainability
BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD...
...and others will (hopefully!) follow. As a sustainable fashion entrepreneur I live by these words. Every time a hit a bump, when a producer e.g. tells me that they don't have the certification that they initially promised, I keep reminding myself: I am the change I want to see in the world. And I try even harder.
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PREMIERE VISION FOR DUMMIES!
Premiere Vision is the event of the year for fashion business professionals and everyone who is anyone is there. The show attracts more than 1,900 exhibitors each year and 60,000 visitors. In February 2016, I was one of them. It was my first time at Premiere Vision and my oh my did I make rookie mistakes. Hopefully this blog post will help you avoid making the same mistakes.
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19 FEBRUARY 2016
lifestyle
FROM "PRECIS LAGOM " TO LUXURY!
Being back in Paris after five years is overwhelming. It brings back a lot of memories, but also gives rise to new reflections. The long train rides to Premiere Vision without Internet connection left me with a lot of time to think. I ended up spending most of that time thinking about the people I got to know in Nancy. Some memories made me laugh so hard I was afraid to get hit by verbal assaults from fellow travellers. It was slightly awkward! Reminiscing made me curious how everyone is doing. Has life been good to you? I hope so.
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11 FEBRUARY 2016
sustainability
FASHIONABLY SUSTAINABLE!
Wyilda af Norden is a brand for women that refuse to compromise between ethics and aesthetics. This is the short answer I give to people when asked about the brand. My name is Petra and I am the CEO and co-founder of the first ever Scandinavian sustainable luxury accessories brand. We might even be the first in the World. This is a great starting position for any new company. However, being the first often means trying to change an existing paradigm, which can be very challenging at times.In this, our first, post I will reflect upon the current "fashion-paradigm" and our response to it. But first let me tell you a little bit about how we got to where we are.
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