INTERVIEW #81 KÅREBRAND
Based in: Östersund, Sweden
Founded in: 2021
Founded by: Moa Kårebrand
Stores: Physical store in Östersund at Norra Torlandsgatan 18 and at https://bykarebrand.se
Hi Kårebrand, we are so happy about having such a beautiful brand in our community. Tell us about your story and why you started?
Hello! I’m an upholsterer by trade and have been working with that for about 10 years now but it was only about 2 years ago that I started making caps out of some leftover fabrics from furniture that I had reupholstered. I applied for upholstery school just so that I could get a physical job that also was creative but ever since my first child was born I shifted my focus and realised how important my work was for a more circular society and way of life. I saw a lot of beautiful fabric scraps getting thrown away because they were too small to do anything within our trade so I started collecting them, not really knowing what to do with them until a friend one day in 2020 asked me if I could make her a cap from some of the fabrics I had, and since then I’ve been making caps as well as worked as an upholsterer and in 2021 I quit my job and started my own ”upholstery and cap -workshop” here in Östersund!
How are you working with sustainability today?
I think most of my work revolves around sustainability, making things last longer and reusing material to make new things. Everything I do is about not having to throw away as much.
We are curious about your Kepsmakeri (hat making). How and where are the products produced, and where do you source the material from?
My products are produced by me, here in my workshop in Östersund, Sweden. I use leftover scraps from furniture that I reupholster but I also source materials in local secondhand shops for my caps. I never buy any new fabrics for my caps, it has to be scraps or something I can repurpose. Sometimes even people come by my workshop to see if I want any textiles that they were thinking about getting rid of. The brim material that I use in my caps is also reused pieces from old caps that people want to throw away that I strip off the old caps, reshape and dress in a new matching fabric for the cap I’m working on.
Who are your clients?
I’d say that most of my clients are 30+ and so far mostly Swedes.
What have been and are the major challenges of starting your own business?
For me it was mostly just the fear of leaving ”safe” employment and breaking free from that was the hardest challenge, but also money is a big factor and challenge. Will I be making enough this month to cover all the costs and pay my salary? So far this has been much easier than I would have thought but there are still sleepless nights with anxiety as my companion.
What has been and is the largest gain?
I now love going to work, and I feel a bigger freedom than I have ever done before, knowing that I can do what I want whenever I want it because now I set the rules. I made more money as employed, so far, but I’m not doing this to get rich. I'm doing this so that I can rule over my own time, that's the largest gain I think.
What do you think needs to change in the interior and fashion industry to make it more sustainable?
Everything needs to slow down, there needs to be less items produced but with a higher quality so that whatever you invest your money in, clothing or furniture, will last longer, and be cared for more dearly. It should not be cheaper to buy something new instead of getting your ”old” jacket, armchair, shoe or whatever repaired. So we need to slow down and things need to cost more I think so that we have to stop and think, Do I really need this? Is it worth it?
Best thing about Kårebrand?
Small scale, made from knowledge and love, by hand, right here in Sweden.
What's up next?
Right now I’m working on producing a bunch of caps for an upcoming market in the south of Sweden, Hantverksmässan I Båstad, which I’ll be attending in late July.
