INTERVIEW #80 ELLEN HEDBERG
Name: Ellen Hedberg
Based in: Malmö, Sweden
Occupation: Content Manager at a SaaS company.
Get inspired by: My friends in the sewing community!
Why we love her: A creative guru. If you ever need sewing inspiration or simply motivation to create something, go take a look at @ellen_hobbe. We find her very genuine, cool and humble and seeing her creations popping up on our feed gives us a good feeling. She furthermore has a very healthy relationship to fashion, something we would like to see in more people.
Tell us about yourself!
I’m 28 years old, live in Malmö and I spend my free time sewing and sharing my creations on my account @ellen_hobbe! I started sewing when I was a teenager, but as I started university that interest of mine was put on hiatus. I recently found my way back to sewing, and now that is my favorite thing to do!
What’s your relationship with clothes?
I’ve always been fascinated with clothes and fashion, and as a kid I actually dreamt of becoming a fashion designer haha. I used to wake up at like 03.00 after a dream about a garment idea and I always felt the need to draw it down right away. When I woke up the next morning checking my notepad it of course looked like shit lol. But that explains a bit how fun I find it to be, to play around with fabrics and learning new sewing techniques to make my own clothes
How would you describe your style?
I aim to look cool, calm and comfy.
Any favourite items?
Right now it is my latest sewing project: a dress inspired by Ganni, made out of an old bedsheet!
How would you describe your closet?
It is full of self-sewn clothes and second hand findings! I love going on small scavenger hunts either on second hand stores online or in my own fabric stash, so my wardrobe is also growing along with that interest of mine. I like unpatterned fabrics and muted colors, so my wardrobe is calm and simple. Strong colors and wild patterns kind of stresses me out actually, if that makes sense? The patterns I do wear are often more calm or classic ones, like stripes and gingham!
Do you have a style icon, if yes, who?
I love the styles of @coolstitches and @chloehayward_!
What is a sustainable closet for you?
For me it is a slow closet. And by that I mean that I like to let my shopping take time. I either sew my clothes myself, or buy them second hand. By doing so, I can easily avoid falling into the pitfalls of fast fashion and buying trendy clothes that I will wear two to three times. Sewing your own clothes is also a great way to get an understanding for how long time it takes to actually make a garment, which makes you even more annoyed by the fast fashion industry.
What do you think about the fashion industry?
That it sucks in so many ways that I do not know where to start.
What do you believe needs to change?
Hard to say, not being an expert in these issues. But I believe that we need our politicians to make some tough decisions to make the largest change.
What can one do that seeks to create a more sustainable closet?
I guess the best thing is to stop buying new clothes, which of course is way easier said than done. But my favorite trick is to do window shopping online and add all things I like in an online store in the shopping cart, and then I just don’t proceed to click buy. Many of my shopping urges die when I do that. Often I find that I am not in need of anything new, I’m just bored. Even better is to remind myself that ”I can sew that myself for half the price”, which also makes it difficult to justify buying more clothes.
Another trick of mine is to find a friend whose style you like that you can swap clothes with. I have done so recently with my best friend as I’ve gained weight during the pandemic, while she lost weight. Felt very luxurious to just have a whole new wardrobe at the same time as I could get rid of the clothes that did not fit me anymore.
